Antenna upgrade opinions.

[Oscurida]

Which is a very good short antenna? I basically listen to AM radio and sometimes it’s clear when I press the brake pedal for whatever reason it may be.

 

[CincyCuda68]

Which is a very good short antenna? I basically listen to AM radio and sometimes it’s clear when I press the brake pedal for whatever reason it may be.

I put on a 6” rubber antenna because I was tired of taking off the oem one to go through the car was. The stubby is aweful on AM, not bad on FM.

 

[JB1]

Take your oem antenna off, remove the end ball, cut it to your desired length, replace end ball, paint black, reinstall.....freebie

 

[nathan_h]

Does one remove it by twisting by hand or is there more to it?


Almost seems like there is a nut one needs to twist first.

 

[Joshua Collins]

Take your oem antenna off, remove the end ball, cut it to your desired length, replace end ball, paint black, reinstall.....freebie

Have done this on several vehicles with great success. Did the one for the truck cut it down to about 6" put it back together and i painted it black works great dont listen to am though.

 

[gdawg55]

Check out the link below. I have one of these 6 3/4" antennas and it works great.

https://www.theantennasource.com/DODGE/RAM PICKUP/2009-2019 Ram 1500.html#1C

 

[BrewCrew]

Ordered one on Wish for a dollar. Looks like a .50 Cal Bullet. Works great for AM/FM.

 

[88ROOK]

Check out the link below. I have one of these 6 3/4" antennas and it works great.

https://www.theantennasource.com/DODGE/RAM PICKUP/2009-2019 Ram 1500.html#1C

i have that one and it sucks for FM

 

[kad]

Just remember, the antenna is a couple inches taller than your truck, therefore it scrapes garage doors, parking garage roofs, low hanging trees, etc BEFORE your truck does. Without it... Crunch!

I REALLY do not understand why so many people want to shorten the antenna. Other than painting my OEM one black, I've done nothing to mine and it causes no trouble. It doesn't make noise, it doesn't distract me while driving, none of the reasons I've heard given. The only thing it does is occasionally get in the way of snow clearing in the winter.

-K

 

[nathan_h]

I like to keep my rig covered when it's not going to be on the road for a few days (lots of birds around here if you know what I mean) and the cheap ass cover I have doesn't work with the antenna of this size in place....

 

[JB1]

Does one remove it by twisting by hand or is there more to it?


Almost seems like there is a nut one needs to twist first.

remove the ball?....the ball is a press fit so I just hold/grip the anteanna while twisting the ball and pulling outward, just don't let it fly off and lose it. After you cut it to length, you may need to file down the edge to get the ball to fit, just remember it needs to be a tight fit.

 

[nathan_h]

Thanks. That makes sense.

 

[Hitmanx2]

I just replaced my antenna stalk with a rubber stubby. Gives the truck a beefier look lol

 

[RAM DRVR]

Take your oem antenna off, remove the end ball, cut it to your desired length, replace end ball, paint black, reinstall.....freebie

^^ This!

 

[mtnrider]

I do this for a living so let me try and explain how this works..

Vehicle antennas are generally built on what is called a 1/4 wave length design. So their length is 1/4 of the target frequency's wave length. In this case lets go to the middle frequency of the FM band ~98MHz.
That would give you roughly a 30inch antenna for best reception. Go out and measure your stock antenna, I bet it's pretty close to that.
The lower the frequency the longer it would be, the higher the frequency the shorter it would be (or you could go to a full wave length design at higher frequencies).
The antenna is not that length to get up above the roof, it's simply matched to the frequency it is trying to receive.

So cutting a stock antenna down will most definitely make your reception worse. How much? Depends how close you are to the stations, topography around you and transmitter strength of your favorite station. Some of you may be able to cut one down and not notice a thing, others may get very poor reception.
Same theory goes for buying a shorter antenna. Now some of those shorter ones have wire coiled around a center mass trying to get to that ~30 inch length of wire in a shorter length and there are also amplified antennas that try to make up that difference.

Long story short, A shorter antenna will get worse reception. You can't change the physics of antenna design. How much is going to vary on the factors I mentioned above. Some may be fine and others will suffer.



.

 

[nathan_h]

I do this for a living so let me try and explain how this works..

......

Now some of those shorter ones have wire coiled around a center mass trying to get to that ~30 inch length of wire in a shorter length and there are also amplified antennas that try to make up that difference.

Long story short, A shorter antenna will get worse reception. You can't change the physics of antenna design. How much is going to vary on the factors I mentioned above. Some may be fine and others will suffer.

That’s interesting. I wonder whether this coil approach is something mentioned in the marketing materials, to help one shop for and find one.

 

[Micah12]

good insight, i painted my OEM antenna black, cheap, only cost .99

 

[mtnrider]

That’s interesting. I wonder whether this coil approach is something mentioned in the marketing materials, to help one shop for and find one.

Probably not? Most people won't know the difference. It's really no substitute for a standard antenna though. There is not much they can do with the limited room of a stubby antenna.

My 2 cents, if you want the best reception leave it alone. If you want looks and can live with possibly worse reception change it out.

.

 

[JB1]

I cut mine to 15”, seems to work fine but 90% of my driving I listen to Sat radio anyway.

 

[CincyCuda68]

I cut mine to 15”, seems to work fine but 90% of my driving I listen to Sat radio anyway.

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I’m with you, I took mine off for the car wash a year ago and never put it back on lol. XM 100% of the time so no need for it!