Preowner

I will eventually install an aftermarket HU with Sirius that I had in my last car. I've just been wondering about trying to hide the antenna a bit. I have sofar come down to 2 ideas.

- Paint the antenna and tail to match the body color and put it in the normal spot on the roof.
or
- Mount it up under the sunroof.

I like the sunroof spot, but it's pretty damn cramped between the glass and the sliding door. The only thing I can think of is to servo tape it to the top side of the door near the grip indentation and just let the cord flex when sliding the door back and forth.

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

get the lower profile antenna... its a round black thing about the size of a half dollar and pretty damn thin too

Misery5567

I mounted mine on the roof, directly above the center of the windshield and right up against it.
Wire runs behind weather stripping to the door jam and into the car.

You can also mount them on your rear deck inside the car between your speakers or in the center
of the dash up next to the windshield. Either are great places.

Moza13-

my xm antena thing is mounted on the roof. right by above the rear windshield in the center.

Preowner

In my previous car I did the usual spot just above the rear window. I wanted to change things up a bit this time around and make it look nicer than a black "rat tail". Not that it realy looks bad though.

Those "dot" antennas don't get very good reviews. Though, mostly the cord breaks because they don't come with a tail/cover. Interior use would be no problem.

The rear window deck isn't a bad idea. I imagine if you hit an incline in the right direction, reception cuts out. The Sirius satellites are appearantly not geosynchronous, so they move around the sky.

Any idea if anyone makes hollow shark fins to cover the antennas? The cable would still need to be dealt with... drill through the roof?

Preowner

Well I just got a cheap fin off ebay to play with. It will need some modification to work, and definately paint. Its pretty small and would put the antenna right next to the edge of the roof, which I hear isn't the best for reception.

Here's some pics:


And here is the best pic I got of it setting on the car:


I'm undecided. Though, will probably mess with it until I find an alternative that I like. Any thoughts?

And for the fin haters out there (I know there are alot of you) just copy and paste this to save some effort and get it over with : That thing looks ugly as hell! You must be a moron to even think of puting that on a cobalt!!

tricky1

That thing looks ugly as hell! You must be a moron to even think of puting that on a cobalt!!

denlou

get it painted to match and it might not look bad...

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

eh im not a fan of the fin... looks wierd imo. but black or vic red would blend much better

berto

YOU SHOULD OF PIANTED IT RED OR BLACK
SO IT CAN LOOK STOCK

SilverG5

That's where I mounted it in my girlfriends car.

Preowner

There ya go, let it out. eheheh



Paint match:
They only came in silver or black. It will never touch the car again if it stays that way.

I would like it more though if it wasn't quite as tall

SilverG5:
How is the reception? Any special mounting or just sitting there on the fabric?

That is tempting

SilverG5

I have it velcroed back by the rear window in the center of the back panel. Reception is just as good as it being mounted on the outside. I have one mounted on the dash of my mr2 also and one mounted under the wiper cowl on my sonoma.

trent_ky

is the factory xm antenna just a magnet or is there a hole under there? i had to install another one id like to get rid of at least one antenna...its looking a bit like an unmarked police car

Preowner

I like the wiper cowel spot. Very sneaky! Ooh.. Just got the idea of plunking it under the rear deck fabric. I still have the original sportster I used before I changed setups (to nix the FM modulator), so I can use that at least to test reception.


There must be a hole for the wire somewhere. I know what your talking about; originally when I was toying with the fin idea I thought of plugging the stock AM/FM spot and running it up the roof to the fin too. That's a little much though.

blazinb

I have the flat silver dollar sized one thats magnetic. I ran all the wires back through to the trunk tied up all the wires and all and the magnet sits right on the trunk by the back windshield. Easy to remove for a show or whatev, but you cant even see it on the road while driving.

FuriouS

Rear deck, inside the car.

blkcobalt

I have mine mounted in the center of the trunk lid, along the front edge. It is not really that noticeable there, and the spoiler kind of hides it from the rear. I haven't noticed any reception issues either.

SilverG5

That idea probably won't work, there's more than just fabric there. When you mount the antenna on the inside of the car, you want the signal to just be going through the glass and nothing else or your gonna get poor reception.

Preowner

Yeah it's probably got foam and a plastic backing before it hits the sheet metal. We'll see.



Ive got other concerns atm. Last night I got tagged by a flying Elantra that bounced off a Dodge Ram. Sometimes it's just not worth the 20cents you will save when turning left across 3 lanes into the "cheaper" gass station. Now the lady has a ticket to pay and a totaled car. Her son (passenger) would have been hurt pretty bad too had the truck not been able to swerve a bit.

I got off with a scratched rear bumper and the side of the lip nearly cracked all the way off. lucky for me she spun into the car behind me first.

Way off topic, just blowing off some steam. Only had the car about 4 months now.