s13 coupe: thoughts on non-visible antennas

[DALAZ_68]

so a couple of weeks ago due to a drunken moment, a buddy of mine bent/twisted/ (eventually broke off while driving the top section) my stock antenna (obviously it doesnt go down)

ive been thinking since then replacing it with a stubby antenna as i know some have,

but then i got to thinking, why not one of those non visible antennas that go unde the dash or somewhere that u can see it...since im planning on re painting the car sometime in the future, i can plug the hole nicely and paint over it...

ive always liked the look of a car not having a long piece of metal sticking out, and i personally think it gives the car a cleaner look.


since i havent seen anyone locally have this done, im just wondering if anyone on the forums has an internal antenna, were its mounted, how they mounted, cost, reception, and if its worth the trouble.

any input on this would be greatly appreciated,

to answer some questions

1. No, i dont wanna just take off my antenna and put one of those black plugs, shits gay IMO and my car is most likely cleaner looking than urs so GTFO.

2. Yes, i do have an ipod and listen to it fequently, but i like the option of having my radio work when my pod dies/ i forget to charge it.

3. Yes im looking for a name brand type of internal antenna, not egay shit.

4. Yes if u want to ask a question about these antennas in this thread please do, its better than opening up a new one.

5. No, im not looking for one of the units that has to be stuck to the side of the front/rear windshield, theres a reason why the title thread says non-visible.


thank you for you help

[BustedS13]

shaved mine as a teenager. didn't weld it shut. still hasn't started showing, unlike my third brake light and pretty much all the other bondo on the car. plan on redoing it all in time.

from a distance though, yes, it looks much better. and i still get decent reception with the chunk of antenna rattling around in the quarter panel. do a patch antenna on the back window, though. i never did because i didn't listen to FM at the time.

my CL has its antenna on the rear window. it looks like a defroster, and gets killer reception

[ThatGuy]

I used to run one of these "hidden antennas" in my Coupe.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31inCOxT%2B0L._SL500_AA250_.jpg
I had mounted against the roof, hidden behind the headliner.

It worked, but not nearly as well as the stock power antenna worked. It would only pick up the strongest local channels, and even then it was static-ridden.

My :2c:.

It may have worked better mounted to the glass, but I just wasn't happy with it. Reinstalled my stock power antenna, and haven't bothered with it again. It's still in the roof. :ddog:

[mehsilvia]

shaved mine as a teenager. didn't weld it shut. still hasn't started showing, unlike my third brake light and pretty much all the other bondo on the car. plan on redoing it all in time.

from a distance though, yes, it looks much better.

third brake light gets too much stress and vibration from the flexing and slaming of the hatch/trunk. my bondo fill kept cracking too



Steve,

I believe there are also antennas that can hide along the windshield, up under the pillar covers/headliner trim. You got me curious, im gonna do some searching.

*edit* yeah, like ThatGuy said

[DALAZ_68]

shaved mine as a teenager. didn't weld it shut. still hasn't started showing, unlike my third brake light and pretty much all the other bondo on the car. plan on redoing it all in time.



im just shaving the antenna, for now...

that CL antenna sounds interesting, any chance u can take a pic?





I used to run one of these "hidden antennas" in my Coupe.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31inCOxT%2B0L._SL500_AA250_.jpg
I had mounted against the roof, hidden behind the headliner.

It worked, but not nearly as well as the stock power antenna worked. It would only pick up the strongest local channels, and even then it was static-ridden.

My :2c:.

It may have worked better mounted to the glass, but I just wasn't happy with it. Reinstalled my stock power antenna, and haven't bothered with it again. It's still in the roof. :ddog:

i only listen to 6 local channels, but even now with the broken stock antenna, its riddled with static...its horrid...

third brake light gets too much stress and vibration from the flexing and slaming of the hatch/trunk. my bondo fill kept cracking too



Steve,

I believe there are also antennas that can hide along the windshield, up under the pillar covers/headliner trim. You got me curious, im gonna do some searching.

*edit* yeah, like ThatGuy said


thanks bubbbah, ima continue searching here aswell

i cant for the life of me remember what antenna my old car had, it was in the dash, and perfect reception...FML...then again, it was 5 years ago