Stopitnow

So, as you can figure, I am putting an antenna from an IS350 on my IS300.
To start, I have searched high and low for anybody else who has done this, and have found nothing.

So, yesterday i went to the stealership because I still had money to burn.
I ordered the antenna, and it came in, btw they are color coded so it was easy to decide which one I wanted, black of course ! The antenna assembly costs 185 at Lexus of Viera Florida

I dont know what kind of RF connector is in my IS300, but on the new antenna it looks like a version of the pcb sma connector, figuring mine is going to have similar cable and possibly connection, I went to radio shack and picked up some sma connectors in case I have to cut the wire, which I know will create dB loss, but done right, it will be minimal

The new antenna does NOT come with mounting hardware, so for those who are interested in how this goes, you will have to find a nut that will hold the antenna to the roof.

I can imagine that I will have to possibly drill a hole in my roof, or enlarge the ones already there, but I figure its fine because this antenna belongs on the car, and its not a cheap ebay knockoff that doesnt work.

other than that, I dont think I will encounter any real issues, I may have to go back to lexus and pick up the wire assembly, but this is a learning process so I will do whats necessary to get it done in a decent manner

Stopitnow

so about 5 minutes of doing nothing I decided to snap this give a clear picture of what the connection looks like

I am aware that the Is350 antenna is not an fm antenna, but this is just an experiment, the is350 has its antenna in the glass, this is actuall the xm antenna, so either way, because i have xm, this is going to work

Zstuddin

Good luck, should look pretty good

Stopitnow

Ok so I got it on, I have pics will upload later. Long story short, I had some minor cutting to do to get it on, was a bout to tughten it down, when i broke my only sma wire splice, but its on, and I have had nothing but compliments about it.

Zstuddin

have a walk through?

Stopitnow

walk through , like a DIY. ok here goes,
1. Buy the antenna, 2007 and up, in 2006 it was an option I believe.
2. heres the tricky part. pull the two clips out of the back of your headliner, and pull on the headliner( it wont break)
3. 2 10mm nuts hold the factory antenna, remove those and unplug the two wires that are right of the center of the roof, bam and the antenna is off without having to take the headliner out.
4. take the new antenna, cut the pigtail off of it, and cut the pigtail off the old antenna, ( not the sma type, but the sma coax, with is a standard antenna wire, plice the old normal antenna connector, to the new antenna using SMA type splices, eaisly found at radio shack.
5 heat shink over this connection.

6. the serious part, look at the bottom of the new antenna, notice the pin, and the shape of the base that extends through the roof, good, now take a crayon and trace that shape roughly onto the roof, ( making the round hole into a D shape basically, and elongating the factory hole towards the rear of the roof. Use a carbide bit( like the ones we use to port and polish heads with) and carefully grind away, if you slip up, its your paint, and if you go to deep, its your headliner.

7. bolt the antenna on( best done with a friend to hold the antenna down), plug it in, and go to your XM radio and switch over the wires, using the appropriate adapters, ( if you know anything about RF, then you spliced like a surgeon, and dont have much loss).

Since i broke my connector, and radio hut doesnt get anymore till friday, i havent been able to get attenuation values to calibrate the new antenna, now do i know the loss or frequency range, but will post soon, as I have 5 people lined up who want this antenna even if it doesnt work, so if you want it, but still want fm, wait , or hide a normal antenna in your trunk lid, and have the blade antenna for a modern look. Sorry to be a smart a$$, just me being me

Stopitnow

thats what it looks like on mine, I live down a dirt road, so pardon the dirty appearance

Zstuddin

looks good!!!

AltezaFan

Looks good ! way better than a shorty imo.