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Haha. I recently had to buy furniture for my new apartment. While looking online at used furniture, i got sick and tired of seeing the words "vintage," retro (no disrespect toward our friend Retro)," and "antique." No one uses the true word... OLD. SO is our telescoping antenna vintage, retro, or antique?
Haha. I recently had to buy furniture for my new apartment. While looking online at used furniture, i got sick and tired of seeing the words "vintage," retro (no pun toward our friend Retro," and "antique." No one uses the true word... OLD. SO is our telescoping antenna vintage, retro, or antique?
Just to darn delicate! Plus it reminds me of old cordless phones. Feels like I'm in the 70's again. But I think a black rubber one would look ugly on the WGC.
I think the retractable is old also,but for right now it works...lol...The antenna that Retro wants to replace,looks really good,it's just not functional & thats what I want. The best functional replacement (IMO) on the forum has been bb430(Kevin). I just think the rubber ones cheapens the car & the longer they are,the worst they look. When I see them screwed on a Civic, Eclipse, etc...they looked right @ home....but a nice luxury car,whether it's a Lexus or not,just doesn't look right...again this is my own opinion
I think the retractable is old also,but for right now it works...lol...The antenna that Retro wants to replace,looks really good,it's just not functional & thats what I want. The best functional replacement (IMO) on the forum has been bb430(Kevin). I just think the rubber ones cheapens the car & the longer they are,the worst they look. When I see them screwed on a Civic, Eclipse, etc...they looked right @ home....but a nice luxury car,whether it's a Lexus or not,just doesn't look right...again this is my own opinion
I think the antenna I put on is 'supposed' to be functional if it were screwed into a stationary base like the S2000. But I doubt it would have very good reception. Probably not even any better than without it at all. It is just a solid piece of aluminum with threads cut into it.
Most short antennas completely depend on antenna amplifiers and also have a very long coil of wire inside. The reason 'real' short antennas are rubber is because of that coil inside. A metal body would block the signal.
The reason that radio antennas are long is because of the wavelengths they are expected to receive. A short antenna would completely kill AM. You'll notice that even a handheld radio has a very long antenna. The length of the antenna is directly related to the wavelength of a frequency.
Active antennas and amplifiers can help to get away with less than quarter wavelength antennas.
Point being that if you are going to switch to a shorter antenna and expect to still have good reception, you should also install an active amplifier and power it off 12V.
Once I get the audio system the way I want it, I doubt I will be listening to the AM/FM radio very much. I've been thinking about maybe converting that antenna mast into a cellular antenna for the mobile wifi I am installing. XM radio which is around 2.4GHz can also use a very short antenna (the lower the frequency, the longer the antenna needed.)
If anyone is geeky enough to be interested, here is a calculator that helps to explain it:
http://www.csgnetwork.com/antennagen...eqlencalc.html
FM Radio is 88-108Mhz (1/4 wavelength is 32 inches)
AM is approx. 540-1620Khz (a 1/4 wavelength antenna would be 433 feet!) inside most AM radios, you will find a huge coil to make up the difference from the antenna length.)
Unfortunately, a quick search didn't result in an easy visual explanation.
As I only listen to NPR, I have great reception wherever I am using the S2000 whip. Otherwise I just stream NPR on my Iphone through the Bluetrip wireless.
Finally, got around to detailing the interior. Did a lot of windows and top own driving this summer. Been almost 6 months since my last interior detail. So much dirt, especially in the back seats!
Removed the passenger kick panel and sprayed it with flat black as part of my slow interior re-coloring. I will also be upgrading the foot lights with the 9 LED panels. Considering adding a switch to turn it on manually (passenger side only.) I will be making a custom bracket for the lamp today to make it look more OEM.
The kick panel will be out for a bit as I have some other mods planned in this area.
Installed LED lights in the trunk. I will be installing two power outlets in there as well hopefully this weekend. Also working to install a rechargeable worklight (Mounted in a dock) in the trunk space as well.
Removed the license plate lights and backup lights to convert to LED. Had to clean the heck out of them. After removing a ton of caked on sand/dirt, I filled the lenses about half way with water and oxiclean dishwashing liquid and a scale remover. Let it sit for about 20 minutes and then shook vigorously. Cleaned the lenses up very nicely. Dried them out on the furnace register over night.
Still working on the LED mods for these.
Planning to wrap up several smaller mods I had been working on later tonight.
Last weekend, I decided to polish my headlights.
If your headlights are starting to show some age, I can vouch for meguiar's headlight restoration kit.
This stuff works! My headlights looks brand new.
01-02-16, 05:52 PM
