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What yall doin' for replacement antenna?
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cheekoman
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 10:53 am    Post subject: What yall doin' for replacement antenna? Reply with quote

Hey:

My stock antenna weebles and wobbles like crazy, looks old and rusty too but works great. What have you people done for a replacement without sacrificing reception? Pics are always appreciated.

Thanks!
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allsierra123
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 11:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gowesty sells a nice locking telescoping antenna. it was abut $18 I think. It worked well for me wasnt to bad to install just pulled the radio and the instrument cluster.
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campism
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 12:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I got a similar replacement from Bus Depot, but it does not fit as nicely as the original. Works fine, but seems to be a trifle loose and stays slightly off vertical. Routing the cable will require removing the instrument panel and the ashtray to reach the back of the radio.
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RCB
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 12:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have an 82 Vanagon and recently installed one made by a company called Hirshman. When I saw it online I thought that because of the name , it would be from Germany, but when I got it ,it had a Made in China sticker on it.
I removed the drivers side headlight for installation.It didnt take very long.
Besides the reception which is fine...I like that when you push it all the way down its nearly impossible to tell I have an antenna.
Damn crack monsters break off the antennas in my "hood" and make pipes out of them. I lost about 4 of them in the past few years but the Hirshman sits flush when you push it all the way down, which is unlike the others Ive had that stick up about a foot when pushed all the way down.
I got mine from Go Westy.
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KeninMorganHill
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 12:54 pm    Post subject: Antenna Reply with quote

Am gonna' be replacing my stock manual one with a Hirschman from a Mercedes. "Electric."

- K
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allsierra123
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 12:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i have the same one. And you have can lock it in place with the small jey they sent with it. A lot less likely to be broken off when they have have to dig for something to unlock it.
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PDXWesty
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Hirschman from Go Westy is a stock replacement. I bought one several years ago and it was $35 dollars. Then I saw the price dropped to $18. The price must have dropped when they switched from an actual German part to a Made in China part.
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otiswesty
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:18 pm    Post subject: Re: Antenna Reply with quote

KeninMorganHill wrote:
Am gonna' be replacing my stock manual one with a Hirschman from a Mercedes. "Electric."

- K


You got an electric antenna? Please do tell more!

Shocked
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allsierra123
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

your gonna have trouble getting it in there its a tight fit reaching where it needs to go in the body.
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iceracer
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 2:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok , no laughing but I bought a generic antenna at my local FLAPS and plugged it into the radio via the ashtray and laid it on the dash up by the window. Been that way for a few years. And if I am on the road I just move it around the cab for better reception. Usually ends up in the passenger seat. Probably not the best thing to have laying around in case of an accident. Laughing
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wcdennis
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 4:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I bought one form GoWesty in '04 for $9.95 and it was complete junk. It quickly became so rusty that it wouldn't go up or down. In trying to free it up the threaded part that holds it to the body broke. I have a piece of rubber tubing jammed in the hole to keep it from falling down in the body. I would like one that is just a straight rod (non collapsable) that is exactly one inch higher than the top of the skylight. That way, it would double as a low clearance warning.
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the caveman
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 5:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My german army transporter didn't come with and there isn't a hole. I didn't want to cut one so first i tried just a antenna wire extension. Was better than nothing but not great. so next i tried an amplified one that is meant to stick on a window. Stuck it on the bottom of the inside of my windshield. Works better but sometimes when it's raining i get interferance for the wiper arms [duh ! ]. next i want to try a marine antenna which is just a long wire which can be placed anywhere. Does anybody have experience with those or any other suggestions so i don't have to cut the body?
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Crughy
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 6:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A friend of mine has one from a late audi, it's installed in the back somewhere, on the poptop I think. I never seen it yet. I guess any model can be fit anywhere.

JP
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justcairns
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 6:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bought the cheap one BD sold, junk. Bought a Hirschman on E-bay and is perfect fit.
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photogdave
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 6:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My antenna has been broken off since I've owned the van. Reception has been a-okay so I haven't bothered replacing it.
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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 6:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anyone know of one with a solid wire instead of the cheesy tubes? I have had far better luck with them over the years. They hold up to both being swiped by brush and vandalism better.

Also I haven't tried it on a bus, but on one car I own I just have one of the fairly short black coil type antennas sitting on the dash with the end tied to the rearview mirror. It was supposed to be a temporary stepup until I got a hole drilled in the body, but it has worked so well I have never bothered with a more permanent install.
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msinabottle
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 7:11 pm    Post subject: Rubber! Reply with quote

I just put on a flexible, metal-impregnated neoprene antenna.* Looks pretty good, reception is very good. Have a look!
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I can deal with droopy, and it can deal with branches and the like.

Best!

*(Here's a URL for what looks like the same unit!)

http://tinyurl.com/yqzptg
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Last edited by msinabottle on Fri Apr 25, 2008 9:01 pm; edited 1 time in total
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MattVW
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 10:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

that's what i'm going to install.

a while back I found a solid fiber glass shaft antenna that looks like it screws down onto a mount of some sort. Right now it's sitting in my garage but I found it in a junkyard. I'll probably have to find a mount at radio shack or fabricate my own. I know it'll give really good reception because it's about 3.5 feet long.
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keithwwalker
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hirschmann +1
Was nice that you can retract it and it is mostly flush. It comes with a 'key' to extend - but you can also use a penny coin.
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Volksaholic
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 8:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My '85 had a coat hanger stuck in the remnants of the antenna. I happened to have an antenna from a '67 Bug kicking around so I installed it. The angle of the bezel is about the same as the stock Vanagon antenna.

For those of you with pop-tops I would think you could hide a wire antenna inside the fiberglass and it would work pretty well. That may be a good option for the long wire, but you almost need to run coax to the back so that the attachment point is at the hinge.

A dipole antenna (t-shaped... like the FM antenna that comes with your home stereo) would probably work pretty well up inside the luggage carrier. The hitch with a dipole though is that it will receive FM signals better but won't do as well with AM. They're also fairly directional so if the signal is weak it may come in well when you're heading one direction but drop out if you turn 90º.
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