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Aerial

13K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  Davec86  
#1 ·
Hi
Eveyone seems to be putting polo aerials? Why not just put a 5 pound stubby aerial you can get from any autoparts shop? Is there a specific reason?

I was thinking of a shark fin aerial aswell, does anyone already own one? Do they better or worse the signal?

If you put something like this would you see the wire coming out of the aerial or would it be underneath?

http://www.ebay.it/itm/VW-Auto-Spor...hantenne-/130778188555?pt=Accessoires_Weitere_Kleidung&var=&hash=item1e72fccb0b

Thanks for your answers
James
 
#3 ·
Nothing is wrong with the Up! Aerial. Some Up! owners believe they can make improvements to the look and operation. I myself have replaced the aerial with a twisted wire coat hanger and the headlights with ultra bright candles. I am struggling to get the candles to self ignite at the moment.
 
#4 ·
Beevee said:
Nothing is wrong with the Up! Aerial. Some Up! owners believe they can make improvements to the look and operation. I myself have replaced the aerial with a twisted wire coat hanger and the headlights with ultra bright candles. I am struggling to get the candles to self ignite at the moment.
Ultra bright candles are a MOT failure! You need to get yourself some gas lights from the 19th century.
Image
 
#5 ·
haha very funny I m not about all those mods with lights ecc... I just don't want a 6ft aerial :) I promise I won't touch anything else except the 15'' wheels I've ordered and putting a light in boot and arm rest :)
 
#6 ·
Only joking with you scarja. You do whatever you want, it is your car after all. I hope you enjoy your Up! and have it to your liking. All the best.
 
#7 ·
Haha I had a spare aerial from my old polo same length as the up! Standard aerial so I cut it down to make it look better, I've read somewhere that the cheap bee stings for ÂŁ5 or so don't fit correctly, I mean the screw threads fit but the actual thing doesnt sit well!
 
#8 ·
OK, with my Ham radio knowledge , you have to remember that the antenna is a 'tuned' part of the system, the right (electrical) length is important.....hence the helical wire element.

To maximise gain and therefore signal strength, why would you want to change this ?? I suppose if you lived in a strong signal area i.e. a city, it wouldn't matter that much but out in the fringes of reception, a stubby untuned antenna will kill your signal quality and we all know the standard up receiver is pants as far as sensitivity goes.



IMHO, this is a classic case of if it ain't bust don't fix it......keep the hirschmann original
 
#9 ·
oh, and my ÂŁ0.02p worth....the lights, I have added osram night breakers as we have no street lighting and there IS a big Improvement to be had.
 
#10 ·
Privatedoc said:
oh, and my ÂŁ0.02p worth....the lights, I have added osram night breakers as we have no street lighting and there IS a big Improvement to be had.
Hi John. I don't mean to be an old fart but I just get so fed up with drivers who have put in ultra bright headlights and then drive so close behind me that my cabin is filled with light. Even though I dip the rear view mirror I am dazzled by the reflection in the wing mirror. I find it both intimidating and hazardous. Surely the driver behind must see what his ultra bright lights are doing to the car in front.
 
#11 ·
I don't believe it is ultra bright lights as it were, it's light that are incorrectly adjusted generally, or 4x4s in my experience.
My lights are less bright that most HIDs etc, so I don't see them as a problem, even if you do.
That aside, my take on the aerial is this, it looks like cack, so it's been removed. My car looks soo much better without it, and not like stupid massive remote control car anymore :-D
 
#13 ·
Davec86 said:
I don't believe it is ultra bright lights as it were, it's light that are incorrectly adjusted generally, or 4x4s in my experience.
My lights are less bright that most HIDs etc, so I don't see them as a problem, even if you do.
That aside, my take on the aerial is this, it looks like cack, so it's been removed. My car looks soo much better without it, and not like stupid massive remote control car anymore :-D
No need to be so aggressive. I only speak as I find. Is it too difficult to allow others to think differently.
 
#15 ·
Well said Dave. What a boring world it would be if everyone held the same point of view. No doubt you are a considerate driver who keeps a reasonable distance from the car in front.
 
#17 ·
Derkie54 said:
What is wrong with the UP! aerial ?
In my case, it catches on one of the up-and-over door's cross members each time the door is raised/lowered.
I had the same problem some years back with our Vauxhall Agila. The guy at Road Radio said I'd be OK to simply cut it short and the radio would work fine. In fact, I was able to swap the Vaux 's aerial for a shorter Honda CRV aerial and the Vaux radio worked fine. But that was a simple radio.
With the latest technology, I'm reluctant to 'mess around' in case a different aerial does upset some feature or other. I'm thinking particularly of the traffic update feature of M&M. I wouldn't want to risk adversely affecting its performance in any way by changing the aerial. And that's exactly what I think PrivateDoc is alluding to - so thank you!
 
#18 ·
I changed it for the shortest one I could find on eBay.1)Becauseof the roof box.
2) I neveruse the radio. All playback is done from the SD card (lossless flac).
 
#20 ·
You make me laugh Dave. I would be scared stiff to do anything like that. More power to you, I must admit I am impressed with the boot light you fitted.