I picked up a very short cheapo stubby antenna on Ebay. I'm not sure if I like the short look it not. Thats why I bought a cheap one instead of the high quality stubby from Alta. I think the long antenna gave the MINI some style. What do you all think?


Comparison:

OEM:

Stubby:


And so far reception is no different.

 

Some food for thought... All antennas are a tuned circuit, ie they contain capacitance and inductance. So there is one frequency to which they are most sensitive. This is where the length is half the wavelength of the signal. For the FM broadcast band this is about 1.5 m. For AM radio band this is about 150 m. Obviously a car radio antenna is not this long so it picks up much less signal than it could if it were the correct length. The saving grace is that as the frequency falls the losses through the air also fall. So an antenna of insufficent length will be adequate except in weak signal areas.

 

I second what mikem53 said above.

Strickly speaking on aesthetics (for my taste) I personally like the stock longer antenna. Overall, the AM/FM receiption with that antenna is far better than the "fin" antenna, that came on BMW's that I previously owned.

On another note: I am impressed that the only thing hanging in your garage is the lawn mower catcher! I wish mine was that clean.

 

Which means we can all stop wasting our money on these antenna's and just cut our OEM to any desired length

I opted for the Honda S2k since I had that from my 02 Passat

 

I like my stock antenna.

 

Interesting thoughts from both of you. I didn't change the antenna to worry about reception but looks.

That wall only has the lawn mover catcher and two other parts of the garage have alot of other crap on the walls. So its not that clean

 

The short antennas that use the coil inside are better than a cut-off. The coil inside usually has the 1.5m winding to help improve reception.
I used a shorty on my last car and it was fine for most close stations, but on the road away from metro areas, it was terrible.

 

What are these "stations" of which you speak? ;-)

I put my Dension ice>Link: Plus in the day I brought my MCS home. I don't think I've had the radio on even once in three weeks of ownership!

 

I like em short and stubby. I am not a fan of the stock antenna.

 

The stock antenna is a pain to put a car cover over. It also looks bad IMHO. I just switched to the stubby and am happy.

 

I like my new stubby but my favorite antenna ball looks kind of odd sitting down so low..........................mgg

 

i like the stubby better

and antenna ***** are a definite no-no on a sporty car like the mini

 

I like the stubby better, too. I'm not a huge fan of the RC car look of the factory antenna.


However, I can also understand the antenna ball on a factory antenna. The right ball, under the right circumstances, could be a lot of fun. MINI=FUN

 

mdsbrain, thanks so much for the pics. I have an S2000 antenna but had seen the much shorter one you have on ebay. Its hard to get a sense of scale from on-line product pics, but yours show this mega-shorty antenna in context so it's easier to tell how it actually looks on a MINI. I like it!

 

like the shorter one myself. i think the stock ones are a little too long

 

So mixed opinions. Man I love this. The jury is still out whether I like it or not. So far the only up side is I shaved off a few ounces off the car

 

you are talking atleast a few seconds on your 0-60 time.

I do tend to like both looks, after almost 3 years of having my stubby i thought about going back to the long one. Luckily they are easy to change. Just keep putting on what you find fit

 

Personally I like the RC car look.


Anyone find a longer antenna?

 

Have you considered one used for Trucker's radios?

 

Breaker 1-9. This here's eMINI. Anybody out there got a copy?

 

10-4 good buddy!

 

i ordered a s2000 antenna for 15.75...gets great reception and is about half the length. not TOO stubby but much shorter than the stock antenna. it's also a little fatter which i like. it actually blends in with the base better.

 

I bought the S2000 version and painted it to match the body color. Not for everyone but I like it:





The unexpected up side is now it's easier to find my car in the parking lots.

 

It sure is a different look. Such as I got a black hood scoop for my silver car. :smile: I have a PS/Black contrast look going and I like your LY/B look you got