Stubby antenna, freaking waste of money!

Antenna design is tied to the technology in the antenna and the reception frequency...mostly its physics and there are limits to what can be done and not impact reception performance.

It’s Why the “stubby” antennas 1) don't perform as well as the OEM antenna and 2) its why our trucks didn’t come from the factory with a stubby antenna. If it did come from the factory with a stubby antenna we’d all be bitching that the radio in our brand new truck was garbage and there would be threads all over this forum about how Toyota effed it up

In some cases if you are close to the radio station broadcast antenna with good line of sight, the stubbier can work ok. Reality says, For most of us it doesn’t work out that way.

I hate removing my stock antenna stalk for the car wash but could give two effs as to what it looks like. It just needs to work and I HATE static on my local radio stations.

I have thought about getting an electric antenna but they can be a pain in the ass too because they typically have nylon gears and those eventually wear out.

Cheers

 

I got the original too bc i thought it would attract more chicks...now i have no chicks and no reception....i switched back to the oem...and atleast get good reception meow

 

This^^^^^. I've tested several different stubbies of various lengths and none of them had improved reception over OEM. How could they? The shorter stubbies totally failed up in the mountains here which was to be expected and the OEM performed way better up there. I went to OEM on my 07 and will be going back to OEM on my 14.
Nothing to do with XM though.

 

I have a 13" rydonair, or something like that and it works perfectly. I have to tighten it up once in a while, but otherwise I get fine reception and it looks great.

 

I was getting static with my oem, perhaps you can have too much signal like OTA tv

 

Same, mine works fine but I bought it mainly for looks.

 

I bet OPs antennae was built in the sweat shop when they had the new 5 year olds in for training. The 8 year old techs usually do a better job.

 

I got mine for looks and because while reversing under some tree branches I had the stock antenna whip my windhsield once and my A pillar once, the second of which bent the antenna. I dont want my wiindshield cracking or paint chips in my truck...

 

I too got mine mostly for looks but haven't had any issues with it. My factory one was bent at the base or I probably wouldn't have replaced it. Half the time I use my phone over Bluetooth anyway since the radio is on commercials.

 

FYI, for the canadians out there eading this thinking they want a shorter antenna - about a week after I paid 25 bucks for mine from Amazon I noticed Canadian Tire has a roughly 12 or 13" long short antenna in stock with the car audio section for like 15 bucks...I would have gotten that had I had known.

 

bought one for like $30 from Amazon and it works fine but all depends on where I'm driving but rarely use my radio have google play. Pretty much just bought mine for looks.

 

I agree with Ferguson, XM is separate and uses the antennae on the roof. Why Yo can't integrate the two like Chev is beyond me.
I use XM only and on day one I take off the screw in antennae and put a plastic bolt in until I sell it.
I go from 15MPG to 15MPG due to the reduction in wind resistance (no gas savings, just a joke).

Bear

 

just remember this is from very old memory ...

automotive antenna are quarter length of the wave (based on the middle of the fm band which is around 100) which comes out to ~31 inches. as long as you are doing the length as a division of 2 (1/2 wave) or 4 (quarter wave), the reception should come out ok.

if you go by that reasoning in your post, then the XM antenna shouldnt work, but in reality if you break open a XM antenna, it has a coil around 31 inches inside if i remember correctly from an old shark fin taken apart.

 

Yes you are correct...the technology in the antenna...in other words how the antenna is designed. My guess is the stubby antennas are based 1/4 wave design assumptions and 1/4 wave antennas are less efficient (low impedance) than 1/2 wave (higher impedance).

 

I tried it too, and it didn't work for me either. I just returned it.

 

I know you are talking about stubby antennas but I removed mine and ordered a antenna splitter for my cb radio and it works great. I only have one antenna.

 

So to sum this entire thread up.....

- You won't know if it works until you try it.

- They are NOT all junk.

- Buy from somewhere you have a chance to return it.

- They look cooler and won't break in an auto carwash.

- XM will work with or without your OEM wire antenna.

- Chicks don't dig stubbys: size does matter.

Anything else?

 

Size matters...like I always tell the ladies - It may not be long, but it sure is skinny

 

Radio? People still use that? I will admit I bought my stubby just for looks

 

Sorry to hear the stubby's not working for you...I've installed this one and have had -0- issues. Good luck!
AntennaMastsRus - The Original 6 3/4 Inch is Compatible with Toyota Tundra (2000-2020) - Car Wash Proof Short Rubber Antenna - Internal Copper Coil - Premium Reception - German Engineered

 

I live in city center more or less and when I removed oem antenna my radio still worked with all the channels I listened to. I threw on the stubby for looks after that. Drive all up and down southern california and still get radio just fine.

 

ok...I'll play...I ordered one...if it works and I dont have to take it off for the car wash I'm happy...I will follow up next week.

 

Anytime I say who is this singer never heard of them ... My wife laughs and says because they are not on AM. lol

Btw if your antenna hits your garage door and/or under ceiling storage, they sell one that is only 2-3" shorter and I haven't noticed ANY performance issues.

 

Mine is not supposed to go in a car wash (not that I’d ever go into a drive through car wash anyways) but like I mentioned earlier my original long antenna got hung up on some brush and whipped towards the truck and smacked it on 2 separate occasions. This ended up loosening the base...it pulls away from my truck a lot more than I’m comfortable with, I’d be more worried about that than bending a cheap antenna.

 

Here is mine from a bit of a distance, ive posted this pic elsewhere, but here it is for those who havent seen it.

 

I actually have used the xm and Fm a couple times here and there and the antenna seemed to work fine. It was a cheap $12 4” one from Amazon, came from China or something

edit: I also plasti-dipped it because a pc was carbon fiber replica and I just wanted black

 

I just put mine on yesterday and I have to say, I hear no difference from the stock whip. Stations come in clear with no static. I’m please with it.