I recently got tired of having my antenna catch on branches on the trail and suddenly getting flung back against the side of the windshield or watching it dance around until it finally came to a rest, just to start all over again at the next branch. I have looked around for stubby antenna's in the local auto parts stores. There are a few out there, but they do not have an adapter that fits the Jeeps mounting hole. AntennaX does have one that fits the Jeeps, so I ordered one. There is a considerable lenght difference between the two. I did drive around and find a good station that just started to fade out with the OEM antenna. So I had a good reference point to see if there was much of a difference between the reception with the AntennaX antenna over the OEM antenna. I did drive in a circle to see if blocking the antenna caused a difference and couldn't hear much with the OEM antenna. After I installed the AntennaX antenna I went back to the same spot and again drove in a circle. The only difference I heard was when the antenna became blocked by the bulk of the Jeep. At this point the station faded a little more. To be fair I was trying to hit a radio station that was about an hour drive away, so if your cruising your local stations you will be fine. After driving around for a few days I have realized that in a few place the reception is actually better than the OEM.
Additional
Parts:
Tools
Needed:
3/8" Open end wrench
The antenna comes with the adapter in just a basic container. No instructions, but we should be able to figure this out, just like muffler bearings and blinker fluid.
Installation:
1. Remove the OEM antenna. The Antenna base has two flats on it that fit a 3/8" open end wrench. Unscrew the antenna from the base.
2. Remove the Antenna from it's packaging, don't lose the small adapter that is in the bottom of the package.
Quick comparison on length. 31" vs 13" Size doesn't really matter.
3. Check your antenna, the base on mine was loose, so I unscrewed it and hand tightened the stud on the inside. The base has an o-ring on the antenna side to seal it when you screw it back on.
4. Screw the adapter into the base of the antenna. You only need to go hand tight, there is no way to really tighten it without using a pair of pliers.
The first time I went to install the antenna I couldn't get it to line up and screw in. I discovered that the plastic cap hadn't been fully installed at the factory, it was sticking out from the body, so make sure it's pushed all the way on before you try to install the antenna.
5. Install the antenna. Carefully screw the antenna into the base. It will be tight against the side of the plastic cover, so be careful that you get the threads to engage properly before you try to screw it down hard. I was able to put this on by hand and get it pretty tight to the base, so no tools are needed.
Here is what it looks like done. From the drivers seat you can just see the antenna poking up.
