Hey guys, well the power antenna in my 91 Trans Am died not too long ago. So I was wondering if it would be wise to just buy another power antenna or if there are other alternatives. I'm just not sure how well a 3 foot tall fixed mast antenna would look on my car though. Pointers?

anybody try these?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Power...item518efddbde

 

Put the antenna under the dash

 

Buy a concealed antenna? Is their signal any good?

 

Get a regular old antenna about 3' long, but then you'll have a hole where the old antenna was. Rubber plugs are a good temporary fix.

 

I'd say you have several options.

1 - figure out what is wrong with your antenna now, what are the symptoms? Power antenna typically fail by breaking the plastic internal cable that moves the antenna up and down. The fix is not that hard and costs about $20.

2 - replace with a fixed antenna, this is pretty easy and removes complication from your system, one less electronic item. I wouldn't do this as I think fixed antennas look ugly. You could probably do this for about $20

3 - use a hidden antenna. You could hide a full size antenna under the dash or use your rear defroster as an antenna (do a google search). I would only do this if you are willing to fill the hole in the fender properly (patch, body work, paint). To do it right i'd think you'd be looking at $1000-$2000.

My recommendation would be to stick with the power antenna.

 

When i got my car the power antenna was broken, it wouldn't go down. I looked all over for a stock one, but the prices were ridiculous!

Finally went with a fixed (non power) antenna. At first it look wierd but I got used to it now. I actually like it better! The less power crap the better imo. Cost me like 10 bucks on ebay.

 

you can find non powered antenas at Autozone for 10 to 14 dollars, or at walmart for about 8, they are only one foot tall

 

A good antenna needs to be above the roofline of the car.

 

Anybody try one of those short stubby black ones?

 

Well my power antenna failed pretty suddenly. The motor unit seems to work, but it just doesn't wanna go up or down. At first, it would go up, but I need to push it a little to get it back down. Now it is stuck completely and wouldn't go down even if I push it. Not sure how it is going up since its stuck lol. I disconnected the wires from the motor since it would keep going forever lol.

I'm actually leaning towards the concealed antenna method. My convertible doesn't have a rear defroster so that's out of the question. But I might get a regular antenna and just throw it under the dash like Blind Driver suggested. My car needs paint and front fenders anyway so one I'll get the new fenders, and I can patch the antenna hole myself and then have the whole car painted. Anybody did the dash method? How's the reception?

 

any idea where to get the replacement cable?? i tried ordering one from gmpartsdirect.com and they said they were on back order. i have been waiting about 6 months so it doesn't look promising.


just checked with gm.. the part is discontinued. that SUCKS.

 

they have those as well, but i didnt like how they looked, besides ive gone trough 2 of those antennas( both the amplified and regular) without a problem

 

I was just at a stereo shop. Got my baffles and 4x6 speakers. The shop had a inside mount antenna for $30.

It's about 2" tall by 12" wide. That's the one I'll buy if my antenna ever craps out.

*edit* Here it is http://www.scosche.com/products/productID/1052

Scosche seems to have a bunch of cool products

 

musclecar70sfan,

That sounds like the typical power antenna cable breakage. I bought the parts from gmpartsdirect about 8 months ago to repair my antenna. It was a piece of cake. Do a search here for the part numbers. I'll check if I have some time. Hopefully they aren't back ordered.

I have not personally heard a setup with a hidden antenna but I would expect the reception to by noticeably worse than a normal setup. That may or may not be important to you. You would also have to do a little work to make sure it doesn't rattle around, but that shouldn't be to hard. Maybe look into an antenna meant for this purpose. Like this:

http://www.ecshylites.com/page/page/761353.htm

Actually I really like the idea of the antenna above the headliner. Reception should be much better than under the dash.

 

By the looks of it, what greatpumpkin said about his cable order doesn't sound very promising. The headliner thing sounds like a good idea as well but my Trans Am is a convertible so that's a no go. That link you sent me seems interesting. I might try that, and 40 bucks isn't that expensive... considering the cost of a replacement power antenna unit. I might get one from a junkyard; are these power antennas used in more vehicles apart from firebirds/camaros?

EDIT: I know different cars use power antennas but I meant to ask if they use the same model as the thirdgens lol. just thought i'd clear that up

 

Same thing happened to me but i went with a small rubber ant.

 

Those don't look too bad either. Did you lose any reception with that one?

 

Unless I was desperately broke, I'd replace it with a power antenna. I like the clean looks when down. A fixed antenna, to me, doesn't look good at all, especially when it's in the front of the passenger. If they had rear mounted it, it probably wouldn't look so bad. The short stuby antenna looks even worse. It's fat and very noticable.

There is another option with fixed antennas that's a good compromise. Get one that is manually extendable. Then you can have it up or down and no motor to fail. Just don't do it while driving!

I also like being able to put the antenna down on my convertible. With it up, I can hear the wind noise from it. Putting it down when not needed actually makes the wind noise slightly quieter.

Any antenna that's not verticle for FM radio (FM waves work best for vertical orientation) or that's too short or not the correct length to roughly match the harmonic resonance of the FM wave frequency will degrade reception. Just making or buying an antenna that's a random length or one that's meant for something else (am, cb, etc) will also compromise reception.
If you live near the radio station's tower, you may not notice any issues as the signal strength is strong enough to overcome any reception short-comings. However, if you live on the fringe of reception, you'll have issues.

Or, you could try satellite radio.

 

No I didn't lose any reception, i think the wire is just coiled up inside the small rubber ant. It would be equal to a regular ant.

 

I don't know, it looks in stock to me. GM part number 22038195 $18 at gmpartsdirect.com

EDIT: Once you add it to your cart, it shows discontinued. Maybe you can find it on one of the sponsers sites.

 

Going back to Power is too expensive, not worth it.

I purchased this from Autozone, Part# AW-UL105 which fits beautifully in place of the old antenna. $10

Removed the tire and the cover, pulled the power antenna and threw it away like a bad tooth ( it's pretty heavy actually, saves some gas ) and installed it from inside of the fender. You can even use your old stock dome cap to go with washer and the retainer that come with the kit.

It's a telescopic antenna, extends 37" and goes all the way down into the fender.

 

That's interesting. So it's a manual telescopic antenna I'm assuming? How does it look when its fully extended? And this is kind of a dumb question, but do they have any good reception when they're not extended?

 

Yes manual telescopic.

Well, it looks just like the stock antenna when extended.

For best reception it has to be fully extended.

 

If you dont want to go inside the fender you can buy a mast replacement for cheap, cut the stock mast two inches above the fender and install the replacement mast over that. The kit comes with all the stuff you need.

 

That's ok, I'm replacing the fenders in my car anyway so I'll just completely remove the old antenna

 

I found that for a lousy 70.00 it is well worth replacing.. How often is it going to go out? I like the look of the hidden antenna and am going to keep my Trans Am looking like it is supposed to look.
I doubt if 70.00 is going to break anyone's budget..

 

What's wrong with a 3' tall fixed antenna?it's 3' tall when your driving it.

 

I went to autozone and bought their rapture 14" antenna, it's small but metal and looks identical to the original, and believe it or not I get better reception than I was getting. It cost me a total of like $11 new. It's the same size as the rubber ones

 

I had mine shaved off during new paint and am using this antenna. Its great on about 90% of the channels nice and clear unfortunately my favorite 2 stations can fade in and out a little.I have gotten to the point that the CD player is my best friend when I "cant stand" the commercials any more.
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...na+-+universal
When it comes to chain auto part stores,just be careful with the packaging and take the darn thing back if you don't like it.

 

Well, when the power antenna on my 93 Grand Prix broke, I went to the J/Y and pulled one out of a Regal. Worked fine once I got the motor contact situation right (completely cleaned and greased it inside but got the motor contact wheel messed up so it didn't run for months). Cost me $10.

Now, since I have a manual antenna (which doesn't ground to the fender right because the nut is FUBARed), I'm thinking of replacing it with something Classic Industries sells called the "Smart Antenna". From what I've read about it, it basically uses the entire chassis of the car as an antenna. But it was $90 the last time I looked .

 

Agree with this one. Mine is mounted just behind the rear view mirror. 95% of people won't even notice it. I only see it because I look in the rear view mirror .

I also agree with some other people, wish ours were rear mounted like the vettes. Just looks nicer.

--Chris

 

Here is a picture of mine.

 

I'd be interested for someone to post a link of the manually retractable antenna. I've got a powered one on my GTA and it has never worked the duration of me owning the car.

 

You can convert your power antenna to manually retractable without damaging the motor. Remove the power unit and when it's fully retracted, cut the plastic cable. Reistall power unit. Then, on the antenna itself you have to pinch the 3 telescoping points just a bit so that the friction will hold up the antenna. Push it down with your finger when you want to hide it, and in order to pull it up out of it's gopher hole, make yourself a little "J" shaped tool out of a paper clip. I did this as a temporary measure until I could get a new mast.

 

I'd fix the power antenna or replace it with whats original to the car..

 

I would fix the broken mast with a replacement from Autozone or Advance. They do not cost much to replace. This would keep the original look. You have to remember our power antenna is always being used. Personally I like the power antenna option on our cars.