You kind of knock the ball off the end with a pair of pliers. Put a sock over the end to catch the ball and protect the finish then slide the pliers down onto the ball tapping till it comes offf. Cut to desired length with 9" wire cutters or hacksaw, file the end enough to tap the ball back on and touch up with black paint as necessary..... Save your $15 for gas...

 

Here is a link to a very nice Billet antenna. They are pricey but very nice and you can get them in colors or flamed or what ever your heart desires.

http://www.shortyantennas.com/

Richard

 

I have an 8" shorty and have never had a problem with reception using AM or FM

 

i sware my reception is better with the shorty.

 

AM or FM reception away from an urban area could be severely compromised with such a small antenna. The proper length for the highest frequency AM station 1/4 wave antenna starts at about two football fields in length (no joke!). Old cars used to have 15 foot antennas on them--seriously--for good AM reception. If you're in the city where the signal is strong it won't matter.

BTW, there is a reason the whip antenna is about 30 inches long. It is the midpoint 1/4 wavelength of the FM band from 88MHz to 108MHz. A quarter wave monopole antenna has a gain of 3db--changing the length will cause you to lose gain on this antenna, and 3db ain't much to start with!

wavelength = speed of light/ frequency --> = (3 X 10^8m/second)/(98 X 10^6Hz) = 3.06meters 98MHz is the midpoint on the FM dial.

1/4(3.06) = 0.765m X 39.37 inches/meter = 30.13 inches....

Now for an AM antenna tuned for 1600KHz

wavelength = (3 X 10^8m/second)/(1600 X 10^3Hz) = 187.5meters = 615 feet !!!!!!!

If you want good AM reception, I would not use a short antenna unless you are in a dense urban area.

Also, LOL, y'all should have been stuck with GM cars in the 70s with that #%$%&^* antenna in the windshield! Talk about crappy reception! I put a 31" whip on my old 1971 Buick to Improve the reception!

Hope this helps.

Mike

 

Before

After


This is mine from mustangtuning.com. Great quality and looks so much better than stock. No difference in reception at all. If you live really far from a metropolitan area, then you might lose some reception, but I am not positive.

 

That's the same antenna I bought from the same place. It isn't near as bad as the stock but I think I might look for a power antenna. Anyone know if there is room for one? -Joe

 

I have one of the Shortyantennas that i posted above on my truck and the radio reception is the same as it was with the stock antenna. Here is a picture of the one on the truck. I plan to buy the 15" one for the Mustang.


Richard