Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

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Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby TOWATL » Fri 01.08.2014, 09:34

Hi guys!

Now that I have my Elan back on the road again, after quite a lot of repair and upgrade work, I have found myself to dislike the looks of the origanl ariel antenna. The way it sticks out of the otherwise smooth surfaces of the car just distracts me.

Would any of you helpful chaps know where to look for one of those neat stubby ariel antennas as a simple screw-on replacement?

Thanks!

Cheers,


Wolfgang
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby epipete » Fri 01.08.2014, 10:16

Just Google it Wolfgang, I did and it brings up about 6 million! :burnout:
Last edited by epipete on Fri 01.08.2014, 14:09, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby novacaine » Fri 01.08.2014, 12:57

I've been looking for one too, but I cant seem to find one I like
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby Rice crispy » Fri 01.08.2014, 16:21

Beware the thread on the Lotus aerial is different to most on Ebay so you may have to tap a new thread
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby TOWATL » Sat 02.08.2014, 15:58

Thanks for your thoughts guys.

I have found a nice offer on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160871318516

I went ahead and ordered it.

I shall let you know if it fits. ;-)
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby lotusgirlmarie » Sun 03.08.2014, 02:54

What you want is a Fuba type antenna. It's the same as found on Honda S2K and VW's. I have one on my car as well as ekapol's.
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby HJ2 » Sun 03.08.2014, 08:48

I'm still in themarket for one as well.

When i changed the antenna on my BMW Z3, I noticed that quite a hefty hissing sound when driving open at speed suddently was gone! t came from the antenna wire windings of the OEM antenna that looked like the Elan one

Did you notice this as well Marie?
And do you have a reference for the antenna you used?
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby lotusgirlmarie » Sun 03.08.2014, 18:10

On my Zed, yes. It had a whooshing sound. On my lotus, nope. I used a shorter and stiffer S2000 antenna. No issues.
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby lotos » Sun 03.08.2014, 21:13

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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby RichardK » Mon 04.08.2014, 06:29

Call me mad, but I actually like the original antenna, unfortunate since a visiting 4 year old turned mine into a pretzel last Christmas it has never quite been quite the same....if anyone has an intact one please PM me, donation and expenses to UK address would be winging in return.....

Gratefully

Richard
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby TOWATL » Mon 04.08.2014, 08:45

If the replacement I ordered fits, I will be happy to send you the original antenna from my car.
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby epipete » Mon 04.08.2014, 11:18

RichardK wrote:Call me mad, but I actually like the original antenna, unfortunate since a visiting 4 year old turned mine into a pretzel last Christmas it has never quite been quite the same....if anyone has an intact one please PM me, donation and expenses to UK address would be winging in return.....

Gratefully

Richard


What did you turn the 4yr old into? 8)
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby RichardK » Mon 04.08.2014, 12:58

Many thanks TOWATL, that would be great.

Epi, couldn't get mad, sweet kid with learning difficulties, a Dad who I've known for thirty years, who does know how much the car means to me, he was mortified and several beers ( on him) later I got over over it..... But still the fact that it will never be straight again has been triggering my OCD recently :lol:

The rubber at the bottom is all cracked and bent......perished really.....Gawd, I need to drink more wine :D
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby lotos » Mon 04.08.2014, 15:29

I never liked the long skinny retractable antenna - they are just ticking time bombs of when they'll get bent (broken), the motor will go out (broken), or best case scenario they squeak like a pissed off cat after awhile :lol: Mine was the latter and no amount of lubrication helped. It was probably slightly out of true and was rubbing or something. I like the short stubby look.
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby lotusgirlmarie » Mon 04.08.2014, 18:24

Yes the 7" mast is what I have. You will also need the base. When I got mine almost 10 years ago they were everywhere and cheap. Now, they're hard to come by complete. There are two styles of base of which our car is only compatible with one. The old style base (what we need) has two wires. An antenna lead and a separate power lead. The new style only have the antenna lead and require a special amplifier to work. This is an older style unit but with the long antenna. That can be replaced with the shorter S2K type. When I got mine they were $30-50. Now...... :shock:

http://m.ebay.com/itm/220343493974?nav=SEARCH
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby lotos » Mon 04.08.2014, 22:34

Thanks so much for the info - so I need to find a base with the TWO wires. Gotcha.
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby TOWATL » Wed 20.08.2014, 12:54

Ok, I have received the ordered antenna from Ebay and was able to fit it to my car, but not without some difficulties.

The replacement antenna I ordered came with a couple of bolts to match with the thread of the socket on the car. Unfortunately, all supplied bolts have metric threading on them, but the Elan has an imperal threading on the socket. :?

The diameter is the correct one and one can manually drill the bolt into the socket with two fingers for a little bit, but not far enough to properly secure it. So, after looking around in a few shops for a bolt with the correct threading and diameter to fit both antenna and socket, I ended up using some securing glue on the bolt and used some pliers to carefully drill the bolt into the socket until tight. The antenna is now securely mounted on the car and everything works as intended. :)

I am aware that the method applied is not ideal and that I probably have damaged the socket a bit. But as long as the antenna is securely fastened to the socket, I am happy with the result.

Fotos of the car with the new antenna fitted will follow shortly.
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby Rice crispy » Fri 22.08.2014, 11:19

RichardK wrote:Many thanks TOWATL, that would be great.

Epi, couldn't get mad, sweet kid with learning difficulties, a Dad who I've known for thirty years, who does know how much the car means to me, he was mortified and several beers ( on him) later I got over over it..... But still the fact that it will never be straight again has been triggering my OCD recently :lol:

The rubber at the bottom is all cracked and bent......perished really.....Gawd, I need to drink more wine :D


Richard,
If you get some heat shrink tubing you can make a fairly original looking base :)
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby TOWATL » Wed 27.08.2014, 15:38

The new stubby antenna works fine for me. I do notice that receiption is slightly less stable than with the original antenna, but I seldom listen to radio stations anyway.

I have attached some photos of how the antenna looks on the car. What do you think?

Cheers!
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Re: Looking for short / stubby antenna replacement

Postby novacaine » Wed 27.08.2014, 19:07

looks pretty good that, do you have the ebay link?
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