The Anti-Stubby antenna: pics and review

[OrCoaster]

If this antenna works better and can survive the drop down air dryer at the car wash, I would also be interested.

The way he describes it you could take it off just prior to washing.

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[V-blue Mav]

Unlike most of the folks on the MTC, I wanted a longer-than-OEM rooftop antenna to see if I could pull in far-off radio stations in the Maverick, so off to Amazon I went. Found the Eightwood universal radio antenna, with a 16" mast and three threaded adapters to choose from. Installation is three steps: unscrew the original, match the thread with one of the adapters and thread it into the new mast, screw the new mast into the rooftop base and hand-tighten. Done.

I'll be traveling outside of my favorite radio stations this weekend, so we'll see if the longer antenna makes a difference in reception.

for

It's 16" and the OEM is 8", so it's twice the length. I just installed it yesterday, so I can't yet say if it's made a difference, but for $10 (and free returns) it can't hurt...
I listen to NPR and CBC Radio (being a border city and all). Commercial radio, bleh.

For the $10 price I bought one. I can attest that it is not universal. Does not fit a 2014 Jeep Cherokee. I bought a replacement antenna for the Jeep as the original was falling apart. The replacement is shorter than the OEM and the radio reception is degraded.
I had hoped this longer one would improve reception was why I bought it.

 

[mshapeer]

Unlike most of the folks on the MTC, I wanted a longer-than-OEM rooftop antenna to see if I could pull in far-off radio stations in the Maverick, so off to Amazon I went. Found the Eightwood universal radio antenna, with a 16" mast and three threaded adapters to choose from. Installation is three steps: unscrew the original, match the thread with one of the adapters and thread it into the new mast, screw the new mast into the rooftop base and hand-tighten. Done.

I'll be traveling outside of my favorite radio stations this weekend, so we'll see if the longer antenna makes a difference in reception.

I bought this Eightwood antenna on Amazon and put it on the truck couple days ago. Install is easy - the antenna comes with three adapters - one fits the Maverick perfectly.

In a fairly rural area where I get good signal from five FM stations and weaker from another half dozen. To experiment, I set the radio to one of the weaker signal stations and swapped out the stock antenna for this one - I noticed the signal was marginally stronger with the new antenna - not a big difference.

 

[Deweyordeweynot]

I bought this Eightwood antenna on Amazon and put it on the truck couple days ago. Install is easy - the antenna comes with three adapters - one fits the Maverick perfectly.

In a fairly rural area where I get good signal from five FM stations and weaker from another half dozen. To experiment, I set the radio to one of the weaker signal stations and swapped out the stock antenna for this one - I noticed the signal was marginally stronger with the new antenna - not a big difference.

The Eightwood is the one I ordered, too. It's marginally better at pulling in the weaker or more distant stations, and at $10 I didn't have much to lose. I'm keeping it. Kinda like the look of the longer antenna too, since the trend is toward stubbies or none at all. Swimming against the 'stream'! (pun intended)

 

[Deweyordeweynot]

I’m following and looking forward to seeing how your weekend trip goes. I too am part of the growing anti-stubby movement.

It went okay, definitely grabbed a few stations via scan that I couldn't get with the OEM antenna, and stations that used to 'stutter' when driving are dropping off at a greater distance from their origin. I'm happy with the longer mast and it's definitely in the minority of antennas I see on other vehicles.

 

[mshapeer]

The Eightwood is the one I ordered, too. It's marginally better at pulling in the weaker or more distant stations, and at $10 I didn't have much to lose. I'm keeping it. Kinda like the look of the longer antenna too, since the trend is toward stubbies or none at all. Swimming against the 'stream'! (pun intended)

I did have to explain the weak radio signals to my wife after she asked if I was compensating for shortcomings in other areas.

 

[Tom 71 Maverick 24]

For $10, I rolled the dice. There are a couple of weak AM stations that I like to listen to from time to time. A quick A/B comparison or two will show whether the antenna is worth it or not. And for $10, it's not a big deal if it's not.

OK, after a week of comparisons, I have some conclusions.

The antenna fits into my garage without hitting the overhead door.

Repeated comparisons (on AM radio only) showed little to no difference between the reception of the longer antenna vs. stock. If there's a difference, it's minimal. I did a/b comparisions by swapping the antenna mid-drive. I swapped them and compared morning reception on my local, weak AM channel several days in a row. Just really didn't get much of a difference in performance at all.

I did NOT test FM. For the most part, if I want to listen to music, I switch to Sirius radio. I use AM for specific talk shows (who doesn't like Chris Plante), sports, and Red Eye radio at night, if I happen to be travelling.

Overall, it's a solid antenna, functionally decent, and very inexpensive. I'll maybe try it on FM at some point. But for me, it was an unnecessary purchase. If your stock antenna is lost/broken/stolen, then this is a suitable replacement.

 

[Jeff W8]

OK, after a week of comparisons, I have some conclusions.

The antenna fits into my garage without hitting the overhead door.

Repeated comparisons (on AM radio only) showed little to no difference between the reception of the longer antenna vs. stock. If there's a difference, it's minimal. I did a/b comparisions by swapping the antenna mid-drive. I swapped them and compared morning reception on my local, weak AM channel several days in a row. Just really didn't get much of a difference in performance at all.

I did NOT test FM. For the most part, if I want to listen to music, I switch to Sirius radio. I use AM for specific talk shows (who doesn't like Chris Plante), sports, and Red Eye radio at night, if I happen to be travelling.

Overall, it's a solid antenna, functionally decent, and very inexpensive. I'll maybe try it on FM at some point. But for me, it was an unnecessary purchase. If your stock antenna is lost/broken/stolen, then this is a suitable replacement.

Thank you! I’ll save myself (a little) money.

 

[Hansolo]

Face it the tuner sucks ! I’ve tried several different antennas with basically no difference.
thinking about adding a antenna amplifier ?

 

[Timothyd]

Do you have a link to the amazon listing you used? And do you know the length of it, compared to the OEM stick? Thanks

I don't listen to commercial broadcast radio stations any more, but I do listen to NPR stations occasionally for locally-produced programs. In these hills & valleys and between two radio markets, reception is iffy, at best. Hopefully this would help.

NPR (government radio) is only good for some music and old radio shows anymore.

 

[Timothyd]

You missed an opportunity!

I wonder how that would work if I bent it down so it doesn't catch all the branches when I'm backing up in my wooded area?

 

[Maverickman74]

Looks good to me, but the question is, how does it sound ?

 

[Deweyordeweynot]

OK, after a week of comparisons, I have some conclusions.

The antenna fits into my garage without hitting the overhead door.

Repeated comparisons (on AM radio only) showed little to no difference between the reception of the longer antenna vs. stock. If there's a difference, it's minimal. I did a/b comparisions by swapping the antenna mid-drive. I swapped them and compared morning reception on my local, weak AM channel several days in a row. Just really didn't get much of a difference in performance at all.

I did NOT test FM. For the most part, if I want to listen to music, I switch to Sirius radio. I use AM for specific talk shows (who doesn't like Chris Plante), sports, and Red Eye radio at night, if I happen to be travelling.

Overall, it's a solid antenna, functionally decent, and very inexpensive. I'll maybe try it on FM at some point. But for me, it was an unnecessary purchase. If your stock antenna is lost/broken/stolen, then this is a suitable replacement.

From what little I remember about radio waves and frequencies, the AM band doesn't benefit from a longer mast but FM reception depends more on it. I only listen to FM (NPR and CBC and a high school radio station that plays a wide variety of music all day) and the longer 'reach' has paid off the minimal expense of replacing the OEM.

NPR (government radio) is only good for some music and old radio shows anymore.

It’s public radio, not government radio...largely funded by the listeners...just to clear up any confusion.

 

[Tom 71 Maverick 24]

Face it the tuner sucks ! I’ve tried several different antennas with basically no difference.
thinking about adding a antenna amplifier ?

Well, the AM tuner is adequate, but AM presents its own group of issues. It's very susceptible to noise, for one thing. But there are other things. At night, due to how the particular wavelength of the AM band interacts with the ionosphere, it can travel hugely long distances. So in an effort to control interference, most (but not all) stations power down to a lower output at night. There are a few that stay at high broadcast power all the time, and are considered Class A "clear channel" stations by the FCC. WTAM, 1100 in Cleveland, Ohio is one such station, and believe it or not, at 5 AM, it comes in fairly clear here in southeast Tennessee.

The wavelength of the frequencies in the AM band is very long. The ideal antenna is a LOT longer than what can easily be put on a car, so they use a loading coil instead. Not as good of reception, but fine for local use.

Also, the medium doesn't lend itself to very high fidelity sound, which is why sports and talk radio gravitate to AM while music is much more common on FM.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

If this antenna works better and can survive the drop down air dryer at the car wash, I would also be interested.

Remember leftie loosie rightie tightie.

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