Replacement Antenna

[psyflyjohn]

My antenna for the regular am/fm radio in my Miev doesn't work well in some areas where I live. Reception in other cars is not a problem, so the stubby antenna on the Miev (or the actual receiver) may be weak. I'm wondering if there isn't a replacement for this antenna, which is longer, and may have better receiving ability than the OMC one?

 

[Zelenec]

Maybe you'd find something here.

 

[JoeS]

psyflyjohn, I tried replacing mine with a longer antenna that had an encapsulated spiral-wound wire around it. Reception was better but I was not tolerant of the increased wind noise.

 

[siai47]

Be careful when changing antennas on this car. The antenna has a small RF amplifier in the base and is powered by either the radio or the audio amplifier (if your car has one). I have no reception problems with my cars (they seem to perform like other cars). One car has the Nav radio and the other is the standard radio. I would check with the dealer to see if the signal strength that is reaching the radio from the amplifier is correct. They can varify correct operation with their scan tool. If you still need better reception, you need to find a longer mast (antenna) that will mate with the connector on the amplifier base that is mounted on the roof.

 

[JoeS]

siai47, thank you for the warning. All I did was unscrew the stock antenna and screw on a spiral-wound longer antenna from a local auto parts store. Seemed to work better than stock. With our near-silent iMiEV, the hissing wind noise at speed was obtrusive and I put back the original. There are areas in the hills where reception is flaky on distant FM stations.

 

[psyflyjohn]

Thanks for the tips. I'll stop by the dealer and check with them about correct operation.
Also, didn't think about the additional wind noise of a longer antenna.