XM Radio antenna mounting

LWG · 02-06-2003, 12:10 PM

On the sedan, where does everybody put the XM Radio antenna? I was thinking on the trunk lid instead of the roof. I have the rear spoiler but I don't think that will interfere with reception since it is so low.

Anyone have any experience with any other XM Antenna's other than Terk? I think some other manufacturers make a more slim antenna. My idea was to hide as much as possible so as not to draw too much attention to my car. I don't want thieves to see the XM Antenna from across the parking lot and move in for a little more investigation.

Larry

Brady · 02-06-2003, 12:25 PM

of course the preferred method is to put it on the roof, and it doesn't look too bad there, but yes, you can also put it on the trunk lid. i know several people did this about a year ago during the great XM debates around here. someone was saying something about it being almost completely unnoticeable due to the spoiler. but, alas, there were no pics, so i still don't know what he meant.

just make sure you don't actually cover it with the spoiler.

LWG · 02-06-2003, 12:28 PM

I assume reception would be fine. I often use a GPS on my dash and the reception is fine. The trunk lid would offer even more visivbility of the sky, however there are only 2 Satellites vs. the 12 for GPS.

Larry

MaximusRex · 02-06-2003, 12:45 PM

I have my antenna on the dash and the reception is great, I rarely lose reception. The only time I lose it is in the garage or under dense tree cover. I have the pioneer antenna (not the shark fin one.) and it does not have the XM logos on it so it is hardly even noticed.

Brian

mhbrown · 02-06-2003, 02:04 PM

I have a wagon -- so location doesn't help you. I used the Sony antenna; it seemed a bit more stealth than the Terk. I just noticed on the XM site a new antenna that I would probably prefer. It is the Antenna Specialists XM20. See all the options here: http://www.xmradio.com/catalog/produ...p?type=Antenna

Michael

imprezaf · 02-06-2003, 02:08 PM

I actually went with the Terk window mount antenna because I was uncomfortable going through the weather stripping. The window mount was definitely easy to mount, and on the rear window, it's out of sight

-Mike

LWG · 02-06-2003, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mhbrown
I have a wagon -- so location doesn't help you. I used the Sony antenna; it seemed a bit more stealth than the Terk. I just noticed on the XM site a new antenna that I would probably prefer. It is the Antenna Specialists XM20. See all the options here: http://www.xmradio.com/catalog/produ...p?type=Antenna

Michael

Turns out this is the antenna that I bought. There is a local place that sells them. They are very low profile. I will mount it on the trunk lid and take some pics for future reference when this question comes up again.

Larry

snoopydoo · 02-06-2003, 03:47 PM

I have the Antenna Specialists roof-mount on my Forester. It is lower profile but larger. The cabling is thinner than that of the Terk, which made routing a bit easier. I had a Terk Glass-mount on my truck. I get a bit better reception with the AS roof-mount. Its been through a dozen high-pressure car washes without any sign of coming off.

ymmv depending on the installation.

west_aust · 02-06-2003, 06:23 PM

i've got the terk roof mount antena on my car

put it on the roof as indicated, reception is very good

armand1 · 02-06-2003, 08:49 PM

Remember, you can always paint the antenna to match your car color if you want to maximize stealth.

west_aust · 02-06-2003, 09:38 PM

here in canada almost no one knows about XM so my antena is pretty stealth or meaning nothing to most people

snoopydoo · 02-06-2003, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Remember, you can always paint the antenna to match your car color if you want to maximize stealth.

Yep, just as long as that paint is non-metallic.

cyrilgrey · 02-07-2003, 01:23 AM

f that.
mine sits on the back shelf. no mounting anything. never have a signal problem

cnstman · 02-07-2003, 01:51 AM

Mine is on the rear deck, no reception problems

cnstman

armand1 · 02-07-2003, 03:43 AM

Yep, rear deck is fine, but what about us wagoneers? We've got to live dangerously and roofmount it...

Brock · 02-07-2003, 12:02 PM

You folks that have put yours on the rear deck, have you tried comparing it to reception with the antenna on the roof? I'm just wondering if the reception would be significantly better if it's actually mounted outside the car. Avoiding the ugliness on the roof would be cool but I wouldn't want to comprimise signal quality.(just me overthinking again)

Brock

dust12 · 02-07-2003, 12:24 PM

Brock: Good suggestion. I currently have mine mounted on the roof but if it sounds the same I'd rather bring it inside the car. Currently the only time I don't get a signal is when I am next to a steep mountain wall and it blocks the signal or when I go into a parking garage.

I guess I could give it a try but I need to get some double sided tape to remount it.

Brock · 02-07-2003, 12:31 PM

Cool, that would be sweet if you posted the results of your little experiment. I'm still waiting on my Sirius stuff in the mail, but hopefully I'll have a plan of install by the time it gets here.

LWG · 02-07-2003, 04:56 PM

Knowing that the antenna can be painted to match the car. Does the WRB have metal in the paint? Also, since I have already mounted the antenna, would touch up paint work for the painting? I think if I mask off the antenna and were careful I could probably do a pretty good job.

Larry

dust12 · 02-07-2003, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LWG
Knowing that the antenna can be painted to match the car. Does the WRB have metal in the paint? Also, since I have already mounted the antenna, would touch up paint work for the painting? I think if I mask off the antenna and were careful I could probably do a pretty good job.

Larry

I would like to know that too. I have a bottle of touch up paint, but I don't know how much that would cover though.

Brock · 02-07-2003, 05:24 PM

Actually, a bottle of touch up paint would probably be plenty of paint. The antenna is only a small surface area. Get one of those little paint brushes you use for models and use blue masking tape around the antenna. WRB shouldn't have metallic, I think it's a pearl color.

armand1 · 02-08-2003, 07:09 AM

You can always try painting with the touch-up and see how it works in place; if you don't like it, you can take it off and spray paint it.
I spray painted mine off the car with a base coat/clear coat system: 3-4 light coats of Aspen white and 3 coats of clear coat. Looks pretty white!

LWG · 02-09-2003, 02:08 AM

Anyone have any pics of their antenna painted? Curious to see how much difference it makes. I'm sure it's a lot.

Larry

dust12 · 02-11-2003, 09:56 AM

Well, I tried using the touch-up paint on it leaving it in place. It didn't do that good of a job for me. The paint kind've peeled off. I should've taken it off the car and used primer and spray paint.

My GF said she actually prefered it being black. She said now it looks like my car has a tumor.

I think I will pull it off and see how well it works inside the rear deck of the car. I will let you know if the sound quality suffers when I get this done.

ldivinag · 02-11-2003, 11:02 AM

on a long drive to vegas, i temp mounted a setup with the pioneer shark fin mag mounted antenna on the rear trunk lid.

no problems.

02-06-2003, 12:10 PM	#1
LWG Scooby Newbie Member#: 15921 Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Littleton, CO	XM Radio antenna mounting On the sedan, where does everybody put the XM Radio antenna? I was thinking on the trunk lid instead of the roof. I have the rear spoiler but I don't think that will interfere with reception since it is so low. Anyone have any experience with any other XM Antenna's other than Terk? I think some other manufacturers make a more slim antenna. My idea was to hide as much as possible so as not to draw too much attention to my car. I don't want thieves to see the XM Antenna from across the parking lot and move in for a little more investigation. Larry

02-06-2003, 12:45 PM	#4
MaximusRex Scooby Newbie Member#: 8323 Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Bradenton, Fl Vehicle: 2002 Wrx Midnight Black Pearl	Mines on the dash I have my antenna on the dash and the reception is great, I rarely lose reception. The only time I lose it is in the garage or under dense tree cover. I have the pioneer antenna (not the shark fin one.) and it does not have the XM logos on it so it is hardly even noticed. Brian

02-07-2003, 01:51 AM	#14
cnstman Scooby Specialist Member#: 9548 Join Date: Aug 2001 Chapter/Region: RMIC Location: Colorado Springs Vehicle: 2004 WRX STi PSM, 10.741 @ 126.29	rear decK Mine is on the rear deck, no reception problems cnstman

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02-06-2003, 12:25 PM	#2
Brady Scooby Specialist Member#: 14838 Join Date: Jan 2002 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: T.C., MN -- Impeach SolidForce Vehicle: 2005 LGT--Garnet Red 197 Iggpoints	of course the preferred method is to put it on the roof, and it doesn't look too bad there, but yes, you can also put it on the trunk lid. i know several people did this about a year ago during the great XM debates around here. someone was saying something about it being almost completely unnoticeable due to the spoiler. but, alas, there were no pics, so i still don't know what he meant. just make sure you don't actually cover it with the spoiler.

02-06-2003, 12:28 PM	#3
LWG Scooby Newbie Member#: 15921 Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Littleton, CO	I assume reception would be fine. I often use a GPS on my dash and the reception is fine. The trunk lid would offer even more visivbility of the sky, however there are only 2 Satellites vs. the 12 for GPS. Larry

02-06-2003, 02:04 PM	#5
mhbrown Scooby Newbie Member#: 12537 Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Vehicle: '02 WRX Sportwagon WR Blue Pearl	I have a wagon -- so location doesn't help you. I used the Sony antenna; it seemed a bit more stealth than the Terk. I just noticed on the XM site a new antenna that I would probably prefer. It is the Antenna Specialists XM20. See all the options here: http://www.xmradio.com/catalog/produ...p?type=Antenna Michael

02-06-2003, 02:08 PM	#6
imprezaf Scooby Specialist Member#: 12403 Join Date: Nov 2001 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: Hoping to get more track time Vehicle: 2008 STi mspt.net or mike@mspt.net	I actually went with the Terk window mount antenna because I was uncomfortable going through the weather stripping. The window mount was definitely easy to mount, and on the rear window, it's out of sight -Mike

02-06-2003, 03:47 PM	#8
snoopydoo Scooby Newbie Member#: 29817 Join Date: Nov 2002	I have the Antenna Specialists roof-mount on my Forester. It is lower profile but larger. The cabling is thinner than that of the Terk, which made routing a bit easier. I had a Terk Glass-mount on my truck. I get a bit better reception with the AS roof-mount. Its been through a dozen high-pressure car washes without any sign of coming off. ymmv depending on the installation.

02-06-2003, 06:23 PM	#9
west_aust Scooby Newbie Member#: 11480 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: www.funinmontreal.com Vehicle: 2006 Audi A4 Quartz Grey	i've got the terk roof mount antena on my car put it on the roof as indicated, reception is very good

02-06-2003, 08:49 PM	#10
armand1 Scooby Guru Member#: 10309 Join Date: Sep 2001 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: Seattle, WA Vehicle: '02 OBS 2-tone! '95 Montego Miata	Remember, you can always paint the antenna to match your car color if you want to maximize stealth.

02-06-2003, 09:38 PM	#11
west_aust Scooby Newbie Member#: 11480 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: www.funinmontreal.com Vehicle: 2006 Audi A4 Quartz Grey	here in canada almost no one knows about XM so my antena is pretty stealth or meaning nothing to most people

02-07-2003, 01:23 AM	#13
cyrilgrey Scooby Newbie Member#: 32218 Join Date: Jan 2003	f that. mine sits on the back shelf. no mounting anything. never have a signal problem

02-07-2003, 03:43 AM	#15
armand1 Scooby Guru Member#: 10309 Join Date: Sep 2001 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: Seattle, WA Vehicle: '02 OBS 2-tone! '95 Montego Miata	Yep, rear deck is fine, but what about us wagoneers? We've got to live dangerously and roofmount it...

02-07-2003, 12:02 PM	#16
Brock Scooby Newbie Member#: 10797 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Marysville, WA Vehicle: 2008 335i Graphite	You folks that have put yours on the rear deck, have you tried comparing it to reception with the antenna on the roof? I'm just wondering if the reception would be significantly better if it's actually mounted outside the car. Avoiding the ugliness on the roof would be cool but I wouldn't want to comprimise signal quality.(just me overthinking again) Brock

02-07-2003, 12:24 PM	#17
dust12 Scooby Specialist Member#: 13417 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Phoenix, AZ Vehicle: 2002 WRX Blue	Brock: Good suggestion. I currently have mine mounted on the roof but if it sounds the same I'd rather bring it inside the car. Currently the only time I don't get a signal is when I am next to a steep mountain wall and it blocks the signal or when I go into a parking garage. I guess I could give it a try but I need to get some double sided tape to remount it.

02-07-2003, 12:31 PM	#18
Brock Scooby Newbie Member#: 10797 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Marysville, WA Vehicle: 2008 335i Graphite	Cool, that would be sweet if you posted the results of your little experiment. I'm still waiting on my Sirius stuff in the mail, but hopefully I'll have a plan of install by the time it gets here.

02-07-2003, 04:56 PM	#19
LWG Scooby Newbie Member#: 15921 Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Littleton, CO	Knowing that the antenna can be painted to match the car. Does the WRB have metal in the paint? Also, since I have already mounted the antenna, would touch up paint work for the painting? I think if I mask off the antenna and were careful I could probably do a pretty good job. Larry

02-07-2003, 05:24 PM	#21
Brock Scooby Newbie Member#: 10797 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Marysville, WA Vehicle: 2008 335i Graphite	Actually, a bottle of touch up paint would probably be plenty of paint. The antenna is only a small surface area. Get one of those little paint brushes you use for models and use blue masking tape around the antenna. WRB shouldn't have metallic, I think it's a pearl color.

02-08-2003, 07:09 AM	#22
armand1 Scooby Guru Member#: 10309 Join Date: Sep 2001 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: Seattle, WA Vehicle: '02 OBS 2-tone! '95 Montego Miata	You can always try painting with the touch-up and see how it works in place; if you don't like it, you can take it off and spray paint it. I spray painted mine off the car with a base coat/clear coat system: 3-4 light coats of Aspen white and 3 coats of clear coat. Looks pretty white!

02-09-2003, 02:08 AM	#23
LWG Scooby Newbie Member#: 15921 Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Littleton, CO	Anyone have any pics of their antenna painted? Curious to see how much difference it makes. I'm sure it's a lot. Larry

02-11-2003, 09:56 AM	#24
dust12 Scooby Specialist Member#: 13417 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Phoenix, AZ Vehicle: 2002 WRX Blue	Well, I tried using the touch-up paint on it leaving it in place. It didn't do that good of a job for me. The paint kind've peeled off. I should've taken it off the car and used primer and spray paint. My GF said she actually prefered it being black. She said now it looks like my car has a tumor. I think I will pull it off and see how well it works inside the rear deck of the car. I will let you know if the sound quality suffers when I get this done.

02-11-2003, 11:02 AM	#25
ldivinag Scooby Specialist Member#: 13533 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: N37 39* W122 3* Vehicle: 04 sti black???	on a long drive to vegas, i temp mounted a setup with the pioneer shark fin mag mounted antenna on the rear trunk lid. no problems.