Replacement Antenna

[j2k4]

Dodge STEALTH 1991-1996 Power Antenna MAST *NEW* ..A75 - eBay (item 370461814358 end time Apr-29-11 0730 PDT)

A bit more expensive than some, but this one works (I know, I've installed 3 of them...)

Bob.

Oy.

A bit more expensive than some, but about half the price of the OEM replacements 3SX sells - the one I bought.

[heptone182]

VR4 Ownz j00,
does the Shark just connect right in or do u need to buy the extension cable?

[DrkZide]

I heard the Sharks don't work with the hoop spoilers. Anyone tried an amplified "Shark Fin" antenna? How well do the glass mounted ones work? For some reason Denver stations have the worst reception on the face of the planet.

[GTOJOE]

My mast broke and I installed a replacement. Then I upgraded my head unit to a Kenwood DNX-7160. The Kenwood has AM, FM, iPod, DVD, etc. The issue with the retractable is that whenever the Kenwood is not in standby it raises the antenna. So I turn on the iPod and up comes the antenna. The Shark could be a good choice if sensitivity is better than the retractable. And with my Kenwood deck I wouldn't have to worry about which mode I'm in.

I have a Kenwood head unit and the antenna only rises when I select radio.... are you sure you have it wired correctly?

[VR-4 0wnz j00]

It hooks right up, no modifying anything. It took maybe a total of 20min to install, and most of that was removing the covers and getting the nut to start.

[jba3]

VR4 Ownz j00,
does the Shark just connect right in or do u need to buy the extension cable?

Connects right in. You can get 12v from the plug from the stock antenna, too. I've had mine a few years, no problems, but I rarely use the radio since I have SD/iPod/Aux.

My mast broke and I installed a replacement. Then I upgraded my head unit to a Kenwood DNX-7160. The Kenwood has AM, FM, iPod, DVD, etc. The issue with the retractable is that whenever the Kenwood is not in standby it raises the antenna. So I turn on the iPod and up comes the antenna. The Shark could be a good choice if sensitivity is better than the retractable. And with my Kenwood deck I wouldn't have to worry about which mode I'm in.

You can hook up an inline toggle switch for the wire to the antenna. I had it set up that way on my old stock antenna, before I changed to the SharkII one. You have to flip the switch for the antenna to go up, but you can keep it forced down for ipod, aux, etc.

[Jimvr4]

I have a Kenwood head unit and the antenna only rises when I select radio.... are you sure you have it wired correctly?

Hmm, may have to double check but pretty sure I wired the blue wire from the Kenwood to the blue wire on the Metra harness. Which head unit do you have?

Connects right in. You can get 12v from the plug from the stock antenna, too. I've had mine a few years, no problems, but I rarely use the radio since I have SD/iPod/Aux.

You can hook up an inline toggle switch for the wire to the antenna. I had it set up that way on my old stock antenna, before I changed to the SharkII one. You have to flip the switch for the antenna to go up, but you can keep it forced down for ipod, aux, etc.

Yeah, I thought about doing that. I have to check the wiring now. One more thought on converting to the Shark antenna is whether you have to remove the mast when using a car cover.

[GTOJOE]

Hmm, may have to double check but pretty sure I wired the blue wire from the Kenwood to the blue wire on the Metra harness. Which head unit do you have?

Uuummmm... can't remember LOL It's a single din with CD/MP3 with a front USB port and a rear aux port. 2 pre-outs. Nothing fancy. Model number will be different to the USDM ones anyway. It had a Kenwood in it and it failed so I was feeling lazy and just bought another kenwood so I could just unplug the old one and plug in the new one [all modesl of the same era have the same plug and pin layout].

[Jimvr4]

Uuummmm... can't remember LOL It's a single din with CD/MP3 with a front USB port and a rear aux port. 2 pre-outs. Nothing fancy. Model number will be different to the USDM ones anyway. It had a Kenwood in it and it failed so I was feeling lazy and just bought another kenwood so I could just unplug the old one and plug in the new one [all modesl of the same era have the same plug and pin layout].

I posted the question to the Kenwood forums and one guy said it's a feature since my unit is a GPS navigation with Navteq Traffic. It turns out the Navteq uses the FM radio to get the traffic updates. I then tried disabling the traffic feature but still no joy; the antenna raises on all modes except standby. A toggle switch may be the only solution if I want the antena to stay down while listening to the iPod.

[Valhallaz]

I use a tune trapper, mounted on the rear of the retractable trunk cover inside the car. Puts it out of sight, and it works as well as any hidden antenna I've seen.

Of course, you'll have to do something with the hole.