Nicole

When I washed my car on Friday, I noticed that the rubber base of my antenna mast is all cracked. So I was browsing the web, looking for a replacement.

This company used to offer them for real cheap - under $20, IIRC, but they don't list the masts anymore.

Has anybody tried the antenna called "Shark attack II" as shown on this website? If so, how easy would it be to swap the whole thing without butchering anything on the car?

Otherwise I found replacements for what looks like the antenas on our cars at:

http://www.antennaworld.com/eshop/de...ails&WCE=26432 ($18.60)

http://www.eurosportacc.com/antennas.htm ($23.99)

http://www.autotech.com/catalog/antenna.htm ($24.95 - this one has a different part number than the two above)

Anybody have experience wit these? Do the "Big Three" have good offers on the masts?

Bill Ball

Nicole:

Is it the rubber gasket, base or mast that is cracked? They are listed as available separately at antennaworld and in the eurosportacc link you gave.

I like the relatively short mast of the Shark Attack II you linked. I don't know if it can drop in. In any case, I believe you will have to drop the sunroof panel to access the nut that holds the base on.

I just ordered a 2" mast for my daughter's Mazda Protege off eBay. Threads are the same as the 928. I'll give it a try on the S4 and see how it performs.

The antennaworld link you gave is just for the mast. Less exspensive replacement masts there are:
https://www.antennaworld.com/eshop/d...ls&WCE=MST-172
https://www.antennaworld.com/eshop/d...s&WCE=MST-172S

That Autotech antenna with the different part number is for VW and I think is wired differently than the Porsche Fuba and won't work.

Nicole

Hi Bill:

It's the thick part of the mast that has gazillions of cracks. As a result, the mast bands backwards much more easily than it usually would.

The link you gave are for "Fuba Type" replacements, so I assume they are imitations. I don't know what's inside those masts, so I have no idea of an imitation would do the same as the original.

Good to know that the VW mast is different - I had found quite a few of those in my search...

The Shark Attack II is intriguing, and so are those new "fin" style ones you see on the newer Mercedes and BMTroubleYous. But I believe those fin style ones are for GPS reception also - no?

Bill Ball

I would not be very concenerd about the innards of the mast. It's mostly just a rubber coated wire. You could stick a coat hanger in the base and it would probably work fine.

On the WW antenna, it's not the mast that is different - it is the wiring to the amplifier the base.

Just to be clear, the mast is the thin shaft that screws into the base. Under the base is a gasket that seals against the roof. It sounds like the base is what is broken. The base houses the amplifer and is bolted to the roof. Both Antennaworld and eurosportacc sell it separately. I'm just not psoitive it s the correct one.

It might be this one:
https://www.antennaworld.com/eshop/d...s&WCE=1723BASE
which is the same as this one, indicated for VW.
http://www.eurosportacc.com/antennas.htm

Someone who has pulled the antenna will have to answer that. Anyone?

borland

Nicole,

Matching the cable length and connectors is a big priority with your replacement. From my RENNLIST post on the mail server:

Had to replace the defective roof antenna on my 90’S4. This made a big
improvement in signal level, especially on the AM band.

The roof antenna is mounted with a 17mm nut through a square hole which
matches the antenna base. Unfortunately the roof’s structural
reinforcement and the sunroof mechanism limit accessibility to this
retaining nut.

To solve this problem, at Home Depot I purchased a shower faucet wrench
that just fits the 17mm nut. The shower faucet wrench is a tube with hex
sockets on each end. This allows the antenna coax and 12V power leads to
hang down inside the tool while turning the nut with another wrench.

The headliner can stay up. I only needed to remove the sunroof motor
cover, motor and sunroof gear reducer, and two gear reducer rubber mounts.
The sunroof motor can hang from one of the brackets, so you don’t need to
disconnect it’s electrical connector. There’s enough spring to the
sunroof cables to allow reposition and insertion of the faucet wrench.

Nicole

I think we're having a misunderstanding here... It is the lower (thick) part of the mast that has the cracks. See pictures below.

Bill Ball

OK, all you need is the mast. When you said lower thick part I thought you were refering to the base. I got confused when you brought up that Shark Attack antenna. There is no reason to replace the whole antenna. You can screw any mast that will fit onto the base. Pick any of the replacements and you should be fine. I'll let you know how the 2" stub I ordered works out. It ended up costing $18, 1/2 of which is shipping from Germany.

Nicole

Just found this:
http://www.locustom.com/L_smooth.htm

I think that's the one for the best price - $20, including shipping. The others charge ridiculous amount of shipping, or require you to set up an account before you can even find out how much shipping would be...

There is also a shorter version:

http://www.locustom.com/mini_smooth.htm
http://www.locustom.com/antenna_mast_compare.htm

Decisions, decisions... I have a tendency to go "original", unless there is a good reason not to. Any thoughts?

Bill Ball

The 12" one is still pretty long. I bought a 2" one, pictured here on a different base.



They also sell a 1.2" one. THAT is short.

The ones below are 3.5" aluminum.





Here's an 8" rubber one:

JPTL

Nicole,
Maybe you've already ordered a replacement mast, but if not, you should check out the one that I picked up. Here's my earlier post:
https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...highlight=fuba
Unless you hold the old & new next to each other, you can't tell that the new one is only slightly different. The only difference is the length, of about an inch. The mast is the smooth, unwrapped style, and that's pretty much obsolete nowadays.
I believe it's a Fuba, but whether it's an oem Fuba or not, doesn't matter to me. The original deteriorated from UV's, so an aftermarket should be at least as good.

Nicole

JP: That link in your other post is dead... Too bad.

Donald

Borland-
Thanks for the shower wrench tip- I gave up getting the nut off of the base.

Nicole-
I bought my replacement from locustom, no problems.

borland

Donald,

I forgot to mention, that's a "Designed by F.A. Porsche" shower wrench.

Nicole

Bill: I have held off my order to see, how that short mast is doing for you. Any input?

Does it work well with the base on our cars, or would it be better to switch the base also?

Where did you order that antenna?

Thanks!

Abby Normal

Nicole,

I have a brand new replacement mast that is free if you want it. PM me where you would like it shipped and it's yours.