shorter antenna

[wmh9680]

Has anyone ever put a shorter antenna on the bike. Mine hits everything I have hanging from the rafters in the garage. Also my mute button in front isn't working. The rear is and sometimes when I raise the rear luggage lid it must press something on the rear radio controls and the front controls quit til I play with the rear ones. Is it possible to disc the rear controls. I know sometimes the rear controls cancel out the front if you hit something. Thanks, Mike

[vxiirider]

I have removed the rear passenger control on our "03 and the radio still works just fine. I also cut off about 6" of the antenna and find no difference in radio reception.

[gearheadfla]

I cut my ant. off at the metal sleave sbout a foot from the tip, still works find and don't hit going in the ole garage.

[wmh9680]

How do you remove the passenger control? Thanks, Mike

[96desertXII]

How do you remove the passenger control? Thanks, Mike

Just unplug it and remove the mounting screw................everything will still work.

[chevyman1]

I have one of those 2' rubbery antenna on Teem green and it seems to work just fine

[dmwoost]

The middle of the FM broadcast band is ~98MHz
and 1/4 wavelength is ~28.5 inches.

[wmh9680]

what does "The middle of the FM broadcast band is ~98MHz band 1/4 wavelength is ~28.5 inches" mean? I took off the piece after the coupler on the antenna and it seems to work fine. I also unplugged the pass remote.

Any idea why the mute on my front control doesn't work, the rear mute was working before I disc it. Gonna take here out today. Thanks, Mike

[suzib6sw]

The Front and rear controls are all in parallel with each other.. So, if your front mute no longer works, your switch is either dirty or you have a wiring fault from that switch to the plug to the radio..

As for the 28.5 ".. That is the 1/4 wave length at about 98Mhz.. so the "optimum" length of the Antenna should be about 28.5" for one of its resonant lengths..
A Full wave antenna for FM is about 10 Feet.. , Half wave is about 5 foot.. etc..

So, if you were to measure up from the base, ,28.5 inches and cut, you would be close to an optimal perfoming antenna for that length..

Having said that, The stock radios , around town will work with a bent wire coathanger..
I work on the radios in the basement of a 1943 house, with aluminium siding and expanded mesh behind the plaster ( In ideal faraday cage more or less) but one Radio test, is to receive FM with nothing more than a screwdriver in the antenna socket..
Am Reception May be affected a little and FM reception distance WILL be affected with a shorter antenna but Thats when the MP3 socket comes into its own (Blantant plug) !!!
Cheers..

Pete

[dmwoost]

I had my Radio out earlier this year and had Pete do some up dates and add the MP3 plug.
Made a trip into the Rockies in late June and the MP3 worked great where we had no reception.
The work was very good and the price great. well worth the upgrade.

[wmh9680]

Thanks, I'll have to measure what I have done (disc at the allen screw connection). Thanks, Mike

[gearheadfla]

Thanks, I'll have to measure what I have done (disc at the allen screw connection). Thanks, Mike

I did mine there too, no problems at all, work just as good before.