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INT: Window Antenna

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    INT: Window Antenna

    There are a multitude of hidden antenna methods, some work, some do not, usually the methods that do work cost more than what they are worth.
    The best method so far is using the rear defroster as an antenna, which is a great method but the flaw is you cannot use the defroster and the antenna at the same time (which is a problem for me and maybe others) unless you do some crazy mumbo-jumbo magic that is beyond my understanding.

    All you need is is a role of copper tape (the thinner the better), some speaker wire, and some basic electronic tools.

    What I have done is use some copper foil tape on the rear window in a pattern like the diagram below.

    This is a picture of the rear window, the orange lines are the copper tape.

    You can use what ever design you want but this was the recommended design to use.
    This is how it looks now all laid out. Careful, as copper tape is very fragile and it rips easy. Do not expect to have it perfectly straight unless you have really good hands. Unless you did a horrendous job, it should not be that noticeable.


    If you have tint in the rear you can have some slop as it is hard to see the antenna from the outside.


    Now that all of the tape is laid down on the window, next is to wire it to the radio.

    Get some speaker wire and and there are two ways you can do this, you can solder the wire to the copper tape or the less effective way, put a terminal at the end of the wire and tape it to the extension near the third light if you followed the diagram above. I did not solder it since I still cannot get a hold of my friend with the equipment to do it. You can put the wire where ever you want but I was too lazy and too sick to strip remove the carpet to hide it better.

    If you are still doing this exactly the way I am doing it, what you will do next is remove the cap and stick the feeder wire through the hole in the carpet. Then put the cap on and you will have something like below.


    What you have to do is take off the wire that goes up into the antenna and cut it somewhere and splice it with the feeder wire. This is what my horrible job looks like but it works, when I get over this cold and I feel like it I will clean it up.


    At this point, removing the antenna would be the next step. It is two bolts and un-clipping wires.

    Now that the antenna is out, there is the hole in the car. What you must get is this cap that fits over the hole. These caps can be found under the carpet in the trunk. Or go to ebay and type in "Honda Antenna Delete" and it is a round cap.

    It looks like this on the car.


    Congratulations, now people will be like "Damn, no antenna and you have a working radio! You some kind of wizard?"
    Last edited by XCRN; 10-23-2013, 07:48 PM.
    Be unique, like every other person.

    CB7 Sold________________________E34 Sold________________________E39 Current

    #2
    Also, not all copper tape is conductive on both sides, so you will need to make a connection on the top sides of the tape where the strip stops. You can use solder or tape a wire between the two strips. If you use tape with nickel in the adhesive, you should be fine, but still not a bad idea to bridge the stops in the tape.
    Be unique, like every other person.

    CB7 Sold________________________E34 Sold________________________E39 Current

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      #3
      Guess what... I am a wizard.

      Good job, now next summer shave that hole, cause that bung looks tacky as fuh.
      Hows it working for you? Should work alright even though you have some extra 90's..

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        #4
        Having that wire straight up the center and across the window would drive me crazy. Couldn't you remove the interior trim and run it around the perimeter of the window so that it is pretty much hidden from view? I think I'll stick with rebuilding my power antennas.
        90 LX 4dr 5 spd 396,014 (sold 1/1/2022) - MRT: http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=201450
        08 Element LX FWD AT 229,000 - MRT: fleetw00d : 2008 Honda Element LX - CB7Tuner Forums

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          #5
          Originally posted by fleetw00d View Post
          Having that wire straight up the center and across the window would drive me crazy. Couldn't you remove the interior trim and run it around the perimeter of the window so that it is pretty much hidden from view? I think I'll stick with rebuilding my power antennas.
          you could put a dipole between the roof and roof liner if you wanted.. looks better than a limp dildo rubber thing hanging off the quarter panel though

          Comment


            #6
            It works decently for not being complete right now, like I said there needs to be a connection with a new strip and I did not do that, right now it works decently there are some .1 mile strips of road that I get static that when my antenna did work did not have, but again I think it is not all connected together so it is only half working. Tomorrow, since I just cannot get soldering equipment, I will just tape a small strip on a large strip and use that to make the bridge. Hopefully someone soon will refine this.

            I like the very colorful description erik, I could not describe it better.
            Last edited by XCRN; 10-24-2013, 10:25 PM.
            Be unique, like every other person.

            CB7 Sold________________________E34 Sold________________________E39 Current

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by XCRN View Post
              It works decently for not being complete right now, like I said there needs to be a connection with a new strip and I did not do that, right now it works decently there are some .1 mile strips of road that I get static that when my antenna did work did not have, but again I think it is not all connected together so it is only half working. Tomorrow, since I just cannot get soldering equipment, I will just tape a small strip on a large strip and use that to make the bridge. Hopefully someone soon will refine this.

              I like the very colorful description erik, I could not describe it better.
              cruise the bay for 12v antenna amps theyre cheap and provide a lot of boost, thats how they get by with shark fins these days,some have it tucked into the fin while others just use it as an aerial and of course have to boost it. what kinda head unit do you have, digital FM is pretty tight. I get one sorta close station in my basement using a little chunk of wire set up as a dipole lmao..anyway it comes in like a CD and theres like 92.1 then channel B.. so with the foil and amp and regular radio youd be alright and the HD would be like ghetto siruis

              theres also conductive paint similar to the defroster repairs but not really for getting warmed up, i think that could be used.(costly) then you could mask your lines paint them on and do w/e with them, but they probably have to be insulated from the defroster lines if they were crossed ... ramble

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                #8
                That amplifier sounds interesting. I have no idea what system I have exactly, came with the car, it looks like a Kenwood but could be a knock off.
                Be unique, like every other person.

                CB7 Sold________________________E34 Sold________________________E39 Current

                Comment


                  #9
                  nice write up! gonna try this since my antenna hole is already shaved !

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                    #10
                    I figured I should give an update. So I got one of those cheap Chinese signal boosters and no more static. Just cut one of the old wires that connects to the original antenna assembly. It is a WHT/YEL or YEL/WHT wire and it connects to the original antenna in 2 different places and I think they are the same wire. That wire is a switched power wire so it will work. I will add exactly how I did it later.
                    Be unique, like every other person.

                    CB7 Sold________________________E34 Sold________________________E39 Current

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