snapped antenna - how to repair/make do?

[url]http://tinyurl.com/gh2jr[/url]

1991 Corolla. Above is a link to a picture of the radio antenna on my
car. Or rather, what's left of it after the neighborhood kids walked
by it this afternoon. They snapped it off, you can see the little stub
that sticks out. This is not a power antenna, and it lives on the
strut between the front windshield and the driver's window. I
unscrewed the black assembly, but it doesn't help much - the antenna
and ground wires are not detachable from the assembly. I can't reach
the back of my stereo. I went to the Kragen, but they didn't have
anything useful (they had cheap replacement antennas if I could simply
plug it into the stereo).

Oh, and my radio reception is severely compromised now.

So the question is, what is the simplest way to get radio reception
back? Does it involve coat hangers, solder, or ball point pens and
swiss army knives?

v

<vpallaver@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1150932421.474837.111890@b68g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> [url]http://tinyurl.com/gh2jr[/url]
>
> 1991 Corolla. Above is a link to a picture of the radio antenna on my
> car. Or rather, what's left of it after the neighborhood kids walked
> by it this afternoon. They snapped it off, you can see the little stub
> that sticks out. This is not a power antenna, and it lives on the
> strut between the front windshield and the driver's window. I
> unscrewed the black assembly, but it doesn't help much - the antenna
> and ground wires are not detachable from the assembly. I can't reach
> the back of my stereo. I went to the Kragen, but they didn't have
> anything useful (they had cheap replacement antennas if I could simply
> plug it into the stereo).
>
> Oh, and my radio reception is severely compromised now.
>
> So the question is, what is the simplest way to get radio reception
> back? Does it involve coat hangers, solder, or ball point pens and
> swiss army knives?
>
> v
>[/color]

The simplest way to get radio reception back is to jam a coat hanger in the
hole so that it touches the remaining antenna nub. The best way is to get a
replacement antenna from your local Toyota dealer.

Reach around behind the radio - you may be able to unplug the antenna
without having to remove the radio, and then pull the antenna coax cable out
through the A pillar (the pillar that the antenna is mounted on). If you do
not want to mess with the antenna connection behind the radio, go to Radio
Shack or electronics store and get a female RCA connector plug for the
coaxial cable. Snip the old coaxial cable where it attaches to the old
antenna mast and attach the female RCA connector plug to the old cable.
Attach the male RCA plug to the newly installed female plug, and pull the
new coax through the opening and under the dash, install the new antenna,
and secure the excess cable under the dashboard with twist ties or plastic
zip ties.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

Ray O wrote:[color=blue]
> <vpallaver@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1150932421.474837.111890@b68g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...[color=green]
> > [url]http://tinyurl.com/gh2jr[/url]
> >
> > 1991 Corolla. Above is a link to a picture of the radio antenna on my
> > car. Or rather, what's left of it after the neighborhood kids walked
> > by it this afternoon. They snapped it off, you can see the little stub
> > that sticks out. This is not a power antenna, and it lives on the
> > strut between the front windshield and the driver's window. I
> > unscrewed the black assembly, but it doesn't help much - the antenna
> > and ground wires are not detachable from the assembly. I can't reach
> > the back of my stereo. I went to the Kragen, but they didn't have
> > anything useful (they had cheap replacement antennas if I could simply
> > plug it into the stereo).
> >
> > Oh, and my radio reception is severely compromised now.
> >
> > So the question is, what is the simplest way to get radio reception
> > back? Does it involve coat hangers, solder, or ball point pens and
> > swiss army knives?
> >
> > v
> >[/color]
>
> The simplest way to get radio reception back is to jam a coat hanger in the
> hole so that it touches the remaining antenna nub. The best way is to get a
> replacement antenna from your local Toyota dealer.
>
> Reach around behind the radio - you may be able to unplug the antenna
> without having to remove the radio, and then pull the antenna coax cable out
> through the A pillar (the pillar that the antenna is mounted on). If you do
> not want to mess with the antenna connection behind the radio, go to Radio
> Shack or electronics store and get a female RCA connector plug for the
> coaxial cable. Snip the old coaxial cable where it attaches to the old
> antenna mast and attach the female RCA connector plug to the old cable.
> Attach the male RCA plug to the newly installed female plug, and pull the
> new coax through the opening and under the dash, install the new antenna,
> and secure the excess cable under the dashboard with twist ties or plastic
> zip ties.
> --
>
> Ray O
> (correct punctuation to reply)[/color]
Here's what I did.. Faced with the same problem. I went to the toyota
dealer thinking it was an easy fix. Well I was in for a rude
awakening... when the parts mgr explained snaking the thing to the
radio, I said o.k. forget it. I found an old CB radio antenae I BROKE
OFF the very top because it looked like it would fit and was long
enough to hit the base. Well, it worked like a charm till the day I
traded it in w/ 255,000 miles. I guess you can find any metal rod with
a diameter small enough and long enough it will work and look fine.
just slide it in and you're done if it jars around here is always duct
tape...
- Good Luck!!