Civic VX antenna

[LarryJ]

this only thing this thread thread has to do with fuel economy is tha it's about a '94 civic VX; a very fuel efficient car. my antenna post was pulled from it's base. it looks like the metal post broke at the base. I'd like to replace it with a short flexible antenna. any aftermarket ones out there or other suggestions for low profile. thanks.

[jadziasman]

You can find a replacement for about $18 shipped on Ebay. It's not too difficult to remove and reinstall.

[LarryJ]

yes, i'm aware. as i said, i'm looking for a short flexable antenna instead of the long metal oem.

[GasSavers_JoeBob]

Be aware that the short, flexible antennas don't pick up as well as the long metal ones, especially on AM.

I used a short, flexible antenna on the Geo for a while, reception was mediocre at best. Replaced it with a short metal one with an "amplifier" - i.e. a little plastic coil cover with probably no coil in it. It worked better, but not great. When it died horribly at the local car wash, I replaced it with a solid 31" (1/4 wave on the FM band) rod antenna. Gets much better AM and FM reception on my old factory Delco AM/FM/Cassette radio.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Did they really put Delco stereos in Geos? I figure being a rebranded import that it would have been a Japanese radio.

[LarryJ]

i jammed the plastic liner and antenna back where it belongs until i find something better or decide to trade vx in on a tdi.
AM?! what's that!

[GasSavers_JoeBob]

Actually, from '91 on Geo Metros were built by GM in Canada. Through '90, some Metros were built in Japan, and I believe all the convertibles were built in Japan as well. The plant where they were built was originally jointly owned by Suzuki and GM. The design was a GM design, using Suzuki powertrain components.

So, since it was built in Canada, it makes sense that it would have a Delco radio.

Interesting little Wikipedia tidbit...apparently this generation of the Metro (Probably labelled as a Suzuki) is still being manufactured in Pakistan.

AM? That's where you listen to ball games, Banda and Mariachi music, Navajo music, and those guys that I would rather not talk about in this forum.

Also good for listening to static crashes from lightning storms and the whine from the alternator.

And, in another car I used to have, I added a home built short wave converter in front of the AM radio...got to listen to German shortwave broadcasts when the Berlin wall fell...this was back when shortwave radio was still worth listening to...

[theholycow]

FM? That's where you listen to that awful garbage that's called modern music, except the other 80% of the time when you listen to commercials.

FM is great for using a FM transmitter with a mp3 player, or something like a Slacker G2.

FM transmitters mostly suck but there's a few decent ones. One thing that really helps is removing the FM antenna; then the radio picks up your transmitter just as well but doesn't pick up interference.

[Jay2TheRescue]

I have an FM transmitter that plugs into the back of the radio, and the antenna plugs into the transmitter. It works the best of any I've used since the FCC required the power output of FM transmitters be reduced a few years ago. I have one in The Beast, and one in the BWH.

[theholycow]

That's an FM Modulator, not an FM Transmitter. Those are better for sure.