Best short radio antenna

[Dreamer]

I have a Ford Bronco Badlands that I’m lucky enough to be able to keep in my garage. The issue is the stock radio antenna is too tall and hits as I enter the garage. I have been on screwing it and keeping it in the truck. The radio in the truck is the B&O sound system.

From my past experience with short antennas, I have found that many of them look good, but do not provide decent radio reception.

What I’m looking for is a good looking Shorty antenna that also provides reasonable reception for both AM and FM radio. I know I’m old-school, but I do like to listen to the a.m. radio from time to time on long trips.

Does anyone out there have a Shorty antenna that they would recommend? How do you find the reception when compared to the stock antenna?

If it matters, I’m living in the northeast, and generally travel in the northeast.

Thank you all in advance for reading my post and offering up suggestions.

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[userdude]

At least with FM, your geographic and repeater setups in your area will play a big role in the reception you get. Mountains, it's always tough. Rolling hills, can be hard. Flat terrain, the actual height can make a difference.

O'Reilly sells multiple heights of replacement antennas. I have a three inch, shoddy reception in the mildly hilly DFW. Someone else I know in DFW has a 12" and they get acceptable reception in most places. I think the solid (non-flexible) went up to 14"? For me I wanted to go through car washes and don't listen to the radio that much. I also had the garage door Thwang! you're talking about.

You can buy the tallest you care to have, try it out, and if you don't like it, return it and maybe get a taller one. But your own circumstances are going to play a big role. As an example, I used to live on the wrong side of the hill in downtown Denton and the repeater tower was south about a half mile and over the hill. Never got FM or most tv channels at home. I know, the horror! I missed a lot of Cowboys games when I canceled cable... lol

 

[Razorback]

This is what I got. no issues...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NNJYKP9?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

 

[Imaginary Friend]

I've got the same cheap Rugged Ridge 13" rubbery shorty on both my Jeep and F150 and have had no real issues.

You could always just cut your stock antenna to a length that works. I've done this also.

 

[Dreamer]

Those are two good and different solutions. I like the idea of using a fixed solid antenna that doesn’t do the garage door twang as it enters. But the Shorty antenna from Amazon looks like a good deal too.

May look to get a sampling of both and return the ones that don’t pass my User tests.

 

[LMF Bronc]

Having the antenna touch on the way into the garage isn't going to hurt anything, as far as that goes...

 

[Overcooked]

Won't you be more happy if it's the antenna that's hitting the garage ceiling instead of your vehicle's body? I left out my stock antenna as a indicator for clearance....

 

[Brian_B]

I hate how the windshield wiper knocks on it every time I flip it up to clean the windshield

 

[LCW]

I got a super short one - called the Stubby from a company called Cravenspeed. Made in USA. Only 2" long. I got it mainly to not have to uncrew the factory antenna every time I go to the car wash which is at least once a week, more in the salty winter weather.

 

[IwannaGOfast]

Won't you be more happy if it's the antenna that's hitting the garage ceiling instead of your vehicle's body? I left out my stock antenna as a indicator for clearance....

Exactly why I chose to keep mine. If the antenna clears, then it’s not a concern. As soon as I have contact I have to keep a close eye on it.

The reception always decreases some with the shorter antenna’s too, so it just made more sense for me to keep the stock one.

 

[GroovyGhost]

I tried a stubby, but in the suburbs where I live, it couldn't keep the radio station signals 25 miles away. Relatively flat land south of Minneapolis too.

 

[lil_mule_4x4]

I currently run the stubby and I can tell you that you will 100% HATE it for FM/AM. It severely limits radio reception compared to OEM antenna. The only reason I run it is because I recently activated XM.

 

[Newbrunny]

I have the BuiltRite stubby antenna. Looks good and the reception is decent. Not great but decent.

Another alternative for your local AM radio is to stream through an app on your phone. There are three or four apps on iOS (probably similar on Android) where you can stream radio stations from pretty much anywhere. Most are free. Stingray, iHeart and RadioPlayer are three I use. They work well as long as you have cell coverage.

https://builtrightind.com/products/...tJfneU9pp2WYmVRSVNlawmKMbETEfcuRoClJYQAvD_BwE

 

[BigShan808]

Just switched to a Stubby (Craven Speed) for both the Bronco and F150 as well. Been working out fairly well, especially here where reception is suspect

 

[JT58Bronc]

Having the antenna touch on the way into the garage isn't going to hurt anything, as far as that goes...

Mine hits every time I pull it into and out of the garage. And it gets in the way of the wiper when I move it to clean the windshield, which is often with the windshield being a bug magnet. I never thought anything of it, just got used to it hitting as a "normal" sound and moving the wiper to clear the antenna every time I clean the windshield.

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