A way to replace a satelite radio antenna.
When we bought it a couple of years ago, our car came with a few weeks of satelite radio. It was nice, but we decided not to keep the subscription. A few weeks ago, the brushes of a car wash destroyed the dried out rubber antenna cover. Since we aren't using it anyway, I decided to replace it.
No auto parts stores had a replacement rubber cover for the 6" satelite antenna. Finally, it hit me that any antenna would work, but the shortest I could find was 13"; no one would notice but me, but I would notice. I reasoned that if the antennas had standard threads, it shouldn't be too hard to find a bolt or machine screw with those same threads. I was lucky enough to find such a scew in my garage! The only thing left to do was to coat that bad boy in Sugru to blend in and protect.
When we bought it a couple of years ago, our car came with a few weeks of satelite radio. It was nice, but we decided not to keep the subscription. A few weeks ago, the brushes of a car wash destroyed the dried out rubber antenna cover. Since we aren't using it anyway, I decided to replace it.
No auto parts stores had a replacement rubber cover for the 6" satelite antenna. Finally, it hit me that any antenna would work, but the shortest I could find was 13"; no one would notice but me, but I would notice. I reasoned that if the antennas had standard threads, it shouldn't be too hard to find a bolt or machine screw with those same threads. I was lucky enough to find such a scew in my garage! The only thing left to do was to coat that bad boy in Sugru to blend in and protect.
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The purpose behind the Sugru-ed screw is that I'll be able to remove the bare copper coil (the remains of the satelite antenna), Sugru will allow it to blend in with the antenna base and keep the screw from corroding, and I'll be able to swich back to an actual antenna if I even choose to do so since I'm just screwing a replacement in.
To apply an even coating and shape, I got out the trusty 19.2 volt craftsman drill. Overkill for this application, but you never know.
To apply an even coating and shape, I got out the trusty 19.2 volt craftsman drill. Overkill for this application, but you never know.
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