I did the same. Cut it down to about 10" and bed lined it with 3 coats from a rattle can. I don't listen to AM radio much, since I have satellite. AM is all that really suffers from a shorty.

 

For 12 bucks I went with antenna X 13". Love it.

 

No problem! Im not missing the beating of the antenna against my windshield lights!

 

For everyone wondering about their reception, you WILL loose some reception if you shorten your antenna, period. This includes switching out to a stubby antenna since they are also shorter. However, it won't always be noticeable for some because they are close enough to the broadcasting station or have a strong signal coming in. Everyone knows what a radio wave 'looks' like right? Well antennas are set to a specific length in order to collect the entire signal. If you cut it short, it is no longer collecting everything between the top and bottom of the sine wave, so there will be some loss of information (reception).

However, like I said before, those with a stronger signal are collecting more waves so to speaks, and so the radio is able to piece together the missing information, which is why some notice significant signal loss and some don't notice any.

That said, if you are located in a major city, cutting your antenna probably won't make a difference. But if you are located far away from any broadcasting station or out in the boonies, you are likely going to have some significant signal loss.

 

OK. I removed the antenna, drove around town for a couple of days, no AM/FM loss. Cut it down to 4", painted it black, put the ball back on, no change, all ok with reception. Didnt like the look so I bought a $9 antenna from Walmut as Cambodian Tire had nothing in stock, removed the base cover, put it over mine, applied black heat shrink to the antenna as the paint wasnt sticking as well as I'd hoped. Also removed the tip off the new antenna and used black gasket silicone to fix it to the existing one. Took a drove around town, all ok. I then headed out of town on the hiway, about 10 miles, still no change in reception. I like the look, its now out of my way, and reception remains unchanged. Win, win, win! Did I possibly loose reception to some obscur staion that I never heard of........? Who cares! I do prefer listening to cd and or Sirius. See pics of 1st and final change. (Maybe final, maybe not, ok.....probably not)

 

That looks awesome, a shame they just don't manufacture them that way.

 

It does look good!

 

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