Does anyone know of any aftermarket replacement antenna masts?

Metra makes a replacement mast for GM and other makers, but the cable seems to have teeth whereas I think the Mazda one is just a plain cord (???).

45+ bucks versus 20 bucks is a pretty easy choice, in case there is an aftermarket replacement.

Hell, you can get a whole new universal power antenna for 40 bucks when they're on sale.

(unfortunately none of the parts cars near me seem to have unbroken masts...)

 

woops, wrong forum... meant to put it in the Interior/Audio forum.

 

For the record, the cord is a bit rounder than the stock one, but it wiill feed.

OTOH, the mast and contact sleeves are too narrow and it won't work unless you use a lot of metal shims (aluminum cans work...) and ghetto-rig the antenna. And even then, the mast will be a little loose. You'll also need the bottom section of the old mast in order to ghetto rig it with shims.

Although I can't install it properly until I figure out the wiring with an aftermarket stereo...

I might have been better off just getting the 40-dollar replacement...

 

Geh... I finished installing it temporarily (the antenna cord I got is too short to hide it under the carpet...), but it turns out that I only get two stations... and they're both being picked up by the cord, not by the antenna.

Which is bizarre, since I know damn well that the cable and the mast have connectivity.

It's still a bit loose though... maybe I need to put another shim in it.

Or maybe aluminum shims = no good?

 

get one of those internal antenas , then you won`t need an antenna all together

 

I already tried one of those. I got a lot of channels but the reception was bad, and very finicky, so I couldn't find the best place to mount it. The only way to get perfect reception is with a 32+ inch antenna.

Internal ones also don't pick up AM.

My only theory is that my antenna doesn't work because the aluminum shims aren't magnetic... I guess I'll need to get some steel ones.

 

I just bought a oem one for $25 a couple of years back. It works just fine. The only thing with mine was that I had to take it apart because the nylon cord was broken.

R.K.