Does short antenna effect reception?
Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,314
Likes: 5
+1 I have the J&M shorties, they work and look great, but any shorter antenna will have a slightly shorter range if you get out in the middle of nowhere....both CB and radio.
Cruiser
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 121
Likes: 1
Many years ago, you could have a power antenna on a car that did not go up and down when you turned the radio on or off, if you were in town it worked great down. if you were in a rural area and put the antenna down the volume went down or the station went away. If you use a shorter or lower antenna you will loose some performance, you may not be able to tell this in all cases, but that is the way antennas work.
Tourer
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 424
Likes: 3
From: Blountstown, FL
Here's what I came up with: https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touring-models/270122-my-antenna-comparison.html
Road Warrior
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1,802
Likes: 2
From: Salt Lake City, UT. Dushore, Pa.
I have the J&M and like it but just run without most of the time since in SLC you can pick up stations fine and in the canyons and country it's hard to get reception anyway. I tried the antenax hidden antena and think the J&M ouside works a little better.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 4,351
Likes: 461
From: Illinois
I have the J&M shorty. I thought it was just as good as the stock one until I was sitting beside my bud one day in a parking lot. There was a song on the radio that my wife liked, so I turned my radio station to the same one he was listening to at the time. His station was coming in crystal clear and mine was not.
That was the same day we both hit the same deer. I took the ears from the deer that night for reminders of what happened. I mounted my deer ear on the top of my J&M shorty antenna. About two weeks later someone decided they needed that ear worse than me and cut my atennna off just below the ear. Now the reception really sucks with 2 or 3" missing off the shorty.
Dennis
That was the same day we both hit the same deer. I took the ears from the deer that night for reminders of what happened. I mounted my deer ear on the top of my J&M shorty antenna. About two weeks later someone decided they needed that ear worse than me and cut my atennna off just below the ear. Now the reception really sucks with 2 or 3" missing off the shorty.
Dennis
Road Master
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,172
Likes: 0
From: WI/ The State of Harley
A question for DAWG// AntennaX
Hey Dawg, have you used the shorty for CB transmission ??
Cruiser
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 145
Likes: 2
From: Plano, Texas
Am using the antennas off of an '09 Ultra on my '06 Ultra with no effect on range what so ever over the original stock antennas on both CB and FM/AM. Best part is now they don't get caught on the garage door.
Last edited by tbradley; Oct 16, 2008 at 02:05 PM.
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