Radio aerial

[andrewh]

Whilst I have the car in build I am wondering about whether to fit an aerial. Its certainly a lot easier to at least thread an aerial cable through the car whilst the the trim is out. I am thinking of a rear wing mounted electric aerial. Has anyone done this and got details of the best electric aerial , positioning and drilling the hole..not looking forward to that!

[Gfhug]

Andrew, maybe you've already discounted the option but how about the new windscreens which can have built in aerials as wells as heaters?

Geoff

[ralphr1780]

On my S2 the electrical aerial is positioned on the rear right wing.
It was an option fitted at the dealer, the brand is Hirschmann.
Its cable runs from the boot joining the electrical loom along the right sill then up under the dashboard then down to the console.
Works very smoothly, never faced any issue.
Here some pics, hope this helps.

DSC_0258Red.jpg (140.25 KiB) Viewed 10578 times

DSC_0259Red.jpg (97.8 KiB) Viewed 10578 times

AntenneElec1Red.jpg (109.95 KiB) Viewed 10578 times

[Simonpfhc]

Hi Andrew,

I removed the aerial hole on mine (bonnet mounted). With today's technology, there really isn't any need for an aerial. If you realy do want to go down that route, then as mentioned already, a screen mounted one would make sense, although it probably won't work with DAB.

I have fitted a small Bluetooth amp and plan to just use my phone to stream any radio I need, but of course it can also stream any source including any of the currently available Music Services such as Spotify and Napster etc.

Cheers.

[mgcjag]

Hi Simon....can you please expand a bit....what amp did you use....does it connect to your radio or have speakers...sorry not to up on these things.....anything else you need to do? Thanks Steve

[golfnut324]

Hi Andrew,

I removed the aerial hole on mine (bonnet mounted). With today's technology, there really isn't any need for an aerial. If you realy do want to go down that route, then as mentioned already, a screen mounted one would make sense, although it probably won't work with DAB.

I have fitted a small Bluetooth amp and plan to just use my phone to stream any radio I need, but of course it can also stream any source including any of the currently available Music Services such as Spotify and Napster etc.

Cheers.

Exactly what I did with this:
https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/spe ... ni_ii.html

Other than for nostalgic reasons, I can't understand the advantage of having a "radio" or a hole for the antennae.

edit: btw, it sounds great! I don't have speaker issues and I'm modifying the radio console such that it will slip in and sit in the space that the radio would occupy. AND, I get to customize my music through Pandora or any other such provider.

[Simonpfhc]

Hi Steve,

The amp still needs external speakers. I welded up the standard speaker locations in the centre console and mounted them in the footwells. Much better space and much better sound quality. The amp is an audio amplifier that can connect to any Bluetooth audio source such as a phone. It has it's own power, volume, bass and treble controls. So no need for a radio or any other audio equipment. All you do is pair your phone with the amp and then play any audio. It will then play through the amp :-) your phone will remember the pairing, so every time you turn on the amp, your phone automatically connects.

However, for pure aesthetic reasons, I fitted a period radio as I just like the look of it. It has no power or any other connections, but I wired the power and volume controls of the Bluetooth amp into the controls of the old radio, so it 'appears' to be operational. I even located a tiny power led fed from the amp into the radio so it really does look like it it is powered up!

The sound quality is quite good considering the small speakers and low quality amp - way, way better than the original radio and speaker setup that would have been originally fitted!

Here is an eBay item similar to the amp I used - search on this item number in eBay - 152251080480

Hope this helps.

[andrewh]

thank you Chaps. this is all very good information. And many thanks for the photographs Ralph
I need to have a think on the best way forward. I like to see a radio in the console and happy to go with a screen based aerial but not sure how good this would be. Will have to do further research.

[cactusman]

My favourite music while driving is the XK engine Rarely put the radio on while driving. I fitted a retrosound one in my fhc that plays mp3. Mostly listen to it while tinkering on the drive

A previous owner (read idiot) put the aerial hole in the near side rear wing.....extreme muppetry as the fuel tank is in the way....what possessed him I have no clue....when I get around to a rebuild that is one thing that goes....the poxy aerial...

[rfs1957]

Great to stumble across a fresh post just when I needed it.

I have got the centre console out and am repairing all the botches made by the PO to the metalwork before I get it blasted / plated / powder-coated then re-trimmed by BAS at the same time as the seats.

I use one of those BOSE Soundlink Bluetooth jobbies referred to by our Transatlantic Cousin, and it's great in the house and workshop - BUT I find it gets drowned out in the Jag precisely because whilst it has incredible bass, it's very short on treble, and you cannot modulate these balances.

And as a deaf motorcyclist I need plenty of treble ............

SO, I'm inclined to keep the original radio facade, junk the rest, fit the biggest/best speakers I can in the original locations (I remember reading that they can be much deeper without the bulk of the radio behind) and find some Bluetooth amp with bass-treble adjustments that I can hide in the space behind the facade.

Does that sound something like what you've done Simon ?

And whilst I'm in the metalwork, can someone suggest the biggest suitable-sized speakers that can be fitted to the cheeks, so I can do any modifications whilst I'm still in the Brutal Tools phase ?

[ernie]

Hi I have just gone through the same research. I chose Pioneer TSG17321 6.5" (17cms) 2 way speakers for the centre consol. I have a relatively modern radio that has bluetooth connectivity, so can stream music from phone onto those speakers.
However as I am going to be using the car for long journeys with the hood down then I have another option. I have purchased a JBL charge 3 wireless speaker , that can be used to play the music from my phone..obviously without wires....using bluetooth. It keeps its charge for a long time and has plenty of oomph. I will secure it using velcro or something under the hood...and will give me the higher quality and louder sound if needed. It also can be easily taken out of the car, and so is not intrusive...and can be used in the hotel room etc.

[Simonpfhc]

Hi Rory,

Yes, that is exactly what I have done. Are you sure you still want to mount your speakers in the centre console? You will get much better treble and separation by mounting them in the footwel, and more bass, but you can still turn that down ;-)

Cheers.

[mgcjag]

Hi David....with the JBL type speaker unit do you still need an amp.....or is that built in..... meaning all you need is the JBL and a bluetooth phone.....sorry not really up with these things.....thanks Steve

[ernie]

Hi
With the JBL speaker it has an amp built in that is bluetooth..all you do is stream from yr phone or ipad or tablet yr music...very easy to initially set up and then every time you switch on the speaker you see it connecting on yr phone. the speaker is self contained and you only need to recharge it every 15 hours of use....its a solid speaker unit that provides good sound and is very portable...Angus gave me the idea of the concept...of course if you get a modern radio then you can stream yr phone music to the radio and then out to yr car speakers. But the JBL speakers are far more powerful...so you can hear it with hood up or down...and use it around the house if needed...great flexibility. I got a red one that matches the upholstery, but you can get lots of colours inlcuding black

[rfs1957]

How do you fit things in the footwell without them poking out and looking out of place ? Is there new virtual reality technology that makes them invisible ?! I did wonder whether there wasn't some sort of tweeter that could go in the glove box LH wall and be aimed at my left ear, to provide trebles for the deaf ?

[Simonpfhc]

Speakers fitted in existing voids in footwell:



5" speaker installed and flush with nothing sticking out - except the speaker grill!



Not the best pic but you can see the speaker grill:



Cheers.

[rfs1957]

Thanks for the pictures Simon, it had never occurred to me to fit anything there as I've never had the footwell trim and carpets out - I may fit a pair there and keep the centre-console ones too.

It's true that with the hood down, which for us is 98% of the time, entertainment seems superfluous and well nigh impossible at speeds over 80 km/h ...........

But whilst it's all in bits I'd like to put the stuff in so I at least have the choice.

[ralphr1780]

Simon, very interesting setup!
It will even perform better on a lhd, as when cruising the motorway the driver's right foot will be on the accelerator clearing the speaker grill.
And easy to reverse back to original, costs only a pair of hardura side panels.
Btw, nice red colour, will the seats be with or without contrasted piping?

[Gfhug]

Rory, have you seen this topic about decent speakers for the footwell?
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3718

Geoff

[mark10337]

I'm considering mid range in the footwell openings, and a small tweeter on the dash like David has alluded to. The centre console will have a small bass driver with the room made by relocating the speakers from there with whatever head unit I decide to go for.