Me stubby's off.

R

rollingstone

Member
 Richmond, Va.
Just for kicks I thought I'd put back on my OEM yardstick they call an antenna to see how different it was when it came to the clarity of Bluetooth-enabled calls. I'd never really used the feature too much before my Mangowalk "stubby" — my first mod — arrived and kinda just assumed the muffled, echo chamber effect was part and parcel to BMW's poor Bluetooth quality.

Well, the difference was quite dramatic... the clarity was on par with my normal cell phone usage and people noted how clear, close and delay-free I sounded. Your results may vary. So, sadly, as much as I prefer the low profile and perfectly blended aesthetic of the stubby, the clarity of calls means it has been retired for the time being... I may offer it to a home and will post accordingly. :(

In the meantime, has anyone tried the shorter whip antenna from LeatherZ? It looks just like the OEM one, but is a bit shorter (by 5") and is said to not diminish quality. Can anyone confirm this?

Cheers.
 
Interesting, not tried my bluetooth in a while. I do notice the FM reception is noticably worse with the stubby though.
 
A few Z4 owners have installed the factory antenna mast from a Honda S2000 and report no change in reception quality. Not as short as the MangoWalk stubby, it's about half the height of the oem mast.
 
Incompatible said:
A few Z4 owners have installed the factory antenna mast from a Honda S2000 and report no change in reception quality. Not as short as the MangoWalk stubby, it's about half the height of the oem mast.
Click to expand...

Indeed. I actually tried the S2000 antenna before ordering the Mangowalk stubby, but didn't like the fit... the S2000 antenna's bottom was a bit wider than the mounting base on the Zed, so it didn't have a seamless look. At least not the one I tried.
 
rollingstone said:
Indeed. I actually tried the S2000 antenna before ordering the Mangowalk stubby, but didn't like the fit... the S2000 antenna's bottom was a bit wider than the mounting base on the Zed, so it didn't have a seamless look. At least not the one I tried.
Click to expand...
By any chance do you still have the S2000 antenna? How much of a mismatch is there? I'm wondering if the base could be easily reconfigured.
 
Why is it considered a good mod to change the stock antenna to a stubby one with reduced FM reception and awful Bluetooth operation? :?
 
Dunno what y'all are talkin' aboot... my FM reception's just fine. :idunno:

... well... when I DO listen to FM nowadays. :?

I've jumped onto the bandwagon of the streaming internet radio :thumbsup: Thank you, iPhone.
 
Rick Hunter said:
Dunno what y'all are talkin' aboot... my FM reception's just fine. :idunno:

... well... when I DO listen to FM nowadays. :?

I've jumped onto the bandwagon of the streaming internet radio :thumbsup: Thank you, iPhone.
Click to expand...

I'm not talking FM... Other than NPR, I rarely listen to the radio (usually have the iPod churning). But the difference in Bluetooth hands-free cell clarity was remarkable. And I do find myself on that just enough for it to matter.

Sorry, Incompatible, I don't have the S2000 antenna... I went to the Honda dealership, tried it on and turned it back in before even paying for it. To me, it just didn't look right. That said, it's hard to imagine that we need an 11" or 18" antenna for anything these days. Given the price and general "prestige" of their brand, no, I don't think BMW knows what they are doing when it comes to the radio/communications stuff.
 
rollingstone said:
..... That said, it's hard to imagine that we need an 11" or 18" antenna for anything these days. Given the price and general "prestige" of their brand, no, I don't think BMW knows what they are doing when it comes to the radio/communications stuff.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply. X2 about BMW and antennas.
 
Definitely noticeable difference in FM reception with the mangowalk - not enough to matter though really.

My bluetooth doesnt use the antenna so no problems there.
 
It's well documented on previous post s that on certain BMW audio systems that the FM aerial which is actually across the rear bumper can switch in poor reception to the conventional one. That's probably why some report poor signal and others not.

Bluetooth - I assume you use a cradle which IIRC connects to the conventional aerial. Mine is not in a cradle so not used so never noticed that, but a good point. Not to forget that in the US cellphone base stations are much further apart than the UK and so probably need much better antennae??
 
pmeloche said:
Why is it considered a good mod to change the stock antenna to a stubby one with reduced FM reception and awful Bluetooth operation? :?
Click to expand...

Most people do it for looks i personaly changed mine for the looks and to stop poking my eye out on the OEM version which i took off as soon as i got my Z4 home its lethal.
 
Is it 100% confirmed that the aerial in the rear bumper is in the same FM hookup as the external one? I find it hard to believe that if they went to the trouble of putting an internal aerial in the bumper that they would have an external one as well. Also, if they have an external one, why bother with the one in the bumper?Saying that, I have not seen the posts CJ10jeeper refers to, if that is the case then I guess they must be on the same linkup.
 
Here's a copy of some information i extracted a couple of months back from a BMW technical 'Communication' document

Yes Sp3ctre the 2 aerials are both used for FM reception in certain systems and circumstances. The lst paragraph confirms it switches between the two.....

BMW aerial systems
The radio aerials for AM/FM are described in the following.
The other aerials are described in the respective
chapters.
The E85 features the following aerial systems:
- Rod aerial for AM/FM
- FM aerial in rear bumper
- GPS aerial for navigation system

Rod aerial
The rod aerial is a common part from the E46 convertible. The aerial is designed for AM/FM
reception and additionally features an integrated telephone aerial.
The rod aerial is mounted on the rear left side panel. The aerial amplifier is screwed to the
aerial from below.
The rod aerial consists of the aerial rod, aerial head and aerial base with integrated aerial
amplifier.

Aerial diversity
The E85 features aerial diversity for the higher grade radios. Aerial diversity comprises following
components:
- Rod aerial with amplifier
- FM aerial in bumper
- FM aerial amplifier
- Aerial diversity
The aerial amplifier and aerial diversity are fitted in the rear left of the luggage compartment.
The second FM aerial is located on the rear left in the bumper.
Components

The aerial diversity system includes the rod aerial with amplifier and the FM aerial in the
bumper.
Rod aerial

The rod aerial is identical to that of the E46 convertible. The rod aerial is designed for the
following wavebands:
• AM 522 kHz - 1710 kHz
• FM 87.5 MHz - 108 MHz

FM aerial in bumper
The FM aerial consists of a 73 cm long
line. The FM aerial is mounted in the
bumper on adjustable clips. The FM
aerial is adapted precisely to the vehicle.
For this reason, no
changes must be made to the aerial.
The FM aerial is connected to an aerial
amplifier.

Aerial diversity
In the E85, 2 physical aerials are connected to the radio aerial diversity, i.e. the rod aerial
and the aerial in the bumper. The aerial diversity function switches over to another aerial as
soon as the system undershoots a defined threshold. Changeover takes place in such a
way that no interruption can be heard. Depending on the reception situation, reception on
both aerials simultaneously is also possible.

I can email the entire document to anyone interested or more technical on comms than me complete with illustrations, wiring diagrams, etc.. It incudes details on how the following can be tested at the radio:
Frequency of Station
Station Identifier being received
Field Strength
Quality of Station
RDS identifier
 
Thanks for the info - the question I have is WHY?! If one of the aerials (I assume the rod) gives better reception, why bother with the other one?

I've got the stubby and the FM reception round where I am is fine, I haven't used LW. I put a stubby on my MCS when I had that, and it made the LW reception terrible, but given I only used it once in a blue moon to listen to the Grand Prix when I wasn't near a TV, I put up with it as the stubby just looks so much better.

Well, at least BMW didn't do a jaguar and put an old extendable metal one on!
 
Well I'm no radio engineer, but my assumption would be that is areas of good reception the FM antennae in the bumper provides the best quality reception, however in weak signal it switches to the rod that is a lower quality signal, but better table to receive it.

For me and many the aesthetics, lack of dangerous 'spike' and loss of unused radio / mobile signals is of no consequence. Others need that functionality more.
 
Interesting, I must have missed that the first time around... Still seems odd to me that in the Audi TT (and lots of other cars) they dont need an external aerial, yes in ours they do... weird?!
 
For sure it's odd that they need to keep such a large aerial when other manufacturers and even different models in the range don't need it.
 
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