kenfused

Hello
Does anyone know where to get a shorty version of the Firestik?
Do they make a 2" one?

3" seems kind of long and lanky!
Thanks

rimpainter.com

For the record, the 3' firestik did not work on my rig. I only got 2 stations, and one was in all Spanish.

In the meantime, I ordered a non-motorized base and a Taco whip antenna (black of course).

midiwall

Firestik is here:

http://www.firestik.com/

It doesn't look like they list _any_ AM/FM antenna's anymore.

rangerhawk

I kept breaking my power antennae on my 200 4runner. Just the mast. Broke three within three years and I finally had enough of it. What ended up working best for me, without any loss of reception, was to replace it with a whip antennae.

Tall and short, chrome and black/rubberized, I had no problems with any of them and the best thing about it was that I no longer had any problems. And if someone did decide to break it off, it was less than $20 bucks to replace it.

No more power antennaes for me!!!

rimpainter.com

UPDATE: I just received the parts from Toyotaparts4U today (happy with their service by the way). I am going to do the install this weekend. Oh, and I got the black Tacoma antenna, so now I have an extra "chrome" antenna that came with the kit. Hmmm, ebay I guess.

Thanks again Bob.

kenfused

Howlong did it take for you guys to install?
Do you have to open up the glove box area to get to the back, or can you connect the existing wiring from the motorized one to the new antenna?
Which antenna and assembly did you guys end up going with?
and how's the reception?

midiwall

You don't _have_ to pull out the glovebox and frame, though if you don't, you won't be able to get the original wire out without cutting it.

You _will_ have to pull the center dash off/out in order to get to the back of the radio and plug in the new antenna though.

If you haven't done it before, then you're looking at a couple of hours of work to figure out how to get to the old mast, get through the fender, get the dash apart, etc. Once you've done it though, it's about 20 minutes.

rimpainter.com

I hacked and cut the old wire enough to pull most of it out. The carcass is still in there somewhere

I ran the new wire through the hole (using the grommet it came with) and ran it right next to the heater control cable, zip tying it. Unless you are a trained eye, you would never know the difference. The hardest part is the fenderwell work, which is easiest if you have extra push-in body clips on hand. I tend to destroy the old ones as I pry them out. So be sure to get some of those. They are cheap.

shortfuse

A lot of people would replace their Scion tC antenna with the shorty rubber Honda S2000 antenna. It was the same connection and base. I wonder if that would work as well?

Ron Helmuth

since we are dredging up an old thread on a quite common problem- just wanted to mention there is no need to lose the reception from the rear diversity antenna embedded in the cargo area side glass.

Rock Slide did a great writeup on combining the antenna signals with some inexpensive adapters-hold on let me find it...

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/g...stereo-193751/

then no matter which route you go for your fender antenna-Tacoma whip or existing power antenna-you can get better reception by combining the signals.

I found replacing my power antenna with a Tacoma setup to be a pain-more work than I was willing to commit to ( I have bushwacker flares) so by adding a switch I limit the up and downs of my fender unit. (it just stays down 99% of the time in my case) but if I want it up I simply flip the switch and allow the radio to take control of the antenna again.

Don't spend $20+ on the wire wrap looking black Tacoma mast-just get a flexy silver one at a junkyard and spraypaint it black if that floats your boat...I got a few laying around the garage now-2nd gens and even first gens screw in fine to the Tacoma(or base model 4Runner) antenna base.

Kudos to Rock Slide for getting this all thought out...

If you are sticking with the OEM radio head unit all along, then it has a port for both antenna signals-a simple toggle switch to prevent the constant up and downs might extend the life of your antenna enough to suit you. or not...