Stubby aerial adapter for NA?

[YanMa YatTai]

My NA has a broken aerial. I bought an eBay special as replacement. It is a stubby aerial with various rings and screws for most new cars and was advertised to fit MX5 - though now I know they meant NC. Doh! It screws into the daily driver (a more modern car), but the NA base I have has a very large hole and will not fit any of the screws the stubby came with.

A bit of Googling found MX5 Parts and an adapter for the NA, however when I look at the pics it looks as though my NA aerial base is different to that pictured and have no idea how the adapter pictured would actually work with my base. Also Googled this site and found emily_mxV has one installed - http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=49039&start=15. Her aerial base looks like the one on the MX5 Parts web site so definitely diff to mine.

Considering the exxy shipping from UK I dont really want to commit to buying it unless I know it fits. I am wondering if my aerial is in fact some dodgy replacement for what was stock. Or is the AU version diff to JDM/other markets?

Can someone post up a close up pic of the stock aerial base, both inside the boot and exterior please?

Also, anyone know of a local supplier of stubby aerials that fit the NA? Most seem to be for newer cars and dont fit the NA.

[sailaholic]

Australia got electric standard, Jdm did not. Search miatamecha ?spelling? For genuine replacements. I know a bolt fits in Jdm bases if you want to go really stubby

[YanMa YatTai]

Oh. So does this mean I am missing everything! No motor!

This is the base for mine.


I had a plastic tube thingy that housed the metal telescopic aerial, at least what was left of it. I dont have a bracket to screw the plastic thingy to the bracket that is in the boot.

[YanMa YatTai]

Also, what's the whippy aerial I keep reading about?
I am assuming this is manual?

[Mr Morlock]

YMY why make life so difficult- its just an aerial. Why not just go down to the local auto supplier or audio place or Mazda and get another aerial. If its broken it has to be removed anyway so you then can replace with a suitable product and have a sample to show. You will be able to get some choice of aerials- at one stage you could get a fully retractable aerial that locked down manually and popped up by inserting a "key" Most simply find that an aerial pushed down to a low height is perfectly functional. Also ring one of the sponsors for advice.

[droo]

Usually because when something breaks it gives an owner an opportunity to either do a direct replacement, modify it or to try something new.
Then again, some people don't look for a breakage as an excuse, there's plenty of areas to improve on.

[bruce]

Have a look in the boot to see if there is a motor.
It looks like the original non-motor base was replaced wih that ugly thing. Maybe that base bit unscrews (it's got the edges)?
We can't answer all your questions - you have to do SOME work.

[YanMa YatTai]

Have a look in the boot to see if there is a motor.
It looks like the original non-motor base was replaced wih that ugly thing. Maybe that base bit unscrews (it's got the edges)?
We can't answer all your questions - you have to do SOME work.

Like I said earlier, no motor!
And yes I have done some work. And yes I can unscrew what is currently there.
Seems to be quite a bit of noob bashing recently. Like my original post said - I Googled, searched this site. I saw my car looks odd, thought I would ask to see if indeed my aerial is some dodgy aftermarket job. I have seen some stubby aerials on pics of NA's here so I thought I would ask if there is anything local rather than MX5 Parts or Goodwin. I searched the usual suspects (forum sponsors), but no avail. How about you read the thread correctly before you b!tch about noobs not researching. Honestly, how are posts like yours helping in encouraging people to join and interact? There is a post on making flyers or stickers to promote the club/forum, but with comments like this you will turn off any new people quite quickly.

YMY why make life so difficult- its just an aerial. Why not just go down to the local auto supplier or audio place or Mazda and get another aerial.

1. Looks like at some stage of its life someone did just that - went and bought any old telescopic aerial. Its rubbish.

2. Mazda are a ripoff

3. But mostly, I am cheap and thought I could simply buy any of the myriad of aerials off eBay. I committed and then found it suits new cars only. Thought I could make the most of my purchase and investigate availability of adapters.

And besides, it has a fake Mazdaspeed logo for extra bhp!

[Mr Morlock]

NB's and multi million other cars are fitted with the tried proven and well designed telescopic aerials - they simply work well and a manual one is rugged and fuctional - not rubbish. Instead of googling try talking to people.I suppose we can thank Mazda for the MX5 as well- and the brilliant design and function. Change for the sake of change is not necessarily an improvement.

[YanMa YatTai]

The telescopic ones are rubbish - the one in there now is broken, snapped off by some bogan. Many new cars don't have a telescopic one, they have little rubber ones. Change for the sake of change perhaps?
Talk to people instead of googling? What do you think is the reason for posting in a forum? Though others seem to think I should research and put in "SOME" effort. I can't win can I?

[droo]

Mr M, everything works until it breaks. The tried and proven designs do break, wear out and have a life expectancy under normal usage etc.. they contain moving parts, most of which aren't directly or made apparent to the owners as serviceable or maintainable. Despite having one function, they do break. That function maybe belittled by a host of other factors its design, materials used, and use, which add up complexity to the function which means even more areas to fail. It's unlike you to not respond with advice nor direction to the OPs question, or subsequent questions. *scratches head*

I Agree with YanMas view that telescopic aerials are rubbish - rubbish in terms of their visual look, they can break the overall appearance of the car, while electrically functional, living in a built up area usually doesn't require the use of a full quarterwave/tuned length aerial, which is frankly overkill. A 40cm piece of wire sticking out the back of the headunit and rested at the top of the dashboard is plenty to receive clear FM in a lot of orientations and while moving- home stereos have been using that for decades - and that's a lot cheaper then a telescopic aerial with near equivalent functionality. From the roadster's window sill line upwards, the cabin is not in a faraday cage to like a sedan, its mostly exposed or fabric roofed or non metal hard top - ie, it's entirely RF transparent. This leads me to think why mazda engineers even bothered to put an aerial in the vehicle to start with when it could have been incorporated in the top of the dashboard where it meets the windscreen ventilation area. It probably worked out somehow cheaper to use a telescopic aerial then to get someone testing a bent coathanger there.. who knows, but that wasnt engineering dictating the aerial and that's a near certainty.

The only reason for me, that i have an aerial on my roadster is to put something in the hole in the rear quarter panel. My aerial isnt' hooked up to my stereo and yet i still receive FM stations through the shielded aerial line. It worked out cheaper at about $20 to fill the hole up with an aerial then it was to quickly make something to size to neatly cover the hole without looking ugly.

[aka_juffa]

If it were me I would either place a wanted request in the forum for a 2nd hand aerial. or find a wrecker that has one. Then you have choice of getting an adaptor in order to install a stubby aerial into the Mazda base, or just keep the whole aerial.

I know it is a personal thing but I have always preferred the original fixed NA aerial. Last year I removed my electric aerial and installed a stubby aerial. I did this as I now have a DAB+ head unit and needed to change the aerial to suit.

By the way I still have the original Mazda working electric aerial...and could be persuaded to part with it

J.

[Mr Morlock]

I am somewhat taken back by Droo's response-its just strikes me as odd related to the subject ie aerials and their significance to most users ie never give it a thought. Step back and consider that the folding aerial is pretty much the standard for all makers and has been for probably 60 years. The reason is that its height is adjustable and it can be retracted completely for security esp vandalsim. The aerial can also stand quite high which aids reception. I think the screw off aerial on the NC is a cost savings feature and the product is susceptible to vandals- who will screw the aerial off every time they leave the car unattended? Electric aerials are part of modern cars like electric windows and mirrors- convenience etc.
Visual look of aerials- people have to be joking don't they? Also why use an aerial- because something with some height will have better reception and short aerials suffer and believe it or not some folks actually drive well out of the "burbs" and tune to AM and ABC all around Australia- whats FM with its often poor coverage.

[RedMX]

^^ Yup a aerial is a aerial.... they all do the same thing.

I had a issue with my aerial as well. The previous owner had screwed around with the car. I'm asuming they replaced the old stainless whip with a electric automatic setup & one assumes when they did the audio upgrade. Over the years of use I gather that the motor or the mast strap had failed over time and they removed the motor leaving it a manual retracting mast. It took me a little bit of proplem solving to find out what I had.

I wanted to replace the setup with something that would work because I was having signal issues with the old setup that the previous owner had installed (failing connection inside the base). In the end I replaced the old setup with a much newer system out of a 2004 Mazda 3 (BK series 5 door). knowing its styling is a little different.... But at least I know the aerial cable is in good condition (BK series harness) & its upgraded to the newer style antenna thread..


2004 BK Mazda 3 roof antenna


YanMa YatTai, If you bought that little carbon stubby antenna thingy you'll find that it will be lacking in signal in the outer reaches of the radio transmitter, Works fine if you live in suburbia. I've had a few freinds that have used these carbon stubs before & they are pretty poor at picking up signal if your in the outer reaches.

[droo]

Morlock- AM radio doesnt and never has required the use of a whip aerial mate.. AM reception is tuned in via ferrite core or loop antennas- and in automotive uses, are always encased INSIDE the head unit. Whip or telescopic aerials have nothing to do with AM reception, therefore the height of a telescopic aerial will have no effect on it's reception.

As for visual look of the aerial against a vehicle - people it would seem aren't joking. It's a personal preference, that of the OP and that of many others. Its clearly not important to you neither it would seem is any other aftermarket modification.