radio reception

[peter2b]

when I got my zed the aerial was missing so I used the old trick using a bit of coat hanger wire about 10 inches long ,I got good reception with it but since then I've thied bee sting type 5 inches long ,8inches with poor reception now I've gone for a 16inch one still get poor reception, any one know why a coat hanger aerial work better than anything else
peter2b

[Vic-Z3]

Dare say it is metal that has no insulation material round it.
Try it again but cover it with earth wire covering .........

[peter2b]

The coat hanger is bare wire as is the screw on the end of the new aerial that I fitted ,I've tried to poke the screw end in as far as I can to mach the depth that the coat hanger went in without any luck, so I will go back to the old way for the time being
peter2b

[Southernboy]

Try using a suitable size welding rod... thread the end to suit etc... They come in steel,copper and brass so you have a choice of metal appearance.... thread the top and find a decent plastic bead to screw onto it...

[lightning]

Or you could do it properly and fit a new BMW aerial!

I think it has an amplifier built in, although reception is still not as good as on my Defender, which has a traditional aerial on the front wing.

[peter2b]

I've taken the aerial from my Mondeo 450mm long but still get a better signal from my coat hanger , inside the rubber gromit I found a grub screw with a 5mm thread inside it that the aerial screws into , could it be that when I screw the aerial in it doesn't go in far enough to make contact with something
peter2b

[lightning]

Yes probably.

There's an aerial feeder and an earth. You may be not making a connection to the feeder (centre wire in the aerial lead) or shorting it to earth.

Best to just fit a new one, rather than trying to bodge it.

[peter2b]

Cheers that is what I was thinking
peter2b

[Dino D]

Even with the full length original BMW ariel it comes with the Z3 has the worst reception of any car I've owned.
And it's hideous.
Now have a stub ariel in it's place as reception is so poor might as well improve the looks!
If I ever get a full respray done if love to smooth that hole in the wing over completely.
Now I just stream radio via 3G on the phone if I need it (via a great alpine headunit).

[lightning]

Mine's OK although not the best l've had.

I think the aerial is fitted with a signal amplifier. Have you replaced the original stereo? It's possible the power feed to the aerial is no longer connected, making the aerial next to useless.

[Southernboy]

The base of the Z3 aerial is where the signal booster is located - in the little black box inside the boot. It's possible the connection using an OEM aerial is not as it should be and the wire coat hanger does reach down far enough to connect. Perhaps try shoving a small wad of aluminium foil into the bottom before screwing the OEM aerial in ?

[peter2b]

Worth a try, chap where I work has a gage that test airials (he 's a radio nurd) said the shorter airia ls is OK for a signal less than 85 fm range
peter2b