Has anyone ever used one of those "hidden" antennas (for the radio)? I have seen them in street rod magazines, but just curious of their reliability. Any information would be helpful.

130fe

I got mine at Radio Shack, it mounts in the trunk,of the rear fender,and goes up and down,or if I want it to,I can leave it up.Works good,and gets good reception.

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http://www.fototime.com/inv/E695F2E9BD55636

http://hobbystage.net/camaro/tomstv

Are you talking about the hidden antennas that hide behind the headliner etc.If so they dont work very well.

Any hidden set up offers a cosmetic bonus and a recieving negative.
If you want great reception go with the stock location.
If not, the cheapest hidden set up is a factory antenna wrapped in rubber hose stuffed across the inside of your dash. This also makes for super easy wiring too. The hose keeps the antenna from touching a ground. I did this and it works ok. I get all the major local stations.

Look ma, No antenna !

This is a bit different and probably not applicable at all, but ...

We bought a 99 Honda Accord and I couldn't find the antenna anywhere on the car. Finally, I realized that it was integrated into the rear window defroster. If you look at the rear window, you won't see the typical symmetric grid lines. Instead, there are some strange twists and turns in the pattern. This is the "hidden" antenna.

I don't know what all went into the design and there certainly may be other components to the antenna that aren't visible (amplifiers, etc.). However, the car got amazing radio reception.

I just mention this because it is possible, at least in some applications, to have very good reception without an antenna sticking up in the air.

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K.A. Young
Daily Driver (http://storm.prohosting.com/~youngka/pics.htm)

I bought the hidden antenna sold by Classic Industries. It works OK. It is supposed to be powered, but I couldn't tell any diffrence in reception with the power connected vs disconnected.

antenna in front windshield!
i think..

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73 Camaro, 350 .030" over, and 450 HP

I agree with matth. I have known a few people that have gone with different types of hidden antennas. Usually they had some type of problem. I have the antenna in the windshield and haven't had any problems yet except for the price of a replacement windshield.

I have one of the street rod antennas mounted under the dash and it does not work very well. I believe it is one of the powered ones also.

The best antenna is the stock variety as it uses the metal of the car as a 'ground plane'. Put simply, it needs this geometry and proximity to the metal surface to pull in weak signals. If you compromise this basic design, then good luck getting any fringe or weak stations. If you live in a major center, i.e. if your favorite station is within 25 mi. or so, then use any antenna you like. Weak FM is always the biggest challenge because (generally) its line-of-sight from the transmitter. I've also found that the quality of the tuner makes a huge difference.

I put the hidden antenna in the 69. I ran it to the driver's side quarter. It works great for me and makes the body a little cleaner.