Anyone painted a metal whip?

[supercowpowers]

Just finished the first commute with the short load. It doesn't seem to lose too much performance compared to the original whip. Distant conversations are a little harder to make out but they rarely provided me with information about law enforcement anyway. It's probably about halfway between a Lil Wil and the original whip.

I'm not too happy about the silly looking load in the middle, but my only other option I think would be to redo all my wiring for an NMO mount and put up something like a Maxrad 2700 which is still 4 feet tall anyway.

Anyway, threads like this are worthless without pictures...

I don't have tint, it's just dark out.
"Multiple antennas" (At least there's no tint or scanner antennas )


Front view - obviously.


Doesn't look like much of an improvement unless we compare it to the original, which was literally taller than the car...


Here it is beside the original Wilson 1000 whip. I swear there's a bigger difference between the bare steel and black paint out in the sun.

[Stealth Stalker]

Respect for manning up and drilling that hole!

[FoolishOne]

Respect for manning up and drilling that hole!

x2. You are one of a select few that drilled a hole, even though your not deep into the hobby (4 scanners, 2 CB's, each with 2 ant. in co-phase., etc.)

Reminds me that I still have to do mine. The interior is now gutted, so it's just time and hole saw.

[supercowpowers]

Respect for manning up and drilling that hole!

I absolutely hated seeing the enormous magnet mount with the sloppy coax hanging out of it and the water leaking in the trunk, and I didn't like the idea of using a trunk lip mount and putting the coil at the very front of the trunk and under the roof line. I guess it works alright but I dunno... There also would have been no way I could have kept the antenna from hitting the roof with a trunk lip mount.

My goal is to keep this car to the point that a small hole plug in the roof wouldn't devalue it too much. Until that point, I'm much happier with a "proper" install.

It honestly doesn't look that bad with the weather cap on the mount, and I got a package of 3/4" hole plugs that only stick about 1/8" above the roof if I decide I need one.

[Motor On]

Some people just think chrome is the devil

A black whip will give back a lower LCS (LIDAR cross section) which means $0.50 of spray paint could save you a $200 ticket. (Last I checked Wilson didn't make jammer heads in there center loaded antennas)

[Stealth Stalker]

Last I checked Wilson didn't make jammer heads in there center loaded antennas

Interesting thought though! Back in the 70s, Robyn made an antenna that had a little grain of wheat bulb on the very tip that lit up when you transmitted. Then someone started marketing similar bulbs with loose wire leads on them to simply tape or solder into place on any metal whip. They were all the rage for a little while. It'd be cool to rig a modulated laser diode onto your antenna whip in similar fashion!

[crazyVOLVOrob]

A black whip will give back a lower LCS (LIDAR cross section) which means $0.50 of spray paint could save you a $200 ticket. (Last I checked Wilson didn't make jammer heads in there center loaded antennas)

I will give $100 to anyone that can get a reading off a CB antenna.

Its NOT possible!!!! I have tried multiple times

[FoolishOne]

Rob, I am completely with you. I'm glad someone else can see through the line of thinking.

I am stunned that people like Stealth Stalker think that it is feasible, as mentioned in previous threads.

[Stealth Stalker]

I didn't say it was feasible. I said it was an interesting idea.

[FoolishOne]

Nit picking, but kinda sounds like you think it's a little feasible...

I think the chances are extremely slim, but again, someone did mention this being a factor here at least once. That's why I make sure all my antenna whips are black.