As usual, I did not think things through when I bought my iPod Interface kit. Obviously I missed that 35-pin connector I need, but I have also wanted to get rid of my rear antenna that I have to bend over and tuck under my Tour-Pak, not real good on the paint.
I remember talking to Don about hidden antennas and he recommended the Tune Trapper. I then got to reading again about options; this was Friday afternoon.
I did searches here and found that the Tune Trapper was in deed a favorite and that the Dakota Digital was not as good etc.
What I ended up with was the Biketronics Hogtenna. This is powered, or I should say that it is connected to a 12v positive source. The reason I say that is that it only has one power wire, NO GROUND wire. Maybe it's using the wiring harness within the bike to further add to the wire available, but I thought antennas were "tuned" to certain frequencies so that may not be what it's doing. I remember many years ago some antennas for stereos in the house used a wall plug in and used the house wiring as an antenna loop. Now that I think about that, that was probably not a great way for a manufacturer to have the consumer hook up an in house antenna...
I added a couple extra layers of double stick tape so the surface might conform to just a little arc. I mounted this to the under side of the inner fairing just above the radio and all the modules. I ran the 12v wire down to the lighter. The antenna came with a piggy back connector on the 12v lead so it was just unplug and replug for the hook up.
Before I disconnected the original short mast antenna from the rear, I did a FM scan for channels. I was able to pick up 22 channels that I could say were clear channels. I installed the new Hogtenna and was able to pick up 18 clear channels. I finished my installation and not having the 35-pin connector for my iPod Interface install, I buttoned up the fairing and cleaned the bike.
While riding yesterday I was very impressed with the reception of the new Hogtenna while riding. This thing really worked great. I also picked up the ball game on AM and the Weather band seemed to work as good as before too.
The the Biketronics Hogtenna sells for $39.95 retail and compared to the Dakota Gigital that sells for $90.00, the Hogtenna is a bargain. If it didn't work, that would be different, but this thing worked great. Maybe in more fringe areas, rural, it might not be as good, but it works for me.
Author
Topic: Biketronics, Hogtenna!!! (Read 2134 times)