I have a 2011 Lariat 4x4. The factory antena has a wire that wraps around and goes all the way to the top. Is that for the outside temp. gauge? The problem is that my antena is rubbing the stucco off the top of my garage door trim. I'm looking for an after market antena that is shorter with whatever the Factory antena specs have. Anyone know of any?
Thanks,
ford&hnt'n

 

I popped off the antenna ****, cut it shorter, used a bench grinder to bevel the edge, and popped the **** back on. Now it doubles as a parking garage feeler......

And as I understand it, the wrapped wire is for wind noise reduction.

 

I did the same with the antenna on my Mustang. I am using the antenna I took off my Harley on my F150.

 

The Stubby from Craven Speed is awesome. It screws right in so you don't have to use any cheap adapter type fitting screw - the pic on their website shows the user placing the screw in, but mine was complete and the best part is I can't tell any problems with reception.

http://www.cravenspeed.com/products/...y-Antenna.html

 

Thanks for everyones help

 

I cut mine a couple of inches shorter with a Dremel tool. I didn't bother with the ball tip.

I tried the Cravenspeed stubby and got really crappy reception.

 

I realize this is a very old thread, but I hate to see bad information go uncorrected. The wire IS the antenna. Here is the correct answer, quoted from a Quora post by Van Dee Allen

An antenna length should be a derivative of the wavelength that it is desired to be received. This is like a 1/4-, 5/8-, or 1/2-wave antenna. The wire is the actual antenna. Wrapping it around the the stick, which is for support, allows the antenna to have the length required without sticking in the air so far. Some antennas have a coil on the bottom or middle which does this. You may have noticed a magnetically mounted CB antenna has a bigger part next to the base. This contains a coil of wire, for example. A full length 100 MHz antenna would have to be about 10 feet long. Who wants that on the front fender of their automobile?

 

As a HAM Radio operator making antennas for more than half my life, in this scenario is all comes down to how much sensitivity you want the antenna to have. 1/4 wave antennas are compact, but don't do a good job unless you have a proper ground plane. Stock antennas a typically 5/8 wave or a modified with a matching ground.