Stubby Antenna

[kdub405]

Just fill the tank up with some Don Julio and all will be good!


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[Aaron]

Just fill the tank up with some Don Julio and all will be good!


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I just tried this. It's better than a pedal commander. I have no tread left on my 37s but I got a free frappé from the barista at the Starbucks drive thru


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[kdub405]

I just tried this. It's better than a pedal commander. I have no tread left on my 37s but I got a free frappé from the barista at the Starbucks drive thru


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Some Don and a frappé....yummmm!


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[stevenstommyboy1]

So after all of this tech talk, does the Stubby fit in the hole or is the longer one need to fill it. There has to be a video out there somewhere that answers this question.

 

[pjones]

Definitely need a weep hole drilled into the base of the antenna. It's a proven mod. This will let the weak signal drain out.

 

[robb86]

I put a Cravenspeed .50cal on mine. I could not stand that thing whipping in the wind. In a truck that is a sophisticated as the Raptor is, you have this antenna that dates back to 30s. Cmon Ford!!

@dillard09, any photos of it? I like the look of it but was unsure how it would look.

 

[dillard09]

@dillard09, any photos of it? I like the look of it but was unsure how it would look.

I have a few pics on my phone but will have to work on resizing them. I'm not with my truck right now or I would snap a couple for ya. I'll see what I can do.
I had the .50 cal on my 2013 and now on the 2017. So much better looking than the stock and get comments on it all the time.

 

[xxaarraa]

Yes, you'll have to tune it. If you go into your radio page, select settings, then hold the 7 and 8 key while simultaneously pressing the heated steering wheel button it will let you into the engineering menu. Once you're there you'll want to scroll to option 6 - maintenance/dealer functions and then down to option 8-calibrate new antenna. It will prompt your for a length as well as the calibration number that came on the small pink sticker that was on the package. Enter that, and it'll auto tune. Piece of cake.

Do the stubbies on amazon come with the calibration number? Also, can anyone confirm that after retuning the stubby, is the reception as good as the stock antenna?

 

[hkguns]

I installed this 8" stubby. Took literally 30 seconds. Unscrew old and screw in the new and the receptions is 100% as good as original.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E69EV9Q/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

 

[HUFN8OR]

Just an FYI...I posted this in the main thread, but thought it might be useful here as well.

The perfect length is 22 3/4" from base to tip when installed.

Here's how I know:

I am OCD. I do a lot of work in downtown Houston, and often need to park in parking garages. The OEM antenna was getting the ever-loving-crap beaten out of it in these garages, and I even entered one parking garage where I honestly thought I would hit and crack my sunroof.

So I went to Home Depot and purchased the workings to build the perfect "height-kit" in my own garage. It consisted of: a 5' length of galvanized pipe, foam insulation to fit around the pipe, a long length of para-cord and two screw-in eyelets.

With this I created a pulley system on my garage ceiling with the padded pipe suspended from the ceiling (eyelets) and the cord allowing me to adjust it's height in perfectly minuet increments.

I then pulled the Raptor into the garage noting exactly where the "high point" of the truck was (it's the back of the rear sunroof panel BTW) hitting the padded pipe, and set the pulleys to hold the pipe at that level.

I then backed the truck out and noted where the OEM antenna just touched the height-marker padded pipe, and marked the antenna for cutting - providing a 1.5" - 2" buffer in case of speed bumps or other parking garage irregularities.

I then removed the antenna, and mounted it in my vise (with wooden blocks so not to damage it). Using the claw end of a standard hammer, the ball pops right off the top. I then hacksawed the antenna to the proper length, filed down the top 1/4" to allow for the ball to fit back on, and then JB Welded the ball to the new top. After curing, I then simply gloss spray painted it back black to look original.

After reinstalling this new and improved 22 3/4" antenna on the Raptor, I can confirm that it now touches the suspended padded pipe with about an 1 1/4" overage.

This should be perfect for me now, as it no longer bangs on every garage I enter, and if it does hit on anything, I know to swiftly but carefully back out of that garage as the tolerance is too tight for my comfort level and could lead to a cracked sunroof.

I hope this helps!!