Flat low profile antenna (non shark fin)

[OICU812]

Looks good much better then shark fins etc...

[zoomzoomers]

I too don't like the look of my factory BRZ antenna, but I've hesitated to change it (i.e. shark style) because I do not want to loose reception. Somebody needs to come up with a good alternative and quick. Keep us posted with your results.

[drtepper]

Alright, so it doesn't seem like a g37 antenna will work. the housing is just way too small for all the junk in the brz base. Essentially the g37 antenna housing is only meant for sat radio/nav but the brz's housing is for both sat and fm radio so.. twice the stuffings. Here are the pics i got from my experiment today.









looks like we either need to find another car that uses a larger flat type antenna to mooch off of or fabricate our own non-shark-fin type shells to go over the stock housing. Any ideas?
@FTEIGHTSIX

[FTEIGHTSIX]

I think it still might be possible.
What if you took apart the antenna?

It looks like you can unscrew both the FM and HD antenna.

I would stack them.

It looks like it would still fit.

The g37 can still be separated from the outer shell and its base.

[drtepper]

I think it still might be possible.
What if you took apart the antenna?

It looks like you can unscrew both the FM and HD antenna.

I would stack them.

It looks like it would still fit.

The g37 can still be separated from the outer shell and its base.

that was my first thought as well but I don't think that the g37 s vertical clearance in the housing can accommodate a stacked arrangement its pretty cramped in there.

[FTEIGHTSIX]

I take back what I said after looking at mine just now.

[FTEIGHTSIX]

Originally Posted by drtepper

that was my first thought as well but I don't think that the g37 s vertical clearance in the housing can accommodate a stacked arrangement its pretty cramped in there.

I have tomorrow off.
I might try to take mine apart to see what I can come up with.

[FTEIGHTSIX]

If all else fails, I'm just going to mount the FM part inside the car and the HD in the g37 antenna and hope it all works.

[drtepper]

Originally Posted by FTEIGHTSIX

If all else fails, I'm just going to mount the FM part inside the car and the HD in the g37 antenna and hope it all works.

That's actually not a bad idea... but i'd probably opt to leave the Sat receiver inside like in between the headliner and the roof.. since i never use it anyway.. haha. At least I assume the square thing is the sat receiver.

Keep me posted if you get it done tomorrow. I might revisit it myself, if you've had any success.

[Spidey]

I got my antenna today and installed. I used the G37 Convertible antenna. I removed the circuit board from the FR-S antenna and placed it into the G37 base.



There are two places where you have to desolder. Both are shown below.




Next, pry open the metal prongs holding the antenna cable in place, shown bellow already pried open.



Remove the two pins from the plastic clip and take note of the antenna position in as shown below. The small one came out by tugging on it. The antenna wire you have to unclip from the front as well.





The FR-s circuit board fits into the G37 antenna as shown.



There are 2 places to solder to the G37 base. One is the previously unsoldered wire underneath the board. After doing this I placed some GOOP over it to hold it in place just in case. The other was also unsoldered previously in the second pic. The hole in the board actually aligns with a screw hole we won't be using so, I just dumped a lot of solder wire into the hole. This can be seen below. I also soldered another wire to where the original antenna mast touches and ran a wire through a hole I made on the plastic case.




Note, The oem FR-S nut can be used with the G37 antenna base, so that’s what I did.



Done. Thanks to Enigmus for the info.



The paint color doesn't match perfectly, but its barely noticeable.

[Lonewolf]

Thank you for the write-up! Some vendor should really get on making this type of product available...cough, cough @beatsonic

[Spidey]

Originally Posted by OICU812

Love this! I emailed Beatsonic saying they should make an option like this and basically was told no interest in it. Personally I think that looks better then anything out there for this car!!!

No offence to Beatsonic, they make a good product, but they are selling a piece of painted plastic for $115. It would take some engineering to fit all the components from the OEM antenna into a newly developed base and casing. I'm guessing they would charge over $300 for something like that.

[Lonewolf]

Originally Posted by Spidey

No offence to Beatsonic, they make a good product, but they are selling a piece of painted plastic for $115. It would take some engineering to fit all the components from the OEM antenna into a newly developed base and casing. I'm guessing they would charge over $300 for something like that.

It would still be nice to have the option...and with enough volume I think they can offer them around the $215 price range.

I emailed Beat Sonic and hopefully enough people will let them know that there is a market for something like this...

[Lonewolf]

Originally Posted by Spidey

I got my antenna today and installed. I used the G37 Convertible antenna. I removed the circuit board from the FR-S antenna and placed it into the G37 base.



There are two places where you have to desolder. Both are shown below.




Next, pry open the metal prongs holding the antenna cable in place, shown bellow already pried open.



Remove the two pins from the plastic clip and take note of the antenna position in as shown below. The small one came out by tugging on it. The antenna wire you have to unclip from the front as well.





The FR-s circuit board fits into the G37 antenna as shown.



There are 2 places to solder to the G37 base. One is the previously unsoldered wire underneath the board. After doing this I placed some GOOP over it to hold it in place just in case. The other was also unsoldered previously in the second pic. The hole in the board actually aligns with a screw hole we won't be using so, I just dumped a lot of solder wire into the hole. This can be seen below. I also soldered another wire to where the original antenna mast touches and ran a wire through a hole I made on the plastic case.




Note, The oem FR-S nut can be used with the G37 antenna base, so that’s what I did.



Done. Thanks to Enigmus for the info.



The paint color doesn't match perfectly, but its barely noticeable.

Awesome write-up, thank you! Mods please make this available in the DIY section of the site...