passat aerial

[macleod]

can anyone help i think i need to replace my aerial on my car signal is terrible worse in bad weather has anyone replaced one on a 1998 110 tdi

[ANGELO33]

try to look at ebay im sure you can find one

[kenney]

To remove the aerial on a saloon, the moulded headlining must be removed.On the estate, unclip cover strip from rear of moulded headlining. Unclip left and right D-pillar trim. Carefully lower moulded headlining slightly.

[Inspector Beetle]

I had poor reception on my 99 Passat saloon. did a silly thing and stuck a non VW aerial on. No better. So I fitted an antenna adaptor between the unit and aerial and there is a marked improvement in reception.(Our area is poor to start with) If any one is interested the part was £9.99 from Halfords part no PC5-52.. Our local store could order it but I went on-line to get it.
Is the genuine VW aerial boosted? Also if the aerial lead is the problem then I understand that the headlining is a bit of a pig to remove. Is this the case??
Any comments?
H...

[davejcb]

I had poor reception on my 99 Passat saloon. did a silly thing and stuck a non VW aerial on. No better. So I fitted an antenna adaptor between the unit and aerial and there is a marked improvement in reception.(Our area is poor to start with) If any one is interested the part was £9.99 from Halfords part no PC5-52.. Our local store could order it but I went on-line to get it.
Is the genuine VW aerial boosted? Also if the aerial lead is the problem then I understand that the headlining is a bit of a pig to remove. Is this the case??
Any comments?
H...

The genuine passat aerial is amplified to my knowledge. I didnt realise this when i fitted a sony head unit, after 6 months of poor radio reception I just bought an inline amplifier http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PC5-91-Amplifi...2em118Q2el1247
It has made a difference. I was after an DIN-DIN adaptor, what i actually got supplied with was an ISO-DIN lead and a DIN-ISO adaptor

[snapdragon]

Yes the aerial base incorporates an amplifier powered by 12 up the coax lead from the VW head unit.
If fitting an aftermarket radio, you need a special power supply that puts 12v up the coax to the aerial, but not the head unit.
The VW aerials are of poor quality and the amplifier has probably died due to moisture and will be a corroded mess.

[Inspector Beetle]

Thanks for the info on the aerial amplifier.. The Halfords amp I have put in seems to work ok. That takes power from the blue lead into the radio.Where is the original amp?Is it at the aerial base or under the headlining?

[kenney]

at the aerial base

[Inspector Beetle]

Thanks Kenney, Any idea how much for a genuine aerial? or do you think I am wasting my time as most people seem to think the Gamma radio is not so good?
H...

[snapdragon]

A new aerial was £27 for the base for me, it doesn't include the mast.
My signal wasn't good enough even with the new aerial base and mast, there was 12v at the connector, as I measured it. I just listen to CDs these days. The Gamma radio is bad for sound, I replaced my head unit with the VW Navigation Radio and the sound is mind-blowingly better, even on the standard speakers which I then didn't feel the need to replace.