Sat antenna placement

[peter-pa31]

I have installed a Sirius receiver in my 04 C4S. I mounted the antenna next to the pollen filter as has been discussed in other threads. I find the reception to be excellent at times, but problematic at others. I was thinking about alternatives. My requirements are as follows:

• Not visible from outside the car
  
• not covered by any metal
  
• as close to a 360 degree view of the sky as possible
  

I was thinking that one such place could be somewhere in the nose. It is not metal, and if the antenna were mounted high enough, it would have an good chance at 360 degree visibility of the sky. Since I have never removed the nose, I don't know if there would be room for the antenna, or a suitable mounting point.

Before I go to the effort of pulling the nose off, I thought I would see if anyone had any thoughts on this. (or if anyone had a better idea!)

[geza]

I don't know the overall dimensions of the antenna - but here are some thoughts.....

Between the foot of the windshield, and the top of the hood where it meets the wiper arms, there is a large black plastic cover that runs the entire width of the windshield. You could take off the wiper arms, and using care, remove the tabs that hide the mounting bolts that keep this cover in place over the wiper arm mechanism.

There could be enough space under this cover - it gets mostly full exposure to the sky, is not covered by the hood, it would cover your antenna completely - all you need to do is make sure that the antenna/cable will not interfere with anything else under there.

Another place might be inside one headlight assembly - as far forward as possible, if dimensions allow, hidden where it is not visible through the lens.

[Orient Express]

Some folks that do not have GPS navigation, put the Satellite antenna under the center cover on the top of the dashboard between the defroster vents.

[viper501]

Some folks that do not have GPS navigation, put the Satellite antenna under the center cover on the top of the dashboard between the defroster vents.

I have my XM antenna mounted under the small cover that is there between the two vents inside the car at the base of the windshield. The small cover pops off and there is a metal plate close to the windshield. The small XM antenna mounts magnetically and the cover fits back over top of it. Some occasional problems that I probably would not have if the antenna was mounted on the paint outside but I don't have any worries about paint damage and it is low profile.

[1999C4CO]

I don't know the overall dimensions of the antenna - but here are some thoughts.....

Between the foot of the windshield, and the top of the hood where it meets the wiper arms, there is a large black plastic cover that runs the entire width of the windshield. You could take off the wiper arms, and using care, remove the tabs that hide the mounting bolts that keep this cover in place over the wiper arm mechanism.

There could be enough space under this cover - it gets mostly full exposure to the sky, is not covered by the hood, it would cover your antenna completely - all you need to do is make sure that the antenna/cable will not interfere with anything else under there.

I have my Sirius antenna mounted under this exact plastic pannel and it works great. I took a piece of metal backstrap (most commonly found in aftermarket radio boxes for radio installiation support, see any install shop and they will most certainly have some to give you) and fabricated a mount that holds the antenna directly under the plastic pannel. It gets 360* reception and the SIRIUS signal is strong enough to penetrate the plastic without issue. My 996 actually doubles as a demo car for SIRIUS (see some of my other posts for pix) as I have worked for them since 2002 so you can bet that we would not risk placing the antenna anywhere that there would be possible muteing issues. Congrats on choosing to ride with the "big dog" in satellite radio and I am sure it is the only thing that can make driving a Porsche more enjoyable.

Regards,

Andrew

[peter-pa31]

Thanks for the input. I thought about the placement between the defroster vents as I know that sat nav antenna goes there. At first glance, I thought that the Sirius antenna would be too big, but I did not actually remove the plastic cover and try it. I'll give that a shot next.

[Loren]

This statement was in a dealer bulletin dated today (December 6, 2005):

Satellite radio will not be available on US or Canadian market sports cars until an acceptable antenna is developed. Such an antenna must be hidden from external view – as on the Cayenne.

Satellite radio IS available on US/Canadian Cayenne models with PCM.

[peter-pa31]

After having less than good success installing the Sirius antenna near the pollen filter, I finally got the time to pull the front bumper cover and install the antenna on the top of the bumper. The results are fantastic. I have no drop-outs and the antenna is completely invisible (as well as protected from the elements).

[viper501]

After having less than good success installing the Sirius antenna near the pollen filter, I finally got the time to pull the front bumper cover and install the antenna on the top of the bumper. The results are fantastic. I have no drop-outs and the antenna is completely invisible (as well as protected from the elements).

Great idea! :clapping: