Is shark fin areials any good?? My other areial is standard but cant get a good signal any where i go even in london or up north.. any advice would be helpful..
Shark fin is a style not a brand, cheap chinese copies are probably shit and genuine BMW ones are probably very good.
If you are having issue with radio reception it's highly unlikely to be the aerial itself what with it being just a bit of metal with a plastic or paint covering there isn't anything to actually go wrong with it.
(20-09-2014, 07:38 PM)Dum-Dum Wrote: [ -> ]Shark fin is a style not a brand, cheap chinese copies are probably shit and genuine BMW ones are probably very good.
If you are having issue with radio reception it's highly unlikely to be the aerial itself what with it being just a bit of metal with a plastic or paint covering there isn't anything to actually go wrong with it.
Do you know what it might be? I took the stereo out and checked the radio wire which i thought it was that but it isnt, i dont know what eles it might be.. i moved the areial up and down but is still the same..
Arent the shark fins for the GPS?! Or av I got that wrong!?
Is it a standard radio Josh?
Theres a recent thread about improving signal with a booster for aftermarket stereos...I'll try and find it if someome else doesnt first
(20-09-2014, 07:38 PM)Dum-Dum Wrote: [ -> ]If you are having issue with radio reception it's highly unlikely to be the aerial itself what with it being just a bit of metal with a plastic or paint covering there isn't anything to actually go wrong with it.
That's not totally right tbh, the length does make a difference to picking up the radio waves... Which is why beestings and shark fins tend to be shit lol.
If you've got a short aerial you need a good amplifier for it, which is what Piggy is referring to. Its a thread by DeeTurbo.
Shark fin ariels are for GPS like piggy says. The BMs with them on have the radio ariel built into the back window.
Cheers for the advice guys, my mate put one on his skoda which he hasnt got a gps in his car, tom its a standard length areial which dosent look short, and piggy it is an aftermarket stereo same one thats in my other project thread, even with the standard radio there wasnt good signal, if you can find that thread would be helpful. Cheers..
Cheers wingnutz, did help i will try that one day, also i know this isnt the topic, so instead of me doing another thread can i put the front numberplate in the windscreen?
Thats a bit of a grey area AFAIK...some say as long as its plainly visible from the front it will be fine, others say it should be on the bumper regardless. Dum-Dum might be able to point us in the direction of a useful piece of legislation regarding number plate laws, but from a quick google, the gov.uk site states that number plates should be displayed on the front and rear of every vehicle, but some exceptions can apply. It just doesnt state what sort of exceptions.
Personally, i wouldn't bother putting the plate anywhere other than where it should be, just seems to be inviting more hassle than its worth IMO.
Plate needs to be at the front most part of the car and not obscured...ie not 4feet back in the windscreen behind glass!
What about on the bonnet? Ive seen some cars have put it on their bonnet like sticker wise? Im going to smooth out the bumpers so want to see of i can put it somewhere eles, thanks for the advice about not putting on windscreen..
Technically it has to be vertical, so putting it on the bonnet isn't legal either.
"Forward most vertical surface" i think is the term they use. Front bumper only.
Cant find anything on the gov site
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More details here...
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Still just says as close to vertical as possible, others online have mentioned a max height of 1.5 meters from the ground. Pretty much as much as i can find.
Cheers Ian and Tom, i'll just stick it to the bumper then so no one can try and take if off.. but seen olden cars have it on the bonnet so i thought it was legal...
(21-09-2014, 05:17 PM)Josh1994 Wrote: [ -> ]...but seen olden cars have it on the bonnet so i thought it was legal...
There are lots of things on cars on the road today that aren't legal. Just because someone else has done it, doesn't make it legal unfortunately!
(21-09-2014, 05:21 PM)Toms306 Wrote: [ -> ] (21-09-2014, 05:17 PM)Josh1994 Wrote: [ -> ]...but seen olden cars have it on the bonnet so i thought it was legal...
There are lots of things on cars on the road today that aren't legal. Just because someone else has done it, doesn't make it legal unfortunately!
Ohh right, cheers Tom..
They use the stickers on kit cars normally, not legal no, but if you put a number plate in front of a grill the same size its not good lol
I aint going to put it a small size, i am going to get a stick on one same size and after the bumper is smoothed then will stick it on, will be the same size as a normal one but only difference will be stick on..
May not meet reflective criteria if its stick on.
Whats wrong with a normal legal plate in the normal legal position?!
(21-09-2014, 08:49 PM)Piggy Wrote: [ -> ]May not meet reflective criteria if its stick on.
Whats wrong with a normal legal plate in the normal legal position?!
I thought it would look better?
and because if i smooth the bumper out then it is easier for someone to take the front plate off..
This is something that i am looking for... Thanks slam wagon..
No worries, my mate has the electric one on his civic, i want one but the intercooler gets in the way. Might also be worth making a warning light to remind you when you have it hidden. Also its great for average speed checks when they only have foward facing cameras, not that you should speed at all obviously.
Ive seen these flip plates before. Very cheeky and I hate to think of what would happen if you got caught hiding the plate haha!
(22-09-2014, 10:23 AM)SRowell Wrote: [ -> ]Ive seen these flip plates before. Very cheeky and I hate to think of what would happen if you got caught hiding the plate haha!
Haha! only going to hide the plate when parked up and at shows.. its a private plate thats is why i dont want no one to see it
, if it was orignal plate then wouldnt bother me..
(22-09-2014, 08:40 AM)Slam Wagon Wrote: [ -> ]No worries, my mate has the electric one on his civic, i want one but the intercooler gets in the way. Might also be worth making a warning light to remind you when you have it hidden. Also its great for average speed checks when they only have foward facing cameras, not that you should speed at all obviously.
Cheers for the heads up! I dont speed when it comes to a place i dont know, only where i am from, will defo make a warning light to remind me..
Why would it bother you if people see your private plate rather than a standard plate? Surely everyone sees the plate while you drive around?
There are some nice smart brackets you can buy/make so you could remove the front plate for shows!?
(22-09-2014, 04:42 PM)Piggy Wrote: [ -> ]There are some nice smart brackets you can buy/make so you could remove the front plate for shows!?
This. if you have one of them flip up plates and the police see it i bet you will get arse raped by the long arm of the law!
Ive got these plate holders
![[Image: IMG_1362_zpsa16b00a2.jpg]](http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/niallharper/IMG_1362_zpsa16b00a2.jpg)
Plates can be changed easily so just get your self some show plates and swap them over at meets/shows etc.
I know quite a few people that just use extra strong velcro tabs.
![[Image: IMG_1362_zpsa16b00a2.jpg]](http://s290.photobucket.com/user/niallharper/media/IMG_1362_zpsa16b00a2.jpg.html)