Radio antenna on fiberglass fender

Please explain what a ground plane is?

http://www.criterioncellular.com/antennas/groundplane.html

OK, I see. I was hoping to keep the antenna where it is, as I prefer the look of it.

Leave it there but don't use it, try one of the hotrod style hidden antennas, Hirshman makes one of the best..Check the link...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HIRSCHMANN-Hidde...#ht_3109wt_1141

It won't work as well as a well executed standard ground plane style antenna but..

This has been a problem for two-way radios on ambulances with fiberglass rears. On those the frequency is higher and easier to do with metal plates or 4 wires going out horizontally 90 degrees apart. It's difficult to get enough ground plane for this frequency, especially AM, FM band is a little easier. I would run a 1 inch wide or larger ground braid from the antenna mount, (ground), to the closest metal part of the body, shouldn't be that far. Try it and see what happens. Depending on the radio you sometimes have to tune the antenna at the radio for maximum signal, usually a small trimmer near the antenna connector, sometimes it's behind one of the knobs.

Take a roll of alluminum duct sealer tape (about 4inches wide). Take the backing off and run a strip as far as you can reach to the front of the car to the door opening under the fender. Take another strip and run it from bottom of the fender around the antenna base. Mount the antenna on the foil strips. Will work well on FM, not so well on AM. When you are done, find a weak station on AM near 1400 Khz and peak the antenna tune on the radio.
Antenna Specialists and Larsen sold foil pads for two way radio antennas for fiberglass. They are not big enough for AM radio. What I described is bigger than their pads but still really not big enough to totally solve the problem.
Craig

all you have to do is locate the antenna wire inside the car,take just the outside covering off the wire, expose the 'grounding' wire attach a wire and go to ground, problem solved!

Post deleted by DirectSubjection

Find it hard to believe that will work. There is no electrical theory cited in the ad and I know of none that would apply. And for $50 american, I don't think I want to even try it.

what you seen in the video is an electro magnet,,would work on some applications, but not a radio that receives a signal,
what i told him to do is his fix for no ground on fiberglass fenders,
quick easy and under dash ,never see it if done correct will work better, as with all devices , it will all ways search for the closes ground.

So dennis, what you are saying is to remove the insulation from the coaxial cable inside the car where it leads to the radio, and ground that wire mesh somewhere inside the car?

yes sir , the outer 'mess' is just a ground,

Well, I'll give that a shot, thanks!