Window antenna

[JT_MONEY_2004]

Exactly what is the purpose of the rear window antenna?Whatz the ill effects of it missing?
Modified by JT_MONEY_2004 at 5:02 PM 11/24/2004

[qship96]

rear window antenna along with the mast make up the diversity system,which measures signal strength and switches between the 2 in order to receive the best reception.with it missing,system will not function as designed,probobly just use the mast signal and give whatever reception that provides.

[pito11213]

Funny I thought that the rear window mount antennae was for the cellular system. I was also under the impression that some vehicles have an attenae built into the window that serves at the DV system

[elwesso]

You can still get great reception with the antenna mast down... Mine would stay down when it was broken.....

[JT_MONEY_2004]

I was told it's both celluar and radio. Is this true on some cars?

Pito, i remember the black Q having a module stuck to the inner rear glass, this car doesn't have that, i'm wondering if this is part of my weak radio signal problem??

[pito11213]

This could be a possibility. I pushed my attenae all the way down since I got tired of looking at the broken thing all the time....looks better down anyway. My reception is still ok.

By the way the carwash broke my attenae on the rear window off.

[PoorManQ45]

Whatz the ill effects of it missing?

There should be no problems caused by removing the window antenna. I removed mine and not tell a difference in signal quality. That may be because I live in a semi-urban area though.

If you live in a rural area or are just getting bad radio reception, I would suggest getting one of these:http://www.jcwhitney.com/autop...10101

I have heard them in action before. They really help alot for weaker stations, and also help bring in Stereo signals, instead of mono. <-- You get a mono signal when the signal from the station is strong enough to be heard, but not strong enough to carry both left and right channels. You are still receiving both left and right channels, but the receiver only recognizes one of them because the other is too weak.

[Q451990]

I beleve the secondary antenna for the radio is built in to the back glass (looks like a defroster strip) - not part of the cellular antenna. Many Q's did not come with the cellular option, or the cellular kit was a dealer-installed aftermarket kit.

Heath

[szh]

The rear "vertical" - can be moved on a hinge to other angles - on-glass antenna was strictly for cell phone use. It was not installed on all 90-96 Q's, even though there was internal factory-wiring in the early few years (maybe through 92 or 93) after which it was a dealer-installed option for the internal wiring too.

In the case of the older Q's, with the stereo retracting antenna in the trunk, I think/believe that the "other" antenna for diversity was built into the front windshield. It is only on the more recent models, that do not have a retracting antenna, that antennas are built into the front and rear glass for diversity. My M45 is like this.

The bottom line: removing the on-glass hinged half-wave dipole antenna will have no effect on stereo FM reception! However, if you are still miraculously using the internal Infiniti analog cell-phone, then removing the antenna will impact your cell-phone reception!

Z
Modified by szhosain at 3:27 PM 11/24/2004

[PoorManQ45]

I guess I won't be using the analog cell phone built into my Q anytime soon .

That must have been a "cool" feature to have in the early '90s.

How would I got about removing the cell phone?

[szh]

I guess I won't be using the analog cell phone built into my Q anytime soon .

Correct! None of the current cellular carriers will set up an analog phone account anymore. If you already had an account (like I did with GTE, then Verizon) for a while, they would continue to support you. My boss just sold his 1993 Q45a, with the analog cell phone, and had to cancel his account with Verizon as they would not transfer it to the new car owner.

That must have been a "cool" feature to have in the early '90s.

It was indeed! I loved my Infiniti phone in my 1991 Q45. It was very nicely integrated into the audio system (auto mute of stereo when making and receiving calls!), etc. Audio quality on calls was excellent, and the speaker phone worked well - the microphone was in the dash and the speaker was below the armrest.

How would I got about removing the cell phone?

If you have one, in the 90-93 years it was located in the trunk. Look for a metal case about an inch thick or so, like a large thick book size, mounted below the rear deck, left of center a bit. This is the cell-phone. It may have a Motorola logo or Motorola name on it; if so, this is the phone! It unplugs relatively easily from the antenna cable, etc., and the screws to remove it should be obvious. You should also have a speaker and handset in the center console (below the armrest) - near the old Sony CD stacker control unit that went in there.

In the 94-96 years, I believe the phone was all one-piece, inside the raisable lid of the storage area in the arm-rest, as I recall, in a holder that connected into the stereo. A sorta normal cell-phone, also made by Motorola. So, in these years, there probably isn't anything in the trunk. In my 1995 Q45, I did not get the built-in phone, so I am not as certain about its locations or capabilities, etc.

Z

[szh]

However, for now it is still an FCC mandate that you can make 911 calls with these old analog phones. So, the built-in phone can be used for this purpose for a while longer (till the analog cellular mandate is removed in February of 2008.) If you do not need the extra space in the trunk (it used to get in my way to put luggage in), then you might want to keep it functional for a 911 purpose (if you do not have another cell phone that you normally carry.)

Of course, if your car is damaged badly enough in an accident to cause the electrical system to fail (I have done this once in an accident), then the phone is useless!

Z

[Jesda]

Is the antenna going through a hole in the glass or is it attached with an adhesive? Mine is flaking and slightly bent. I'd like to get a spatula or something and scrape the little turd off.

-Jesda

[JT_MONEY_2004]

Is the antenna going through a hole in the glass or is it attached with an adhesive? Mine is flaking and slightly bent. I'd like to get a spatula or something and scrape the little turd off.

-Jesda

Or you can buy one of those "fake" ones from pepboys or autozone, and use the new antenna pole to replace your bent one (keep the base on the window). It's one screw holding it in. You can then treat the base w/ a few doses of Mother's Back-to-Black, and you'll have a good look again.