I went ahead and ordered the A series - the one in the picture above. 2.5". Not as good of reception, but I can pick up the stations I want without any antenna so this will be an improvement.
I did this today. Took about 45 minutes but by following my instructions and photos it should take much less. The only tool you need other than your hands is a wrench and possibly a shop light. Now that I have the base replaced I can get either a shark fin or one of the stubby antennas.
Actually, I have my Sirius antenna mounted right behind it. And I used to get 2-3 bars reception with the old antenna. But with the stubby I get 4-5 bars SatRadio reception. And also the FM/AM is the same as before. No problems.
Headliner ensures that you get protection whenever you and your passengers are inside the car. This is one important part of a car and one way to preserve this and have a new car feeling is to keep the interior clean and protected. Even a tightly closed vehicle interior cannot escape with dirt and bad smell. Cleaning a headliner incorrectly can do extreme harm to the headliner. Washing the headliner properly, though, may add years to the life of the inside of your vehicle. Source of article: How to clean your car headliner
I did this today. Took about 45 minutes but by following my instructions and photos it should take much less. The only tool you need other than your hands is a wrench and possibly a shop light. Now that I have the base replaced I can get either a shark fin or one of the stubby antennas.
Just want to say THANK YOU to the OP for providing a step by step on how to remove the antenna base. After waiting a long week for my 6" MazdaSpeed shorty antenna to arrive, just 2 days after the installation for some freak reason while driving on the freeway I hear a snap and stumble from the top of my car. When I got home, it turns out the antenna broke off and it took a piece of the antenna base with it. Following the steps as documented, I was able to release the base of the antenna off the car and cover the hole for now.
For reference, AM/FM reception is adequate if you leave the base of the antenna still attached to the antenna cable. I left it tucked up there so I can still acquire reception with it, but I removed the black plastic casing from the metal internals as theoretically it is one less restriction to the radio signals I want. The sound quality is actually not bad because the stations I listen to in Minneapolis still comes through clearly. I also like the antenna-less look of the rear and I do not want to look at another roof mounted antenna for a while.
Hi. Just bought an 06 Mazda5 with a broken antenna base. I bought the base from the dealer, but I don't know how to remove the headliner. Can you provide any details on how you did this?
