Squirrel Damage: Car Antenna Repair

Hello!

"In my Golf 4, manufactured in 1998, with the basic equipment and a 1.9 ALH engine, I've been experiencing very poor radio reception for some time now."
(Original radio).

I noticed that the weasel has bitten off the tip of the antenna mast, the antenna is quite chewed, the antenna base is also gnawed, and the seal to the roof seems to have cracked due to age.

Something needs to be done.
Does the antenna have an amplifier in its base?
Does the cable reach all the way to the front, or is it connected to the base in a way that makes it easy to repair?
Should I order clips for the ceiling?
Buy everything original from , or is it okay to buy something cheaper?

Yes, the antenna is active and has an amplifier. It's possible to modify it by disconnecting the antenna and running the center conductor of the coax cable directly to the antenna rod's threads, while keeping the ground connection on the base as it is. After such a modification, everything could be filled with hot glue, and a leaky base seal would no longer be a problem. Alternatively, you could purchase all the original parts.

For martens that are gnawing on the antenna rods, the following combination has proven effective: Coat the antenna rod generously with chili paste, and then place some vegetable oil in a shallow dish. The chili paste causes a burning sensation and makes them thirsty. The vegetable oil then causes a large amount of loose stool. The rest, you can imagine.

Hi!

I installed a new antenna base today.
Result:
Instead of having 3 somewhat functional transmitters, I now have perhaps 10 powerful ones.
That's it, then.
Thank you very much!

Hello,

Last week, I only replaced the antenna mast on the Lupo. After that, the reception was good again. The old antenna was riddled with holes from corrosion. Under the insulation, the thin receiving wire was rusted/broken/severed. This apparently meant that the effective antenna length was no longer correct.

@HatDriver: Do you mean that the weasel would be conditioned using the described method and would stop damaging the teeth of that specific antenna or all antennas? That would be a problem for me because I have at least 3 places where I park my car overnight, and I would have to "train" a larger number of weasels. Does anyone have any experience with weasel repellent paste that you can buy at the pharmacy?

Bye.
peace

@pax (What's your actual first name, by the way?):

The principle of location applies: Anything that is in transit at a particular location is subject to conditioning.