I've snapped my aerial!

[ICBongo]

Hi,

My bongo was attacked by a vicious clematis wrapped in a tree the other night and it bent my aerial over. Of course trying to straighten it has resulted in it snapping. It's gone very near the base so it's still quite long.

Does anyone know if I can refit the broken off bit back into the bracket? I've looked around for a replacement and they seem to be £40+ for a new one - which seems a bit steep to me.

All help appreciated.

[cmm303]

Is your Bongo a tin top or AFT? (they have different aerials)

[Bob]

Pretty sure there's a Fact Sheet and the Club Shop does them, that is about the price from memory.

For a cheaf fix Google 'Bee Sting' aerial.

I did the same.

[ICBongo]

Mine is an AFT type aerial.

So looking at the fact sheet I can see how to get it off, but do you know if I can work on the arm base and remove the broken bit and refit the bit that snapped off?

Failing that, what type of bee sting aerial do you recommend? I've googled it and there are a lot but they all seem to be the replacement part and I'm wondering what base will be needed to ensure a water tight fit again.

Thanks for all the help.

[Bob]

Something like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CAR-RADIO-UNI ... 1391603045

Should just screw into the broken stub. It will be waterproof as the male thread will fit inside the broken aerial and the flared end will drip water away.

I'm not responsible if this exact one is wrong.

[ICBongo]

Thanks Bob,

I will have a look at the weekend and see what I can achieve.

Thanks for all your help.

[Bob]

No probs, that's what I've done with mine so the proper replacement is on the 'Roundtuit' list.

Cheap, easy, fix and radio works fine.

Oh yes, as so often it was Northern Bonolow who put me on to it.

[westonwarrior]

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... ng#p110754

this is what I did

[ICBongo]

Excellent, thank you.

One further quick question, do you have to destroy the cap to get the bracket off? People are saying on here that it won't come off without 'digging' at it.

[Simon Jones]

There's a small black plastic cap in the centre of the chrome disc. Drill a small hole in the middle of the cap and using a small self-tapping screw, gently tighten it up and the cap will pop off. If you buy the genuine replacement aerial kit it comes with a new disc and cap, but you could just stick the original one back on.

Once the cap is removed, undo the hex bolt but watch for the small ball bearing that falls out & generally disappears, never to be seen again.

[cmm303]

That's this little chap. [url=http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/Chris ... .jpeg.html][img]http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a48 ... 38e4a.jpeg[/img][/url]

I removed the aerial from the vehicle wrapped in a plastic bag to avoid losing bits. I was not successful trying to insert the old aerial; ended up drilling, tapping and screwing in a cheap Bee Sting off eBay exactly as per the thread ref'd earlier. It's BEEn fine . Nobody has noticed the holed cover. Guess you could pop a blob of black sealant over hole if you are worried.

My ball bearing had a toy story life of its own though. After a foiled escape I stuck it on tape and took photos as if it were the Crown Jewels.

[ICBongo]

I just wanted to update this thread to tell you that I have fixed my aerial and with all the original parts.

Here is what I did.

First getting the bracket off. Most people have said that the best way of removing the black button is to drill a hole though it so you can get in a pull it out. But I wasn't really very happy about destroying it without trying something else. So I got a small screwdriver (the type you get in a cracker) and starting with the screwdriver at 90º to the silver ring (the visible silver bit around the black button,) and I started gently tapping the screwdriver and moving it 90º so it was flat with the car. (Imagine levering off a paint lid). This produces a lever action against the sliver ring and I was very surprise to find it moved. I did this all the way round until the silver ring/disk popped out. I then found that the black button is an insert into a silver disk so I'm glad I didn't destroy anything first.

Undoing the bracket is simple, you just use an alum key to undo the bolt and gently rock the bracket off. I'd read reports also about the ball bearing dropping out and was lost, so I laid a layer of blue tack into my guttering so if it did drop I would have something to catch it. I was lucky and mine stayed put.

My aerial snapped about 50mm away from the bracket which meant I had a long length of the original antenna left so I decided to see about re-attaching it to the bracket. I put the bracket into my vice and I hacksawed off the remaining antenna just above the little metal knuckle. Doing this I saw that the aerial was originally crimped onto a brass rod which stuck out of the bracket. The antenna is 5mm tube so I found a 5mm metal drill bit and using a hand drill I drilled out the rod to a depth of about 30mm. Take care when you do this as it would be easy to go off centre or snag, I used my hand drill so I had more control. After I was deep enough I switch to an electric drill and used the same 5mm bit just to help clear and open the hole out a little, but be very careful not to go too far.

Next I cut about 25mm off the antenna because as it snapped off it bent and crimped the tube, so I needed to cut it back to the straight part again. Then I measured the depth of the hole and marked it off on the antenna. Using a medium file I then set about filing down the marked off area just to reduce the thickness a little, not much but I wanted to make sure that once I started the process of pushing the antenna into the bracket that there would be no reason for it to snag. Take your time about this bit because once you start there is no going back!

I held the bracket upright in my vice and pushed the antenna into the hole, then keeping the it as straight and as vertical as possible I gently hammered the end forcing the antenna into the hole. It's testament to how well Bongo bits are made because the black cap on the end of the aerial showed no signs of damage as I tapped it, the antenna did not buckle and it all slotted firmly home without a problem. Go easy on the black end cap though, don't hammer it too hard and be very careful to keep everything straight.

I greased the bracket and bearing to ensure it all stayed in place whists refitting and popped my undamaged cap back on so now you would never tell it's ever happened. The radio works as well as it ever did and I am very pleased to be keeping my Bongo looking original.

Thanks to everyone who helped - I appreciate you input and advice.

[p_d_hodgson]

A way to get the button out without destroying it (in my case, no damage at all)...
Using a wood chisel (BEWARE: THESE SHOULD BE SHARP, so mind your fingers!!!), hold the chisel point to the side of button with the wedge side against the aerial/flat side of chisel out. Work around the button prising the button out, bit by bit, by levering the chisel slightly towards the van side. Don't hurry, trying to move it too much each time may jam the button, and the more you lever the more easily you could slip!!!