My 2012 Ford Explorer Limited with Shark Fin Antenna

[DefinitiveCars]

Alright, ordered mine today. Will report back when I get it installed.

D

 

[sportexplore]

How Well Does the VG Sharkfin REALLY work?

Okay, this thread is about a year old now and I am scouring this forum for information about how well this Sharkfin antenna really works.

Everyone seems really happy with the way it looks and I have to admit the pictures look fantastic, thank you to all who posted!!

We are about three plus weeks out on our 2013 Tuxedo Sport coming in and I am concerned about the antenna on the roof, but I am more intolerant of poor radio reception.

The Explorer will be my wife's daily driver and she will routinely be putting a car cover on it while at work. When it is summer time here in Arizona and commonly in the high 100 teens with UV indexes between 10 and 12 it makes a lot of sense to cover your car for about 5 months or so.

I am concerned about her being able to get the cover over the antenna easily. It's like anything else; the easier it is, the more often you'll do it and covering your car is no different, I find.

So we've been very interested in the VG Sharfin antenna, but I have been reading terrible reviews all across the internet of aftermarket sharfin antennas in general, so I am reluctant to order one, especially custom painted.

We have had radio reception problems in our last car due to an 'upgrade' and have regretted it ever since. We have really good radio stations out here in Phoenix and listen to the radio all the time, AM, FM and HD. We have no intention of continuing the Sirius Radio subscription, we are kind of suscription averse, no cable, no sat, etc.

If anyone has tried one of these antennas and has a comment about it, regardless of brand, I would appreciate it. I am very interested in any empirical testing or evidence you might have. How far away are your radio stations, what kind of terrain might be affecting your signals, what about AM vs. FM? How did it compare to your OEM antenna, specifically?

We travel into the mountains routinely on the weekends and I don't expect much from the antenna up there, but in metro Phoenix, I need as good or better reception than the OEM antenna across all frequencies or it isn't really worth it.

This truck replaces the car with a top of the line Kenwood with terrible reception (I know, I didn't believe it either) and I don't want even a hint of that in her new Ex.

Let me know what you think, please. I don't think we'll order it until the truck arrives, even though the cover is already on order. But I've seen the inside of that VG Sharkfin and there's not much going on there.

Being a ham radio operator, and electronics technician I know a fair bit about antennas, and this doesn't look like a very robust one, but I am interested in your real world experience on the new Explorer.

Thanks in advance guys!!

Scott

 

[peterk9]

Okay, this thread is about a year old now and I am scouring this forum for information about how well this Sharkfin antenna really works.

Everyone seems really happy with the way it looks and I have to admit the pictures look fantastic, thank you to all who posted!!

We are about three plus weeks out on our 2013 Tuxedo Sport coming in and I am concerned about the antenna on the roof, but I am more intolerant of poor radio reception.

The Explorer will be my wife's daily driver and she will routinely be putting a car cover on it while at work. When it is summer time here in Arizona and commonly in the high 100 teens with UV indexes between 10 and 12 it makes a lot of sense to cover your car for about 5 months or so.

I am concerned about her being able to get the cover over the antenna easily. It's like anything else; the easier it is, the more often you'll do it and covering your car is no different, I find.

So we've been very interested in the VG Sharfin antenna, but I have been reading terrible reviews all across the internet of aftermarket sharfin antennas in general, so I am reluctant to order one, especially custom painted.

We have had radio reception problems in our last car due to an 'upgrade' and have regretted it ever since. We have really good radio stations out here in Phoenix and listen to the radio all the time, AM, FM and HD. We have no intention of continuing the Sirius Radio subscription, we are kind of suscription averse, no cable, no sat, etc.

If anyone has tried one of these antennas and has a comment about it, regardless of brand, I would appreciate it. I am very interested in any empirical testing or evidence you might have. How far away are your radio stations, what kind of terrain might be affecting your signals, what about AM vs. FM? How did it compare to your OEM antenna, specifically?

We travel into the mountains routinely on the weekends and I don't expect much from the antenna up there, but in metro Phoenix, I need as good or better reception than the OEM antenna across all frequencies or it isn't really worth it.

This truck replaces the car with a top of the line Kenwood with terrible reception (I know, I didn't believe it either) and I don't want even a hint of that in her new Ex.

Let me know what you think, please. I don't think we'll order it until the truck arrives, even though the cover is already on order. But I've seen the inside of that VG Sharkfin and there's not much going on there.

Being a ham radio operator, and electronics technician I know a fair bit about antennas, and this doesn't look like a very robust one, but I am interested in your real world experience on the new Explorer.

Thanks in advance guys!!

Scott

Hi Scott. I don't think I'd recommend a cover if you are sticking with the OEM antenna. The only way I can see that working is if you cut a hole where the antenna would be and then place the cover on that area first before covering the rest of the vehicle. Otherwise I'd be concerned that it would snap off. The tip is about 12" from the roof.
I like the look of the 'fin' and reports seem to indicate good reception. My only concern is how it would perform outside of major centers once you get out in the country side.

73's from VE3 land, FN25

Peter (not really active anymore)

 

[sportexplore]

Most high quality car covers provide a two piece grommet style device that you attach to the hole you make for your particular antenna to stick through.

My concern in that my wife is somewhat 'vertically challenged' and putting the cover over the antenna will definately be the worst part of the covering process. All of her other vehicles had the antenna lower and were not an issue. When I rented one of these (Ex, xlt) a month ago, the radio reception wasn't that great anyway, especially on AM, so a poor antenna may just add to that.

We will probably try one of the sharkfin type antennas out there eventually, I just need to do a lot more research first. This VG models has had good reviews on this site, but I am skeptical from what I have read elsewhere. It's pretty hard to beat a high placed whip antenna for reception on a car, and I don't want to lose a whole lot of reception again like our last experience.

It is unfortunate that returns are discourages since it is custom painted or I would not be too concerned. I'll know right away if there is unacceptable perfomance. If we do try the VG product, I will be sure to write a thorough review of the product on this forum.

Thanks for your input, Peter.

73's from Phoenix.

Scott

 

[cnsheets]

But I've seen the inside of that VG Sharkfin and there's not much going on there.

Not sure what you mean or what you expect to be on the inside.

I live in Los Angeles, and have had no problems with reception other than occasionally while going under a long underpass. However I had problems with the stock antenna in these same areas.

 

[Rick]

73's from Phoenix.

Scott

Another ham here Scott. AB7FH, Northwest of Phoenix in Wittmann.

Glad to have you on the site.

Are you planning on putting a ham rig in the Explorer for your wife?

 

[sportexplore]

Another ham here Scott. AB7FH, Northwest of Phoenix in Wittmann.

Glad to have you on the site.

Are you planning on putting a ham rig in the Explorer for your wife?

No, Rick, she's not much into it. It was really a hobby when I was a little younger, mostly 2M and 440 for comms when we spent most of our free time up in the high country, long before we had a cell. We used the autopatch now and then and really liked the security of having the radios and repeaters around. More reliable than cellular by far.

Work has kinda pushed ham radio aside for the past decade or so it seems (Moto Semiconductor). We still carry a 2M in the high country for emergencies, though. We visit Escudilla and Alpine a lot. Can't wait to get this new Sport Explorer up there. Camp is at 9700 feet. 70 degrees in July. Very nice.

I haven't been on the air in a quite a while and it looks like it would be a challenge to find a good spot for a radio in this Explorer. Besides, that would just be another antenna for her to try to put her car cover over.

With your considerable experience as an Extra, what do you think of this sharkfin antenna design? I also wonder about the affect of the metal flake paint on the unit. Could this contribute (even slightly) to a Faraday cage effect and further inhibit reception? We are going to be Tuxedo Black.

It looks like the Explorer is on schedule for mid February, I'm going to thoroughly test the original whip antenna before changing anything so I have a good baseline for evaluation. We are pretty unhappy with the radio in her car we're trading in, so I am collecting as much data as I can in advance. We bought the Kenwood because I have been really happy with their Amateur Radio equipment, but this car unit was terrible, despite our efforts to add signal boosters, etc.

Thanks for hosting this great forum. Enjoy the warm weather, no cold weather, no warm weather. Well, whatever it is this week.

Scott
Gilbert, AZ

 

[sportexplore]

Not sure what you mean or what you expect to be on the inside.

I live in Los Angeles, and have had no problems with reception other than occasionally while going under a long underpass. However I had problems with the stock antenna in these same areas.

Thanks you for your response, this is very valuable.

I've just never been too keen on fractal antennas, I guess. I'm kinda old fashioned that way. I realize they can be very effective if designed and applied properly, and they have multiband properties that many other antenna designs don't possess, I have just never been a 'multitool' guy when it comes to antennas.

Yes, you can receive a 100 MHz radio signal with a simple coat hanger shoved in the connector, but there's a little more going on with most good quality antenna designs such as loading and matching to name a few. I realize a fractal antenna doesn't depend on some of these things that I am used to seeing in antenna applications, so I am skeptical. I'm pretty old school, you might say and don't have alot of fractal antenna experience.

But the real reason I'm depending on the forum member's input is the recent bad experience I had with an automobile antenna application and VG's reluctance to take back a product that you find to fall short of your expectations. I think this makes good business sense on their part, but it has me treading lightly on this purchase. I typically do not hesitate to return a product that turns out to be poorly represented or a piece of junk, but I understand this is a custom ordered part, and they have a business to run.

So anything I learn here will sure help me decide. I appreciate all the photos, they are great!! Thanks for your input, I am very appreciative.

Scott

 

[sportexplore]

The VG Sharkfin Antenna Works Great !

Well, we’ve had our Explorer Sport now for about a month and have not had any major issues to speak of other than a few MFT quirks. I installed the VG Sharkfin antenna the second week we had the truck and it has exceeded my expectations in nearly every way.

After experiencing the reception in metro and fringe areas I find very little difference in performance between the OEM whip and the sharkfin antennas. The FM reception seems nearly as good with the sharkfin and the AM reception is acceptable but about half as good, without actually measuring signal strength. The radio in the Explorer has better original reception than my ’08 F350 or the ’09 BMW Z4 we compared it to. I’m sure this plays a large role in how well the sharkfin worked for us and I can now strongly recommend this product for the late model Ford Explorer.

The price of the unit is reasonable and the quality was very high. We’ll see how the paint holds up to the brutal UV out here in Phoenix, but it looks well built. On that note, the car cover is easy to install without fighting the whip antenna and we really like the way it matches the truck, tuxedo black. The car cover is by Covercraft (not from the Ford site) and runs about 350 USD. It makes a huge difference out here in the summer, parking at work. The interior temp stays lower and the Ex doesn’t experience the intense UV. This is our third Covercraft for three different cars and they are very high quality.

Again, I highly recommend the VG Sharkfin if you want to replace your whip antenna with a high quality fractal antenna that won’t snap off under low clearances or if you just want to be able to cover your Ex easily, like us. The quality, delivery and service are top notch from Visual Garage. Send them an email and they will set you up.

Happy motoring from crispy Phoenix, 94 degrees today,
Scott

 

[Fast Gator]

Well, we’ve had our Explorer Sport now for about a month and have not had any major issues to speak of other than a few MFT quirks. I installed the VG Sharkfin antenna the second week we had the truck and it has exceeded my expectations in nearly every way.

After experiencing the reception in metro and fringe areas I find very little difference in performance between the OEM whip and the sharkfin antennas. The FM reception seems nearly as good with the sharkfin and the AM reception is acceptable but about half as good, without actually measuring signal strength. The radio in the Explorer has better original reception than my ’08 F350 or the ’09 BMW Z4 we compared it to. I’m sure this plays a large role in how well the sharkfin worked for us and I can now strongly recommend this product for the late model Ford Explorer.

The price of the unit is reasonable and the quality was very high. We’ll see how the paint holds up to the brutal UV out here in Phoenix, but it looks well built. On that note, the car cover is easy to install without fighting the whip antenna and we really like the way it matches the truck, tuxedo black. The car cover is by Covercraft (not from the Ford site) and runs about 350 USD. It makes a huge difference out here in the summer, parking at work. The interior temp stays lower and the Ex doesn’t experience the intense UV. This is our third Covercraft for three different cars and they are very high quality.

Again, I highly recommend the VG Sharkfin if you want to replace your whip antenna with a high quality fractal antenna that won’t snap off under low clearances or if you just want to be able to cover your Ex easily, like us. The quality, delivery and service are top notch from Visual Garage. Send them an email and they will set you up.

Happy motoring from crispy Phoenix, 94 degrees today,
Scott

Thanks for the write-up. Because of it, I just sent Visual Garage an email to purchase a Sharkfin for my Sport, as I will be keeping my Sport undercover.
No room in the garage.......LOL

 

[EKY]

Love the fin EKY looks like its time to make the switch. Yours looks like a Tuxedo Black EX in the pics. How close does the paint and metallic match? Mine is the same color

Sorry for the late reply. I didn't see this post. I wish it was tuxedo black. Unfortunately when I ordered my vehicle, tuxedo black was not available at the time on the 2012.

 

[LIrican]

Does anyone have contact info for VG?

Looks like their site is down.

 

[T-1000]

Does anyone have contact info for VG?

Looks like their site is down.

LIrican,

There is another thread about the VG shark fin and a couple members have emailed them despite the page being down and got a response (and purchased the antenna) after first getting an auto response. I've emailed them Friday and hoping for a response now.

 

[T-1000]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3181231#post3181231

This thread has more info and the email adds.

 

[LIrican]

Thanks guys that was helpful.

 

[T-1000]

I can update that after sending an email and receiving an auto response that they were not taking orders I got an invoice the following day and was able to order/pay for the antenna. Now just waiting for it to arrive!

 

[LIrican]

I was able to get through to Arthur on eBay. Sill waiting on my invoice.

 

[LIrican]

Update:

Dear Michael


Thank you for your order!

We confirm your order for a VG Shark Fin Antenna Mark II for your 2012 Ford Explorer - Black / UA.

The production lead time is around 1 to 2 weeks before shipping out. We will prepare the order and ship it out as soon as we can, and we'll send you a shipping confirmation email with tracking number when available.

Thank you for your interest in our product!


Regards,

Visual Garage Inc.

 

[LIrican]

Received tracking number for my Shark Fin

 

[Blueflame16]

VG site down

Does anyone have contact info for VG?

Looks like their site is down.

I noticed that also. I want to get a shark fin for my daughters silver explorer. They say the site should have been up on July 1, 2013, but it's still down. I'll wait for them to get back up. I purchased a shark fin from them for my 2011 bordeaux explorer and it's been great. Hope they get back in business soon.