Antenna - Is It Normal ?

[maniek_LS]

Hi,

In my LS ('92 Euro) I observed strange thing. When I turn radio ON (or set TA during CD play) antenna mast is moving to FULL length and in the same moment is going down about 15-25cm. When I set FM to e.g. 94 MHz antenna mast is going up about 5-10cm but NEVER to full size. Do you have the same ? In camry antenna mast went to full size and not changed its long all time. This is why I surprised.

Second:

My radio is not receiving stations very well (I borrow ford from my friend and he's radio is playing stations in region (100km from big city where is local station) where my lexus radio not catches a signal). For clearance - I unplugged wire from radio and antenna and checked it for shorts, open circuits - cable is fine (75 Ohm). I also did one - unplugged wire from antenna side and radio is playing the same like wire is connected ! Can be something wrong in radio connector ? Any ideas ?

Thank you

[akewlguy]

AM FM are different in my LS. I think AM is higher.

[nc211]

Hi,

In my LS ('92 Euro) I observed strange thing. When I turn radio ON (or set TA during CD play) antenna mast is moving to FULL length and in the same moment is going down about 15-25cm. When I set FM to e.g. 94 MHz antenna mast is going up about 5-10cm but NEVER to full size. Do you have the same ? In camry antenna mast went to full size and not changed its long all time. This is why I surprised.

Second:

My radio is not receiving stations very well (I borrow ford from my friend and he's radio is playing stations in region (100km from big city where is local station) where my lexus radio not catches a signal). For clearance - I unplugged wire from radio and antenna and checked it for shorts, open circuits - cable is fine (75 Ohm). I also did one - unplugged wire from antenna side and radio is playing the same like wire is connected ! Can be something wrong in radio connector ? Any ideas ?

Thank you

Maniek, the antenna movement is normal. My 95 does this as well. On certain stations it will lower itself a few inches, and on other stations, it will raise itself to try and catch the weaker signal. The signal weakness is also normal, unfortunately. For instance, north of town I cannot pull in some stations "especially around the airport", but south of town, I pull in stations that are 50+ miles away. It just depends on the signal strength. On rainy days, I pull in every station, sunny days, not soo many.

It sounds to me that your radio is just fine.

[maniek_LS]

Maniek, the antenna movement is normal. My 95 does this as well.

It sounds to me that your radio is just fine.

Thanks for explanation, I thought that something is bad .. :)

[SKperformance]

Most Toyota's have an antenna that moves in height for different FM stations.

The am radio antenna should be embedded into the rear glass.

[cleverdick]

Guys,

This is another example of Toyota's meticulous attention to detail on the LS400. To maximise efficiency, the antenna trims itself to match the wavelength of the frequency tuned to. So, at 88MHz it will be at its longest and at 108MHz it will be at its shortest. (Higher frequency = shorter wavelength.)

Let's face it, at car height you need every dBuV you can get for noise-free stereo reception!