It’s late, and you’re lost in a sea of cars trying to remember where you parked. If only your vehicle had a glow-in-the-dark antenna to make it easier to find, you wouldn’t be in this situation. Faced with just such a problem himself, Instructables user [botzendesign] has put together a handy tutorial to do just that.
[botzendesign] first removed the antenna and lightly abraded it to help the three coats adhesion promoter do its job. A white base coat of vehicle primer was applied — lightly, so it doesn’t crack over time — and once it had set, three coats of Plasti Dip followed. Before that had a chance to dry, he started applying the glow-in-the-dark powder, another coat of Plasti Dip, repeating four more times to ensure the entire antenna had an even coat of the photo-luminescent powder and then letting it dry for 24 hours.
[botzendesign] says his antenna will glow for two to three hours — but he adds that it really depends on what powder you use. While this doesn’t help you out during the day, it adds a touch of flair to your vehicle and might save you some frustration at night.
If you’re more partial to glow-in-the-dark art, check out this electrically burned wood that is filled with phosphorescent resin.
[Thanks for the submission, Eric Strebel!]
I’ve always been amused at our ability to lose our car in a parking lot. I’ve certainly done it plenty of times. But losing a big expensive machine is strange. Convert your car back into an envelope filled with cash for the sticker price and I bet you could tell me down to the millimeter on Earth where you left it.
Heh, funny you should say that. Lost such an envelope in my bedroom for over a week because I “put it somewhere safe.” and couldn’t remember where.
Oh man, I bet you were sweating bullets until you found it.
Sounds like a crappy british rap album. The Streets, A Grand Don’t Come For Free
Ummm that was a good CD.
I’ve had the (untested) idea to put a big antenna ball fitted with a bright LED, connected to the battery, and triggered by car remote on my antenna. Haven’t gotten around to finding the right remote yet, though.
You know those balls that they put on car antennas so you can find them in the parking lot? Those should be on every car!
I haven’t seen a (new) car with a whip antenna in decades, and the shark fin seems to have disappeared in the last decade as well…
Our newest has a little stubbie rubber duck, but I couldn’t tell you if it’s for the FM or XM.
I want a horn here, here, and here.
You can never find a horn when you’re mad.
And they should all play `La Cucaracha’.
this guy gets it.
A separate compartment for the kids….
“if everyone is a superhero, no one is!” same concept applies. the antenna balls work because there’s not many of them.
That’s… the joke…
How long before someone does this to a big HF whip antenna? In fact I have a 27MHz CB whip that is currently spray painted yellow, maybe I should track down some glow powder…
they sell light-up location whips for atv’s already. though i don’t believe i’ve seen any that are CB antenna’s.
I’ve seen the location whips, they’re strictly for visual location and mount in place of an antenna, they don’t radiate a signal.
One thing I’m conscious of is how the coating affects the antenna’s performance. Not a worry for a receive-only antenna like that shown above, but in my case I’m pumping up to 100W of RF into it and the tuner will be trying to match that antenna to a 50 ohm impedance. A 27MHz 6′ whip can perform surprisingly well on 20m and 40m in the right conditions, the antenna pictured in that post allowing me to make good contact into New Zealand.
Easy enough for us to do from a home station, but a real challenge on the contrived set-up I used that evening.
I’ve spent a lot of effort trying to hide my ham radio antennas. The idea of making them stand out instead really has never occurred to me.
Just had a great idea for a Tasker script.
I have an app called Agent, it stores my location when it disconnects from my car’s bluetooth.
no need. I just walk up to the sole red citroen bx estate on the parking lot and open the door with my key…
http://jalopnik.com/accidentally-stolen-subaru-returned-with-gas-money-and-1788323277
unfortunately that wont be happening here in the Netherlands. unles you drive a black volvo estate maybe, or a black vw golf. actually any car as long as its black.