Scary. I am one as well.

I am also using a cat 5 antenna on my shen.

did the cat-5 really increase your range? it didnt do squat for me.

My old antenna was 11cm, and floppy.
My cat 5 antenna extends 13 cm out of the car, so it's probably like 15 cm total. It wraps through the wire clip on the PCB before exiting.
Range came up a bit when I installed it.

The longer and straighter the wire stays, the better it will work.
That and some subtle electrical properties not worth mentioning make the cat 5 antennas cool.

What would be neat would be a body that has a thin layer of metal on the underside. Hey...maybe a custom printed circuit antenna like those ones the suckers bought for their cell phones!

I'm sure some clever engineer-type will work something out.

Put a metal clip on the front or rear chassis tab, and it can be the contact point with the body!

I tried the cat5 antenna wire, the range was the same. I did not like it because it was too stiff. I run my car under things and the cat5 can cause it to hang up. I found some 24 gauge 8 conductor computer cable ( I work with electrical control systems) that is a little stiffer than stock wire, but not as stiff as cat5. It also seems to increase the range a bit too.

okay, I am a n00b, and I get about 6.5 foot range from my microsizer, stock antenna. What is a cat 5 antenna and where can I get one? Also, how do I install it. I would like to increase my range, too.

cat-5 is network cable for computers and is bs that it magically increases your range. ill admit that it is good wire to use because it is maleable but it doesnt magically increase your range. dont you think tomy would use it if it did?

if you want further range you need to ad a third battery to your controller. or get a bigger antenna or both.

How do you add a 3rd battery to your controller?

i havnt done this since i had a working zipzap but pretty much the same way you ad a second battery to the car. you can buy single batter holders at radioshack and glue or screw it to the controller shell and solder it into the circuit with the other two. my zipzap is long taken apart and im not sure where the controller is so i cant put up any pics.

that mod along with a longer antenna increased range from about 6foot to about 30foot

wow that sounds really complicated, is there any way a young 15 yr old can do this with out screwing his stuff up lol

umm if you have never soldered then i wouldnt mess with it. do you know anyone who can solder and knows basic circuit knowledge? its quick and easy to do if you know what you are doing.

lol my dad might, I'll have to ask him

Extreme Low-Tech Solution!!!
 

Warning!!! Only try this if you are a complete WIMP like I am. . .





. . .Put Aluminum Foil over the end of your controller antenna. Is it ugly? Absolutely! Does it increase your range dramatically? You better believe it!!!!

lol
 

lol thanks, I'll try that; but what I actually did was openrun the antenna directly out of the back, like I believe people were talking about before. Instead of running it from the front of the car, over the chip, through the back window, just run it directly out the back. my antenna now sticks about 4.5 inches out of the back of the car, And it increased the range about 3 more feet!

Cat 5 cable in itself isn't what makes the antenna better.

What does it is the LENGTH and STRAIGHTNESS of the antenna.

And on a strictly technical level solid core wire is scientifically proven to be better for antennas due to the lower amount of surface area the signal has to deal with on it's way to the receiver.

What does it is the LENGTH and STRAIGHTNESS of the antenna.

Hey, I added about 7 inches of aluminum foil to my controller antenna, and then about 4 more on my microsizer, and now, it goes like 15 feet! Now, as for looking good, it's horrible lol, but it works!