how to test radio antenna effectiveness?

Is there a tool to measure radio reception strength? My factory radio worked fine (of course) when I took delivery. The antenna is embedded into the rear glass. After a bodyshop removed and reinstalled the glass I lost like 50% of the sound quality. I saw the bodyshop reconnected the antenna wire but I wonder if they screwed something else up. I can pull in all of the radio stations just fine, but it sounds like crap with a loss of mids.

There are tools that can measure the signal strength of the signal your radio is receiving, but it depends on the year, make and model of your car. Some rear window antennas use an antenna module to convert the signal before sending it to the radio. There may be a problem with it or one of the cables it connects to. If window tint is added to the window the antenna is in, you will experience a signal loss. The more metal content in the tint, the worse the antenna will perform. The easiest way to determine if you have an antenna problem, is to plug in a test antenna at the radio and see if the reception improves. You need to rig up a ground wire connected to the antenna base to correctly test it.sparky

Great idea sparky, thanks.