I gather from a few other threads that the damn thing is designed not to be removable... but it can be if you know how? I am a bit reluctant to just keep on pulling it in case the base (or the roof) comes off! So - what's the procedure?

I have been through a car wash with it laid flat and tightened up in that position, but it still banged and clattered in a non-reassuring manner :S

Unscrew and then a good tug will get it off. I found that angling the whip backwards slightly reduced the pressure on the base and gave me the confidence to pull just a little harder.

I felt exactly the same when I first had my Octy II...

Unscrew and then a good tug will get it off. I found that angling the whip backwards slightly reduced the pressure on the base and gave me the confidence to pull just a little harder.

I felt exactly the same when I first had my Octy II...

Wow - took a fair bit of force... thought the roof was going to come off!

How odd,..... the aerial on my Octy just screws straight out. I have replaced the original with a stubby in about 30 secs.