shown in fig2 prior to complete installation into the vehicle 10 a shipping cap 22 is removably coupled to the antenna base 18 when completing the installation of the antenna 14 to the vehicle 10 the shipping cap 22 is removed from the antenna base 18 and is replaced with the antenna mast 20 as shown in fig3 as further shown in fig2 the antenna 14 includes a detection mechanism shown generally at 24 for assisting in the detection of the installation of the antenna mast 20 fig3 the detection mechanism 24 is shown to be integrated with the shipping cap 22 as can be appreciated in various other embodiments not shown the detection mechanism is implemented separate from the shipping cap 22 and or installed in place of the shipping cap 22 in various embodiments the detection mechanism 24 can further include a shunt element 34 that movably couples to and extends from a body 28 of the shipping cap 22 when the shipping cap is installed to the antenna base 18 the shunt element 34 couples to a ground element e g of the vehicle chassis through the antenna base 18 as shown in fig2 when a contact is made between the shunt element 34 and the ground element a no signal condition is created in contrast when no contact is made between the shunt element 34 and the ground element a signal enable.