Yet another antenna question

Hello,

First, I'd just like to express my appreciation for this forum. I've been able to do all kinds of stuff myself that I'd otherwise never been able to fix on my own without all of your help, so thank you.

I've been scouring for information about replacing the antenna on a 2nd Gen. There have been some great posts and even a nice set of instructions (wallwatcher) for replacing it with a new base and whip, however I have a couple of questions about workarounds.

Long story to a couple of short paragraphs: It had been broken before we got the car. The previous owner had apparently done some kind of epoxy job on it and the I snapped it off again a couple of years ago with the car wash broom. After being shocked at the expense to replace, I cleaned it out, taped the whip back on the top of the base. It's been driven around for a couple of years with no real complaints until recently.

So I took a blade to the temporary fix the other night and now it's just the base with the hole in the top and an exposed wire. I wrapped the wire around the base of the whip (there is just a small little metal half sphere protruding from the base of the whip) and taped it back up again until I decide on a more permanent solution. BTW, reception seems about the same as before: not horrific, not superb.

Here are my questions:

1. Is the best solution to just buy the $100+ powered amp base and follow the instructions from the wallwatcher page? Or go with one of the suggestions from this old post? Broken antenna | PriusChat

2. My real question is, can I just buy a nut for a couple of bucks that will fit into the top of the existing base, wrap/solder the wire to that and then buy a whip that will screw into that?

3. It sounds like these cars don't have the best fm radio reception to begin with, so should I just scrap options #1 and #2, and go with a more robust setup entirely if possible (the gauge of the copper wire seems pretty flimsy, so maybe getting a heavier gauge wire/more powerful antenna amp, better radio?).

Basically, I just want the best reception possible, so if there is an option reasonable priced compared to the cost and labor of installing an OEM antenna base, I'd opt for that.

Thanks so much