Hi CWZ,
Not sure how many Bikers are still here. I check in once in a great while.
Specific to the whip question, Mine was made by Ultralight but they stopped making the short whip and I don't know that they are still in bus.
The one I have is a 28" shaft with a 13" twitch. I gave another away that was 24". I think this would be a better length although it would be interesting to see how this shorter one would work. Thank you for sharing this possible solution.
Bb