cyclopsbrew

I read an article in Car and Driver, about a month ago. One of the editors was talking about the new radio antennas and how lousy they were. It seems that the car makers are not using the standard antenna that we've been used to for the last umpteen years. They are tending toward the embedded antennas in the windshield/rear window. It seems that reception is really lousy with these embedded antennas. Even cars with Diversity antennas (2 antennas in rear window, or one in each front and rear) are getting lousy reception. (Of course, with embedded antennas, you don't have to worry about someone stealing or bending it). Now with satellite radio being available... Has anyone heard if Terk (the gods of reception) or anyone else is planning a combination antenna that will receive AM, FM, and XM/Sirius? I mean you have cars sporting cellular antennas, OnStar antennas, XM and Sirius antennas, some still have CB antennas, and those amateur radio operators out there have antennas. Some cars are beginning to look like semi-bald porcupines with acne.

Manco

Because the frequency bands are different, the antenna requirements are also. So AM/FM antenna's tend to be long to get to 1/4 wavelength requirement. Satellite radio's can be small because at ~2.5GHZ frequency, the wavelength is very short. So I don't see them combining the antenna anytime soon, however I think the car manufacturers might try to do something to make them look better by integrating them into the car so they aren't so obvious.