"Amoore100" (amoore100)
10/06/2016 at 22:02 • Filed to: Design Details, Volvo, antenna, antennae, Dodge
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"Amoore100" (amoore100)
10/06/2016 at 22:02 • Filed to: Design Details, Volvo, antenna, antennae, Dodge | 2
| 39 |
There was once a time when people actually listened to the radio when they got in the car. To participate in this antiquated routine required communication between the car and certain strategically placed dishes on poles to bring you the latest in-car entertainment. As obsolete as we may perceive the radio to be with CDs and MP3 players usurping its reign on playing music in vehicles, automakers still find the radio important enough to dedicate time engineering special antennae for improved clarity and aerodynamics. Who has actually tried hardest, though, and who is obviously just calling it in?
The V50 employs a useful and aerodynamic ‘shark fin’ antenna
Whereas the Grand Caravan simply had a pole sticking out of the passenger side fender
So what do you think Oppo?
What are the best/worst/most distinctively styled radio antennae in the automotive world?
e36Jeff now drives a ZHP
> Amoore100
10/06/2016 at 22:10 |
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The shark fins aren’t the AM/FM radio antenna. I think the shark fins are GPS/Satellite radio. The antenna is embedded in the top of the rear windshield glass, it looks like part of the rear defroster element. Some cars use multiple body mounted AM/FM antennas to get the best possible reception, but the rear window is the most common location.
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Amoore100
> e36Jeff now drives a ZHP
10/06/2016 at 22:11 |
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Really? My V50 has neither GPS nor satellite, yet it still has a shark fin.
comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer
> Amoore100
10/06/2016 at 22:11 |
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A bastard in the middle, there was clear design intent, but not good: The first generation Ford Focus:
Spasoje
> Amoore100
10/06/2016 at 22:12 |
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I’m a huge fan of the shark fin antenna. That said, I have to toot my own horn in this case, as I think the most distinctively-styled radio antenna is VW’s “whip antenna” from the early 2000s:
Nobody else had anything like it before or since (that I’ve been privy to, anyway), and even non-car folk identified a car as a VW if it had that antenna.
Plus, it was the swan song for old-school antennae, being both the most creative and the last creative take before the shark fin took the throne.
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comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer
> Spasoje
10/06/2016 at 22:15 |
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hem...other than it being at the front of the roof, and thus ugly, the Focus started with that antenna in 1998:
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e36Jeff now drives a ZHP
> Amoore100
10/06/2016 at 22:17 |
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Is it satellite-ready? i.e. just needs the module installed to work? You may have an antenna for it that just doesn’t do anything since the module isn’t installed. AM/FM antennas requires much more space than a shark fin provides in order to get decent reception. Its also possible its a budget-cutting move where it may be cheaper to put them on all cars rather than just the ones with GPS/satellite. It also may be a styling move to keep those that don’t want it to look like they bought a stripper car happy.
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Spasoje
> comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer
10/06/2016 at 22:22 |
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New Beetles had them in 1997, though (and possibly some MkIII Jettas, but I’m not 100% sure of that)...
Die-Trying
> Amoore100
10/06/2016 at 22:22 |
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have always love the airials on the old impalas...........
also the cb radio antenna on the orange car............
If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
> e36Jeff now drives a ZHP
10/06/2016 at 22:25 |
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My mom’s Sienna has nav but no fin.
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If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
> Amoore100
10/06/2016 at 22:26 |
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My car has no antennae at all.
JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
> Spasoje
10/06/2016 at 22:31 |
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My dads was stolen twice!
KirkyV
> Amoore100
10/06/2016 at 22:31 |
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My 106's aerial moves up and down on a little pivot, so that’s fun. Weirdly long compared to most similarly-styled antennae, too.
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JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
> e36Jeff now drives a ZHP
10/06/2016 at 22:32 |
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I had a C30 (same platform, but hatch) and I had a sharkfin with no gps or satellite. And mine didn’t have the prep package either.
It’s weird, but I think it was just for am/fm
facw
> Amoore100
10/06/2016 at 22:37 |
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I’ve got a power antenna mounted on the rear quarter panel. It’s broken and only extends one segment, but unfortunately there’s a steel plate in the way that makes it pretty much impossible for me to take it out to see if I can fix it. Somewhat annoyingly, it extends anytime the head unit is on, regardless of whether or not the radio is in use. I’ve considered just disconnecting it completely, but it seems like there might be a rare time when I’d want to be able to use the radio (construction alerts?)
jimz
> Amoore100
10/06/2016 at 22:42 |
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unfortunately, the characteristics of radio frequencies (RF) mean that “styling” should be the least of your concerns when it comes to antenna design. When it comes to antennas, length (sensitivity) and shape (directionality) are critical. the “pole” sticking out of the fender of that Caravan is the best compromise. it’s actually called a “mast” or monopole antenna, and has a more or less omnidirectional pattern. a monopole antenna works best if its length is 1/4th the wavelength of the signal it is trying to receive, but since a car radio has to receive AM starting at 0.530 MHz and FM at 107.9 MHz you have to do the best you can with one antenna.
I used to hang around SRTForums, and I lost count of how many dimps started threads like “halp I put a shorty antenna on my skittle and now I can’t listen to the radio halp.” well duh, you kneecapped your antenna. what did you expect?
interstate366, now In The Industry
> Amoore100
10/06/2016 at 22:48 |
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The 5th gen Prelude had it built into the rear windshield, like the defroster.
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Amoore100
> jimz
10/06/2016 at 22:50 |
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Honest question here: then how does the Odyssey get away without a long, gangly, and easily damaged pole? It’s had no antenna since ‘05 and audio quality has always been no worse than in the rental GC’s we’ve had, possibly even better.
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Amoore100
> e36Jeff now drives a ZHP
10/06/2016 at 22:53 |
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Makes sense, thanks for the explanation!
InFierority Complex
> Amoore100
10/06/2016 at 22:58 |
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I’ve always been fond of the antennae placement along the A-pillar on my Scorpion. As far as I know these were dealer installed as practically every Scorpion I’ve seen has the antennae in a different place.
CodyVella
> Amoore100
10/06/2016 at 23:01 |
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Thinking the same thing. My old 2002 R50 Pathfinder had the antenna embedded in the windshield, and it got flawless reception.
FromCanadaWithLove
> Amoore100
10/06/2016 at 23:06 |
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The ND Miata has a shark fin in North America, and a regular stick antenna in Europe. Fun fact.
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jimz
> Amoore100
10/06/2016 at 23:25 |
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it really depends where you are. a transmitting radio station has a “strong” transmission area, a “fringe” transmission area, and a “distant” transmission area. if you’re in the “strong” area, it really doesn’t matter what kind of antenna you have. you could stick a paper clip into the antenna jack and receive signal. but once you get into the fringe or distant regions, your antenna’s sensitivity and directionality matter.
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jimz
> CodyVella
10/06/2016 at 23:26 |
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yes, and I could get HDTV reception in my cheap Sony piece of junk LCD TV, because I was a mile away from the station’s transmitter. what happens when I’m 100 miles away?
DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
> jimz
10/07/2016 at 00:07 |
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Question. The power antenna on my Integra is stuck in the up position. Because replacing the antenna can be a PITA I was thinking about replacing with this one that’s not really an antenna. I’ll link it since I don’t think I’d be able to describe it well enough for you.
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Spasoje
> JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
10/07/2016 at 00:15 |
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Clearly, these things have lots of fans hahaha
Jonee
> Amoore100
10/07/2016 at 00:30 |
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Is the power antenna dead? Those were the best. Until they broke.
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e36Jeff now drives a ZHP
> If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
10/07/2016 at 00:33 |
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The fin is not a requirement for gps/sat-radio, it’s just a very convenient place to put it since it’s outside the metal frame of the car. It is 100% possible to have GPS and no fin.
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facw
> Spasoje
10/07/2016 at 00:42 |
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Volvo used something very similar on the V40 going back to 1995 (the S40 got a more traditional power antenna):
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facw
> Amoore100
10/07/2016 at 01:03 |
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Amazingly no one has posted a car with a manual antenna setup, so here’s a Previa:
The driver could reach out their window to slide the antenna in and out of the A-pillar as needed.
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Amoore100
> facw
10/07/2016 at 01:08 |
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How very rudimentary! How would you slide it back in again if you had short arms?
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facw
> Amoore100
10/07/2016 at 01:16 |
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A complicated process involving needing to pull down on the bottom of the antenna multiple times until the top was close enough to push in all the way. Shocking I know...
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Amoore100
> facw
10/07/2016 at 02:28 |
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Sounds possibly dangerous! How could anyone manage that nowadays, considering we can’t even be bothered to turn our heads to check behind us while changing lanes because we’re too busy texting?
Cé hé sin
> facw
10/07/2016 at 04:49 |
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My sister had a Nissan Micra with exactly the same arrangement. Just open the window to extend the aerial.
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Cé hé sin
> InFierority Complex
10/07/2016 at 04:51 |
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You have what I would call a Monte Carlo and it still hasn’t rearranged itself into a pile of rust?
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Cé hé sin
> FromCanadaWithLove
10/07/2016 at 04:52 |
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Might be because they have satellite radio in America?
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If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
> e36Jeff now drives a ZHP
10/07/2016 at 08:48 |
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Of course with a minivan there’s more space for an integrated antenna
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jimz
> DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
10/07/2016 at 09:17 |
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a power antenna stuck in the extended position will be far better than that piece of junk. Antenna amplifiers are meant to be used when you have a long cable run from the antenna to the receiver; they’re not meant to make up for a poor antenna. amplifying a poor signal just increases the level of junk along with the signal.
DynamicWeight
> Spasoje
10/07/2016 at 11:12 |
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My 2003 Protege5 had one, the spiritual succesor, the Mazda 3 still has it.
RT
> Amoore100
10/07/2016 at 16:16 |
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Power Antennae! The pop-up headlights of the antenna world.
