why did older cars have such long antennae when newer cars either don’t have one at all or a tiny nub?
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There is newer antenna tech, fractal antennas. That allows you to make a smaller antenna that is a wire wrapped into a 2d pattern instead of needing the long straight antenna.
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There are two reasons for this. Radios used longer wavelength AM in the old days. But now we use very short wave FM radios or even microwave satellite radios. Longer wavelengths have the advantage of going further and use cheaper electronics, but the antenna should be longer. By switching to FM we can use smaller antennas and still get good reception.
The second reason is that cars nowadays tend to come with antennas hidden inside roof pillars and windscreens. You might actually see a tiny line of metal in your windscreen, hidden on the passenger side. That is the antenna for the radio. The tiny nub could of course also be a small antenna for your radio but more likely it is a GPS receiving antenna or a satellite radio antenna. Both of these use microwaves and are therefore much smaller again then even FM.
I don’t remember that FM made effective antennas shorter. CAVEAT: i grew up in rural SE Arkansas, where you basically needed a big antenna to pick up anything other than AM broadcasts. Using smaller antennas for FM would explain the antennas embedded into windshields in the ’70s. We all hated them because they sucked.
My ’71 Alfa Romeo Spider got a dealer-installed AM/FM radio (I think it was a Blaupunkt but don’t quote me on that.) It still has the antenna the dealer installed. F’er is no kidding at least 7 feet long when fully extended. I can almost drive under most toll gates, but when I extend that antenna it’ll whack “Max Height” bars in parking garages with low ceilings.
Antennas are embedded in the rear window glass. The shark fin antenna on top is for satellite radio.
Those long antennas were largely for AM radio. FM radio doesn’t need such a long antenna. So FM antennas are easily hidden sometimes printed on the window glass
all the plastics in our environment are causing changes in cars hormone levels during their “growth” phase
As a child, I can remember in a thunderstorm you could hear the buzz in the radio just before a lightening strike.
I was always terrified the lightening bolt would find our antenna. Not all the other antennas, just ours. And we would die from the electrical voltage going through the car.
Later I heard that the rubber tires would save your butt if you stayed in the car.
The long antennas are primarily for AM radio. People used to return cars for poor radio reception. Not so much anymore. A good FM radio can be packaged as described by others here (in the glass) equivalent performance for AM is just not possible. But it works, just not as well as the old pole antennas (whips).
There’s other issues too: cellphones and other electronics in the car mean that AM radio is just not going to work as well.
My favorite antenna design came in the late 80s when VW and some other European car companies started using the roof mounted Fuba Beta Flex antenna. Here in America I think we first saw it on VW’s 87 Scirocco 16 Valve and the GTI 16 Valve. Some referred it’s style as bee sting style antenna.
Some Japanese car brands started offering similar antennas on certain models of theirs in later years. Not sure if they were Fuba brand though.
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