why did older cars have such long antennae when newer cars either don’t have one at all or a tiny nub?

Question

why did older cars have such long antennae when newer cars either don’t have one at all or a tiny nub?

In: 568

Answer 1

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.