why older cars need long extendable antennas for radio reception, while modern cars often only have little stumps on the top but still good reception

Question

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In: Technology

Answer 1

The technology for smaller antennas is not new. Older cars simply had no need for smaller antennas – so they used FM antennas that were “regularly” sized.

There was no barrier to car makers using smaller antennas, they easily could have done so, there was just no compelling reason to.

Modern cars need to have satellite reception, these antennas are very small. Some car makers choose to also place the FM antennas inside the same “shark fin” that holds the satellite antennas. Others separate the satellite antennas from the FM and will place the FM antenna in a window or hidden elsewhere.

A long FM antenna sticking straight up in the air will perform the best, but with electronics being more sensitive today they can better receive a weaker signal than the radios of years ago. The reduced performance of the compact antennas is offset by the improved performance of the electronics in modern radios.