I apologize for posting the same question again, but something unusual was going on with the board the last time I asked this, and I never got the answer.
Why do cars need radio antennae? It seems you could just hook the radio to the car body and use it as one alarge antenna.
I tried to answer this question, but I got caught in the “change your e-mail address” vortex, and after I wrote a long post, I was bunted into the begonias.
Here’s the deal. Your car’s engine is a beehive of radio interference. The main thing containing all that racket is your hood and fenders, which are electrically connected to each other. Now, if you try to use the same piece of metal to shield your radio from engine racket AND act as an antenna for that same radio, it won’t do either very well.
Clear as mud? Oh,well.
One way to tell if someone is an idiot at radio electronics is if they claim that hooking up some big chunk of metal to an radio improves receptions. Antenna are long thin wires. Generally the thinner the better for most purposes. And length is crucial for clean, efficient reception. (Based on the wavelength of the signal you’re trying to receive.) Coils are used to make a really long wire fit into a small space (like a portable radio.)
Gimmicks like “turn your house wiring into an antenna” are consumer fraud, pure and simple.
No one, repeat no one, ever hooked a radio up to a train track and got Australia.
Interference from the electronics of the car (esp. the sparkplugs) is a problem, but even with the engine off it won’t work. Note that a radio signal entering the metal of a car body will propagate and bounce around all over the frame, effectively jamming itself.
Thanks Ask Nott, that actually is a clear, concise, and informative answer. And, you managed to do it without being condescending and insulting, not that I’m indicating anyone in particular.
Also: Car antennae tend to want to be of a specific length. Your antenna will best be able to draw in signals from the wavelength to which it is “tuned” via length. A longer/larger antenna will be better at reveiving different wavelengths, etc. Hence, a broken “power” antenna doesn’t pull signals in as well; if you have a telescoping antenna try moving it up or down to see if it helps improve reception of different stations, Turns out it often does. Single draw, or “fixed” antenna, are usually compromises and not always good ones.
b.
I hope you’re not trying to imply that any of your fellow posters is an idiot. That, as you well know, would be fodder for the BBQ Pit, not GQ.
bibliophage
moderator GQ