SL10945CA

The History of Automotive Antennas

Automotive antennas have evolved since their introduction in the 1930s. Once tacked on as optional equipment, they are now designed into the car as an indispensable accessory. Several different approaches have been used to improve performance while making the antenna attractive, including embedded windshield versions and electric hide-away styles.

The First Antennas
In the 1930s, car antennas were incorporated into the radio body, as most stations were in the AM band, which required a ferrous core receiver antenna. The lack of bandwidth competition and general radio noise in the 1930s also meant that stations could be picked up for a long distance without external receiver antenna hardware.

FM Bands
With the advent of FM bands, the antenna was required to be a straight section of wire bolted onto the body of the car at any convenient location. FM, or frequency modulation, was a different way to broadcast a radio signal. While a clearer signal would propagate further distances, the equipment became more complex. The antenna was still a simple length of hard steel or alloy wire mounted to the body by drilling a hole for the mounting hardware. But the primary antenna had to have a rubber gasket where it contacted metal to prevent it from grounding to the body.

The Future of Radio Antennas
As new technology comes onto the field, AM and FM radios are soon to be phased out for better methods of communication. While the merits of keeping the media are numerous, satellite broadcasting has become a popular replacement. The satellite radio antennas are even smaller than modern radio antennas and resemble small, black plastic squares. As they are not used to receive terrestrial transmission, they do not need to be long and upright; they only need to be pointed at the satellite and grounded away from the vehicle. As this antenna is much easier to hide, the classic metal pole antennas that became the mainstay of automobiles during the last century will disappear.