7up

Not being a radio engineer and lacking relevant knowledge of signal reception, I Googled and found one relevant reason why windshield seemed to have fallen by the wayside.

According to a post elsewhere, windsheld antennas were optimally tuned for the FM band in the middle of the frequency range. Therefore stations at the extreme could suffer reception.

I suppose external antennas overcome this somehow? I honestly don't know, as they are not adjustable nowadays (stock antennas are a fixed length, for the most part.)

I wouldn't go there (from personal experience, and seeing it elsewhere on other vehicles.)

Unless they've done some serious rennovation to the design, I've seen too many power retractable antennas either stuck in the up or down position.

This was inevitably due to the teeth on the plastic gear strip (used to retract and extend the antenna) breaking off over time, as they became brittle with use.

chronos

^^ Yea that happens all the time. I had a 91 Accord and it had a power antenna. Even though I did my best to keep it clean and lubricated, it eventually got stuck. As for the windshield antennas I can see a problem if you live in rural areas, or places where AM stations are further apart. Here in LA never had a problem probably because there are many more stations or stronger power band. If you have a weak signal in LA you go down the tubes fast. They all rely on advertisers and the advertisers will just go to a stronger station.

MR_Q

Ya the only time I ever tuned it to an AM station was when I was so far in the middle of nowhere that there was no FM stations. When I did, I didnt notice it to suck any worse than AM normally does, lol. Living in a rural area myself, I have never found the reception to suffer with the window antenna. Having said that, a cheap tape player, two cheaper speakers, and loud, leaking, rattling T-tops made it so that the sound was terrible regardless of reception. Still, having to turn the radio on by smacking the dash Fonzie style made it all worth while.... God I love that car, lol

My sis had a 4runner with a power antenna and it one day randomly shot out of the base. But still, that was after 17 years of loyal service, so I figure it was alright for it to break.

Dreamer1

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I like the stubby with a little bit of lean like that.. One of the first Mods I'm going to do on my new ride.. Some one designs on that looks like the one you have on your car in that picture.. With a base like that, that shows a lean to it like that.. There going to make a bundle just has to fit the 2010... The staight up and down ones just dont get it for me, has to have that lean..

Norm Peterson

A 30 inch or so length is the length of a 1/4 wave monopole antenna for approximately the middle of the FM broadcast band (they're about as simple and cheap as an antenna can get). Vertical orientation tends to give the most uniform reception, all else equal (which may not be the case, given that flattish surfaces like the hood, roof, and rear deck tend to act as unsymmetric ground planes that favor some directions relative to others).

Dipole antennas (most windshield antennas) tend to be somewhat directional, and this is most noticeable in fringe areas. Even more complex arrangements have been used - like two separate antennas with some means of electronically selecting the one with the stronger signal (Nissan, IIRC).

Retractable antennas - I've never had one outlast my ownership of the car it came on. I replaced one with a 30" nonadjustable length mast when it died, as I wasn't going to shell out big $ to replace what I really consider to be a gimmick. For another one that was not as easy to remove the various bits I just soldered the individual mast tubes together, spray-painted it black, and disconnected the motor.


Now for the antenna question that I've had for a while - what is it that makes the OE antenna so noticeable to so many folks. In all honesty, I almost never notice mine, even when I'm washing the car. A chrome one, like what was all you could get in the 1960's, I'd notice (and probably paint black so I wouldn't).


Norm

Nuke

On the '05-'09s, the most standard shorties were 8" and 14" as opposed to the ~30" buggy whip stock antenna. Local reception is unaffected with either size but fringe reception suffers the smaller you go. With the stock antenaa I had a particular FM station I'd pick up about 60 miles out. With my 14" shorty I found that I typically had to be about 10-15 miles closer to start picking up the same station. Terrain was relatively flat.

chronos

Norm, I think the reason it is noticeable to Stang owners is for two reasons that I can think of. 1- The type of people Mustang owners are, always modding their cars, and 2- The fact that it is way too big for a low profile vehicle. I have two other vehicles with the same length antenna. It is less noticeable on either of those vehicles and blends in much better than on the Mustang. Why? The others two vehicles are a Truck and an SUV. Both large, bulky vehicles. The Mustang is low, sleek, and aerodynamic. The 30" whip just doesn't blend in so well. If it was 14"-17" it might not be such a big deal, but there will always be the folks who want to A- Delete the antenna completely or B- have an 8" shorty.