Chevy brings in ham radio expert to engineer hidden antenna

[K8PBX]

"Chevy turned to ham radio operator and antenna expert Don Hibbard to help redesign the car's antenna... to conceal the AM/FM antenna without sacrificing radio reception."

Full Article Here: Chevy brings in ham radio expert to engineer hidden antenna | The Car Tech blog - CNET Reviews

 

[Hooligan]

Full Article Here: Chevy brings in ham radio expert to engineer hidden antenna | The Car Tech blog - CNET Reviews

The guy is a professional antenna testing engineer, who worked with a non-ham antenna systems engineer so the good thing they accomplished has pretty much NOTHING to do with amateur radio, though all the ham geeks are wanting to make it seem like GM & Camaro owners now owe some huge debt of gratitude towards hams.

Also, I'd love to see performance specs on this antenna design, since it would appear to just be horizontally polarized & be rather directional due to its location.

 

[davidgcet]

FM radio is circularly polarized, so it should work fine. think about it, most modern cars used horizontal antennas in the rear window or across the top of the windshield. the polarization shifts as it reflects, so for FM receive antenna polarization is not as critical as part of the signal will be properly polarized in any plane. it is just a matter of whether it is horizontal/vertical/somewhere in between at the point you measure it. move a few feet and it may swap. the very brief pattern they showed did not look to have too much degrade thru the car body, most likely due to the soft top so the only real obstruction is the windshield frame.

 

[ChevySS]

It's about time somebody did that. Seems like antenna technology has been the same forever. Go Chevy!

 

[Hooligan]

FM radio is circularly polarized, so it should work fine. think about it, most modern cars used horizontal antennas in the rear window or across the top of the windshield.

Um, you do mean to write that FM Broadcast radio used mixed polarization, not circular polarization, right??

I do get your point, though I think that most modern cars still use something rather vertical for an antenna, including my 2011 Chevrolet product.


Tim

 

[elk2370bruce]

You can accomplish the same design effect with a mag mounted whip and a pair of pliers to bend it.

 

[davidgcet]

they technically call it elliptical, but it is basically circular.

 

[n5ims]

Um, you do mean to write that FM Broadcast radio used mixed polarization, not circular polarization, right??

Well, they market them as circular polarized at any rate. Such as this model Shively Labs FM Antennas and Accessories where it indicates "True Circular Polarization" with additional details of "Polarization: Right circular."

Shively Labs FM Antennas and Accessories
Jampro.com - FM Antennas- Sidemount, HD, Dipole and Panel
Omnidirectional Trasmitting Antennas - OCS 78 | DB Broadcast