its difficult to identify a missing item 
Roaming Wombat
Well-Known Member
Have added it now, keen bean!
where was it? Looks like a telephone aerial.
Roaming Wombat
Well-Known Member
Offside front wing, on top of it, looks like it was next to, what I'm now assuming what's left of the stereo antenna
Roaming Wombat
Well-Known Member
Completely forgot Google can do that...
I was thinking it looked like a CB antenna but surely the range on one that small is pretty bad anywhere that isn't open? Especially next something so honking electrically noisy as the engine?
brian47
Well-Known Member
If it's possible, follow the cable back to the kit it connects to.
TBH, while it does look a bit like a "special purpose" aerial, I would say that it's nothing more than the aerial for your in-car stereo. The little "coil" in the middle just adds to the technical look of the thing but there are too many turns on it to be VHF or even 27 megs.The only effect that the coil will provide is some lengthening of the element.
Aerials such as yours were quite the rage some time back.
TBH, while it does look a bit like a "special purpose" aerial, I would say that it's nothing more than the aerial for your in-car stereo. The little "coil" in the middle just adds to the technical look of the thing but there are too many turns on it to be VHF or even 27 megs.The only effect that the coil will provide is some lengthening of the element.
Aerials such as yours were quite the rage some time back.
Roaming Wombat
Well-Known Member
Aye, I'm going to trace it though I would like to replace it because I do actually like the look of it.
Roaming Wombat
Well-Known Member
Any idea what the aerial type is called? As much as I could get a rubber covered one for a fiver I do like the look of the one I broke so want to get a replacement one (mine was rusty as fook too)
)
Roaming Wombat
Well-Known Member
Some lateral google bashing later, found one for a tenner.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Roof-Mou...157720&hash=item2edbe30adb:g:mhMAAOSwCMFZ~HRF
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Roof-Mou...157720&hash=item2edbe30adb:g:mhMAAOSwCMFZ~HRF
brian47
Well-Known Member
The actual technical name for such an aerial is a "Centre loaded whip", or at least it would be if the coil was actually a tuned element in the aerial system.
In the duty this aerial is expected to work, just as an AM/FM car radio aerial and not as a specialist dual band VHF/UHF radiating element, the coil serves no tuned purpose, it's just a blingy and technical looking method of slightly shortening to bit sticking up in the air.
In the duty this aerial is expected to work, just as an AM/FM car radio aerial and not as a specialist dual band VHF/UHF radiating element, the coil serves no tuned purpose, it's just a blingy and technical looking method of slightly shortening to bit sticking up in the air.
everlatesparky
Active Member
2m and 70cm ham radio twig?
It's only about 30cm long
Roaming Wombat
Well-Known Member
The fleshy looking things in my picture are my fingers, my hands are big but not that chuffin' big
brian47
Well-Known Member
It's only about 30cm long
If you are thinking about aerials for the 2 metre and 70 centimetre amateur radio bands then 30 cms isn't that far off the required dimensions. For instance an efficient transmitting aerial for 2 mtrs, commonly known as a quarter-wave whip would be 19 inches long (48.26 cms) and the loading coil would then appear to lengthen the whip from 30 cms to 48 cms therefore maintaining the tuning. The position of the coil is also arranged to be approximately a quarter wavelength at 70cms above the groundplane which is about 17.5 cms.
The electrical value of the coil, or the inductance is designed to present a high impedence to the 70 cms RF which stops it going further along the radiating element.
It sounds a bit confusing, being able to stop a signal travelling along a conductor with nothing more than a coil, but it is RF we're talking about which doesn't behave in quite the same way as you would expect DC to behave.
But all of that is somewhat acedemic since the aerial isn't a 2 mtr/70 cms dual band aerial, it's just a car radio AM/FM aerial with a spring in the middle doing a job you could quite easily do with a bent coathanger.
