Car antennas 101: There are more that you need to know!

Favorite tools when it comes to in-car entertainment systems are Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay. If you notice, people are more into internet-based choices these days. But if you're still into nostalgic picks like CDs and radio, that's fine too! There's no standard that forces you or anyone to follow the crowd. So when it comes to in-car entertainment, you do you

Favorite tools when it comes to in-car entertainment systems are Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay

To help you get the in-car radio system of your dreams, we gathered everything you need to know about car antennas. So if you want to purchase a new car antenna but have limited knowledge, look no further.

Are you curious about the different types of car antennas? Do you know what makes each of them different? Get all the info you need in this article from Philkotse.com.

1. Car antennas

Car antennas, like everything else, were usually one-size-fits-all. Some people disagree with this, but we can't deny how easy it was to find replacement antennas before. These days, you'll mostly see dedicated accessories. Most are focused accessories that are best added to particular cars.

The basic kind of antenna is the monopole whip. This receives FM radio broadcasts at an "okay" or tolerable quality. But if you're less than pleased, this may be disappointing for you. In addition to that, these basic antennas are bad at catching AM broadcasts, so be aware.

Car antennas, like everything else, were usually one-size-fits-all

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2. Antenna types

As you may already know, there are different kinds of car antennas out there. That means you won't need to settle for the disappointing one you might have now. Each of the different types of car antennas is actually designed to receive different signals.

After the basic stuff, the concept becomes more complicated. But don't worry, we're here to give you a better picture of what these mean. Below are the different types of antennas and everything you need to know about them:

Satellite antenna

Terrestrial antennas can capture broadcasts of both FM and AM radio. But it can only do this if the broadcast is through local towers. Satellite radio, on the other hand, is broadcast from geostationary and geosynchronous satellites. These series of satellites have different wavelengths.

Satellite radio is broadcast from geostationary and geosynchronous satellites

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TV antenna

FM radio and analog VHF television used to compete with each other. The leap into digital entertainment drove TV to the new UHF spectrum. If you're looking forward to enjoying local TV networks from inside your car, you'll need an antenna.

There are actually a lot of antennas under this category. One of the usual and top choices is the so-called "boomerang" seen on high-end luxury cars like limousines. You may have even caught a glimpse of them on motorized satellite dishes. Boomerang antennas on these are designed to adjust automatically while the car is driven.

If you're looking forward to enjoying local TV networks from inside your car, you'll need a TV antenna

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GPS navigation antenna

We all know that our GPS navigation systems come with their own antennas. But if you like, you can add an external antenna. By doing so, you are increasing the chance for your GPS device to give you more accurate results. Aside from that, you are also reducing the chances of losing the satellite lock.

GPS antennas are different from other antennas because most of them are usually passive. On the other hand, GPS navigation antennas can either be passive or active.

A separate GPS navigation antenna can help your GPS system get more accurate results, and reduce the chances of losing satellite lock

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Radio car antenna

This type of antenna comes stock in every car. However, some users may not be satisfied with the quality that these stock car antennas bring.

There are usually two types of stock car radio antennas out there. The first one is the window-mounted antenna which is flat. The other type is a monopole whip type, which we mentioned earlier. The latter has been in use for many years now.

There are usually two types of stock car radio antennas out there

It is also the easiest type to recognize. But these can also come in different varieties and designs. So if you don't like how your current whip type antenna looks, you can always take it up a notch by buying a new one with a different design.

Cell phone car antenna

Cell phone car antennas are another favorite when it comes to classic in-car entertainment. But there are actually two varieties that you just have to watch for. The first is the cell phone car antennas that are physically built into the cellular device. The second are signal boosters.

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Cell phone car antennas are another favorite when it comes to classic in-car entertainment

These work by retransmitting and amplifying weak cellular signals. The first one was a more famous choice before they went out of style. Thanks to the improvement in technology, we won't have to bring around bulky phones with antennas anymore. The second antenna existed for quite sometime before the Internet took over.