On Jun 10, 12:55*pm, Twitchell wrote:
I've seen some car radio whip antennas that look like they have a wire wrapped
around them. *The wraps are not close but lazily spiral down the length of the
antenna.

Does this help reception? *Is the coil attached somehow to the car or just the
antenna itself?

twitch

My antenna on my minivan is like that.

I think the supporting whip is fiberglas/or some insulating material,
and the wire is the actual electrical element; and in the interest of
saving length and providing strength, they wrap the wire around the
slightly shorter antenna pole. The wire is then connected to the lead
of the antenna. It works fine, about as good as a metal whip of
similar length. Antennas for cars are pretty uncomplicated
critters... :-)