Stubby antenna

RandyJamesA

Speaking as a former Submarine Radioman, meaning my knowledge is dated, basic, but still useful, size matters, but not much in this case. A radio receiver can only work with the RF energy that it gets from the atmosphere kind of like a telescope can only amplify the light that hits it. A shorter antenna will be hit by less energy. Also, certain antenna lengths work better for certain frequencies because of compatability between the wavelength and antenna length. However, antennas can be electrically tuned using an inductor to make them act like a longer antenna. All this being said, the ability of modern radios to differentiate a signal from background noise and amplify it is pretty darn good compared to the past. Also, we are pretty well saturated with signals anyway. With small changes to your system, you will see the most effect at the margins of performance. When you are cruising the boondocks with weak signals or in a dead zone between the mountains, you might lose a station a few seconds sooner. Of course, you'll see the most effect on AM. (Who cares?) FM will probably have such slight effect that most normal people won't notice. As for XM, there probably won't be any difference because of the higher frequency. Good luck.