Yes, the same thing happened to us when we were kids; pull into the car wash, the brushes start and my dad turns on the radio to get the football scores, Antenna goes up, brushes neatly snap it off. I go home having learned some new swear words.

 

Power antennas - pure garbage. Slow, noisy, fragile, ugly.

 

I think some cars even hard an "antenna" button, to retract the antenna at a car wash. Its 2021 and we still have AM/FM radio, but I don't know if any cars have built in apps for streaming audio services, etc - most require a smartphone and rely either on their own apps or apple/google service to display the apps on the infotainment screen.

 

All of the cars we had with power antennas the radio had to be off for the antenna to go down

 

What REALLY surprises me is that we still have AM (Amplitude Modulation) radio in the 21st century. Its transmission generally goes further than FM (Frequency Modulation) radio, but AM reception can sometimes be pure crap, and lightning from thunderstorms causes a lot of static. FM, though not as strong on the signals, is far better quality.....particularly FM stereo.

 

Most cars these days support "HD radio", and those AM stations that are broadcasting in HD have substantially better quality.

 

I listen to some traditional FM or FM/stereo stations, particularly for local news and weather (always something going on in the D.C. area), but, in general, I've become an addict of XM Sirius radio....and I'm willing to pay for a subscription to get it.

One of my MM-quotes is "You either Sirius or you're kidding"

 

I had to listen to FM radio for an hour on my way to WV when I had a total signal dump out and it was awful.

 

XM Sirius broadcasts at 64kbs, it hurts my ears. Radio is fine for news/talk, for music I use streaming. I've been doing it since like 2007, back in blackberry days even.

 

Unlike the otherwise-crap AM signals which can at least transmit over the horizon or for longer distances, FM signals are generally line-of-sight. That means that a number of things, even at relatively short-range, can interfere with them or block them. Almost all of the state of WV (and much of western VA) varies from hilly to mountainous, except for the Shenandoah Valley and a small area in the Eastern Panhandle around Charles Town and Martinsburg....so, yes, FM signals usually aren't going to travel very far with much quality.

That's why I like XM Sirius radio....works off of orbiting satellites, and line-of-sight interference from buildings or terrain is never a problem. You'll hear the same station just as clear and full, whether you are in New York or San Francisco.

 

I don’t listen to XM/Sirius over satellite. I listen to streaming in lossless quality. XM sounds a little better over streaming too, but I still extremely rarely listen to it.

Big issue with FM is commercials. I’m just not accustomed to watching or listening to anything with commercials.

 

Yeah, with paid streaming services commercials are a thing of the past. For measly 10 bucks a month, this is so worth it.

 

Totally worth it

 

I got a great laugh out of this, thanks guys lol!

I very much remember them, I have one in the driveway that is once again in need of repair. It's actually the only thing broken on the RX believe it or not, that and the endlessly annoying sun visor

I'm soon selling it however so this time will be last time I replace the mast. If it breaks again whoever owns it next will have to deal with it.

 

..........and, perhaps, some lessons from the disclaimer-signs at the car wash itself.