Whip antenna

A whip antenna is an antenna consisting of a single straight flexible wire or rod. The bottom end of the whip is connected to the radio receiver or transmitter. They are designed to be flexible so that they do not easily break, and the name is derived from their whip-like motion when disturbed. Whip antennas for portable radios are often made of a series of interlocking telescoping metal tubes, so they can be retracted when not in use. Longer ones made for mounting on vehicles or structures are made of a flexible fiberglass rod surrounding a wire core, and can be up to 35 ft (10 m) long. Whips are the most common type of monopole antenna. These antennas are widely used for hand-held radios such as cell phones, cordless phones, walkie-talkies, FM radios, boom boxes, Wi-Fi enabled devices, and GPS receivers, and also attached to vehicles as the antennas for car radios, as well as two way radios for police, firefighting and aircraft. Larger versions mounted on roofs or radio masts are used as base station antennas for police, fire, ambulance, taxi and other vehicle dispatchers.