Unlike transmitting antennas (i.e. CB antennas) that require precise matching to the transmitter circuitry of the radio, AM/FM receiver antennas have great amounts of latitude in their design. The perfect AM/FM antenna would be one that had the ability to transmit on every AM band (520 to 1710 KHz) channel as well as every FM band (87.5 to 108 MHz) channel. However, it is literally impractical, if not impossible, to build a mobile antenna that has the ability to accurately resonate across the HUGE bandwidth spectrum (a whopping 107.48 MHz) of AM/FM radio. If your AM/FM antenna was required to transmit throughout the assigned spectrum it would surely go up in smoke because of the intolerable heat built up due to the antennas inability to absorb the output energy. Just look around a parking lot at all of the various designs used for AM/FM antennas. With the exception of the homemade coat hanger replacements, AM/FM antennas used on vehicles are more about cosmetic design and placement than they are about performance. The fact is, AM/FM radios just give you what they are able to receive through the attached antenna. If you're hearing the station you want to hear ... great! If not .... "oh well"!

    One of the best, easiest and inexpensive ways to improve AM/FM reception is to increase the "capture area" of the collection device ... in this case, the antenna. The airspace is saturated with radio waves and they aren't zigzagging around trying to find your antenna. Those which strike your antenna have a chance of being heard while all the rest just slip past. And when you get on the fringe areas of a stations signal, the density of the magnetic wave is greatly reduced which means your thin wire (but pretty) antenna just isn't gathering enough information for the radio to utilize and you hear "garble, garble hissssss!".

    Firestik's AM/FM antennas have "gobs" of wire and many times the surface capture area when compared to a wire whip type antenna. For example, a typical 30" wire straight wire antenna with a 1/8" diameter has about 11.8 sq. inches of surface area. Firestik's AM/FM wire wound antennas have a little over 300 inches of wire and a total surface area of about 21.3 sq. inches. That represents and increase of nearly 81%. In spite of the available capture area, the antennas are extremely light with the 3 foot model weighing in at 4.8 oz (135 grams) and the 4 foot version weighing in at 5.7 oz (161 grams).

    All Firestik "AM/FM" antennas are 100% American made with 100% American materials. To maintain a balance between flexibility and ruggedness, we use a custom blended, glass fiber reinforced tube. Each is wound with double insulated copper wire to prevent the oxidation and shorted windings. Firestik's 3/8"-24 threaded base will fit all Firestik mounts and accessories. Each antenna is covered with a static reducing, water-tight sleeve containing UV and pigment stabilizers. For peek performance we recommend that you hi-quality Fire-Flex coaxial cables with these antennas. Both AM/FM models are compatible with all AM/FM radios and are available in black with a black tip.