What are “Rabbit Ears”?
“Rabbit ears” is a common term for a very simple type of television antenna, the dipole antenna. They are called “rabbit ears” because they look like a pair of rabbit ears springing out from the top of the television set. They consist of two metal rods coming out at an angle from a set-top device. The earliest dipole antenna was created in 1886, by Heinrich Hertz, one of the early pioneers of electromagnetism. The “rabbit ears” antenna came not long after the advent of television broadcasts, as a way to boost signal and get better reception. “Rabbit ears” are basically just a dipole antenna that has adjustable angles and lengths, allowing the user to fine tune their antenna to get the best reception. This will depend on the atmospheric conditions, their location, and the strength of the broadcast signal. Some “rabbit ears” antenna include a small loop at the base to help with UHF reception, and others have dials built in which allow for a fine-tuning of the antenna itself. For many yea
