What is a Whip Antenna?
A whip antenna is the most common example of a monopole radio antenna. Technically, this means that instead of two antennae working together, either side-by-side, or forming a loop, one antenna is replaced. Whip antennas are used frequently in devices such as hand-held radios and mobile phones. Their name is derived from the flexible, whip-like motion they exhibit when struck. The length of the whip determines its potential wavelength. It is also possible to shorten the whip with a loading coil anywhere along the length of the antenna. This allows the inductance to be increased without increasing the size of the whip. Half-wave and quarter-wave whips are also very common. A whip antenna is almost always vertically mounted onto its base vehicle, resulting in vertical polarization. Because they radiate in every direction on a horizontal plane, whips are often referred to as omnidirectional. This is not strictly true, however, since all whip antennas have a conical blind spot directly abo
A whip antenna is an antenna that is usually the full quarter wave in length although it is not unusual to see full wave lengths on vehicles, mounted on buildings, or mounted in the ground, etc.. Full wave length antennas are impractical in environments where readers are used and offer no distinct advantage over quarter wave antennas.
