Whip

A type of antenna consisting of a straight, flexible rod or 'whip' made of conductive material. Often vertically oriented and mounted on a ground plane, whip antennas can function as monopoles, operating at quarter-wave, half-wave, or full-wave resonant frequencies depending on their length. Quarter-wave whips, in particular, are common and use the ground plane to form a complete, effective half-wave dipole. The flexibility of the whip allows it to withstand wind and incidental contact, which combined with its simplicity and effectiveness, makes the whip antenna a popular choice for mobile and portable applications, such as car radios, walkie-talkies, and portable FM radios. The radiation pattern is typically omnidirectional in the horizontal plane, providing broad coverage.