527
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2025
527 points (98.3% liked)
Programmer Humor
26859 readers
995 users here now
Welcome to Programmer Humor!
This is a place where you can post jokes, memes, humor, etc. related to programming!
For sharing awful code theres also Programming Horror.
Rules
- Keep content in english
- No advertisements
- Posts must be related to programming or programmer topics
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Cheap things from China often have recycled or re-purposed parts. I had an antenna that came apart and is actually a tape measure with some rubber over it just soldered right to a threaded connector.
I think that must be fairly common as I remember a video talking about using a tape measure being used on a satellite.
I've found it! I thought it would have been Scott Manly, but it was a question in Tom Scott's Lateral quiz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrsBn1pzQFE
Uh, did the antenna work? Not a RF guy but as far as i know, the dimensions of the "wire" matter.
And btw, cheap chinese plastic things are likely to leak some hazardous chemicals.
It "works" but isnt perfect. The length matters, but it does work and is the right(ish) length. I don't have the instruments to test it properly.
More, it just isnt very practical because it doesnt work much better than a small whip antenna. I do have a more powerful radio I need to test it on eventually, but it uses the wrong connector for that and I have to buy an adapter
The aim with simple antennas is to get their length right to match the radio waves. Often at 1/4 of the wavelength.
The type of metal an antenna is made of matters, as the speed of light is different in different materials.
I suspect if it doesn't work well it's because the manufacturer either made it the wrong length or used a fibreglass tape measure rather than a steel one
Right but what about this case specifically
I would say it most likely came from a Chinese toy factory. They really have a creative way to use recycled/unused/broken parts. Sometimes it can get worse though.