title_body: How does having bent antenna impact reception? I have heard that when an antenna is bent, it can reduce the performance of the antenna and thus limit the range of a drone. This is mentioned in this video at 5:29. I am wondering why a bend in an antenna would cause this loss of RF signal? And how significantly would having slightly bent antennas on an XM+ receiver actually impact the range of a drone?
upvoted_answer: Antennas are weird and the answer isn't really clear cut.
  
  As long as the wire within the antenna isn't damaged, it should work fine (1, 2). 
  
  Sometimes bends in antenna can improve it, like with NASA's Evolved antenna for the ST5 spacecraft.