Portable radios with earphones have become popular for use during many types of activities. For example, exercisers use portable radios with earphones to listen to radio broadcasts while exercising. Sports fans use portable radios at live games to listen to radio broadcasts of the game while viewing the game from the stands. Moreover, others use portable radios with earphones to listen to broadcasts privately and therefore, not disturb others. Portable radios are configured so that large headphones which substantially cover a user's ears are positioned adjacent to the user's ears by supporting them on a substantially rigid head mount. Smaller headphones are anchored inside the user's ear canals.
In portable radios with headphones, the antenna for the receiver is the long wires attaching the receiver to the headphones. Long antenna wires are required for quality reception of FM transmissions. Frequently, the long wires act as encumbrance to the user of the portable radio. For example, when the receiver is attached to the user's belt, suspended from the user's shoulder by a shoulder strap, or in the user's hand, the length and position of the antenna wires causes them to become tangled and unmanageable. Frequently, the wires are in the way of the user's hands and can become tangled with other articles carried by the user such as a purse or jacket.
Another type of portable radio with headphones is that having the receiver fixably attached to the headphone's substantially rigid head mount. In this arrangement, a rigid antenna is also attached to the head mount and typically projects upwards. While this type of portable radio avoids the problem of loose long antenna wires, it is a bulky and unbalanced arrangement, and therefore not suitable for use during activities involving substantial motion.
Other portable radio configurations include those which run an antenna through a headband so that it encircles a user's head. While this configuration avoids the problem of loose long antenna wires, the headband is rigid and therefore, uncomfortable. In this configuration, a headband made from a more comfortable non-rigid material such as fabric is unacceptable for many activities, such as exercising, because with the wires inside it, the headband cannot be washed.
Other portable radio configurations also include those which are attachable to a washable headband by clips. Because the radio is removable from the headband, the headband is washable. However, in these configurations, the earphone wires which double as antenna wires hang from the radio, drape down past the user's shoulders and therefore the wires are in the way of the user's hands and can become tangled with other articles carried by the user.