Aerials including a base structure with antenna rods are voluminous and easily damaged. It is a desire that such aerials in mobile radio stations, for example, can be collapsible so as to avoid damage to the aerials during transport. Rapid collapsibility should be possible for military applications and the like. Collapsible aerials are known in which the aerial rods are attached to the base structure by screwed joints or by sleeves on the structure into which the rods may be inserted. The base structure can also be put together from parts in a similar way. Such aerials have small dimensions in their collapsed state, but they have many loose parts which can easily be lost. Work with the aerials is time-consuming and can be made more difficult by darkness, dirt and ice. Other known aerials are provided with joints enabling them to be collapsed, these joints being locked by screws or spring-actuated latches. Such aerials, which have a small number of joints, are often of large size and are also difficult to transport in their collapsed state. Aerials with a large number of joints have small overall dimensions in their collapsed state, but they are not robust and they wear rapidly. This wear may result in severe deterioration of the latching function, with the result that the aerials are collapsed by strong winds, for example, and are damaged. The articulated aerials are also time-consuming to handle, especially if the joints have loose parts for locking the joints.
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