"taxed and spent" writes:



Yes, the antenna sections do need to touch. If just a light coating of
oil is used the sections should penetrate the oil coating and make
contact.
I doubt you could really put too much oil on them to prevent electrical
contact, but too much oil might cause mechanical problems of it going up
and down. You did not try to use some grease on them did you?



It may be better if the sections touch, but if the radio wave made it miles
through the air I think it could handle another millimeter.

For optimal operation, the antenna should be 1/4 the wavelength of the
signal being received. So, for an 88mhz FM signal, the optimal antenna
would be 0.25(3.4), or 0.85 meters.

Varying from that will reduce the effectiveness of the antenna.

AM signals are received by a loop antenna, not the whip antenna.