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Sirius radio, or more generally satellite radio, came out a few years ago. If you’ve never heard or heard of satellite radio, this article is your windfall. In this article you will discover what satellite radio is and how it works.

What is satellite radio?

As its name implies, satellite radio uses satellites and related equipment to transmit radio channels to car or home radios. The concept really got its impetus in 1992 when the FCC reserved a portion of the radio frequency for what they called Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS). Five years later, Sirius Radio and XM Satellite Radio bought licenses from the FCC, and both companies began putting the pieces in place so they could begin broadcasting.

Conventional radio waves can only travel 35 to 45 miles before dying out. The signal for satellite radio services is transmitted more than 20,000 miles above the Earth’s surface. Satellite radio programming is subscriber-based, which means you pay a monthly fee to decrypt the signal from the satellites. However, most satellite radio services are free, so you don’t have to worry about channel hopping. Channels include music, radio shows, sporting events, children’s programs, and news.

Who’s who from satellite radio

There are currently three main players in the satellite radio game: Sirius Radio, XM Satellite Radio, and WorldSpace. Sirius radio covers North America, including the continental US, Canada, and Alaska. XM serves the continental US WorldSpace is developing coverage in other parts of the world (Asia, Africa, Europe and South America) and they are definitely the most ambitious in terms of customer coverage (a potential 4.6 billion customers covered on 5 different continents). Each company uses different methods and satellite technology to provide service in their respective areas.

Satellite radio equipment, such as car receivers and home stereos, are sold in a variety of consumer electronics stores and are beginning to become standard installations on new cars. Conventional radios cannot receive satellite radio transmissions, so hiring the service generally involves the purchase of a receiver, although there are some kits available to make conventional radios compatible with satellite radio.

Due to the different technology that each company uses, the receivers are not compatible with all companies. For example, if you subscribed to XM but later wanted to switch to Sirius radio, you would need to get a new receiver that is Sirius compatible. Some satellite television companies include satellite radio service in their channel packages, and you can receive the broadcast through your satellite TV.

How does satellite radio work?

This is the cool part. Music, talk show, sporting event, etc. are digitally recorded in a studio, after which the message is encoded. The scrambled signal is sent to the satellites from ground stations (Sirius radio based in New York; XM based in DC). The satellites then transmit the signal to receivers in your car or at home. The receivers contain chipsets that decode the signal and reproduce it through your stereo. In urban areas where taller buildings can block satellite signals, repeaters or ground transmitters are used to forward the signal, eliminating pockets of dead space.

XM uses two satellites to cover the continental United States with its signal. Sirius radio uses three satellites to form a constellation of satellites. The way they are placed in orbit ensures that each satellite spends approximately 16 hours at a time covering the US and that there is always at least one satellite over the US at any given time. WorldSpace satellites broadcast three signals each to increase the amount of territory their three satellites can cover. All three companies have backup satellites ready to be launched in the event that one of their satellites stops working.

Satellite radio technology seems to be here to stay. It is ideal for those who live in areas where normal radio reception is poor, or for those who are willing to pay a little each month to avoid having to listen to commercials. It is very likely that soon every new car you buy will have a satellite radio installed, and more and more homes will be equipped for it. I’ve only covered the basics. It’s definitely worth spending your time finding out more about what each company has to offer.

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