Why You Should Choose Satellite Radio from Sirius and XM

A satellite radio is a special radio that receives signals broadcast by satellite. This allows the listener to follow a single channel no matter where they are because the signal's reach is not limited by station power and curvature of the Earth. Satellite radio, also called digital radio, offers commercial and distortion free, CD quality music beamed to your car radio or home stereo from space.

We all have our favorite radio stations that we preset into our car radios or home stereos, flipping between stations as we drive to and from work, on errands and around town. But when you travel too far away from the source station, the signal breaks up and fades into static. Most radio signals can only travel about 30 or 40 miles from their source. On long trips passing through different cities, you might have to change radio stations every hour or so as the signals fade in and out. Obviously, it's not much fun scanning through static trying to find something to listen to.

Imagine a radio station that can broadcast its signal from more than 22,000 miles away, and then come through on your car radio or home stereo with complete clarity. You could drive from Anchorage, Alaska to Miami, Florida, without ever having to change the radio station! Not only would you ever hear static interfering with your favorite tunes, but the music would be interrupted by no commercials. Welcome to the world of satellite radio....commercial and distortion free listening from coast to coast!

Car manufacturers have installed satellite radio receivers in some of the latest model automobiles, and electronics companies have launched several models of portable satellite radio receivers. Satellite radio is also available for the home for commercial and distortion free listening enjoyment!

What are the two types of satellite radio?

In the United States, there are XM and Sirius.

XM is a service in the United States that provides digital programming directly from two satellites (nicknamed "Rock" and "Roll") in geostationary orbit above the equator, and a network of ground-based repeaters. It is based in Washington, DC.

XM's business model is to provide pay-for-service radio, with commercial-free music channels, analogous to the business model for premium cable television channels. They also provide other data services such as weather information for pilots and weather spotters. In addition, they transmit coded traffic information directly to navigation systems using TMC technology. Their service includes music channels, news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, premium channels, regional traffic and weather channels. The XM signal uses 12.5 MHz of the S band: 2332.5 to 2345.0 MHz. XM's competitor in the U.S. is Sirius.

Sirius is a (DARS) service in the United States that provides streams of music, sports, news and entertainment. The streams are broadcast from three satellites in an elliptical geosynchronous orbit above North America. Sirius is based in New York City. Its business model is to provide pay-for-service radio, free of commercials, analogous to the business model for cable television.

Sirius' spacecraft Sirius 1 through Sirius 4 was manufactured by Space Systems/Loral. The first three of the series were orbited in 2000 by Proton-K Block-DM3 launch vehicles. Sirius 4 is a ground spare, in storage at SS/Loral's facility in Palo Alto, California. Sirius was previously known as CD Radio. The dog in the Sirius logo is unofficially named "Mongo."

Reginald Sharp is a writer and the webmaster of Satellite Radio: Sirius & XM

The Top 5 Reasons You Need Satellite Radio Now

Emerging technologies always take some time to get really established and then all of a sudden they just take off and it seems like everyone is using it. Eventually, there comes a time when you can't seem to even remember not using it. CDs and DVDs are a good exampole, as well as cable and satellite TV. Well, one of those new technologies is happening right now and that is satellite radio.

For years we have been used to tuning into our loacl radio stations and putting up with bad reception at times, and ads all the time. But satellite radio is poised to put that all behind us. Here are the top 5 reasons that you need satellite radio right now:

1. More choices, more to listen to. If you tune in to loacl radio you probably don't have more than just a handful of stations that you listen to regularly, simply because there is a small pool of broadcasts made in any given area. Not so on satellite radio. Both XM and Sirius offer more than 100 channels of pure enteratinment including sports, talk, kids programming, and every kind of music that you can imaagine. Always on, available wherever you go.

2. Crystal clear sound. Satellite radio broadcasts are made in digital format, so they are much higher quality than land-based radio. They also aren't prone to the limitations of standard radio. For instance, travel about 30- 50 miles and you will most likely lose your clear reception on almost any radio station. With satellite radio you can travel across the entire US and still have clear, CD-like sound with no interruption.

3. No commercials. How much time do you think you have wasted in life having to listen to ads and commercials on the radio that you really don't care about, just to be able to get the programming that you want? I'll bet it adds up to quite a bit. Imagine not having to put up with those kind of time wasters any more. You get to listen to only what you want to listen to for as long as you want to listen.

4. Unique programming. The standard radio stations are all controlled by the FCC and that means that you can only get certain types of entertainment on them. Howard Stern has famously pushed the boundaries of publicly available radio for some time, and has now sitched to satellite radio as it allows you to have more freedom to listen to whatever programming that interests you.

5. Great for travel. No need to pack up the CD player and all your CDs when traveling to listen to your favorite music, just listen to your satellite radio. No fumbling with tuning in the station or hunting for another one, just set it and forget it. And enjoy!

There are lots of other good reasons for choosing satellite radio for entertainment and information, but whatever reasons you choose, one thing is very clear. If you get satellite radio, you will wonder in just a very short time how you ever got along without it.

Jim Johnson writes on consumer related matters. Find out more about satellite radio and satellite radio services at the Satellite Radio Review.

How Does Satellite Radio Work?

There's been a big push in the consumer electronics industry lately. It's been the movement towards satellite radio, but one of the biggest questions being asked is how does this technology work?

How do you get all of these fantastic stations tuned into one satellite radio receiver? There's a lot more going on behind the scenes then just clicking the on button. How is it possible the signal can be so crystal clear?

Well first off you need to decide on a provider. IN the US there are two main providers: XM radio and Sirius. Each station provides fantastic satellite radio programming, and the way each service works is very similar so there isn't a big learning curve between the two. How ever the type of programming that each provider offers varies, so depending on your listening habits you should consider this closely. In Canada XS is currently the only provider available. Hence there really isn't a big choice for you to make there.

After you've decided on a provider you need to run down to your local consumer electronics store and pick up a satellite radio receiver, or purchase one online. The Satellite radio itself is the second most important component in the system, and in discovering how satellite radio works.

Different satellite radio receivers are designed to unscramble signals that are sent from satellites orbiting earth. Each satellite radio service launches satellites into orbit; the provider will then send encrypted signals to each satellite. These orbiting satellites send the signals back down to us. When a subscriber selects a particular satellite station their radio receiver the radio decodes the signal sent from the satellite and provides the requested station.

So you can see that satellite radio behaves similarly to traditional radio. A signal is broadcast, and our radios at home and in our cars pick it up. However traditional signals are broadcast over the airwaves while satellite radio is provided via the satellites in space. Unlike traditional radio, which at times isn't the cleanest sound, satellite radio provides users with a clear sound no matter how far away from their local city they are. There is minimal range limit with a satellite radio signal, so it's possible to continue to listen to the exact same station almost no anywhere.For more information about how satellite radio works, and what products are available please visit our website http://www.satellite-radio-roundup.com.