Sirius radio, or more generally satellite radio, came along just a few years ago. If you have never listened to or heard of satellite radio, this article is your lucky break. In this article you will find out what satellite radio is and how it works.

What is satellite radio?

Just 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 set aside a portion of the radio frequency for what they called the 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 start broadcasting.

Conventional radio waves can only travel 35 to 45 miles before disappearing. The signal from satellite radio services is transmitted more than 20,000 miles above the surface of the Earth. Programming on satellite radio is subscriber-based, which means you pay a monthly fee to decrypt the signal from the satellites. But, most satellite radio services come commercial-free, so you don’t have to worry about changing the channel. Channels include music, radio shows, sporting events, children’s shows, and news.

The who’s who of satellite radio

There are currently three major 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 provides service in 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 of 4.6 billion customers covered in 5 different ones). continents). Each company uses different satellite technologies and methods to provide service in their respective areas.

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

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

How does satellite radio work?

This is the cool part. The music, talk show, sporting event, etc., are recorded digitally in a studio, after which the message is encoded. The scrambled signal is sent to the satellites from ground stations (New York-based Sirius radio; DC-based XM). The satellites then transmit the signal to receivers in your car or home. Receivers contain chipsets that decode the signal and play it back through your stereo. In urban areas where taller buildings can block the signal from satellites, ground-based repeaters or transmitters are used to resend 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. The WorldSpace satellites emit three signals each to increase the amount of territory they can cover with their three satellites. All three companies have backup satellites ready to launch in case one of their satellites goes down.

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