If you are new to the satellite radio wave, you may be wondering exactly how satellite radio works and more importantly how it is possible to provide you with such crystal clear coverage continent-wide.

Satellite radio is able to provide coverage through two satellites which orbit the atmosphere. The satellites are Boeing HS 702 satellites which bear the ironic names of Rock and Roll. One satellite is located 85 degrees west longitude while the other satellite is located 115 degrees west longitude. The satellites orbit approximately 22,000 miles high above the Earth.

Rock was the first satellite to be placed into orbit on March 18, 2001. The second satellite, Roll, went up into the atmosphere on May 8th of the same year. In the event one of those two satellites should experience problems, a third satellite is ready and waiting to be launched.

A satellite radio station back down on Earth transmits a signal to the two satellites, which then bounces the signal back down to the ground again. Radio receivers owned by consumers who subscribe to satellite radio have the capability of receiving and then unscrambling the digital signal. That particular digital data signal can contain up to one hundred channels of audio content.

Along with the encoded sound, the signal can also contain further broadcast information as well. This includes the song title, artist and music category. This information can be displayed on the LCD of radio receivers, providing consumers with information about the audio content they are hearing through their satellite radio.

Since buildings could potentially block out the signal from the satellite in urban areas, broadcasting equipment is further supplemented by transmitters on the ground.

A unique chipset is contained within each receiver. The first chipsets were delivered to manufacturers in the fall of 2000 in anticipation of the production of satellite radio receivers and the arrival of satellite radio programming. Two integrated circuits are contained within each chipset. In addition, each satellite radio contains a small antenna which is capable of receiving the digital signal broadcast from the satellite.

From the very beginning car manufacturers recognized the value that satellite radios would present to consumers and began investing in digital satellite radio. GM quickly invested several million dollars, with Honda quickly following suit. In late 2000, General Motors began installing the first satellite radio receivers in their vehicles.

Since that time, the satellite radio industry has advanced rapidly and consumers can now choose to have not only satellite radio receivers in their vehicles but also in their homes as well. Small hand held satellite radio receivers also make it possible for consumers to take their music and programming with them wherever they go.

Subscription prices for satellite radio service fit just about any budget, providing subscribers with the ability to listen to a digital sound that is crystal clear. Subscribers also gain the advantage of having access to more than 100 channels of talk, news and music. A large majority of the satellite radio stations are commercial-free. Even the channels which are not commercial-free have far less advertisements than standard radio.

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If you want to find out what satellite radio has to offer in terms of programming, the best way is to look at Sirius or XM channel and schedule listings. Although either one will prove enlightening, take a look at the program listings on Sirius just for starters.

You've probably heard about the huge variety and choices in music channels available on satellite radio. A quick look at the their websites will confirm there's plenty of music to listen to in all different genres on satellite radio. It goes way beyond the choice of hip-hop, country music or classic rock you probably have with your regular FM radio.

What about satellite radio channels and programming that aren't devoted to music? Everyone has different tastes of course, but it's hard to imagine who wouldn't be impressed with the volume and variety of talk radio, sports, entertainment, and news channels and programs Sirius features.

Are you a NASCAR fan? Sirius broadcasts coverage of every race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. As long as you have SIRIUS radio at hand, you won't miss live coverage of a single race, whether you're at work, at home or on the road.

Sirius radio subscribers also have access to Driver2Crew Chatter channels during every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Hear live conversations between drivers and their crew chiefs and overall race coverage, too. There are also a dozen regularly scheduled shows you can listen to featuring top NASCAR radio personalities reporting on the latest events. Expert race and driver analysis and all-star guests are also featured on Sirius NASCAR Radio shows.

If you're more interested in health matters than NASCAR, you can listen to the new satellite radio channel, Doctor Radio. On Doctor Radio, you'll hear all about the latest medical news from the experts - real doctors. You can ask more than two dozen doctors questions and receive answers from qualified experts.

On Doctor Radio, you can also listen to special guest host physicians and other medical care practitioners and professionals from throughout the nation and around the world. Doctor Radio is all about providing listeners with the medical information they most need to help improve their lives.

If you're a Martha Stewart fan, you'll love her satellite radio channel, Martha Stewart Living Radio. This is a station "dedicated to great living," and there's a variety of regularly scheduled programs on 24 hours a day that address cooking and recipes, gardening, entertaining, pet care and home-keeping. Listeners can even call in and speak to Martha Steward directly during scheduled Ask Martha segments.

The great thing about satellite radio is the choices it offers a full spectrum of listeners. Sports stations and comedy channels, programming for kids, political talk programming and adult entertainment channels are just some of your options. With Sirius satellite radio, you can enjoy whatever type of radio you're in the mood for, even if it's hip-hop, country music or classic rock.

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If you have given some thought to subscribing to satellite radio but you are holding out because you simply are not sure whether it is the right option for you, it is time to learn what satellite radio offers in exchange for a subscription price.

Many consumers are hesitant to pay for a subscription to a satellite radio service, stating that it is needless when they can listen to radio for free. This certainly may be true; however, there are numerous advantages which consumers can benefit from via satellite radio which are not available through free standard radio.

Satellite radio gives you the advantage of being able to listen to it literally everywhere. While you certainly may listen to satellite radio quite a bit in your car while you are driving, you can also take advantage of media players, home receivers, and plug & play receivers in order to listen to satellite radio literally everywhere. Whether you are relaxing in your home, driving across town or taking a jog, you can tune into your favorite satellite radio programming.

Many radio listeners find that they frequently switch back and forth through regular radio stations in an effort to avoid long station breaks and commercials. When driving, this can be dangerous as well as frustrating. Satellite radio avoids these problems because the music channels are completely commercial free.

In addition, the sound quality of satellite radio is far superior to regular AM/FM radio programming, which is often subject to breaks and static.

Another great advantage of Satellite radio, available through Sirius, is the ability to rewind and then play back radio programming. This is certainly an advantage that is not available through standard radio programming. Sirius can also send consumers alerts that will let them know when their favorite teams are playing so they can be certain they will not ever miss a game.

The number of programming options available through Sirius is also quite expansive. Consider for a moment the number of channels that are available through standard radio programming. Not very many. Satellite radio subscriptions gives you access to more than 120 channels.

These channels comprise a wide variety including coverage of college sports, NBA, NHL, NFL, NCAA, sports talk and live coverage of hundreds of sports teams. Practically every genre of music is covered such as Latin, bluegrass, Christian, rap, rock, pop, blues, country and much more. Satellite radio also provides consumers with the ability to tune into the latest news all day long from a variety of sources such as Fox News, CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg Radio and C-SPAN.

Much more than just music, news and sports coverage is available through satellite radio; however. Consumers will find that they can enjoy a number of channels that are devoted entirely to talk and entertainment.

Consumers can take advantage of all of these benefits for a price that is quite reasonable. In most cases, consumers who are able to commit to a year long subscription plan will be able to lower their monthly subscription payment.

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In this world today, there's satellite everything%u2026there's satellite TV, satellite phone%u2026.and why not satellite radio? Essentially, a satellite radio is a kind of service that one can subscribe to to receive radio service anywhere you want. You can have satellite radio service in your car, in your home, in your office or even in public locations. In order to receive satellite radio service, you'll need to subscribe to the service, so, it's not like free TV or free radio whereby any radio can receive signals for free. You will need to pay a monthly or yearly subscription fee to enjoy satellite radio. There are, in the United States, two top satellite radio services available, Sirrus and XM. Well, there could be more but these are the two leading satellite radio service providers known to date.

Each of these satellite radio services provides and transmits hundreds of channels. Unlike free radio service, you'll have to tune in to each station to listen to whatever they're airing at that point in time, satellite radio gives you complete coverage from Blues to Techno, Jazz to Punk Rock in one single satellite radio service. And since you're paying for the satellite radio service, it's logical that the service is usually commercial free, except for their own commercials, of course. So, even if they do not allow other companies or people to put commercials into their satellite radio service, they retain the right to put their own infomercials and commercials into the satellite radio service that you receive.

In order to have the satellite radio service, you need a special radio. Any other normal radio won't cut it because our normal household radio cannot possibly receive a satellite radio signal. However, when you subscribe to the satellite radio service, they will normally package the satellite radio receiver together with the package price. The good thing is that no matter where you are, all you have to do is to bring the radio along with you and you can receive the satellite radio service. The signal receiver is not restricted by the power of signal from the radio station. We're talking about using the Satellite to transmit radio signals, so, you can literally listen to satellite radio anywhere in the world.

The biggest advantage that a satellite radio has over the conventional radio is that you will never have to re-tune your radio as you're traveling out of state or you don't need to bear with static noises when the reception is bad. With satellite radio, you're assured of high quality reception anywhere you go anywhere in the world.

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