Satellite Radio Receivers

What specifically do you want to know about satellite radio recievers? I can answer a few more specific questions in the hopes that I cover the original question.

What are they and how do they work?

A satellite radio works much like a regular radio, in that it recieves a high frequency transmission and converts that transmission into sound. However there are some profound differences. Normal AM/FM public broadcasts are transmitted on a radio tower and are intended to be recieved by listeners in a local area. Satellite transmissions come from a network on the ground and is beamed up to a satellite orbiting the Earth, with the satellite beaming the transmission back downto earth. Doing this from space allows listeners over a much larger area to recieve the transmission. Also, the antenna used for satellite radio is much different than your AM/FM antenna. AM/FM radio broadcasts come from the horizon, satellite transmissions come from almost straight up. A satellite radio antenna is typically a small square that is encased in a weatherproof plastic coating and usually has a magnet to allow it to be mounted on you car.

What do I need to do to listen to satellite radio?

XM and Sirius, two of the main commercial satellite radio offerings, sell inexpensive radio kits. These kits have everything you need to listen to satellite radio in your vehicle, and acessories can be purchased so that you can listen to satellite radio in your home. However these are commercial services that require you to pay for service each month. Each of thier radios has a serial number on the back, and much like a cell phone each radio requires a service plan. Service plans are reletively inexpensive, so please check out thier respective websites for details and pricing.

OK! I bough one of these commercial kits, how do I hook it up?

Great! The kits have a few major components: A reciever (the radio itself), a docking station, a power plug, and an antenna. Lets start with the docking station. The docking station has a few ways of mounting in the car, either with suction cups or vent clips, and most kits come with both. Suction cups are for mounting it on the windshiled, the vent clips are for mounting it on one of your vents. Select an approipriate spot, convienient and out of the way, and then mount it up. Power would be next, the power plug fits into your 12 volt cigarette lighter port, and the end of the cable plugs into the docking station. The antenna also plugs into the docking station, and it can sit either on top of your car or on your dashboard, so long as it has a good view of the sky. If you elect to put it on top of your car, these kits have a little plastic protection piece to cover the cable as it goes through the rubber seal going out of the door or window. This will both protect the antenna cable and keep it from moving around as you get in and out of your car. Be sure all your cables are routed out of the way so that normal use of the car isn't impeded. If you havent called your satellite service provider to activate your radio yet, now would be a good time. The number to call the respective service provider is on the back of the box, all you will need at this point is the number on the back of the radio reciever and a major credit card. Once activated, you simply put the radio on the docking station and select the station you want to listen to. Similarly, you can pick up the radio and take it indoors to a home docking station accessory and listen at home.

UMM... Mine isnt working.

No sweat, lets look at some of the basics. Can your antenna see the sky? Because satellites are so far away the signal is relativey weak... trees, clouds parking structures, or tall buildings could be blocking the signal. In the northern hemisphere the satellites would be in the southern sky. Could your antenna cable have gotten pinched in the door? If so, replacement antennas are availiable. Is your radio getting power? Make sure the plug is pushed into the cigarette lighter port all the way, and there is a small glass fuse inside the tip of the lighter plug that could have blown. Have you paid your bill? Like cell phones, these radios can have thier service turned off. Hopefully its somthing simple and you will be rocking and rolling to satellite radio soon.

Satellite radio is a good alternitive to AM/FM radio, particularly if you listen in areas with a limited selection. Hopefully this hub has helped answer some of your questions about satellite radio. More questions? Leave a comment and I or some of the more educated hubber's will do our best to answer!

http://www.sirius.com/

http://www.xmradio.com/