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- Sirius Satellite Radio History -
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Sirius Satellite Radio at a Glance
Current stock quote: SIRI $1.92 (+0.01)
Corporate headquarters: New York City, New York
Date of launch: July 1, 2002
Satellites in service: 3
Available satellite radio channels:130
Monthly subscription cost:$12.95
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Sirius Satellite Radio is an
all digital satellite radio provider, currently broadcasting over
130 steaming satellite radio channels of music, news, talk and audio
entertainment from coast to coast in the United States.
Early History
Satellite radio in the United States was born in 1992 when the U.S.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated a spectrum in the "S" band
(2.3 GHz) for nationwide broadcasting of satellite-based Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS). In 1997, two companies received licenses for digital satellite radio initiatives. CD Radio (Now Sirius Satellite Radio) and American Mobile Radio (now XM Satellite Radio). Sirius Radio was officially launched ,on July 1, 2002.
Technology
Sirius is headquartered in New York City, in the Rockefeller Center and has
an impressive recording studio on site with 33 seperate recording
areas and have a library of over 2 million music titles and
programs. Sirius using PAC encoding technology and digitizes
their signal, at near CD quality meaning that there is very
little loss of quality from the original source track.
Satellite Technology
Sirius radio has chosen an innovative approach to delivering its programming to its subscribers. The Sirius Radio service is delivered to its subscribers via 3 high power, Loral
SS/L-1300 commercial satellites in a unique inclined orbit. Unlike most convention satellite broadcasters, which use satellites in geo-stationary orbit 22 300 miles above the earth, The Sirius Radio satellites' lower inclined orbit causes the satellite to move in relation to the earth across the horizon.
The Sirius satellites have an average
elevation angle of about 60 degrees as opposed to approximately
45 degrees for geostationary satellites. This higher elevation
allows them clearer line of sight and fewer obstructions such as
buildings and trees. The 3 satellites slowly orbit the Earth
approximately 100 degrees apart and employ a "hand-off" method,
meaning that only 2 of the 3 satellites are active at any given
time to avoid interference as Sirius is only allocated 2
different frequencies. One of the satellites over the U.S. will
use frequency A and the other will use frequency B. As each one
of the satellites leave the footprint of the continental U.S.,
they deactivate and hand-off their signal to another satellite
which has just re-activated and is just entering the footprint of
the continental U.S. Each of the 3 satellites spend approximately
16 hours over the continental United States, with at least one
satellite over the United States at any given time.
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The Sirius Radio Satellite Coverage Map or "satellite footprint" shows the Sirius coverage over North America and Central America.
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Sirius also uses a number of land based
repeaters, located throughout the U.S., mostly in major sites that have
tunnels and large buildings that can block out satellite reception. By
default, your Sirius radio receiver will "listen" for the signal on the
satellite frequencies. If it is not able to receive them, it will automatically
switch to terrestrial mode and listen for the signal from a repeater. Once the
satellite signal has been re-established, it will switch back to satellite mode.
Antenna Technology
The Sirius Radio programming is received by its customers using a small satellite radio
antenna, similar to a GPS or satellite telephone antenna which
contain a number of omni directional arrays that collect the
signal and pass it to the receiver where it is amplified and
decoded.
Sirius Radio offers a multitude of antenna designs to suit virtually every purpose, including transportable antennas, vehicle mount antennas, home mount antennas and commercial truck/RV antennas.
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U.S. Sirius Satellite Radio Receiver.
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Receiver Technology
Sirius Radio receivers come in 4 different configurations, portable units, plug and play units, home units as well as satellite-ready head units.
Portable Units
These are units designed to be used while on the go, be that walking, jogging or on a trip. These units are completely self contained and portable, with a receiver and antenna built into a single unit. Like the plug and play units, they also can be docked at home or in the car, offering external power and antenna.
Plug and Play Units
The Sirius Radio plug and play units are designed for those that want to listen to satellite radio programming while in the car or at home, using only 1 radio. This eliminates the need for an additional subscription. These operate using home and car docking kits that allow you to transfer between the car and home.
Home Units
These are designed for those that only wish to listen to satellite radio programming while in the home. They are available in both self contained design, with built in speakers as well as units designed to connect to a stereo or home theater system.
Satellite-Ready Units
These are 3 piece units consisting of a Sirius Radio ready head unit, as well as a Sirius Radio tuner and antenna. After market head units are currently available from Sanyo, Sony, Clarion, Panasonic, Pioneer,Kenwood, JVC, Alpine and Eclipse. Additionally factory Sirius Radio units are available from Audi, Bentley, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Maybach, Mazda, Mercedes, Mercury, Mini, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Scion, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.
Sirius Radio Service
The basic Sirius service is $12.95 USD per month. You can also
save by prepaying for 1 year, 2 years or the Sirius Lifetime
plan.
Once you have your Sirius Radio system installed and working,
you will be able to receive the preview channels. Tune to channel
184 and record your units ID number from the display. You will
need this to activate your Sirius service. You will also need a
U.S. mailing address and a credit card. You can activate Over the
Internet for a reduced activation fee of $5 or over the phone
for an activation fee of $15 at
1-888-539-7474.
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09/19/2007 12:08 AM
Welcome to our new site. digitalinsurrection.com is now lounge0101.com. Please excuse our mess as we complete a long overdue redesign of our website. The new primary url of our website is now www.lounge0101.com. Please update your bookmarks. With the redesign, you will find all areas of the website have been updated. Stay tuned for more coming soon.
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