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So what is satellite radio?
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I do not want
you to go into the details of the technology, but essentially
the music comes from a satellite in what is known as a
geostationary orbit. In other words, the satellite sits
right on top of the United States and with respect to us, it
does not move. So it is way up there and thus can cover
a very broad area without a decline in signal quality.
What that means is that no matter where you are, the signal is
always of the same strength - in other words, crystal clear
and almost as good as your CD player. And there are no
commercials. So it is like the premium channel on your
cable TV
How can you enjoy satellite radio?
Since this is
still a new technology, only two companies in the US offer
it: XM Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Since the
service is growing rapidly, new stations are being added
almost daily. What that means that one company may
offer more stations than the other but pretty soon they both
start to offer the same. There is no other difference among
the two companies so you should take a look at the choice of
the stations and the total cost to you.
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 Some new luxury
cars (over 100) already come pre-installed with a satellite
radio but if your new car does not have one or you have an old
car, you will need to buy a tuner separately or an accessory
to convert your existing tuner to be able to receive satellite
radio. However, like cell phones, you might sometimes
get them free or at a heavy discount when you sign up.
For the money that you spend on buying CDs, satellite radio is
a bargain. Typically you should expect to pay about
$10-15 a month but my favorite is a program by Sirius in which
you pay a one-time fee of $500 for the life of the
radio. Of course, there are the usual discounts that you
will get when you add accounts.
What are the other benefits of satellite
radio?
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There are three
in particular that I like:
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A traffic report channel. So if you
are in Philadelphia and headed to New York City you do not
have to wait to get into the proximity of New York City to
find out the traffic (by that time it is already too late
to change plans). You listen to it as you start to
drive and all along. Which means that you can change
your plans or route whenever you need to. This comes
in very handy when you are headed to a tourist
destination.
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Imagine the weather channel on your
radio. You no longer have to wait to listen to the
weather forecast on a specific station.
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Access to stock market report. No
need to wait for the hourly updates. Just tune in to
CNBC or Bloomberg for live reports.
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Recommended: Howard
Stern now available on satellite radio
Outdoor television |
