Satellite radio technology is similar to cable or satellite television and it is certainly here to stay. There are several reasons for this: the quality of the transmissions is higher, the quality of the apparatus’s reception is higher and the general coverage of the station, that is to say the so-called satellite’s footprint is much greater too.
This means that if you drive long distances, you will be able to stick with the same station without having to look for a new one every forty or fifty miles as you need to do with AM or FM radio channels.
In order to reach this quality, the recording and playback speed has to be around the 384 kbps level. The music tracks are catalogued in a comparable way to the MP3 system, which uses names called ID3 tags.
Each station on satellite radio attempts to establish its own identity. A music station may try this by playing music only of one type or from only one period or decade. This means that you may get a satellite radio station called 1970’s Punk music or Twentieth Century Classical Music.
On some channels, the music controller or disc jockey will choose, say, fifty minutes worth of music, will listen to it in order to ascertain that the quality and the order are correct and then let the computer play it over the airwaves. This leaves ten minutes every hour for the news and then the sequence can be repeated automatically.
Satellite broadcasting uses digital recordings and each channel is encoded on a different frequency. Similarly, each decoder, say, in your car or your home needs to recognize and decode each channel separately as well. This coding and decoding is done very quickly, in fact in what is called ‘real time’.
The resulting binary or digital code is then translated into analogue signals so that your speakers can reproduce it. This process creates sound which is just about of CD quality.
The transmitting satellites are in a geo-stationary orbit at 23,000 miles above the Earth and have a large footprint which is the name given to the area of ground that is capable of receiving their transmissions.
In America, for instance, the two regions concentrated on at first were the densely populated east and west coasts in order to maximize potential revenue. One satellite would be incapable of covering the entirety of the United States in that orbit.
In order to receive satellite transmissions, you will have to use a special antenna on your decoder. This antenna must be capable of receiving L-band transmissions for it to be effective.
These new antennas are a huge improvement on the satellite dishes (comparable to those used for satellite TV) that one used to have to have in order to take advantage of satellite radio technology
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a variety of subjects, but is now involved with Bose radio alarm clocks. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Bose Digital Radio.
US Holidays And Holy Days
Congress and the president have designated ten days as federal holidays. Being ‘federal’, these holidays theoretically only apply to federal employees and inhabitants of the District of Columbia, although they are so widely observed that they could be thought of as national holidays.
Officially, it is up to each individual state to designate public holidays. If the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the Friday before or the Monday after is given in lieu to make a long weekend.
New Year’s Day (January 1) – celebrating the New Year dates back to pre-Christian times, when rites were performed to try to ensure the return of Spring.
Martin Luther King Jnr. Day (third Monday in January) – before he was shot dead in 1968, Martin Luther King Jnr. was the foremost civil rights leader of the 1950’s and 1960’s. He was given the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Congress set this day aside to commemorate his life and achievements in 1983.
Washington’s Birthday (third Monday in February) – originally it was celebrated on Washington’s actual birthday, the 22nd of February, but it was moved in 1971 to make a long weekend. It is occasionally known as Presidents’ Day, because it is close to Lincoln’s birthday on the 12th February.
Memorial Day (last Monday in May) – also called Decoration Day, it honours soldiers fallen in battle.It originates from the Civil War and is traditionally marked by parades and services.
Independence Day (4th July) – this, the most important US holiday, marks the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. It was first celebrated in 1777 and is marked by fireworks, parades and speeches.
Labor Day (first Monday in September) – this, the idea of Peter J. McGuire, the president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, was adopted in 1894 to celebrate American workers.
Columbus Day (second Monday in October) – Christopher Columbus and his crew landed in the Bahamas on Oct 12th 1492. It was first commemorated in 1792, although it was not officially recognized until 1909. It is a cause of special pride to Italian-Americans, who claim the Genoan voyager as their own.
Veterans Day (Nov 11th) – or Armistice Day commemorates the end of the First World War on Nov 11th 1918. It was made a legal holiday in 1938, but its name was changed in 1954 to honour all American veteran soldiers.
Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November) – it was first celebrated in Plymouth County, Massachusetts in 1621, the year in which the Pilgrims landed in the New World to give thanks for the new harvest and the new land they had colonized. President Lincoln made it a holiday in 1863.
Christmas Day (December 25th) – Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Franklin Covey planner refillss If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars