Satellite Radio

Satellite radio, as you know, offers commercial-free music, a huge assortment of channels and some exclusive programming — not to mention the ability to listen anywhere in the country without worrying about losing a signal. The two main providers of this type of radio are Sirius and XM, which offer subscription packages on a monthly, yearly, two-year or lifelong basis.

The basic concept behind satellite radio is that it broadcasts clear, static-free digital signals directly from orbiting satellites. A car radio equipped with a special receiver decodes the signals and plays them back over the air or through a speaker. You can find satellite-equipped head units in virtually all new cars as well as many aftermarket ones.

All satellite services, including Sirius and XM, use three different components to broadcast the signal you hear in your vehicle: the satellites themselves, ground repeaters and the radio receivers. Sirius has the additional advantage of having a system called’sat diversity,’ which is an innovation that allows the satellites to maintain a line-of-sight connection with cars even as they pass under bridges or into tunnels.

Both XM and Sirius have a number of channels that focus on specific musical genres, such as rock, pop, classical, jazz and country, and some that are exclusively for car radios, such as Howard Stern’s show or NPR talks. They also offer a wide variety of talk and sports channels.

The biggest draw of satellite radio, though, is the fact that it eliminates the problems associated with terrestrial FM and AM radio. Many people’s pet peeve when driving is that the radio signal will fade in and out, forcing them to spend time searching for another channel.