Gadgets

As with most other technology markets in the 21st century, there is a lot to choose from when selecting a handheld two-way radio. With brands such as Icom, Kenwood and Motorola all offering handheld radio ranges with a variety of functions and different directive compliances, making the choice can sometimes become more of a task than a pleasure, especially if you are new to the market and unfamiliar with these features. This article will attempt to make sense of the jargon and help you buy the radio you really need.

The first thing to consider when choosing your Icom, Kenwood or Motorola radio is quite simple - what kind do you need? There are several different types available, from handhelds, to mobiles, and even UHF repeaters. A handheld unit is the most popular choice due to the amount of applications it can fulfil, however this can also make it the most confusing range to buy from.

The next issue to look into is what kind of task is this unit required for? This is arguably the most important consideration to make when choosing a Kenwood, Icom or Motorola radio since much of the handheld range offers functionality for a specific style of work. Keeping in touch on a field trip for example, doesn’t necessarily require a military specification build, whereas working as a doorman in a busy nightclub could well necessitate a higher-grade construction possibly with emergency signalling features. If it will be frequently be used in the dark a backlit LCD display could prove useful, if channel selection and programmability is less of a priority, you may not need a display at all.

The environment in which the radio will be used most regularly is definitely a consideration that must be made. If the unit will be in an area where it will frequently be exposed to dust, grit and water, a model with a high Ingress Protection (IP) rating will be favoured to protect the device from these conditions, if it’s mostly going to be used indoors, a model with a lower IP rating should be fine.

The European Union has laid out two directives (94/9/EC and 99/92/EC) which govern what equipment is allowed to operate in potentially explosive environments. If the user will be working in such an area, the two-way radio purchased must come from their ATEX ranges which comply with these guidelines. Most of the popular brands of radio including Motorola, Kenwood, Icom and Vertex Standard offer a range which fulfils this. If you or your employees don’t work in a hazardous area, ATEX directive compliancy is not a required feature.

Another issue to consider is to what degree security of the transmissions is necessary. Many models of two way radios feature the option of a voice inversion scrambler, which will protect any intercepted broadcasts. Although voice inversion scrambling is not fool-proof, the added layer of protection is a useful addition for jobs where system security is a concern. Some brands of radio such as Motorola or Kenwood will offer this as an optional extra or post-purchase expansion on lower priced models, where some higher-end units will have it as standard.

Whether or not the user needs to be communicating on a licensed spectrum is another thing to think about before purchasing their Icom, Kenwood or Motorola radio. Licensed radio units operate on government-approved frequencies and this limits the chances of other users being on the same frequency and interfering with the transmission, whereas unlicensed radios do not operate on these frequencies. Before purchasing a radio, the decision of which band to go on needs to be made - unlicensed radio is cheaper, but has a greater chance of interference.

Choosing the right radio for your needs can be confusing in this highly competitive market, especially with the amount of features modern technology provides, but hopefully this article has provided a helpful place to start.

Thomas Pretty is a radio communications technician with many years of experience developing two way radios. Find out more about Motorola radios at http://www.bc-ltd.co.uk/

Money makes the world go round. In a situation like ours today, many customers are skipping out on the un-necessary expenses and going to the bare minimum. As of now, satellite radio has an unfounded image as being more expensive than free radio or even than itunes and other MP3 services. Sirius XM must do something to change that image.

The answer lies in a battle they fought, and lost, against the RIAA. Sirius launched the Sirius S50 with the goal of allowing it to schedule recordings of songs in advance. With such high quality songs being downloadable legally and for free, RIAA stepped in to push legislation banning “high-quality” recordings of radio songs. An appalling irony, as RIAA is suggesting it is okay to record low-quality radio, instead of trying to ban all radio recording outright. At any rate, in the legal battle that ensued, Sirius eventually was forced to make concessions. The Sirius S50 launched, but not in the earth shattering way it could have. Only shows, like Martha Stewart or Howard Stern could be recorded in advance. Songs, had to be recorded manually as you listened to them. Yet how is that any different from when the average joe used to pop in a cassette to record songs from the radio? It’s not. Sirius must have given up, because they have a gold mine on their hand and they have not made any proper marketing attempts, perhaps out of fear from the RIAA.

For now, people who are worried about money, may not be willing to dish out monthly fees for a radio service. But if Sirius XM were to properly advertise products such as the S50 as allowing them to record high-quality songs for free and legally, they would see a massive boom to their sales. Sirius XM must have given up after having to remove the scheduling aspect of recording songs, and might be afraid that the RIAA would take offense to that type of marketing. But if they don’t want satellite radio to die out in the face of a potentially global economic collapse, Sirius XM must advertise the cost-saving aspect of their service. People would then look at the hundreds of dollars on satellite radio equipment as being an investment that would save them money in the long run. The savings for many typical itunes or other users of expensive downloadings services, should they decide to cut out their massive itunes bill and switch to listening to Sirius XM radio and recording the songs they like, can be in the thousands of dollars. Sirius XM could even run advertising showing some teenager crying when they get that thousand dollar bill from itunes. There certainly is a situation to exploit there, given the current economic circumstances. For Sirius XM to survive, it is the only option.

Author Jonathan Baldwin runs a satellite radio review website, XM Sirius Review, where you can find this article, Satellite Radio Can Survive, and other reviews, articles, and news from the satellite radio industry.

Since the beginning of Radio’s inception, no one has dared to arrest people who copy songs from the radio.

RIAA, the Recording Industry Association of America, now dares. They have banned Sirius from allowing more than one downloadable song per download. The only reason for this is because the Satellite radio songs are just as good quality as MP3, thereby eliminating the need to buy the MP3’s.

RIAA has now pushed legislation through the house “to protect content delivered through high-definition (HD) radio receivers”. What that means, is anyone using a HIGH QUALITY method to copy a song is in violation of the law. But if you use a low-quality method; say, a cassette, then it’s okay.

Where is the logic in that? Aren’t laws a reflection of moral values? So it’s moral to copy a song onto cassette, but immoral to copy it onto a MP3 player?

Something is insanely illogical about that concept. RIAA claims musicians can’t make money if their songs are all downloaded illegally.

Only a century ago, there wasn’t a police force that prevented anyone but the original composer from playing their music in the streets. If Beethoven wanted to make money, he had to play in a concert for the people. He couldn’t just kick back and earn money every time a fiddler in the street played a tune from his concerto.

So what holds water about the RIAA argument? Very little in terms of historical legitimacy, and even in modern times, musicians are pulling in record numbers from concerts. The Rolling Stones pulled in over $162 million in 2005 from tours. Green Day pulled in $39 million, and Dave Matthews raked $31 million, with significantly less touring than the Stones. Is that not enough?

Even Paul McGuinness the manager of U2 said, “Our recording income is not insignificant, but it’s less than we make from touring. The figures used to be closer together.” U2’s 2005 tour pulled in $139 million.

So with concert income rising grotesquely, does the RIAA even have the right to push its legalistic agenda? Ironically, the spread of free music has encouraged music listening far beyond paid music: the increased availability of music has lead to increased concert-going fans as the record-breaking tours indicate.

With concert rates rising, and the income disparity from concerts and recording sales, perhaps RIAA should consider their nefarious designs at deciding what is Right and Wrong. Like a master teaching his dog manners, RIAA tells the consumers: Record radio on a cassette, good. Record radio onto MP3, bad dog, Sirius gets a time-out, and the critically acclaimed S50 is the first casualty in the war for consumer rights against RIAA.

In so doing, since the Sirius S50 was owned by hundreds of thousands, the RIAA has essentially destroyed the value of a product that did not belong to them. Without a moral basis for doing so, that is where the true immorality lies.

Maybe if the public starts downloading satellite radio music onto CD, then RIAA will help get CD recording of radio will be banned too.

Jonathan Baldwin, is the creator of a XM vs Sirius comparison website. You can find a copy of the article here: RIAA Kills Sirius S50

Sirius satellite radio has long been the underdog. Perhaps their name is a fitting match since the name Sirius comes from the “Dog star”. The Sirius star is the brightest star in the sky, and Sirius aptly seeks the same place in the Radio industry. Yet, with XM Radio having millions more customers how will they do it?

Yet now, Sirius Radio has gotten serious. They hired on a professional research team, to literally follow people around all day, and watch them for an opportunity to better implement Sirius into their lives. Somehow I think it is odd that they need to study humans, but maybe corporations are that out of touch. At any rate, the move proved extremely successful. Producing a product that seems like it must have followed you and watched you too. The Sirius S50 is the product Sirius has unleashed. This new player is the creative response to the MyFi, and has tech critics everywhere in awe. It’s essentially a handheld music player that, get this, will automatically load your favorite programming into memory whenever you load it into the docking station.

Simply amazing! Since it’s launch prior to the holiday season, Sirius says they have stolen the momentum from XM and are actually gaining more customers than the larger XM Radio. Unless XM comes up with a counter product and fast, they could be facing a bleak future against Sirius who has gained momentum from the product, critical praise of their music selections, and with big enough step in the right direction they could deal the deathblow to XM.

The S50 I assume stands for Sirius-50 with the 50 representing the claimed 50 hours of music, which depends on the compression rate of the files stored. Even at 40 hours, that means 40 hours of quality programming from your favorite stations. That is, until RIAA stepped in out of concern for “music piracy” and made only one downloadable musical song per recording. Talk radio is not affected quite the same way. However, you can download your own MP3’s onto the device, to fill the remaining time difference.

Even with the RIAA stepping in to try and stop it, the S50 is a pinnacle achievement, and will challenge XM to the core. XM will be hard pressed to develop a similar product, and are in danger of losing their advantage with one big push.

That’s where Sirius’ new bold marketing campaign steps in: “We know what you’re thinking”. A pretty bold and over-the-top statement, but it may be just what the doctor ordered. If they get enough customers curious to try look at the product, it will most likely ensnare them with it’s simplistic beauty. Being able to download unknown music to your device that you will probably like is amazing just to think about. Say you like 80’s rock, and come home from a day of work, plug in your Mp3 player, and it knows the two 80’s stations you like, loads the music they were playing on it, and you’re off to hours of enjoyable music.

With products like these, Sirius has the upper hand. With famous radio personalities like Howard Stern and Martha Stewart, a music selection most critics prefer over XM, and now the Sirius S50 wearable satellite player, it looks like XM will have to run for its money.

Jonathan Baldwin, is the creator of a XM vs Sirius comparison website, you can find a copy of the article here: Sirius S50

Satellite radio has been around for a while now and is still considered the newest form of radio out there. In North America there are two satellite radio services. These satellite radio services are Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio.

Sirius Satellite radio just like XM satellite radio broadcast continuously through satellites. Sirius service has many channels, a total of 65 sports broadcasting channels and another 69 radio stations that broadcast music.

The difference between the sports and the music channels is that the sports channels also broadcast news and other types of shows aside from music. The company Sirius was named after a star, the star Sirius. It didn’t have the same name always.

The company was name Satellite CD Radio before it was named Sirius. The name change happened in 1999. The big changes in Sirius satellite radio came along in 2006 when Sirius started broadcasting all around the world. In 2007 Sirius Satellite Radio and XM satellite radio and provide just one satellite network in the United States.

In total, Sirius radio has three satellites orbiting North America. These are the satellites that transmit the signals to the radio receiver consumers can buy and connect. The receivers are made in was that can also display images and information as a program or a song is playing.

A separate line of receivers can also be installed with any Sirius satellite radio. These additional receivers are there to give access to additional programming.
In order to connect to the satellite radio transmitter on the satellite, the radio would need a special antenna to do so.

This antenna is installed outside the home or car. You don’t necessarily need a Sirius satellite radio to connect to Sirius programming. You can do so with XM receivers. These receivers can be connected to your Sirius Satellite Radio and XM merger.

There are several companies that manufacture receivers for satellite radios. Consumers are encouraged to do their research before the purchase satellite radio accessories. Overall satellite radio is considered to be a highly preferred alternative to regular radio in the United States.

The quality of satellite radio programming has increased a lot in recent years and the number of subscribers continuously increases as well. Others believe that satellite radio is an old idea and it will loose popularity in the next few years.

Nevertheless, the reason why satellite radio will continue to be popular is the fact that there are many programs offered and all programming as well as music is categorized and sub-categorized allowing listeners to browse from song to song. This feature is essential if one has particular interests in music.

It also helps when a listener feels like listening a specific kind of music or a specific song.If you are considering becoming a subscriber to a satellite radio service you should do your research before you acquire you satellite radio or satellite radio accessories.

There are many places where you can find great prices for satellite radios and satellite radio accessories online.

It’s not hard to find Discount Satellite Radio Accessories. At the right satellite radio outlet store you can findDelphi Skyfi3 XM Satellite Radio Receiver Live Kit or even a discount Delphi XM Satellite Radio Skyfi Remote Control

Satellite radio is another way for people to connect with music. It is radio but not in the conventional way. Satellite radio stations transmit programming through satellites.

The satellites orbit the United States and transmit programs and music to millions of special satellite radio receivers.

Satellite radio transmitters distribute over 100 channels of music, talk and sports to every satellite radio receiver in every corner of North America. The great thing about satellite radio is that it can transmit available content with CD quality sound everywhere.

This is the major difference with traditional radio and perhaps the best selling point for satellite radio.

Many people subscribe to satellite radio channels. The subscribers numbers range up to the millions in America. The costs for a satellite radio subscription are just over $10 per month. This price gets the subscriber about 150 channels of music, news and sports. Millions of Americans and other peoples abroad were fascinated by the advent of this relatively new technology.

These days, satellite radio receivers are sometimes built into professionally installed audio components, store-bought tuners, or even tabletop radios. Satellite radio is relatively inexpensive as well. For less than the cost of one CD you can purchase an entire month’s worth of programming with a wide range of available channels.

All the satellite radio content in North America is transmitted through two satellites that are orbiting in the atmosphere. They transmit the signal and if you are subscribed to the satellite radio service you will be able to receive it. To do so however you will need a special receiver. There are several satellite radio receiver manufacturers on the market. One of the most popular is Delphi.

There are different receivers for different uses. For example you will need a different receiver and antenna for a satellite radio if you are using it in your house, and a separate one for your car. There are also several portable models of satellite radio receivers, items you can conveniently carry with you wherever you go. These receivers can fit in your hand. These portable receivers have built in antennas as well as rechargeable batteries.

As you understand there is a receiver for every need, the home, cars even boat. Since the satellite radio industry is still relatively young there are still many possibilities and potential. Sirius Satellite Radio could potentially expand to other regions of the world besides North America.

Satellite radio is slowly gaining momentum in Europe where it will deliver better quality audio than conventional radio technology.

Some expect satellite radio to evolve into a global trend where no matter which corner of the world you live in you will be able to tune into the satellite signal and listen to your favourite music.

In addition, as more people tune in to satellite radio services it is expected fro more famous radio and television personalities moving their shows to satellite radio.

Satellite radio is a subscription service that offers you a wide variety of entertainment, including music, news, sports, talk, entertainment, traffic and weather services, and much more.

The satellite radio market will also be successful because of the many options for the consumer in terms of hardware, radio receiver antennas and other kinds satellite radio accessories.

It’s not hard to find Cheap Accessories for Satellite Radio. At the right satellite radio outlet store you can find Skyfi3 Satellite Radio Receiver for XM and Delphi Skyfi Satellite Radio Remote Control

DAB radios give you a far superior audio quality, make it easier to find the station you are after and even offer pause and rewind features. This article is an objective review of three of the latest radios launched in the UK.

Revo Technologies has announced the launch of the first one-box DAB and DAB plus and internet radio to include full iPod docking functionality in the world.

The iBLIK RadioStation, with a bold, contemporary design, will be sold via Apple as well as online and features full DAB and DAB plus digital radio reception, FM radio coverage with RDS, Wi-Fi internet radio, MP3 media streaming from PC or Mac, full electronic alarm clock features and iPod docking station functionality.

The multi-tasking device, described by the company as the ultimate digital radio device will cost 179.95 GBP and will be on sale in the UK from 18 August.

Following on from the launch of the black high gloss retro DAB radio, Bush has launched a red version, the TR04DABRED. In luscious new lip gloss red, Bush says the sexy touch screen sensitive control panel has an instant wow factor.

Users can touch the panel to flick through the DAB stations alphabetically, and automatically store 10 DAB and 10 FM stations at a touch of a screen. It has a matching retro red gloss and chrome handle and the classic 1950s Bush logo on the front speaker grille to give an extra touch of nostalgia. The DAB radio is available on the high street from July onwards at 49.99 GBP.

The PURE ONE Elite is the company claims a stereo evolution of the best-selling Pure ONE. The radio is available in black or white with chromed controls and smooth curves, and with a warm, tactile soft-touch finish.

Key features of the DAB radio include ReVu for live DAB radio pause and rewind, Intellitext which allows the radio to store scrolling text; tone or radio alarm; countdown and sleep timers; 50 station presets; separate bass and treble controls; USB socket for future updates; aux input for your MP3 player; and textSCAN, which lets listeners pause and control scrolling text, giving them time to jot down any details.

The ONE Elite is the seventh PURE radio to be endorsed by the Energy Saving Trust Energy Saving Recommended scheme. Easy on the earth and easy on the ears, the Pure ONE Elite DAB radio can be yours for 69.99 GBP.

Shaun Parker is an expert on DAB Radio and provides impartial advice on all aspects of audio visual equipment.

Truck drivers are the most frustrated listeners of the commercial radios. They are the ones who have tolerated commercials on local radios the most as they are counted in the listeners which listen to radio the most. Truck drivers log more than one hundred and fifty billion miles each year so they deserve better entertainment options.

As we all know that the trucking industry has a history of being the first to adopt new innovations in the vehicle and we believe truckers will play an important part in the development of satellite radio. Cost of the equipment for truck drivers is very approachable. The system comes with a digital antenna designed for satellite applications and engineered specifically for commercial trucks.

The device offers over hundred channels of revolutionary programming, nationwide coverage and superior sound quality even if there are no standard radio stations avalible. Thus we can say that XM is a truck driver’s dream come true. Satellite radio will become such an inevitable part of the truck driver’s life that they will really think how they ever lived without satellite radio.

Satellite radio has the luxury of coast-to-coast coverage, digital-quality sound and a wide variety of programming options from over hundred channels. Also the drivers will have the satisfaction of knowing that with good system they are receiving original equipment equivalent quality. The interface for users for the satellite receivers is simple and easy to use like traditional AM/FM band radios.

The liquid crystal display is alphanumeric and it provides information including the channel, type of music and song and artist name. Everybody is familiar with the word cab.

The environment in the cab is vastly different from that of a passenger vehicle and the fact that these units are designed and validated specifically to cab conditions and to meet the tough heavy-duty performance specifications sets them apart from aftermarket versions currently available. Thus every passenger wants a smooth and comfortable ride.

This is achieved with the satellite radio’s help. Cab drivers can buy the satellite radio system to give their customers a good and joyful drive. The satellite radio system which includes receiver box and antenna can be installed free of cost.

The satellite radios are audio systems with a broad range of head units that accommodate various playback devices such as cassette tapes, CDs and MP3s. Satellite radio is a transformation of radio. It is an industry that has seen little technological change since FM, almost forty years ago.

The programming of most satellite lineups features hundred coast-to-coast digital channels which include seventy one music channels, more than thirty of them are commercial-free, from hip-hop to opera, classical to country, bluegrass to blues and twenty nine channels of sports, talk, children’s and entertainment.

Kyle Newton has worked in the electronics field for the past 15 years. He enjoys helping people decide on electronic gadgets from telephones to XM Radio and choosing the perfect XM Satellite Radio system for their needs.

The whole content of the radio service that is both data and audio content is represented by only two carriers. Other four carriers carry duplicates of the same content to achieve redundancy through diversity of signals. Time delayed and error correction schemes are used for carrying data on each carrier. This is done to enhance availability.

Thus the total effective radio spectrum used for content is a little over four mega hertz. The groups of two carriers broadcast hundred eight kilobits per second streams. Combined streams whose combination is done using a patented process form a variable number of channels using a variety of bit rates. Thus bandwidth is separated into segments of four kilo bit per second virtual streams which are combined to form audio and data channels of varying bit rates from four to sixty four kilobits per second in the current service. The audio content of the XM signals is pre processed using the audio processors which use the special coding technique.

They also include spectral band replication. Audio data is stored digitally using MPEG two audio technologies at three hundred and eighty four kilo bits and is further processed by the audio processors on the way to broadcast. Channels of XM namely XM Pop and fine tuning are broadcasted in surround audio quality.

This technology is a partnership between XM and Neural Audio Corporation which provides content with six discrete channels of digital full fidelity audio powered by Neural Audio technology. Another channel namely XM live also broadcasts in this format for select concerts and studio performances. Manufacturing partners of XM have introduced home audio systems capable of playing XM HD Surround powered by Neural Audio. XM satellite radio’s music is commercial free.

This concept came into existence after many formal announcements and public meetings. Also the music can be recorded and can be enjoyed afterwards. This is possible because of the enhanced compatible devices. The music content recorded by a subscriber is only available when the subscriber has an active account with XM Satellite Radio.

But if the account is terminated the recorded content will becomes inaccessible. Also there is a condition that if a subscriber fails to listen to a total of 8 hours of programming a month the recorded content will not be accessible. Music that has been recorded can only be accessed on the portable devices and it can not be transferred to a home computer or separate digital music player. This technique of recording music is not new. Applications have been developed which record songs to MP3 and tag them with the artist and title information directly from the XM network. This technique was tried to spoil by discontinuing the required XM PCR radio. But the organization responded by quickly rolling out adaptive interfaces to allow almost any XM subscriber to use their tuner to build music libraries directly from XM broadcasts.

Kyle Newton has worked in the electronics field for the past 15 years. He enjoys helping people decide on electronic gadgets from telephones to XM Radio and choosing the perfect href=”http://www.satellitesounds.com/”>XM Satellite Radio system for their needs.