Satelite Radio...??

[birdie16]

Thank you again Tinkerme,

 

It's passengers like you that make my job fun. These days we don't even want people using the lavs for long, everything is so frightening anymore!

[gatour]

Sirius radios in theory probably would work better than XM radios in the Caribbean.

 

Here is the reasoning. XM satellites are in geostationary orbits so they are alway in the same location in the sky. Much like a tv station or radio station tower here on earth. If you have directional antenna you can point it to the same location every day of the year and get the best reception.

 

Sirius satellites are not in geostationary orbits so from the ground the are constantly moving in relation to where you are. So it you had an directional antenna you would have to constanlty change where it is pointed to get reception. Since Sirius antennas for their radios are not directional you don't have to move the antenna as the satelite moves

 

So how does this relate to why Sirius may work better in the Caribbean. Since XM are "stable" they can be aimed to point at the US. and not much else. But Sirius move and guess where they move over before reaching the US? The Carribbean. There is a website that will show you the coverage of each of their satelites as it goes around the earth. It is not a polar orbit but an angle off of it.

 

Having said all that, the reason that someone in a balcony cabin may still not get reception. is that you may be on the wrong side of the ship than the satellite, so your attenna has to "look" through all of the metal in the ship. Same issue that you have with satellite radio in office buildings.

[mdgary]

We brough our XM radio on a Eastern Caribbean trip and couldn't pick up anything on it. As for the discussion about using satellite radios on aircraft I found the following in US Airways magazine:

Approved Usage:

At the gate (while aircraft door is open):

Cell phones • GPS receivers • Pagers (including two-way) PDAs • TVs • Radios • Transmitters and transceivers Remote-control devices • Computers • Calculators Electronic games • Shavers • Entertainment devices (CD, DVD, MP3) • Video cameras

During flight (announcement authorizes use):

Computers • Calculators • Electronic games • Shavers

Entertainment devices (CD, DVD, MP3) • Video

cameras • Two-way communication devices as long as the transmitting capabilities are disabled (“airplane,” “game,” “safe,” etc. mode)

[birdie16]

We brough our XM radio on a Eastern Caribbean trip and couldn't pick up anything on it. As for the discussion about using satellite radios on aircraft I found the following in US Airways magazine:

Approved Usage:

At the gate (while aircraft door is open):

Cell phones • GPS receivers • Pagers (including two-way) PDAs • TVs • Radios • Transmitters and transceivers Remote-control devices • Computers • Calculators Electronic games • Shavers • Entertainment devices (CD, DVD, MP3) • Video cameras

During flight (announcement authorizes use):

Computers • Calculators • Electronic games • Shavers

Entertainment devices (CD, DVD, MP3) • Video

cameras • Two-way communication devices as long as the transmitting capabilities are disabled (“airplane,” “game,” “safe,” etc. mode)

 

Yes, that is correct. As you can see, the only way a radio can be used is in the "disabled" or off position.