Wireless Home Networking - Index of
Wireless Home Networking - Index of
Wireless Home Networking - Index of
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260<br />
Part IV: Using a <strong>Wireless</strong> Network<br />
Satellite radio versus digital radio<br />
Your wireless home isn’t always just about 802.11<br />
technologies — other forms <strong>of</strong> wireless can<br />
enhance your home, and satellite radio is one <strong>of</strong><br />
them, particularly for your car. If you’re like us,<br />
you live where there isn’t a whole lot <strong>of</strong> programming<br />
you want to listen to. Check out satellite<br />
radio, which <strong>of</strong>fers a huge number <strong>of</strong> stations<br />
(more than 100) beamed to your house or car from<br />
a handful <strong>of</strong> geostationary satellites hovering<br />
above the equator. We find a ton more diverse<br />
and just plain interesting stuff coming across<br />
these space-based airwaves than we find on our<br />
local radio. Satellite radio services, from startups<br />
such as XM Radio or SIRIUS, require you to<br />
(gasp) pay for your radio (about $12.95 per month).<br />
Check out the Web sites <strong>of</strong> the two providers (XM<br />
Radio, www.xmradio.com; and SIRIUS, www.<br />
sirius.com) to find the programming you prefer.<br />
Then, get your hands on a satellite radio tuner.<br />
(You can find a bunch <strong>of</strong> models listed on each<br />
company’s Web page.) The majority <strong>of</strong> these<br />
satellite tuners are designed for in-car use<br />
(because people tend to listen to the radio most<br />
while they’re driving), but XM Radio <strong>of</strong>fers some<br />
cool tuners (from Sony and Delco) that can do<br />
double duty: You put these tuners in your car,<br />
and when you get home, pull them out and plug<br />
them into your A/V receiver or into a portable<br />
boom box.<br />
We like the Delphi XM SkyFi3 (http://<br />
xmradio.com/shop — click the On the Go menu,<br />
$159) which is an iPod-like portable XM receiver<br />
that can also store as much as 10 hours worth <strong>of</strong><br />
XM content, so you can catch up on those car<br />
hack shows you missed! XM Radio has also<br />
launched a version <strong>of</strong> its service that wirelessly<br />
transmits weather conditions to a specialized<br />
receiver as well, although it’s expensive at $99 per<br />
month. (For that price, you can get a good PDA<br />
with wireless EVDO access from a carrier such<br />
as Sprint, www.sprint.com, and get all the<br />
weather plus Internet access — that’s probably a<br />
better deal.) Within the realm <strong>of</strong> affordable luxuries,<br />
XM also <strong>of</strong>fers live and up-to-date traffic<br />
reports in many cities (the service works with a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> built-in and aftermarket GPS navigations<br />
systems) for $3.99 a month on top <strong>of</strong> your<br />
radio subscription.<br />
Tip: Check out the annual pricing plans. You can<br />
save a good deal <strong>of</strong> money by paying in advance<br />
for a whole year. Also, each <strong>of</strong> these two satellite<br />
radio companies <strong>of</strong>fers family plans for multiple<br />
receivers, where the price per extra receiver<br />
subscription can drop to as low as $6.99 per<br />
month — pretty good if you have lots <strong>of</strong> kids.<br />
However, Sirius and XM Radio are considering<br />
a corporate merger — if this is approved by<br />
legislators, we’re not sure what will happen to<br />
programming and pricing plans.<br />
Now you may not want to spend the extra dollars<br />
needed to get digital satellite radio into your car.<br />
Lucky for you, a free over-the-air (broadcast from<br />
terrestrial antennas) alternative known as HD<br />
Radio (www.hdradio.com) is available. This is a<br />
local broadcast service that allows local AM and<br />
FM stations to broadcast a second channel using<br />
a newer digital radio technology. As a user, you<br />
get free reception and better audio quality (the<br />
HD Radio folks claim that FM broadcasts will<br />
sound as good as a CD, and AM broadcasts will<br />
sound as good as regular FM broadcasts). A<br />
number <strong>of</strong> car manufacturers are adding HD<br />
Radio to cars at the factory (either as a standard<br />
feature or as an option), and you can easily add<br />
HD Radio to your existing car stereo (a number<br />
<strong>of</strong> these solutions are listed on the HD Radio<br />
Web site).<br />
HD Radio is still new, but most big cities have a<br />
dozen or more stations up and running. The great<br />
thing about HD Radio (besides the free part) is<br />
that it doesn’t interfere with traditional AM and<br />
FM stations, so having an HD Radio in your car<br />
just opens up the radio band to provide you with