Aurora Physicists: Riddle me this

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

I have an OEM Sirius/XM (really Sirius) radio in my automobile. Actually, three of them in three different makes I currently own spanning 6 years.

Why do I constantly lose signal in Aurora? [Dunno] I'm baffled. :confused: I commute to Aurora a few times / week. I use the radio(s) constantly in the car(s) and never notice it. Then on Alameda between 225 and Quebec, 225 between Alameda and I-70, and I-70 between 225 and maybe Quebec and it just cuts out. Also happens on East Colfax. These are all wide-open roads without any sort of line of sight blockage that you might get downtown or in the canyons / mtns on the West side, where the radio works fine. Weather doesn't matter. Seems like it happens more when I'm sitting in traffic not moving.

[Dunno]

[HoneyBadger]

Probably local interference on nearby wavelengths. It could possibly be constructive interference from different satellites in the 2 and 4 MHz range, or from the terrestrial repeater network (most people don't know that Sirius and XM satellites are augmented by a ground network), but that's pretty unlikely.

ETA: I do not live in aurora and I am not a physicist, nor do I play one on TV.

[davsel]

Buckley AFB

[TFOGGER]

Buckley. We can't run wireless speakers in our house for the same reason. Cyclical interference (every 3 to 5 seconds) disrupts the signal. I'm guessing it has something to do with the radar arrays in the Golf Balls.

[cstone]

And I just thought those golf balls were more Colorado publicly funded art projects. Do you mean to tell me they aren't like the big blue bear, the horse on the chair, or Blucifer?

[TFOGGER]

And I just thought those golf balls were more Colorado publicly funded art projects. Do you mean to tell me they aren't like the big blue bear, the horse on the chair, or Blucifer?

I did hear that Aurora was soliciting bids for a giant penis to go with the balls at Buckley...in the name of "pubic...er...Public Art"[ROFL1]

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

I'm guessing it has something to do with the radar arrays in the Golf Balls.

I was wondering about that!

To HoneyBadger's point, I was wondering why I don't get interference living basically right under Lookout Mtn.


Good to know. Thanks, all! [Beer]

[cstone]

I did hear that Aurora was soliciting bids for a giant penis to go with the balls at Buckley...in the name of "pubic...er...Public Art"[ROFL1]

Big statue of our current governor?

[rondog]

A giant statue of St. Peter?

[HoneyBadger]

Buckley. We can't run wireless speakers in our house for the same reason. Cyclical interference (every 3 to 5 seconds) disrupts the signal. I'm guessing it has something to do with the radar arrays in the Golf Balls.
Taking a guess based on the size of those antennas and what I think they are used for, they are much higher than 4MHz. Probably in the GHz range. Unlikely that they would cause interference with your 2-4MHz radio. [Dunno]

Again, I'm not a physicist. ;)

[TFOGGER]

Taking a guess based on the size of those antennas and what I think they are used for, they are much higher than 4MHz. Probably in the GHz range. Unlikely that they would cause interference with your 2-4MHz radio. [Dunno]

Again, I'm not a physicist. ;)

They definitely screw with my 900Mhz wireless speakers. I have no idea what they're running out there...http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/images/emoticons//tinfoilhatsmile.gif

[HoneyBadger]

They definitely screw with my 900Mhz wireless speakers. I have no idea what they're running out there...http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/images/emoticons//tinfoilhatsmile.gif
That is mathematically much more plausible than a 4MHz radio.

Either way, I bet it's some sort of constructive interference for the radio.

[BushMasterBoy]

Buckley runs S band and Q band according to this report. Sirius is in the S band.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/library/report/enviro/sbirsmcssfonsi.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_band

I have a background in electronic countermeasures, mainly microwave jamming techniques. I'd say the golf balls are degrading your signal from Sirius satellites.

[def90]

Wasn't there an issue a few years back down in the springs where they were using something out at Carson or Peterson that was randomly opening and closing garage doors in the nearby neighborhoods?

[SideShow Bob]

It is interference caused by tracking units the guys in the black suburbans hid in your vehicles..........[tinhat]

[MrPrena]

I am not a EMF physicist, but non other than east Colfax is most likely not from the Buckley Airforce base.



I have an OEM Sirius/XM (really Sirius) radio in my automobile. Actually, three of them in three different makes I currently own spanning 6 years.

Why do I constantly lose signal in Aurora? [Dunno] I'm baffled. :confused: I commute to Aurora a few times / week. I use the radio(s) constantly in the car(s) and never notice it. Then on Alameda between 225 and Quebec, 225 between Alameda and I-70, and I-70 between 225 and maybe Quebec and it just cuts out. Also happens on East Colfax. These are all wide-open roads without any sort of line of sight blockage that you might get downtown or in the canyons / mtns on the West side, where the radio works fine. Weather doesn't matter. Seems like it happens more when I'm sitting in traffic not moving.

[Dunno]

[HoneyBadger]

Buckley runs S band and Q band according to this report. Sirius is in the S band.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/library/report/enviro/sbirsmcssfonsi.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_band

I have a background in electronic countermeasures, mainly microwave jamming techniques. I'd say the golf balls are degrading your signal from Sirius satellites.
Well that's interesting... I think i mis-read the Sirius_Satellite_Radio wikipedia page. It says

The Sirius signal is separated into three carriers, one each for the two satellites, and the third for the terrestrial repeater network where available. Sirius receivers decode all three 4 MHz carrier signals at once to achieve signal diversity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversity_combining). This is in contrast to XM which uses six carriers and decodes three 2 MHz carriers to economize on receiver power consumption and complexity at the cost of channel-changing speed.

I took that to mean that they were broadcasting in 2MHz and 4MHz ranges, but those numbers appear to be the bandwidth that the carriers use. Now it makes a lot more sense. Sorry to foul up the discussion. I told you I wasn't a physicist!

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

Well, thank you very much Buckley & Golf Balls.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcArnepkhv0

[MrPrena]

Any physicists here?
*hats off*

[Aloha_Shooter]

Yes, the 4 MHz is the bandwidth of the signal. S-band is commonly used for satellite TT&C so that band will likely experience interference when near a SGLS or other S-band transmitter. You usually experience that kind of interference as the radio fuzz noise we old farts are so fond of but since Sirius is all digital radio, it probably turns noise into a blank (null) signal before it goes to your speakers. I would bet you would experience similar drop-outs if you drove near Falcon Schriever AFB. I'm not sure why TFOGGER is having issues with his wireless speakers but I'm guessing harmonics, especially since the interference is cyclical on a roughly 4 sec rate.

[spqrzilla]

ALIENS