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Broadcasting

To broadcast means to cast something in many different directions at the same time. A radio or television broadcast is a program that is transmitted over airwaves for public reception by anyone with a receiver tuned to the right signal channel.

Radio Broadcasting
A radio program consists of speech, music and other sounds. These sounds can be either live or pre-recorded. To understand broadcasting, it is necessary to know what sound is. All sounds consist of vibrations traveling through the air as sound waves. When the waves reaches a persons ear, the person hears the original sound. During a typical radio broadcast an electric current is run through the microphone. The sound waves disturb the current in the microphone creating vibrations in the current that matches the sound. These electric waves eventually make up the broadcast. The electric waves representing the sounds produced travel over wires to a control board with many switches where the sound may be edited by increasing the volume or by making other ad ustments. The modified electric waves then make their way to the transmitter. The transmitter strengthens the waves representing the broadcast before producing a carrier wave that it combines with the electric waves. This combination is the radio signal that eventually reaches our radios. The transmitter then sends the radio signal to an antenna, which then sends the signal out into the air as radio waves. Antennas are usually located high up and away from tall buildings so as to prevent obstruction of these waves. !adio waves cannot be seen, heard or felt in any way, but radio receivers can pick them up and turn them into sounds. There are two different ways of transmitting radio signals.

Amplitude modulation is the method of combining the carrier wave and electric wave such that the amplitude of the carrier waves varies to match the change in the electric waves. Frequency modulation is the method of combining the carrier and electric wave so the fre"uency of the
carrier waves changes to match that of the electric waves. An antenna sends out two kinds of A# radio waves $ ground waves and sky waves. %round waves travel directly to a persons home via the earth, while sky waves travel up into the sky, hit the ionosphere, and are reflected back to the earth. This enables A# broadcasts to be received at great distances from the place of broadcast. An &# radio antenna sends out waves that travel the same direction as A# radio waves, but these waves are not reflected. Therefore, &# transmissions cannot reach as far as A# transmissions. The advantages of &# broadcasts are that they are not as affected by static as much, and that they produce a truer reproduction of the original sound. Another factor affecting the distance a radio transmission travels is the power of the transmitter. The power of A# transmitters range from '() watts *serving only one or two towns+ to (),))) watts *can be heard over ,,))) miles away+. &# transmitters range from ,)) watts *,( miles

broadcast+ to ,)),))) watts *-( miles+. This shows how &# radio signals still travel less than ,). the distance of A# stations with / the power. 0ach station broadcasts on a different fre"uency, which keeps stations from interfering with each others broadcasts. A# stations broadcast on fre"uencies from (1( to ,-)( kilohert2, while &# stations broadcast on fre"uencies between 33 to ,)3 megahert2. 4rograms carried by radio waves travel at the speed of light, instead of the slower speed of sound.

Television Broadcasting
Television broadcasts are similar to radio broadcasts. The television fre"uency signal is boosted to carry the picture information through the air. Transmission of video signals is based on amplitude modulation, with high-fre"uency electromagnetic waves acting as the carrier waves to be modulated. This produces the video part of the television signal, which is then amplified to a power of ,,))) to ,),))) watts. The audio signals are transmitted by fre"uency modulation. The transmitter then combines the audio and video signals to produce the television signal. A wire called the transmission line then carries the television signal to the transmitting antenna, which releases the signal into the air. Television signals also travel at the speed of light, with the ma5imum range of most signals being between 6(-,() miles. 7ust like radio stations, television stations in the same area broadcast on different fre"uencies so their signals do not interfere with one another. The group of fre"uencies on which a particular station broadcasts is known as a channel.

Internet Broadcasting
8urrently, certain websites deliver original or redistributed broadcasts from radio or television stations using streaming technologies. Web users can visit these sites, and tune in to these broadcasts by using a program like !eal4layer. Web broadcasts are available to anyone, with programming scheduled at times, or pre-packaged transmissions delivered on demand. The advantage of about web broadcasts is that no matter where in the world you are you can listen to a particular broadcast whenever you have a connection to the 9nternet. This is unlike television and radio broadcasts that can only travel certain distances and very often need to be distributed through the various cable systems.

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