RadioI

Radio works by waves that travle through the air. These radio waves travel at the speed of light. They, the radio waves, are created at the station, when the D.J. speask into the mic, his/her voice is converted into electronic current which is changed into radio waves at the transmitter and sent out into the world via the antenna. These waves can be caught by a receiver (radio) and listened to in the orignal form they were sent out in. Each station has a slightly different wave modulation allowing different stations to share the air space without overlapping on each other.

When away from the main station, broadcasting can still take place with remote broadcasting equipment. This equipment uses a microwave antenna that can be aimed at the stations receiving tower. Once thw broadcast from the remote broadcasting equipment hits the tower it is changed into electrical current and sent up to the D.J. who can then play it on air as he normally would any in-studio boradcast.

AM stands for amplitude modulation: AM waves are continually changing the amplitude of the waves. Because of this you can tune into AM stations from futher away than with FM stations this is due to AM stations using shorter radio waves. In the U.S. the highest AM carrier power is 50 000 Watts

FM standds for frequency modulation: FM stations caryy information through the frequency of the waves. FM waves are a higher frequency than AM which is why they have better clarity but cannot be heard as far away as AM. The highest permitted power for FM stations is 100 000 watts, although some stations have been allowed more.