Distance Covered By Stereo FM Transmission
The range of mono FM transmission is related to the transmitter's RF power, the antenna gain, and antenna height. The FCC (USA) publishes curves that aid in calculation of this maximum distance as a function of signal strength at the receiving location.
For stereo FM, the range is significantly reduced. This is due to the need to lower the modulation index of the main (sum) signal to accommodate the presence of the 38 kHz DSBSC subcarrier and 19 kHz pilot tone. Many stations use extreme audio compression to keep the sound above the background noise for "distant" listeners, at the expense of degrading the sound quality.
Read more about this topic: FM Broadcasting
Famous quotes containing the words distance and/or covered:
“Are we not madder than those first inhabitants of the plain of Sennar? We know that the distance separating the earth from the sky is infinite, and yet we do not stop building our tower.”
—Denis Diderot (1713–1784)
“In the land of turkeys in turkey weather
At the base of the statue, we go round and round.
What a beautiful history, beautiful surprise!
Monsieur is on horseback. The horse is covered with mice.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)