CO-CL-S

I think my kids are going to have a satellite radio put in my car. Anybody have any experiance with these, what to look for, what to expect etc. tks. Ed

joeshmoe

I have it and really like it. Mainly because I can't stand the crap that is on the radio now and all the commercials. The comedy station is the best commuting to work.

There is a version of the radio that is portable meaning it can be used in the car or at home. DON'T GET THIS ONE. It dosen't fit in the car and the reception in the home is not very good. I got an aftermarket radio that was XM ready so I just had to purchase the antenna and the control unit. I go ta deal becasue I have a friend who work for XM here in D.C.

jcl_cls01

Which is better, XM of Sirius? What are the prices between the two?

ACLS

With the advent of local stations starting to transmit in digital starting this year and the low amount of subscribers Sirius is expected to go out of business soon so go with XM. Myself I'm gonna wait and see what comes of the local stations digital xmissions.

Chief F1 Fan

I've done some research on this topic myself and am about an inch away from going out and making the big buy. It seems XM is better than Sirius from what I read. Second, you can mount the ugly ass antenna that is required on the rear deck next to the driver's side speaker so you don't have this huge knob on the top of your ride. I found a couple sites to purchase the equipment at what seems a better price than others:

antenna http://www.orbitsatellite.com/Product.asp?PID=TRK-SR2

add-on unit- http://www.savinglots.com/lotprod.asp?item=GEXFM903XM

This is the way I expect to go, I'm tired of all the BS on radio nowadays and could use some good, clean digital quality sound in my travels. Hope this helps.

Chief F1 Fan

Sorry, do a search on XM and you'll see where others have put the antenna.

Loseit

iTrader: (1)

Sirius is way better!!!!

1)XM has repeaters all over the place!! that is no longer digital!!!
Sirius, for the most part is directly via satellite. The way they have them in orbit...three....go around in a figure eight. This allows transmissions to com almost straight down. This is a BIG advantage over XM.

2) That S-Plex technology in Sirius give more bandwith to music and less to talk ... so you are getting a more full sound that you would XM.

3) XM you are paying for commercials. COMMERCIALS!!!!WTF 10 dollars a month so you can hear ads. Some of their stations are just rebroadcast radio stations...so you are paying to hear a staion that you could get for free. Sirius's music stations are totally commerical free...all original programming. Sirius has 60 music channels vs. 40 for XM.

i can go on and on....i did A LOT of research on this. I went with Sirius.


No one is going out of business.

Every shop I went to...all the install guys preferred Sirius programming as well. Most of them had Sirius in their rides. That was a big selling point for me as well...and I went to a lot of shops. There dance and rock stations are way superior to XM.

Neech

I've read a lot about the $400,000,000 in debt Sirus is in with only 15,000 subscribers. Do the math, it's not good.

A note on the XM antennas, make sure you get the small cube one, not the big ugly dildo one. Also, make sure the radio/decoder you choose has a buffer. The pioneer unit I use has a 6-second buffer, which makes a huge difference in N.E. with all the trees.

The thing with FM broadcasting in digital is no big thing cuz it's the same lame stuff in digital sound. The commercials on XM are so far and few between I think I've heard one and they’re only on select higher profile stations like Top 20. So chill.

CO-CL-S

Well, it turned out to be XM, Pioneer unit, with blob on the trunk. Not activeated yet, so only receive the preview channel. One thing though (that I hope they can correct), with the unit powered on, and radio set to a normal FM station, I seem to get a weaker signal (with noise/static), than with the Pioneer unit powered off.

Neech

Absolutely. The FM modulator is trying to pump a strong signal to the radio so any interference won't be heard. Shut it off if you're just listening to reg. FM.

CO-CL-S

I changed to a different freq. and lowered the strength from 3 to 1 and it appears to be alot better.

GMAN

Sirus is better than XM. XM and Sirus broadcast on different frequencies with different signal encrytions. Sirus provides better reception and higher quality sound. The improved signal is because Sirus beams their signal from directly overhead in most of the US. XM is lower on the horizon which leads to blockage by tall structures, mountains, and tall trees. However both have the issue with losing frequency in tunnels and overpasses. Also Sirus is a little more expensive compared to XM. Sirus is $12.95 a month and XM is $9.95 a month.

FTM-1

Well I have had XM since June of this year in my 2000TL & just love it to death. Everybody that gets in my car also loves the music.
I also have the XM FM Pioneer modulator & I am sure the XM ready units sound much better. I did not want to spend the money for anoter radio or wan't to change the factory look of my car & mess with Navi. The channels/stations they offer are wonderful. The thing that everbody seems to forget is that you can go from coast to coast with the same channel. I went from Washington D.C. to the mountains of upstate NEW YORK & back with no problems. The only problem I had was only a few seconds on the return trip home. When I was very close to the mountians or hill top I lost the signal breifly for a few seconds.
Also the week after the trip to upstate NEW YORK went to coastal NORTH CAROLINA. I had no problem with signal lost going or comming back. I was out in the boonies for sure in N.C. woods all around & the XM signal came in clear. My friends house was about 15miles off from the main country road so he was back aways in the woods. I put over 2,200 miles on my car in about a weeks time. The XM sounded good to me on this long time spent in my car. The regular FM stations can not copare to XM channels it not the sound its the music they play.Someone said XM has commercials the only ones are mostly adds for XM radio & they are very very short. The channel I listen to advertise other XM station or like the new Delphi radio for XM very short adds unlike FM stations.

Neech

Oh good, this and radar detectors to squable over! XM is better so shut up!!

I went with the Pioneer head unit, XM ready. A friend did the din for the head unit. Looks really clean. I snap a pic tomorrow.