PeterUbers

iTrader: (1)

I realized that I just couldn't live without it .. i tried for 2 days to listen to FM and some old CD's after my free trial ended... no go!

This happen to anyone else? I felt like I was driving a "base" model TL after my account was up... now that i'm back up w/ XM, I feel "complete."

Lore

You ARE driving the base model - no navi! j/k...

I actually haven't touched my XM for a few months now. I listen only to my DVD-As that I've burned for myself. More "control" over the music selection. When I had my rental Civic these past two weeks I was listening to local radio stations and man, it's tough to listen to those commercials!

kokopelli33

I just did the same. I enjoy XM to much to go back to regular FM.

Stewie

Unless the quality of over-the-air radio improves dramatically, which I doubt, I'll probably have to suck it up and subscribe to XM when my trial runs out.

caball88

my trial ran out 2 days ago, and do not plan to renew. i didn't find XM that great and did not like the way you had to navigate through the stations. i will wait for the Ipod connection and all will be well.

JoganJani

I've got a card in the mail and a phone call today to renew for $5.99/month for three months and regular thereafter. But I passed, I did not listen to XM even in preview period. Somehow, I do not listen to anything but CDs once awhile and AM sometimes.

EmuMessenger

What in the radio tells it if the subscription is active or expired?

WDP-Acura TL

Me too, when my XM subsciption ended i couldnt live without it, I have to renew it. Its like having Cable TV at Home. Once you experience the wide array of channels there is no way you can go back to regular attenna t.v. Same difference, XM Radio has changed my life

VOdoc

I'm pretty well hooked on XM, especially on the absence of commercials. It is very hard to listen to FM now.

The sound quality is nothing to write home about--sort of muddy and lacking definition on some things. On the other hand, the huge number of choices is great, plus it's nice to see the artist and title displayed. Traffic is not as good as the AM news stations but it's there whenever you want it. I think I'll be renewing when the time comes.

I agree that DVD-A is superb but I get tired of hearing the same music over and over. I'd go broke buying a zillion of those!

PeterUbers

iTrader: (1)

Some stations are significantly better than most... some sound like outright CD audio... most are better than FM in many respects, but nothing like CD's. However, NO COMMERCIALS RULZ!!!

I get tired of the same music also.. and I have preprogrammed my favorite 12 XM's stations .. and flipping through 12 stations of commercial free music is ... bliss. I ALWAYS seem to find what I'm in the mood for... and if I can't, I just choose from 1 of my 6 CD's in the changer...

and if I'm really desperate... I listen to FM ..

I love having the option of three different audio components to listen to: XM, FM, and CDz nutz.

Lore

I got that same card. I didn't even look at it twice, simply put it in the recycling bin!

jrogers345

I've got another month to go and I'm not sure I'll continue. I like it, but might take a brake and start listening to CD's. Also, not that $10/month is a lot, but then another damn bill to take care of every month.

By the way, after discontinuing and signing up again, is there any initial fees to pay?

NOX 3.2

... sorry for the long post - I thought it was interesting to share...


Each radio has a unique code that identifies your unit. (just like DirecTV Cards)
when your subscription expires, only channels 000 and 001 are active.

When your XM Radio is not active, "they" send/program the information to the radio to block itself (not unscramble the signal), so you cannot hear the Audio, that's why in order to activate your radio again, you need to let "them" know, so they can send the signal to let your radio know it should start unscrambling (decoding) the signal again. That information or program is sent via channel 001, so they recommend leaving your radio there for about 1 hour (actually it takes much less time...)

here is some info about Satellite Radios


XM Satellite Radio

XM Radio uses two Boeing HS 702 satellites, appropriately dubbed "Rock" and "Roll," placed in parallel geostationary orbit, one at 85 degrees west longitude and the other at 115 degrees west longitude. Geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) is about 22,223 miles (35,764 km) above Earth, and is the type of orbit most commonly used for communications satellites. The first XM satellite, "Rock," was launched on March 18, 2001, with "Roll" following on May 8. XM Radio has a third HS-702 satellite on the ground ready to be launched in case one of the two orbiting satellites fails.


Photo courtesy XM Satellite Radio



XM Radio's ground station transmits a signal to its two GEO satellites, which bounce the signals back down to radio receivers on the ground. The radio receivers are programmed to receive and unscramble the digital data signal, which contains up to 100 channels of digital audio. In addition to the encoded sound, the signal contains additional information about the broadcast. The song title, artist and genre of music are all displayed on the radio. In urban areas, where buildings can block out the satellite signal, XM's broadcasting system is supplemented by ground transmitters.

Each receiver contains a proprietary chipset. XM began delivering chipsets to its XM radio manufacturing partners in October 2000. The chipset consists of two custom integrated circuits designed by STMicroelectronics. XM has partnered with Pioneer, Alpine, Clarion, Delphi Delco, Sony and Motorola to manufacture XM car radios. Each satellite radio receiver uses a small, car-phone-sized antenna to receive the XM signal. General Motors has invested about $100 million in XM, and Honda has also signed an agreement to use XM radios in its cars. GM began installing XM satellite radio receivers in selected models in early 2001.

For $9.99 per month, subscribers can receive the XM signal. For that price, listeners get up to 100 channels of music, talk and news. Many of the channels have no commercials, with none of the channels having more than seven minutes of ads per hour. XM's content providers include USA Today, BBC, CNN/Sports Illustrated and The Weather Channel. The service bolsters that lineup with its own music channels.


Sirius Satellite Radio

Unlike XM, Sirius does not use GEO satellites. Instead, its three SS/L-1300 satellites form an inclined elliptical satellite constellation. Sirius says the elliptical path of its satellite constellation ensures that each satellite spends about 16 hours a day over the continental United States, with at least one satellite over the country at all times. Sirius completed its three-satellite constellation on November 30, 2000. A fourth satellite will remain on the ground, ready to be launched if any of the three active satellites encounter transmission problems.
The Sirius system is similar to that of XM. Programs are beamed to one of the three Sirius satellites, which then transmits the signal to the ground, where your radio receiver picks up one of the channels within the signal. Signals are also be beamed to ground repeaters for listeners in urban areas where the satellite signal can be interrupted.

While XM offers both car and portable radios, Sirius is concentrating on the car radio market. The Sirius receiver includes two parts -- the antenna module and the receiver module. The antenna module picks up signals from the ground repeaters or the satellite, amplifies the signal and filters out any interference. The signal is then passed on to the receiver module. Inside the receiver module is a chipset consisting of eight chips. The chipset converts the signals from 2.3 gigahertz (GHz) to a lower intermediate frequency. Sirius also offers an adapter that allows conventional car radios to receive satellite signals.



WorldSpace

So far, WorldSpace has been the leader in the satellite radio industry. It put two of its three satellites, AfriStar and AsiaStar, in geostationary orbit before either of the other two companies launched one. AfriStar and AsiaStar were launched in October 1998 and March 2000, respectively. AmeriStar, which will offer service to South America and parts of Mexico, is not yet scheduled for launch. Each satellite transmits three signal beams, carrying more than 40 channels of programming, to three overlapping coverage areas of about 5.4 million square miles (14 million square km) each. Each of the WorldSpace satellites' three beams can deliver over 50 channels of crystal clear audio and multimedia programming via the 1,467- to 1,492-megahertz (MHz) segment of the L-Band spectrum, which is allocated for digital audio broadcasting.
The United States is not currently part of WorldSpace's coverage area. The company has invested in XM Radio and has an agreement with XM to share any technological developments. WorldSpace is going beyond one nation and eyeing world domination of the radio market. That might be overstating the company's intent a bit, but WorldSpace does plan to reach the corners of our world that most radio stations cannot. There are millions of people living in WorldSpace's projected listening area who cannot pick up a signal from a conventional radio station. WorldSpace says it has a potential audience of about 4.6 billion listeners spanning five continents.



Photo courtesy WorldSpace
WorldSpace will be able to broadcast to the majority of the world's population when its AmeriStar satellite is launched.


WorldSpace broadcasters uplink their signal to one of the three satellites through a centralized hub site or an individual feeder link station located within the global uplink beam. The satellite then transmits the signal in one, two or all three beams on each satellite. Receivers on the ground then pick up the signal and provide CD-quality sound through a detachable antenna.



Photo courtesy WorldSpace
Two of the WorldSpace satellite radio receivers



WorldSpace satellite receivers are capable of receiving data at a rate of 128 kilobits per second (Kbps). The receivers use the proprietary StarMan chipset, manufactured by STMicroelectronics, to receive digital signals from the satellites.

EmuMessenger

Cool info, thanks.

Has anyone come up with a hack, similar to DirecTV for XM?

Mods: Not looking to commit theft here, just wondering.

caball88

yes there are mods you can do to get around paying for a subscription. but if you like the programming you should pay the $10 a month. it cost money to keep these birds in the sky.

PeterUbers

iTrader: (1)

THere wasn't any additional activation fee for me... at least, none that they mentioned to me over the phone. They said they 'refreshed' my radio and continued my subscription.

PeterUbers

iTrader: (1)

I think the $35,000 MSRP of the TL is your "activation fee"

NOX 3.2

Yes, if you don't let your promo expire, you can continue service without activation Fee, that's what XM people did with me.

TBone2004

This is too funny - as I was reading the post detailing all about the XM and how it activates itself - the FIRST thing came to my mind - "Hmm, wonder if there is a hack for this..." and sure enough I read your post - too funny...evil minds think alike...

So?

Is there one?

birdboy

"I listen only to my DVD-As that I've burned for myself"

Lore -- elaborate on this? What burner/encoder do you use?

Lore

I use a Sony DRU-510A burner. (Or was it the DRU-500A? I can't remember). Either way, it's a 4x DVD+R/-R burner.

I use DVD-R media and DiscWelder Bronze (www.discwelder.com) to burn the DVD-Audio discs. I rip all of the songs I want to .WAV format first and then burn it to the disc. You can fit roughly 4.3 gigs and 99 tracks on the disc, whichever comes first.

There are several other threads about DiscWelder available on the forum so do a search and you might find some more handy information.

jtruman

YES!! XM rocks.

mlewbart

XM hack-- I guess you guys didn't hear about the way DirecTV got back at the hackers. It sent a pulse code down from the sattelites that subscription chips could handle. It fried all the aftermarket hack chips rending the box useless. Oh yeah, they did all of this on Super Bowl sunday two years ago. That would really suck to have your headunit fried... :flamer:

EmuMessenger

I heard about that Black Sunday thing. I cannot imagine something like that really happening. How can they fry a chip over the airwaves?

Majorhouse

It really didn't fry the chips in the recievers, they just permanently looped the access card chips. Either way, the "testers" began using adapters that would allow these looped cards to continue working. What put an end to the H card hack is that DirecTV killed the datastream that these H cards used. Alas, where there is a will there is a way, hacks continue to this day, 3 card series later.

Anyway, I too subscribed to XM today. I don't know what I would do without ch 150, 8, 9, and 81.

cM3go

I love these as well

marquis

I have channels 8 and 9 programmed as well, and also love to flip through the rock stations (40-54). I generally keep the presets programmed to my absolute favorites within different categories (rock, sports, etc) and keep the tuner in category mode so I can flip around the stations in that category to find something I'm interested in. Works out pretty well.

I'm hooked on XM. I can't deal with FM anymore (except for the talk radio guy I listen to when I get a chance). Like someone else said, it's like cable. When it first came out, it seemed silly to have to pay for soemthing you were used to getting for free, but I can't imagine life without it now.

I signed up for the 5 year XM plan....only works out to something like $7.50/month.

doogles

I haven't listened to local radio since I bought the car in February (except one local public station with awesome music programming and no commercials, maybe total of an hour). There is just so much on XM. I had a trip to NY last week, 3 hours of exploring the XM menu. Very tasty!