OT-Satellite Radio

Curious if I might tap into the collective expertise of those on these boards. My wife has expressed interest in getting satellite radio for her car, and I know absolutely nothing about it. Figured it might be a nice Christmas or birthday gift for her, as both are right around the corner.



Does anyone out there have any advice as to what to look for, or can steer me towards a ‘primer’ of sorts? It would be nice to have something that she could also use in the home through our audio system as well. Our vehicles are 2002 and 2004, so they have no apparent accessory plug in jacks as many of the newer vehicles on the market do. Thanks in advance.

I recently purchased an pioneer inno
which is for XM satellite radio. There are 2 different major companies; serius & XM. yearly subscriptions are similar in $. Most all of the portables (like the inno) come with or buy separate a car &/or home kit. Most all of the portables have an FM modulator, which means it brings in XM signal and transforms it out to FM which you can tune your existing car radio to for your listening pleasure. When using in home you get an antenna w/long cord that you have to get to a south facing window to be able to pickup a signal. The inno also has a built in antenna and you can dump MP3’s to it. So I can take mine out kayakin and listen to XM or my MP3’s.

pretty simple, i believe i got most of it in a nutshell.

good luck

sat radio
My wife got me XM for my birthday almost a year ago. She got me the Roady2 (now replaced by an updated model) receiver with a home kit. We bought an extra car kit so we use it in either vehicle. I use the home kit mostly at work. I bring the receiver in and have the FM modulator broadcast the signal to a boom box.



Take a look at the channel lineups to decide what you’re more interested in. XM seems to have a stronger focus on music, while Sirius has a really strong focus on sports and other programming. Either way, I don’t think you can go wrong (there’s a chattering rumor mill about XM and Sirius discussing a merger).



FYI, my model also has an available ‘mobile kit’ that would let me listen to it like a walkman/mp3 player. I think getting a receiver with the ability to move from one place to another is a MUCH better idea than buying a car deck with built in sat radio (or buying a car with built in sat radio) because you then only need one receiver. Sat radio is not like standard FM where you can get as many receivers as you want and listen to the signal. With sat radio, you have to pay monthly for EACH receiver you use…so try to get one that’s as flexible as possible.

ummmm ... excuse me ..<br />    this board is supposed to be about paddling ... not what radio to choose for your car ...

rvwen
Did you fall of B&B again?

rvwen:
And vehicles are used for…hauling boats. Music is needed for shuttles. Therefore, not off topic.



Jim

Grazie
folks, for your input. Will head out to see what the local electronics chains have to offer this weekend. I like the flexibility of not only being able to go from home to car to car, but she might like the potential to have it act as an mp3 player as well. Have not had much success with the Apple iPod FM transmitter for use in the car, constantly fiddling with the buttons on the way to/from the launch or races trying to maintain a signal, but it sounds like the satellite radio transmitters are far more reliable. Thanks again.

Moving it around
Last year I got an XM unit that provides a variety of use modes. For car stereo, it uses FM modulation (works with any FM radio). For home stereo, I can either use FM modulation or plug some cables from the unit to the amplifier jacks to get direct reception–very nice because it does not depend on finding an “empty” FM signal number. The latter has become almost extinct in the Denver area, though it’s not a problem outside of large metro areas. The reception is better using direct connect, too.



My unit also can be used as a personal stereo with any mini-jacked headphones or earbuds (included). It records up to 5 hours of music.



I debated getting the cheapest direct-connect car jack set (requires a “satellite-ready” car stereo) but decided against that because (a) it requires hiring a stereo installer to remove the dash, and (b) it can only be used in that one vehicle. Remember that your subscription applies ONLY to one hardware unit.



The moveable unit has been great. We have three vehicles in our household and it’s easy to use in any of them. The one caveat is that if you switch locations a lot, it might be worth buying another antenna for the second vehicle and leaving that in place.