Satellite radio - who uses it?

[mountainpete]

I have a Sirius and a Sportster5 radio. Love it. It's in the truck when we are on adventures and in the house the rest of the time connected to our in ceiling speaker system.

I have the antenna mounted on the roof (mag) and only experience reception issues in heavy tree cover. For example, if you are going through the Redwoods in Northern California the coverage is actually quite bad. The same goes for some of the dense forest areas in British Columbia, Oregon and Washington. However if you have a view of the sky you will get clear reception.

Pete

 

[Otto Von Squiggy]

I had sirius when I was living in the mountains because I didnt have any other reception. it still got old because the stations would not change their music very often. thats when I got into the .music usnet archives. and Bit torrent sites. cancelled my subscription when I got to the city. now its just I-pod and NPR for me.

 

[absolute]

I have XM and I love the comedy Channel XM150! Great to listen to on the ride home after a "Long" Day! I also enjoy the listen online feature that is included! With broadband and the right set up, you have nothing but your favorites!

As for the stereo it was installed in the factory and I fought tooth and nail with the dealer to find me the exact truck but without it! Couldn't stand the way GM installs the antennas, and I already had an MP3 player. But I can say I enjoy it, alot!

Just a head ups for those considering leaving, give'em a call and they will throw you a huge bone to stay!

 

[James86004]

I don't have it (except for the XM Channels on DirecTV), but one thing I will say is there is a huge difference in the quality of reception of different FM radios in different vehicles. I drive different vehicles from out fleet out I-10 to 191 and then north to Mt Graham. Our 01 F350 can keep the Tucson radio stations all the way to the far side of Mt Graham, although they are a little scratchy for a mile or 2 here and there. The 04 Suburban, on the other hand, does much worse, and looses the Tucson stations past Texas Canyon.

On top of the mountain, you can get all the Tucson, Phoenix, Silver City, and some Mexican stations with the Ford. The Chevy has problems.

 

[adventureduo]

We have XM.... its nice to have a signal in remote locations.. however i've noticed.. if you listen to the same stations over a couple days... you hear the same dang songs the whole time.

Like all they have is 20 songs per station. It's really lame.

Other than that.. we love it. We usually juggle it with radio, burnt cd's in the changer and DVD's.

 

[jcbrandon]

love it

I've had Sirius in my truck since May. Have not listened to terrestial radio or a CD since. I do lose the signal for seconds at a time while driving under trees. Annoying, but a small price to pay for excellent music, DJs who are genuine musicologists, and no commercials (at least on my favorite stations).

 

[Topher Walters]

I have XM and love it. When I am driving and get under heavy tree cover the signal can go out but it is usually very quick to come back. If you are parked under heavy tree cover you will get a signal. The programming is very good and with very few commericals. When it first came out I swore I wouldn't pay for something that I could get for free. It is worth every penny!

 

[hattrik21]

I have sirius and like others have said, its great. The best part about it to me is the fact I don't have to find a new station when I get to a new town/city.

 

[Expedition Pictures]

Just an FYI both companies will be releasing new radios that will recieve both services. These are expected to come out at winter CES

 

[Carlyle]

Sirius in my truck, camper and at home. It's nice to rock away the hours on the road. I do wish they did audio books though. Other than that I've had 6 years of happy times with it.

 

[BriansFJ]

I have XM. Can't live without it, haven't bought a CD in months...

 

[chet]

I have had sirius for 2 years and its been great. Sports is good. I still flip on the local radio station for the local news once in a while.

Right now the AC/DC channel is ROCKIN! :bowdown:

 

[Martinjmpr]

Okay - Installation question here!

So the consensus seems to be a thumbs up for sat radio. Now for my next question:

When I went to circuit city to talk to the folks there, they (of course) recommended a professional install. They also said that in addition to the radio receiver, I'd need another module (can't remember what it is called) to send the signal to the antenna. Cost for this module is about $130 and the professional install is like $79 so I'd be looking at a minimum of a $200 install, that's over and above the cost of the receiver.

So my question is this: Is this neccessary? How many of you are using this additional module (RF transmitter, I think) vs. how many of you just hook the thing up yourself? The other thing they pointed out was that they hard wire the power connection into the battery so you don't have to have a cigarette lighter plug to run the receiver. Since my Taco has 3 power outlets on the dash (and I don't smoke) I'm not concerned about this, although it would be nice to not have a rat's nest of wires on my dashboard.

I've seen satellite radios in unused or little-used condition on Craigslist for $25 or so, and I'm thinking if I can just wire the thing up myself, I'd save a lot of money. Then if I decided I really like it, I can upgrade to a "satellite ready" radio and go the full-install route, but the nice thing is if I don't like it, I can disconnect it, cancel my service and sell the thing on CL and only be out the cost of the service I used.

Thoughts?

 

[ujoint]

I've had time with both, and I prefer Sirius. Mainly cause I'm a Howard fan though.....

 

[absolute]

I would be use a more mobile device, than a hard mount.

Somthing you could use in any vehicle, your house, etc.

Unless your vehicle has a factory installed system and you were upgrading to a different head unit.