xm, sirus satelite radio question

I know there was a thread about this not too long ago so I won't ask people to repeat info I can look up myself but I do have one question and that is where is the best place to buy it? It is offered everywhere I go, Radio Shack, Best Buy, etc. I would love to get a satelite radio compatible head unit but due to costs, probably will get one of the ones that broadcasts over your fm radio. I do think you'll probably suffer a great loss in quality that way though as the best you can then get is fm quality. I don't know which one I'm going to get. Hopefully both offer an 80s channel!

I saw both in Wal-mart today. Go there and you can listen to both of them. There was one (XM) set up in the Automotive Stereo section but over in the TV and electronics they had both set up.
I know XM has section called Decades and one of the channels in it is '80's
I hope this helps

I have XM in my auto and its great. Channel 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 corresponde with 1950's, 1960's and so on. I highly recommend saving the extra few bucks and getting head unit with Satellite Radio compatibility. I just hate the FM idea. I have that for my iPod and was never impressed at all in any way. Indeed they are quite a bit cheaper, but I just dont like it. As far as where to buy it, all options are going to be the same. No matter where you go you will get an activation fee, unless you do it on the web, and its free. So just shop for the cheapest place for parts and thats the best you can do.

Well I hope the sirius satelite broadcast is of higher broadcast then their web broadcast which is only 34 kbs.

I would try crutchfield. If you go the sirius route, try shop.sirius.com or somesort of url for the rebate. THe rebate doesnt apply to the known stores like sams, walmart, target, rat shack, BB, CC, etc, etc.

I use direct connect to some computer speakers at work and the fm thing at home with a fm radio in my clock and a pocket one for outside the bedroom.

Sirius states on its site that the internet stream of its content is lower quality than the broadcast flavor.

I'm looking for a Sirius receiver, but can't find anything that is walkman-like with headphones that receives live Sirius. Found their S50, which basically is like an mp3 player that doesnt receive live Sirius unless its in a base station.

When I bought a new 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe, it came with XM standard along with a three month free trial subscription. I thought, "what a dumb idea, who would ever PAY to listen to the radio?" Well, after a few weeks I was hooked and now I am an enthusiastic customer. Now, I hardly ever listen to my CDs or to conventional radio in the car. I recently bought a Delphi "MyFi" which is their handheld portable XM receiver. It is about the size of an iPod (a little bigger) and works great at home (it comes with a docking station that hooks up to your stereo), on the go, or in our other cars. It has a built in FM transmitter that to my ears, sounds great played through the car radio. And the MyFi has a couple great features I really like. First, you can record and save up to five hours of programming, favorite songs, etc, and can set it up to record favorite programs you know are coming on (like a VCR). Second, it has a feature called "TuneSelect" where it will beep to alert you when your favorite songs or artists are coming onto any channel. Pretty cool. Very well done and easy to use device. Best of all, as an existing XM customer they offered the MyFi for $99 including free shipping, activation, and some cool bundled accessories.

If you are not a customer, I think places like Best Buy, Circuit City, etc are good because they can sell you the radio and get you preactivated, and they are still eligible for the $50 rebate (Walmart and Target as well as XM direct are not eligible, but their prices are not $50 less).

XM vs. Sirius, can't help you there. I love XM but have never tried Sirius although I know they have fans too. The XM music lineup has everthing I could want and I really like the local weather and traffic channels. I am a hockey and baseball fan (XM has both) but not as big an NFL fan (Sirius has it). Sirius carries NPR which some people find important.

Good luck and cheers,

Dave

powernoodle, you can power one with a battery pack, put it in a fanny pack and make a portable radio. The only down side is that you need a pair of head phones with a volume regulator.

Sirius and xm need somewhat line of sight of the sky unless you have local repeaters to pick up a signal. In the richmond, va area xm works underground, in elevelators, etc where as sirius needs direct sight of the sky.

I have both, love em both, XM is having a $50 rebate on select recievers right now, makes a lot of the free after rebate, I know, I got 3, Go to www.fatwallet.com and search for XM or Sirius and all the info you would ever want is ther plus where to buy!! I use the charger/ headset with the roady2 on XM works great outdoors, use the tape adapter in the car, the FM transmitters are crappy, or you can get a unit that hooks in line with your antenna from the car, works well, and don't pay full price for subscription, XM is more liberal with giving discounts right now to fight Howard, but the xm deal is call and tell em you bought a new GM car, that gets you 3 free months with free activation, then at the end of 3 months tell em you want the $77/year promo, this is half price!! so you get 15 months for $77 bucks, great deal, all of this and more is on fatwallet, hope this helps, now can someone lend me a flashlight?

You can find lots of info & rebates on sirius satellite radio here.

Sirius has a wider, deeper selection of modern (especially rock) music...but I HATE Sirius. Constant inane DJ chatter and self aggrandizing Sirius comercials drive me crazy. I would rather listen to broadcast FM than Sirius.

XM is quite nice and largely free of Sirius type B.S. on the music channels. It is a big plus for rural and cross country travel.

YMMV

Shamelessly stolen from a FW thread...

"This code for free activation and 3 months free service hasn't been working online lately, but is NO problem when calling it in. XMSCION03
1-800-XM-RADIO"

Take a look at the XM411.com forums and their link to MYRADIOSTORE.US

You'll get a feel for XM pretty quickly and learn what equipment is out there as well.

I love my XM. I chose it over Sirius because of the programming I wanted, and even with updates and Stern going to Sirius (none of which has swayed me, but others might care), the number of subscripers and the value of the stock has consistantly remained higher with XM. That made me feel better about buying into a system and not having to worry about it going belly up in a few years. Both should be around for quite a while now, but when I got my radio several years ago, that was no small gamble.

The subscriber fees are pretty reasonable. I like being able to get a quality signal and keep the signal, even if I was to drive coast to coast. That's the other thing that whoomps FM radio -- you almost never lose a signal as long as the antenna can "see" the satellite.

What originally clinched the move to XM was driving along and playing "radio roulette" -- you know, pushing buttons trying to find anything worth listening to while trying to stay out of the ditch (kids, don't try this -- I'm a professional) -- and finally, at long last hearing a really good song.

And then having it immediately (and I mean in way less than 5 seconds) fade into static.

And then from static into Debbie Boone's, "You Light Up My Life."

Unfortunately, absolutely a true story. It was proof to me that God has a perverse sense of humor. If I'd only had a gun, I would have put a hole in the radio. So, XM makes me smile almost every time I turn it on.

BTW, if you're an AOL subscriber, XM is now part of AOL Radio -- no charge.

*** If I needed more proof that XM is a good thing, the FM station I listen to in the morning is now playing Pink Floyd's "Breathe" for about the 500,000 time. Is there ever anything original played on FM anymore?

I have XM also. I bought the roady 2, a portable unit. It came with a free home kit that I hooked up at work. So I can disconnect the unit from my truck and bring it into work and hook it up to a spare pair of computer speakers.

I went with XM for the same reason chmsam did, XM had the most subscribers (still does), so I figured it would be around the longest.

I am quite happy with the programming. It is awesome on trips, no more hunting for a radio station that plays what you want. I have even taken the unit with me on company trips, since it is portable and relatively easy to switch from car to car.

I had to buy the car kit for it, it seemed most of the stations the unit would broadcast to in my area had some kind of interference.

When this unit goes bad I will consider either the MyFi type unit, or a replacement car stereo that has XM built in.

Well I am thiking of getting a XM Roadie II and using the FM Modulator. Seems like the cheapest way to get started and then later on can buy a new head unit that has an aux in jack. Thing I don't like is the antenna system. Can't think of an easy way to get it into my car (2002 Saturn SL1) and running it thru the door looks so tacky.

geepondy said:

Well I am thiking of getting a XM Roadie II and using the FM Modulator. Seems like the cheapest way to get started and then later on can buy a new head unit that has an aux in jack. Thing I don't like is the antenna system. Can't think of an easy way to get it into my car (2002 Saturn SL1) and running it thru the door looks so tacky.

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Little trick: Mount it on the rear deck "inside" the car UNDER the carpet or upholstery, there should be metal under there, run the wire up behind the seat and get it in there up through the trunk, most of them work great that way!!

cobb said:

I use direct connect to some computer speakers at work and the fm thing at home with a fm radio in my clock and a pocket one for outside the bedroom.

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Hey Cobb, which radio are you using as a pocket one? If it's a pocket one, am I correct to assume it doesn't need an external antenna? How about if you're driving, will that one work in the car (van in my case) without an external antenna? I'm planning on buying Sirius within the next month, but I'm unsure as to which radio will serve me best. Preferably one with a built in FM transmitter, although not needing to mount an antenna on the car, like Martha Stewart demonstrates in that video link on the website, would be of the most value to me. Man, I wish Sirius would get up to speed and come out with something like the XM Roady. I bet they come out with something like that right after I buy.

I'm mainly buying this to continue listening to Howard Stern, but it sounds like there are a lot of good talk shows on there already. I'm really curious about Jim Brewer's show (Bruer?), too.

Another question: Will my subscription allow me to use Sirius on more than one receiver?

There are a lot of websites for satellite radio that will show you how to route an antenna line through the car and mount it both so it looks good and so iworks well. Big tip: do NOT kink the antenna feed line as they are pretty thin and fragile.

It is actually fairly easy to work the line through molding, but it just takes a little bit of care. In other words, stop if you get frustrated. All I do is route the line through the door or window carefully. There are spots on the door or window that close but will not crimp the line. Easy to move from car to car since the antennas attach to the car by magnet. The magnets are fairly well coated and I haven't yet scratched paint. The line is thin enough so that it almost disappears against most paint colors.

Remember that you'll want to get a case to allow you to take the radio out of the car when you park it. Most systems are designed for this. Use the feature. There is a very good reason for the radio being desgned to be taken out of the car by the owner when it's parked.

Several portable units have small antennas, most of those are built in. Remember this, however, it has to have a southern aimed view of the satellite or it will not pick up a signal. In practice this is no problem. Several of the portables feature a buffer -- one of up to 5 hours -- so the music isn't interrupted.

Subscritions are for each reciever. They are linked to the code number on the radio itself. XM gives a discount for more than one unit (I think up to a total of four). Go to the subscriber section on the websites for the systems and check for signup and subcription details.

Trashman, I am not using satellite radio as a portable pocket radio. I use a pocket fm radio to listen to satellite radio through fm modulation.

Now, I had xm on my wheelchair andlistened to it on the go. Others have made fanny packs with pockets for antennas, battery packs, radio and associated wires to make it portable. XM is way easier to get a signal than sirius. Some areas are hard to get signals and the antenna will need to be more front and center with a clear view of the sky. I believe the xm411 website that was mentioned in this thread has some armies, fannies and other bags to make older xm radios portable. THey do make a walkman that receives live programming in real time. THey are around 200 bucks.

Now, the walkman one has a built in fmmodulator, so you can throw it on your dash as it has an antenna inside and tune youre car radio to the fm station. You can also use an fm modulator with the bag idea/kit so you can get it in your cars radio and just put it or the antenna on your dash.

THey are always making new and better radios, its a new technology. Just buy what you need around christmas and take advantage of any savings offered. I just ordered the sanyo radio on shop.sirius.com has both kits and fm modulator, but no remote control. Not a big deal. 50 dollar rebate on a 79.99 dollar radio before 5 bucks tax. THey jsut raised the price to 89.99, but also offer a boom box deal.

Sirius and xm require extra fees for multiple radios, like the cell phone companies multiline plans. Sirius is harder to get a signal than xm, but they do offer more off the wall/color/uncensored programming. Many channels and shows are uncensored, both the topics and use of 4 letter words. Sirius is famous for offering an all gay network outq and west wood or what ever the other radio network is of clear channel, xm, nascar and other clear channel programming. Both have audo feeds of fox, cnn, cspan and other cable channels.

I have both the past few years and love them. My sirius expired earlier this year, so I put off renewing since I wanted a discount and new radio.

You can demo them online or at a store that sells electronics.

Check out www.xm411.com
They will be able to help you and even though the site has its own store, people report on the forums where good deals are elsewhere for XM equipment.
Also try www.siriusbackstage.com for Sirius info.

Personally I dig XM and some say the way their satellites orbit help you get a signal better.