XM radio reception

Topic: XM radio reception (Read 3302 times) previous topic - next topic

XM radio reception

August 20, 2011, 04:05:55 AM

Any one have satellite radio? Not the factory kind , the plug and play kits you find in stores . A vendor at work gave me an XM radio with 3 months programing . The frequency finder has horrible sound ( lots of static) . antenna reception is o.k but not 100% either. The radio sounds good in my Tbird when you insert the fake cassette , but I want this to work in my Minivan with factory stereo for my 30min commute to work . Can I buy something to correct this problem ? I don't want to spend too much money as the radio was free and not sure if I want to start paying monthly for this service.

XM radio reception

Reply #1 – August 20, 2011, 06:58:14 AM

I have Sirius/XM in all my cars. In the wifes VW it came with factory installed and obviously the reception is the best, that being said I have the other types of set ups in my other stuff. My 86 uses the fake cassette deal and is fine no problems. My 83 and my sons 04 Jeep use the fm transmitter option. I had the static issues also and just last week as I took him to FL for college was ready to throw the thing out the window as it seemed I couldnt find a station and keep it. While I was in FL I found one station where I got zero interference so when I got back home just for kicks I changed it in my bird and amazingly enough I lost my static here also. My job involves alot of travel so I am in the car probably 80% of the time and so far knock on wood its been clear. When I first got Sirius about 8 years ago the plug & play kits came with a piece that was suppossed to amplify the antenna signal a few years ago they sent me cassette adapters because I guess they were getting grief about infringing on others signals and I havent seen that cable in a kit since. If this new station doesnt work out I will get that back out and see if it makes any difference.

XM radio reception

Reply #2 – August 20, 2011, 03:50:01 PM

My buddy had one of the add on FM units that sounded like hell. I have a JVC deck with the sirius tuner added on. My bubble antenna is mounted on my rear deck inside the glass (i ran the cable though the third brake light in my 88 tbird) and I usually get 3-sometimes 2 bars reception and clear sound.

I'm just under the impression the standalone units arent all that great

XM radio reception

Reply #3 – August 20, 2011, 08:21:30 PM

I thought this thread was about the actual satellite reception. My new Sonata came with a free 4-month trial of the service (the feature is built into the radio), and I've found the reception to be TERRIBLE. It fades in and out all the time (and by that I mean it loses the signal completely - the radio goes silent and the screen says "loading"). It's almost as bad as listening to one of those really old CD players that would skip if you so much as farted in their general direction. SiriusXM has been calling me almost daily asking if I'd like to keep the service, even going as far as offering a year for $99 (It's normally $15/month), but I told them not until the reception improves. I wondered why satellite radio would have such poor reception, and figured it may be that Nova Scotia is on the fringe of their satellite's "footprint". When I suggested this theory to the phone rep they confirmed it by telling me they're working on installing repeaters in Nova Scotia that will fix this problem. I simply told them to let me know when they get this work finished, because I'm sure as hell not paying for it until they do....

XM radio reception

Reply #4 – August 21, 2011, 10:01:16 PM

I have Sirius in my '11 Focus. I have great reception *but* I live in Chicago, a big city. I'd like to add it to my T-bird but I'm leery of antenna mods I'd have to do.

XM radio reception

Reply #5 – August 21, 2011, 10:44:53 PM

My dad got a free trial a few years back, he wasn't impressed with the reception at all. But, we live out in the sticks.

XM radio reception

Reply #6 – August 22, 2011, 12:30:24 AM

Another thing , I set the xm radio up in my friends 04 hyundai santa fe and it works good. can't get it to work hardley at all in my 05 caravan. Are some factory radio's better than others? Or could it be some cars have better metal than others?

XM radio reception

Reply #7 – August 22, 2011, 10:40:47 PM

I had bought one of the sirius plug and play units a few years ago.. it worked great. The FM trasmitter was a little weak but i didn't have it placed very close to my antenna. As for the satellite reception I almost never had a problem unless I was under a bridge or something. even clouds weren't that big a deal...

I thought it was awesom cause I had a home dock and a car dock and I could swap between both. The only reason I stopped using it was cause I broke the connector chip thingy and I never got a new radio so I "forgot" to pay them for service lol