Any satellite radio experts?

[lopxtc]

So I am looking to get my wife a satellite radio setup for her birthday since her job requires that she drive allot. Here is the problem though that I have, she doesnt want to remove her stock head unit since its a six-disc changer and she doesnt want to lose that option, however it also does not have a tape player so that rules out a receiver that playes through a tape adapter.

Are there any receiver units that play by transmitting across a FM band (usually the low end 88.1<->89.#)?

Thanks,

Aaron

[Big'n slo]

Aaron,
Most plug and play models have the FM modulator built in.

FM Transmitter: The Starmate's built-in modulator allows you transmit Sirius radio programming to your vehicle's FM tuner, so you don't have to make any connections between the Sirius receiver and the radio. You can select any of 100 frequencies between 88.1 and 107.9 MHz. The FM modulator can be turned off if not in use.


This Sirius works well

[datapimp69]

in fact i think all transmit to FM.

dont get XM... dont support clear channel.

plus sirius has better programing.

i love mine and couldnt live with out anymore

[spantol]

dont get XM... dont support clear channel.

Clear Channel owns a whopping 3% of XM.

Both carriers offer models with built-in FM modulators. Your best bet would be to visit their websites to see which channel line up looks most appealing, and go from there.

[fire1811]

I have XM with a roady 2 unit. It has a fm transmitter and sounded great.

[datapimp69]

Clear Channel owns a whopping 3% of XM.

Both carriers offer models with built-in FM modulators. Your best bet would be to visit their websites to see which channel line up looks most appealing, and go from there.

thats 4% more then i will support clear channel

[Jakedubbleya]

sirius has more channels, slightly inferior quality, better dj's/talkshow hosts, better overall taste in music and sports, and isnt affiliated with clear channel.

plus, like XM would ever come out with a JIMMY BUFFETS MARGARITAVILLE CHANNEL!?!?!?!

serius is tight, and its logo is a dog and i love dogs

[lopxtc]

I know fire1811 said the sound over FM is good ... is this really the case? I hear mixed things, but then again I am not an audiophile so I dont demand surround sound live music quality in my car.

Aaron

[AcemanPB]

I'm partial to XM my self, they both have decent music. I got my father the Skyfi2 unit and it has a FM modulator built into the unit. Just install the dock in your car (comes with small magnetic antena and a power adapter), then the units sits in the dock - its a piece of cake. The FM modulator sounds decent, the tape converter will give you slightly better quality while a hardwire connection will sound best. I'm not really sure on the type of unit your wife has but there are adapters you can buy that give you RCA inputs.

[Miscue]

I know fire1811 said the sound over FM is good ... is this really the case? I hear mixed things, but then again I am not an audiophile so I dont demand surround sound live music quality in my car.

Aaron

It won't be as good as a CD of course - but should sound like a regular FM station with excellent reception.

I'm waiting for XM NavTraffic to be available in my area...

While we're on this... what's the sound quality like if you do not use the FM feature and have an actual receiver for it?

[WenULiVeUdiE]

I have not been able to trry my Sirius with the FM transmitter. But with an actual reciever, the sound quality is fairly good. I would say the limiting factor in the sound quality is the 10-year old speakers, not the Radio itself.

[Jakedubbleya]

While we're on this... what's the sound quality like if you do not use the FM feature and have an actual receiver for it?

you mean separate satelite (or whatever it picks up) antenna connected to reciever box connected to sterio? (what i got)

cant really tell the diff between cd and sirius, but that might be the fault of my sorta mediocre alpine aftermarket speakers w/o amp. so, i guess its great

i tell ya though, installing that antenna in an SUV is a *****.

[Miscue]

you mean separate satelite (or whatever it picks up) antenna connected to reciever box connected to sterio? (what i got)

cant really tell the diff between cd and sirius, but that might be the fault of my sorta mediocre alpine aftermarket speakers w/o amp. so, i guess its great

i tell ya though, installing that antenna in an SUV is a *****.

Well... a receiver with built-in sat radio or yeah, sending the sat radio to the receiver's inputs... not using FM whatsoever.

Where did you mount it? I'm planning on under the dash. I've been reading that mounting it on the outside of the vehicle is an insignificant improvement.

http://www.commsdesign.com/main/9802fe3.htm (I think it should also apply to sat radio)

The one thing I haven't figured out is how to cleanly mount a back-up camera.

[Big'n slo]

Well... a receiver with built-in sat radio or yeah, sending the sat radio to the receiver's inputs... not using FM whatsoever.

Where did you mount it? I'm planning on under the dash. I've been reading that mounting it on the outside of the vehicle is an insignificant improvement.

Where did you hear that?
I'd love to move my ant. out of sight, but I still get a garbled signal in heavy canopy areas.
I'd say sat. input to receiver inputs is on par with CD quality but lacking slightly in Bass boost.

[Miscue]

Where did you hear that?
I'd love to move my ant. out of sight, but I still get a garbled signal in heavy canopy areas.
I'd say sat. input to receiver inputs is on par with CD quality but lacking slightly in Bass boost.

I posted a link to that kind of information. Apparantly the signals will pass through glass without problem... and a vinyl dash, or whatever - it's metal that blocks the signal.

Once again... http://www.commsdesign.com/main/9802fe3.htm

I could be incorrect in assuming that sat radio and GPS are similar when it comes to this. I'm going to try it out for myself though, and see what happens.