Satellite radio???

“I was considering purchase of a satellite radio, but I am told they do not work outside the cities.

A. Does anybody have one?
B. Sirius or XM?
C. Does it work everywhere or just the cities?”

“A good friend has one.

A. Friend
B. Sirius
C. We live close to Chicago so it works all the time. I believe it works that same as Satellite TV. I know it has different tuners and it switches between them as signal strength weakens or increases.

I would look at their websites first. I will see if I can get any additional information on Monday from him when we go back to work.”

“My uncle has one in his truck (not sure which type) and it works one the backcountry roads in NY where you can't pick up regular radio stations.”

“In/outside city limits is irrelevant. As long as there is a sky over your head in the main 48 states, you're good to go.

toph72
XM Radio user”

“Thank you toph72. That was what I thought. It should link to a satellite, not a repeater tower.”

“I've been thinking about this too. I know the costs will be more than they say because I want the car cradle and the cradle to plug it into the home sterio too. $10 a month doesn't sound something I want to add to the monthly bills but I thought maybe have a year's worth paid for as a christmas present.

I wonder if the signal is like Dish TV? If it rains hard do you lose the signal? Tunnals? Heavy tree cover?”

“I was looking at a portable receiver that runs around $100. The home and car kits cost $50 each, so total cost would be about $200.

I doubt it would work in tunnels, but I don't spend a whole lot of time in tunnels if I can help it. I don't think there would be a problem under trees, but maybe somebody with experience would know for sure.

I'm thinking I would use it mostly on the road and when car camping. XM carries a good mix of news, weather, sports, and music. They have the Major League Baseball contract and have ACC and Big Ten as well. Bob Edwards, late of NPR, is on XM.”

“Do they carry Air America? I'd have to have that.”

“There are websites for both XM and Sirius. I did not see Air America in XM's programming lineup.”

“Drove from Los Angeles to Las Vegas with someone who had Sirius in their car and it worked fine the whole way. The Sirius system can also be removed from your car (at least the faceplate) and used in a special boom box, too.”

“I've never lost my signal in very heavy rain, but in and around tall building, or under treecover and I'll lose the signal. I love my XM radio.”

“geobeet, Howard Stern was on Letterman trying to convince his viewers to switch to satellite, because he will be there in 2005. He won't be on regular radio, because he says he is getting too many fines.

He said satellite will cost 40 cents per day, so I would look into what the cost is before investing in the device. That comes out to $24.00 per month.”

“Stern is hardly the reason I want satellite radio. He is on Sirius. I am looking at XM, which is $10 a month.”

“geobeet, I just mentioned Stern, because he quoted prices. I didn't know there were other satellite services out there. I think we may get his radio show in WA, but I'm not interested in listening to him censored or uncensored.”

“i live in metro phoenix. I lose signal completely under 4 lane underpasses. Signal is also reduced(only a little- the quality suffers, but you can still enjoy the music) while being parked close to high buildings. Not really a problem, since most signal strength reduction is short-lived- (and our downtown is nothing to write home about anyways)

Like cable-modem network, once I've had it, I just can't go back to dial up. I paid for a 3 month contract to try it out, and love it. You can also be mailed a password to use it on your computer- at work or home- wherever. I only have the car dock, and use the computer to listen at home and work.”

“I have XM..their audio quality is technologically better. Sirrus has 3 sats, XM 2. They say this plays into reception...but i've noticed no problem with my XM. I lose signal when i'm in the smokies with a peak above me, and inside parking garages. XM records 3 seconds of play so you don't lose signal under overpasses and trees.

They just got all the MLB games for next year. sirrus has all the NFL. XM is getting almost if not all the NCAA basket/football games.

XM is cheaper for more channels...all the music channels are now commercial free. foxnews/cnn type channels have commercials cause they are basically tv feeds.

Most large cities have transponders so that you don't lose reception in parking garages, and buildings.

xm also has 24/7 weather and traffic for most metros.

I own a pioneer tuner for my sport trac..and a delphi skifi for my car...and the boombox/cd player that takes the skyfi inside.

I'd get the MYFI or SKYFI2 if i was going to get a new one”

“I'm just estatic that XM got MLB. Baseball is one sport made for radio.”

“I live in a rural area (mountains) and have XM sat radio. It works anywhere you have a clear shot at the southern sky. There are a few spots (usually in narrow valley's blocked by mountains) where the signal is blocked. Works 95% of the time. LOVE sat XM radio. $10 a month. I have a (pop-out) unit in my car (Delphi) with a wireless remote.”

“I heard they have a Rush Limbaugh channel.”

“I'm considering this Delphi unit for my BF's truck:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002INUIY/qid=1101572425/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl23/103-1789509-0843003?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846

He doesn't like the amber background of some of the other units..you can vary the background of this one...
anyone have anything to say about this unit? I'm really seriously considering this for him and know nothing about
satellite radios so I'm reading this thread with great interest..
we live in NW Wisconsin..gotta few trees around here...
last edited: 11/27/04 10:33:23 AM”

“If I spent a lot of time in my car which I don't, I might consider paying $10/mo for radio...Satellite radio seems great for truckers, couriers, or field tech type people who are in their car a lot...I can't imagine paying for it for the average user. And I never listen to the radio in my house so making it portable does not make any difference for me.”

“imagine never hearing an annoying KIA, insurance, used car lot commercial, or annoying dj ever again.
My altima's gauges are orange..so the amber doesnt bug me...the roady2 i think has blueish grey lights”

“imagine never hearing an annoying KIA, insurance, used car lot commercial, or annoying dj ever again.

iTunes+Shareaza+40gb iPod+cd changer cable for ipod for car=60 days of dj free music.”

“artist names and song titles on a display mean i write down 10-20 new songs to DL or buy a day...i stream music on my comp. Ipod's are a crock of #&%!$”

“hey guys, I don't want it....and, my BF 's longest drive is the 5 miles to one of his favorite bars....I have no idea why he wants it and, no doubt, after 2 months it will have lost its charm much like his iPod did a fews years ago along with all the other electronic goodies stashed here and there gathering dust but, hey, what do I care, it's an idea for a Christmas present and so far, it's the only one I have....”

“I love my iPod...40 gigs of music...when I got it I only had 7 gigs...I had to download enough to fill it up.”

“Another vote here for the iPod, great on the bus heading to and from work. Satellite radio is on my list, but I don't spend a lot of time in the car anymore, and the local NPR is pretty good here in Phoenix.”

“Delphi is coming out with a new one that has hardware to connect to car or home radio, or use it as a Walkman thingy. It runs $350 and will be shipped on Dec. 1. I looked at earlier Delphi models at Circuit City today. They are cheaper, even with hardware, but don't have the Walkman capability.

I want it primarily for long road trips for camping and Conservancy meetings. I like NPR, and I like classical music, but the stations fade in and out in the mountains. I also want to be able to pick up Phillies games.”

“I don't think iPods would suit me either. That's just too damn much clutter. I thought it'd be cool to have a sterio that holds 60 CDs but I spend most of my time scrolling around trying to find what I want. Drives me nutts.

I got the Sony MD mini disk that is 3" sqare and the disks hold five hours of music and can be re-recorded over a million times. I even have a little set of folding speakers I take with me on the trail.”

“Say Nigal, tell me more about those folding speakers..I've been in the market
for some for years but not seen any I liked..
last edited: 11/28/04 9:32:44 AM”

“Drives me nutts.
Nigal

Come on Nigal, that's a short drive.”

“which is why he isn't interested in satellite radio..LOL”

“Hey ipod user wait til the battery dies in your unit(meaning no more re-charging)....when they made it they did not think of this, so you have to send it in to apple, pay them 100$ for them to change it out... the average life of the battery in only 1 year of constant use...they have fixed this problem in the mini, but continue to make the original the same way... this is the only reason i have held out so long in buying one, once they fix this, i will buy one, until then i am still carrying a disc mp3 player....there is an article about this in WIRED, the guy who wrote it was actually told, buy apple, that he would have to buy a new one...can you imagine!!!
last edited: 11/28/04 9:55:05 AM”

“Now, THAT is interesting and useful info....thanks....”

“These are the ones I have. They are 2Watts, weigh maybe 8oz., with 4 AA batteries they down right jam but you can use them without the batteries too, and cost $49...



They have some even smaller ones but are a bit more expensive.

Sony.com
last edited: 11/28/04 5:57:07 PM”

“back on the original subject - which one (XM or Sirius) covers the NHL or for that matter any hockey games?”

“There is a start up fee for XM. I don't know what it is.”

“I have XM Radio and a Delphi Roady reciever $130.00 gets you everything you need to connect to your car.
I traveled from Iowa to Glaicer National Park and in spots where the radio would go in circles looking for a station the XM worked perfect.

Also having the talk radio like CNN, ESPN and even the Discovery Channel makes for a nice breakup in the music while driving long distances.

XM does not cover NHL but you can get updates on ESPN News and the start up fee I think is $14.00

Also in the Cities they do have transponders because I can listen to XM in parking garages and around tall buildings. I've owned my for almost a year now and love having it on the road.”

“My Delphi MyFi radio is enroute via the big brown truck. Should arrive the Tuesday after Christmas.”

“geo, enjoy it.”

“I fully intend to. It has, in no particular order, Major League Baseball, NPR (including the CBC program "As It Happens"), classical music, ESPN Radio, Weather Channel, a channel of African music, local highway and weather conditions, new age, folk, and just about anything else my warped mind might fancy -- and no freaking commercials or pledge breaks. Of course, it does come with a price tag, but it should be worth it for all those civilized trappings.”

“geo...that myfi looks sweet...just think of listening to all that with no static in even the most remote of places”

“That's exactly what I was thinking, Opie. I can get my Phillies games wherever, all that music, and the best news coverage on the planet.

I neglected to mention the Beeb; that's on XM too.

And enroute, I can play it on the car radio without worrying about losing my station when I cross that mountain on the horizon.”

“I had XM for about a year right after I bought my 2003 GMC. I do a lot of driving, been to east end of Kansas 3 times, Mexico a couple of times to mention a few trips. I really enjoyed the XM for the first little bit, but then it got to the point that everything seemed to be a repeat on the talk radio channels, as well as comedy channels. There were basically two comedy channels, one was so rank I couldn't listen to it (ears burning) and the other was just plain stupid old time stuff that just isn't funny anymore. Long story short, I let the subscription go in favor of a 20 gig. MP3 player and a hard wired FM modulator. Now I can listen to MY stuff, whenever I want, without the subscription fees.”

“The reason I got it is for music, baseball, and news/weather.

The news does seem to repeat itself though.”

“xm comedy 150 is awesome..love the uncensored stuff”

“WooooooooHooooooooooooooooooo, it finally arrived. I managed to get it set up, plugged in, registered, and took a quick tour of the stations I'm most interested in. Wow! This is gonna be fun.

I left it charging for now. Gotta run out to the store real quick-like. More later,”

“so hey... any update since december?
I am debating between XM and sirius.”

“Go online and look over the programming that each offer, then choose whatever appeals to you most.”

“I have XM and love it. But then again I've never really listened to Sirius and Howard Sten turns me off (yes I know I don't have to listen to him) so that has kept me away.”