Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with satelliteradio

receptions depends on time of day, time of year, and direction facing?

ChrisLSU — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:57:31 -0800

I need help/advice fixing my Sirius reception (before I decide to fix it myself with a ball-peen hammer). Horrible reception during certain times of the year, during certain times of the day, and driving certain directions. So another summer has come along and for the 2nd in a row, my Sirius reception goes into the crapper. Well, not all the time. In the morning on my way into work, it's fine. In the early evening (say, after 5) it's fine. No problems at night. But during the hottest times of the day, it's practically non-existent. Well, not entirely.
Let's take a typical day at the office. On my way into work, the reception is fine. At lunch, it's hot. I jump in my car and drive north. Nary a peep from the radio - I could drive an hour and the screen would display "Acquiring signal" the entire way. If I drive west, I can get about 75/25 no reception/good signal. If I drive east, it's about 50/50. And if I drive south, reception on the whole is near 100%. If I'm driving east with a good signal and take a left to go north, the signal dies midway thru the turn and doesn't come back until I turn to go another direction.
This problem disappears once the heat starts letting up, say mid to late September. Once the mercury hits the mid to upper 90's, it's back to a spotty (at best) signal.
I've had Sirius for about 3 years now and mostly enjoy it, particularly on long drives so I don't have to fumble thru the radio dial to find a station I like. I should also note that while I have the puck-sized roof antenna, it's stopped working about a year after I got it (error: "Connecting to Antenna" or somesuch) so I took the outdoor antenna the kit came with, wound up the slack wire with twist ties, and tucked the whole thing behind the radio, which is suction-mounted to my windshield (bottom left-hand corner). There's no way I'm springing for a new antenna unless it was guaranteed to fix my problems, which I suspect is more due to the heat or position of the sun than a faulty antenna.
Any help is appreciated. This problem has frustrated me to the point where I'm just about ready to cancel my subscription and smash the radio into little plastic bits!

Looking for recommendations on satellite radio receivers.

Argyle — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:21:42 -0800

Looking for recommendations on satellite radio receivers. With the merger of XM & Sirius complete, the XM receiver in Mrs. Argyle's new car, and the demise of my two favorite radio stations in Los Angeles, all signs point to satellite radio in my future.

I'm looking for recommendations on a simple portable receiver suitable for listening from my car. I would plug it into an adapter cable like an MP3 player would.

Previous AskMe threads discuss the difference between XM & Sirius and the older models, but don't have current answers.

Any especially good models to get? Should I buy from XM direct or look to eBay for a used one?

Thanks for any help or advice.

Sirius radio reception and channel question

docpops — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 07:50:40 -0800

New Sirius radio subscriber with questions for MeFi... I just added a Starmate 5 Sirius receiver to my car. In a week or so I will take it in for hardwiring to my deck so I don't have to deal with the FM transmitter. Questions:

1: Is there an aftermarket antenna that would improve the strength of my signal reception over and above the flat silver-dollar sized doohickie I have currently? I get 2 bars of strength most areas and it takes at least thirty seconds for the unit to grab a signal when I start the car.

2: Favorite channels? I love Left Of Center, but any MeFites who have other favorites, I'd appreciate it. I'm a bit overwhelmed.

Any other tips appreciated prior to installation.

Help me choose an XM Radio receiver

jdroth — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 07:46:47 -0800

I've tried to resist, but I can't any longer — I want to subscribe to satellite radio. XM has at least two stations that I'll listen to almost constantly (channels 4 and 44, though 28 and 81 sound appealing, too). After hearing the web-based "free trial", I'm ready to sign up but I don't know anything about receivers. I'll mostly be listening at home. I don't have a stereo setup, but I do have lots of Macs (including Airport Express). I'd like to be able to listen in my car, too. Which receiver options are best? I know that XM and Sirius are merging — is this any reason to wait to purchase equipment? (I found XM Fan from a previous AskMe question and will check that out. But I know and trust Mefites better than strangers at a fan board.)

Satellite for Nerds?

DU — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:47:11 -0800

Can there seriously not be a single science (or even technology) channel on either one of the two satellite radio systems? XM's lineup
Sirius's lineup

I'm getting tired of the increasingly ridiculous stories on NPR (today's idiocy was exposing the "hypocrisy" of a populist becoming *gasp* popular) and I'd like to switch to something else. There's nothing local, but, hey, satellite radio has so many choices, I'll probably find something, right?

Unless I'm reading it wrong, no, I won't. I've googled the hell out of this because I still can't really believe that this would be the case. If nerds, geeks and early adopters aren't listening to Radio From Outer Space, then who is? I've gotten a few hits for things like Discovery Channel Radio¹ but I don't see the channels on the lineups and the reports are always 3 or 4 years old. Maybe the channels didn't last? Or maybe I'm just looking in the wrong place?

The two systems have a combined 32 sports channels and 7 Christian channels, but not a single science or technology one? Wha?

¹Which would probably be just as shallow and disappointing as the TV channel, but at least it would be something.

How do I perfect my new speakers?

werty — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 21:38:29 -0800

Got great new speakers for my stereo. Now comes the hard part: I need to find a particular kind of stand, and my satellite radio sounds funny. Suggestions? I went looking recently for an unobtrusive satellite/subwoofer system for the stereo in my smallish living room. I wound up with a set of Paradigm Atom speakers instead.

Having sacrified the original plan (read: my wife wanted little ceiling-mounted Bose satellites), I now need to find somewhere to put the speakers. They're bookshelf-sized, but I don't have a bookshelf in the area they're being placed, and they're too bulky to ceiling-mount per our original plan. Three-foot-tall floor stands are too imposing for our room. I'd like to find floor mounts that will support the speakers low to the ground and angle them into the listening space. I know they exist, but I can't find them. Pointers? Alternates?

In addition, now that I have speakers with a robust dynamic range, my XM Radio sounds dull. CDs and even MP3s sound good, but the XM lacks depth, like a movie in a theater with the surround sound turned off. What can I do to improve the satellite audio? Would a newer receiver--mine is from 2003--have better performance? Installing an equalizer just for this is a bit heavy-handed of a solution.

For the record, I'm excited to have the Atoms. They sound terrific across a wide variety of music; the dynamic range is far more robust than any sat/sub combo I tested. The Atoms are also more affordable than anything with similar performance. I considered many $600-900 speakers (Kef, Totem, Dynaudio and others) and the Paradigms are equal or better and just $249/pair list. Highly recommended.

Cheapest satellite radio receiver?

stupidsexyFlanders — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 08:36:49 -0800

What is the cheapest model of satellite radio receiver I can purchase for my car with these requirements: - XM or Sirius, don't care
- must have some kind of display
- must have a way to connect through AUX jack on my current head unit
- must have as unobtrusive an antenna as possible
- must be easily installed by user

I thought this was supposed to be static-free

Ms. Saint — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:17:39 -0800

What factors affect my XM radio's reception? I've had my XM radio in my car for about 10 months now. Most of the time, I only listen to it when driving to and from work (about three miles each way). This means that I'm usually listening to it at the exact same place I was the day before, and the day before that, and so on.

The thing is, sometimes it's staticy and sometimes it's not. There is an underpass that I go under every day--a few weeks ago, there were three days where the sound would short out for a split second when I went under it. Since then, however, the radio has sounded perfectly fine at that part of my route. Similarly, there is an intersection where, sometimes, the static gets so bad that I can hardly hear the music. Other times, there's no static there at all. Most of the time, at that intersection, the static is noticeable but not very loud. I have never noticed any important differences at these locations (and others where the radio behaves similarly) on the different days (though I'll admit I don't know what to look for).

So, my question is, what the heck could be causing these differences? Is it something about the FM frequency I'm using (even though I have tried several different frequencies with the same result)? Does it have to do with the receiver? Something else? Is there anything I can do to stop it?

I'll admit I don't know much about the technology, so sorry if I'm naive in some stupid way.

What happens when two satellites 'do it'?

mjthomas — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 13:56:32 -0800

XM and Sirius announced their plans to merge. What happens now? I am a recent XM subscriber with a bunch of questions. Some may be impossible to answer at this point, but any speculation from an enlightened few would help me understand what the heck this means.

--How likely is this to be considered a monopoly and be rejected by the government?

--What will they call the new company?

--Will they keep all of their stations, or eliminate the overlapping ones?

--Will my satellite radio unit work with both satellites?

--Can Opie and Anthony and Howard Stern coexist?

Can I use a Direct TV dish as the antenna for my Sirius receiver?

poppo — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 12:24:09 -0800

Can I use a Direct TV dish as the antenna for my Sirius receiver? So, I have Sirius and I get spotty reception at home. Their FAQ says I should have my antenna facing a Northwest direction. Now, of course I can run the cable across the house to the Northwest side, drill a hole to the outside, etc etc, problem solved.

However, it just so happens that I have an unused DirecTV dish already mounted on the Northwest side of the house, and it's already cabled through the house. It would save me a lot of work if I could just use this as my Sirius antenna.

Can I just splice together the cable running from the dish to the cable that needs to go into my Sirius receiver? I'm pretty sure they're just both copper inside.

FYI, I am not a DirecTV subscriber so the dish is at the moment unused.

For answerers who have seen neither a DirecTV dish nor a Sirius antenna but may be able to answer, here are what they look like:

The DirecTV dish:
http://prosatellitesupply.com/images/DirecTV_PHASE_3_DISH.jpg

The Sirius antenna:
http://www.directed.com/audio/sirius/images/acc_windowsill.jpg

No, I don't want to duct-tape an iPod to an XM radio receiver

junkbox — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 08:00:13 -0800

Gadgetfilter: One portable device that plays mp3's and gets satellite radio. Does it exist? Will it exist in the future? mr. junkbox loves listening to talk radio (especially BBC and This American Life, though he'll listen to people talk about almost anything really). He lusts after XM radio or Sirius, but he also hauls a CD player around with him to listen to his favorite music.

The last few years, I've been hoping for a device that would do both; is it out there? Do they have them in say, Japan, and maybe they'll be available in the US in another year or two? Or is such a thing unfeasable for technical or market reasons?

I'm thinking that it's time to go ahead and get him an iPod, and let him use Podcasts to get his talk radio fix. Time to stop holding out, or is there still hope?

Is XM Radio right for me?

SuperNova — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 23:11:35 -0800

I like (both in theory and practice) terrestrial FM radio. But at the insistence of my girlfriend, I'm seriously considering getting XM for Christmas. If I got it, I'd want one of those XM2Go models -- the iPod/Walkman kind of things that have a built-in FM transmitter so I could use it in-car. Thoughts? I'm particularly interested in whether XM is worth the money, and if anyone has any experience with XM2Go.

Some pertinent details: I don't drive a whole lot, but will a lot more beginning in May. I walk or ride buses most of the time now, and I'm trying to start a work-out routine, so I would listen to my radio then also.

For music, I usually listen to rock/alternative with a special taste for grunge era. (If you're in Atlanta, I mostly listen to 99X and 105.3 The Buzz and find them satisfactory, if imperfect.) And in the car, I'm very hyperactive -- I change on every commercial, and on songs I don't "feel like" right now. Would having more channels help or hurt?

Notes: I'm not really considering Sirius, but I guess if you have a strong feeling about it, let's hear it. Also, I don't care about XM's relationship with ClearChannel -- as long as the music's good...

XM or Sirius for indie rock fans?

mdbell79 — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 20:25:47 -0800

XM or Sirius? My wife is thinking about getting either Sirius or XM, but had a few questions. Basically, we want to know which service people think is better and which receivers (we want to use it in the home and the car) are the best combo of value/features. She's more interested in music (specifically indie rock) than anything else, and if one station had a channel similar to KEXP, that would probably be enough to recommend it.

How much damage can I cause with my love for Howard Stern?

amro — Fri, 14 Oct 2005 10:53:21 -0800

I just bought a Sirius satellite radio Starmate receiver and I don't want to mount the magnetic antenna on the exterior of my car. The radio works just fine with the antenna plugged in to the receiver and sitting on my passenger seat. However, in the event that I have a passenger, I would like to be able to throw the antenna up on the dash (this would probably improve reception, as well). Is their any reason to avoid placing a powerful magnet near the gauge cluster, the stereo, or anywhere else? I have a Saturn Ion with a center-mounted gauge cluster and I would be putting the magnet either on the flat part of the dash right in front of the gauges, or in a little space below the gauges but above the passenger airbag indicator and stereo.

Bonus for telling me how far away I need to keep the magnet from my laptop (which I travel with daily).

Are there portable satellite radio receivers?

grumblebee — Sun, 10 Oct 2004 09:36:15 -0800

What with all the brouhaha over Howard Stern's move to saltellite radio, I've become interested in this service. But I listen to music almost exclusively on-the-go. So I'd only subscribe if I could listen on an iPod-like device. Are there any small, portable satellite radio receivers? I tried Googling, but I'm too ignorant about receivers to understand the results.

Which satellite radio is better, XM or Sirius?

ChrisTN — Mon, 19 Jul 2004 06:07:14 -0800

When it comes to satellite radio: XM or Sirius? [more inside] I’m leaning toward Sirius just because of the programming (seems to have exclusive rights to NPR and PRI programming, as well as others I find interesting), but I am still swayed by XM’s larger market share (i.e., I don’t want to find myself in 5 years with the Betamax of the satellite radio world). I'm not in an area where I'd benefit from XM's traffic/weather reports. I also want to consider the sound quality of the services, how frequently people run into ‘dead spots,’ etc. In addition, what are your feelings regarding the transportable plug ‘n play units vs. the wired in-car deals?

Opinions on XM radio and PC kit

mathowie — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 18:12:04 -0800

Has anyone here tried out XM radio? After listening to dead air and buffering delays all day today, I figured I might just break down and get an XM radio for my home office to hear Air America Radio and whatever else they may have on the dial. I'm thinking the PC kit looks cheap and I could use my exisiting good-sounding computer speaker setup. So is it worth the ten bucks a month? Are there good selections of indie music on the dial? Anyone tried piping sound to their PC with this kit before?