XM Radio

[YeaTexasFight]

I think I've seen threads on satellite radio in the past, but I always ignored them because I never had an interest in it. Well, I just bought a new vehicle last weekend with XM radio, and I love it. I know they make receivers for it wherever you can go and I was thinking about getting something for my parents for Christmas. I haven't had time to really look into it yet and I was hoping I could get a quicker and clearer answer here than anywhere else.

I'm curious what I need for my parents to have XM radio at there home, possibly work, and possibly a third location. I realize the Delphi receiver is a must, but after a quick first glance at the XM website I'm confused as to what else is needed. It talks about a home adaptor kit but I didn't see an easy link to follow as to what this was and how much it was. The radios I would want to 'adapt' the XM to are Bose Wave radios.

Any help is appreciated...especially if it keeps me from having to spend extra time with people at Best Buy or Circuit City.

 

[TTUStudent]

Roady 2 - easiest to install and very easy to move around. It comes with one antenna, a car power adapter and a few different mounting options and also a cassette adapter.

for it to work you have :

1. antenna hook-up
2. power
3. audio out - can use a cassette adapter or rca out, etc.
3b. internal wireless fm transmitter - goes from unit to your radio

you:
- would need an antenna for each location you would want the radio to be. check out xmfanstore.com

- would need a power adaptor for each location - they have a home kit at above mentioned store that includes antenna, remote, stand, and power adapter.

maybe that answers what you need to know. I just got my gf one and we had it working in her car in less then an hour (most of that was waiting for it to be activated).

 

[Bottom Line]

I have the XM Commander. It is a car only unit that is hard wired to your car radio. The advantage of hard wired is that there will be no bleed over from local FM signals onto the XM. The wireless option may have bleed over especially in a larger city. At this point I have no need for a home XM unit as there are multiple radio options already in my home.

BL

 

[Boozehound]

I'd say Roady2 or SkyFi2. I have the Roady2, but if I had the space in my car, and didn't mind the higher cost, the SkyFi2 is far superior in features. You can pause, rewind, scroll text, get sports tickers, view multiple channel content at the same time, and the list goes on. But the roady2 is small and cheap.

 

[Bottom Line]

One other thing to consider...does the unit come with a remote? Remotes are relatively new to car stereos and you will love it...the XM Commander has a remote.

BL

 

[autohorn]

Has anyone installed the satellite antenna in your car? How difficult is it to do?

 

[Boozehound]

I've done 3 cars - two with aftermarket kits, and one factory unit where I had to drill a hole in the roof. It's pretty much cake if you're decent with a few tools and a little know-how.