Sirius satellite radio

[Darius]

I bought a sirius for my wife because she couldn't go on without the her Howard Stern. I did make sure she thought she was going to though .

 

She mentioned that Howard said he was trying to get their show broadcast over the internet portion of sirius. If this happens I'd be very happy since I could listen in also. A normal receiver isn't an option at my work because I get no reception here(I brought her radio in and tried).

[The Daisy]

I've thought about trying to bring my receiver up to my desk here at work, but I have a feeling that I would have the same issues that you are.

 

Glen

[Josh]

I bought a sirius for my wife because she couldn't go on without the her Howard Stern. I did make sure she thought she was going to though .

 

She mentioned that Howard said he was trying to get their show broadcast over the internet portion of sirius. If this happens I'd be very happy since I could listen in also. A normal receiver isn't an option at my work because I get no reception here(I brought her radio in and tried).

 

What unit did you end up getting? I'm waiting on more to be available or to get the Xact "portable" unit that no one seems to have in stock.

[Robot Monkey]

I had the Xact Visor for about two days after Christmas and it was a marvel of awful design. I'm very satisfied with the Starmate Replay that replaced it. If you plan to move it frequently from car to home, keep in mind that it doesn't a have docking connectors -- you'll need to manually attach the antenna, audio and power cables.

 

I'll do a quickie write-up as soon as I can.

[Josh]

I had the Xact Visor for about two days after Christmas and it was a marvel of awful design. I'm very satisfied with the Starmate Replay that replaced it. If you plan to move it frequently from car to home' date=' keep in mind that it doesn't a have docking connectors -- you'll need to manually attach the antenna, audio and power cables.

 

I'll do a quickie write-up as soon as I can.[/quote']

 

Emm, yeah - see, that's the issue. I don't have a car. It seems there aren't any Sirius units designed for those of us city dwellers who don't drive. I don't want to pay for some car mounting kit I'm never going to use.

[Robot Monkey]

The car kit that came with the Starmate Replay and even the Xact Visor works just fine indoors or out. The only the to keep in mind is the ~$15 you'll need to spend at Radio Shack on the AC power adapter.

[Robot Monkey]

MY FIRST SIRIUS RECIEVER: THE XACT VISOR

--------------------------------------------

 

I got the Xact Visor and hated it. The sound quality was just fine and the build quality seemed solid. It was the interface that was maddening. Basically, the only handy way to access channels is with presets buttons (the remote lays out the digits in a nonstandard pattern and the remote buttons have no feel to them). You can set 6 presets per channel and you get 6 banks to store them in, giving a total of 36 presets. Also, direct access of a channel requires the use of the remote. None of the buttons on the Visor or the remote are backlit.

 

Since I got the Visor for the car as well as the home, the lack of backlighting and difficulty using it made it a poor choice in the car.

 

STARMATE REPLAY: AHHH, THAT'S THE STUFF

--------------------------------------------

 

The Starmate Replay solved those problems and added a feature that I ended up using quite a bit. One feature is the pause function. Sometimes I'm listening to something on NPR or whatever and have to take a call or pee or whatever -- I can pause the stream for about 45 minutes.

 

The GameZone feature (scrolling scores on the display) and Song/Artist alerts are pretty nifty, but not critical. I use the full-featured remote a lot in the house.

 

The Jeep install was pretty straight-forward. My install is pretty low-profile. I documented the process in the post below if anyone is interested.

 

Set up in the home is even easier. I ziptied the antenna to a tree branch outside and ran the cable into the receiver, which currently lives on my window sill. I'm using the Starmate Replay Home Kit, which consists of the AC adapter, another antenna and a stand (cheap piece of metal). Here's what it looks like:

 

 

Right now I'm using the built-in FM transmitter in the house. That way I effectively have Sirius in any room with a radio. The FM transmission sound quality is okay overall, but fantastic for the talk stations I usually listen to in the house.

 

I might run a hardwired cable to a stereo at some point.

 

Heh. I split off the Sirius discussion from the "Howard is on right now" thread -- and now that post is all alone again.

[Robot Monkey]

I made this little how-to and posted it in the Sirius Backstage forums. Now it's here, too.

 

ROBOT MONKEY'S JEEP SIRIUS INSTALL

====================================

 

Okay, strorg put up a great how-to for installing a Starmate Replay in his red Jeep Liberty, so here's a slightly different approach I used for my black Liberty. The install I did was easy to do and is very low profile.

 

Here's what it looks like right now:

 

Pretty fly, eh? That's how I roll.

 

All cables are hidden, except for the DC power cable and the annoying plugs on the side of the Starmate Replay. I only made two permanent changes: 1) A small slot cut in the top of the center dash junk bin and 2) A small slot cut in the bottom of the under-armrest storage bin. Neither of these are visible. The install is pretty much done except for the DC power. I will hardwire the power into the Jeep so it is completely invisible and I don't take up my precious, precious dashboard power socket.

 

Disclaimer: I'm no expert. You could break your Jeep, void your warranty, electrocute yourself, develop eczema or even suffer occasional drowsiness if you follow these instructions. Also, this how-to should work for many differently colored Jeeps, but I only know for sure that it works with black ones. I suspect it will go faster with red ones, though this hasn't been proven empirically. Yet.

 

 

YOU WILL NEED

====================================

 

Phillips screwdriver

Soft membership card/credit card

Rotary tool like a Dremel (relax -- it's nothing major)

Torx bit for drill / Torx screwdriver (for removing third-brake light housing)

Flux capacitor

 

 

STEP 1 - ANTENNA INSTALLATION

====================================

 

I followed strorg's outstanding directions for this. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I'll just show you a handsome picture of the antenna in action. It isn't really in action -- I ran outside to snap the pic, but you can put on your imagination caps for that.

 

Image 1. Handsome antenna in action.

 

I will add that, like strorg, I also had the wire exit the third brake light assembly to the side where the gasket is thicker. It comes out just under the left screw, where the compression is (probably) the most.

 

Step 2 - RUN ANTENNA CABLE

====================================

 

Following strorg's instructions, run the cable through the interior on the driver's side. When you get to the bottom of the A-piller, pop open your fuse panel and drop open the trim panel under the steering wheel.

 

Image 2. Opening the trim under the steering wheel

 

See the two arrows? That's where you pry the panel out and down. Or down and out if you're in Beverly Hills. This is what you get:

 

Image 3. The dash got pantsed.

 

Now, run that cable into the fuse area and under the steering wheel. Let's pause here and open up the center dash panel.

 

Step 3 - OPEN THE CENTER DASH PANEL

====================================

 

There is a philips head screw in the back of the junk bin (next to the power socket). Unscrew it. Do you see the two arrows in the image below?

 

Image 4. Do you see the arrows?

 

I put the ignition in the "on" position and moved the gear selector all the way aft to give myself a little room.

 

Stick your credit card or whatever in the center of the panel seam, pull it out enough to slip your index fingers in and then slide them out towards the arrows. I used a soft Giant supermarket bonus card, because it is unlikely to damage anything. The top part of the center piece should pop out. Ease out the bottom part, too. Don't pull too hard -- your HVAC controls have wiring harnesses connected to the back of the panel. I was able to work with them connected, but you can easily remove them and pull the whole panel away from the dash. So here's how it looks for me at this point:

 

Image 5. Center panel pulled away.

 

STEP 4 - ROUTING MORE WIRES

====================================

 

Do you see top of the junk bin in the pic below? I carved a slot in the far left top of the enclosure with my $25 Black & Decker knock-off of a Dremel. You can see wires going in there.

 

Image 6. Center panel pulled away.

 

Now, you see that bundle of wires disappearing into the oval shaped cut-out (shown in Image 5)? That runs down to floor.

 

Take your antenna cable and run down into the hole the arrow is pointing to in this image:

 

Image 7. Ignore the test-installed Starmate Replay.

 

Now, fish the antenna cable up into that bundle of wires. Stick your hand in the hole the go into and fish the cable out. Run it into the slot you cut in the bin.

 

If you are using an AUX input like me, grab a 6' angled mini to RCA patch cord . Stick the mini side in the slot and drop that down the same hole you fished the antenna through. I used the patch cable that came with my home kit. Bring it out the hole in the bottom, just like in Image 8.

 

Image 8. Good enough for now.

 

(CONT'D BELOW)

[Robot Monkey]

STEP 5 - FOOLING AROUND WITH THE ARMREST BIN

====================================

 

Now I'm taking the bin out of the armrest. There are seven screws, indicated by arrows below that need to come out. FYI, the two screws in the very bottom of the bin are shorter than the other five. Also, Yogi is smarter than the average bear. Or so the government would have you believe.

 

Image 9. These screws come out.

 

Once the bin is out, I Dremeled a little slot in the bottom right for wires to feed through. No image of that, sorry.

 

Now that the bin is out, you can rock the entire center console side-to-side a little bit. Remember that audio patch cord? I used the little bit of give in the center console to feed that cable all the way back and brought it up in the cavity below the bin. You can see the audio cable as well as the bus cable for my AUX input device. Make sure you aren't putting cables where they can get damaged or worse, interfere with your parking brake, rear power window wires, et cetera.

 

Image 10. I feel so exposed.

 

The bin goes back in and the seven screws replaced. I got the AUX input device from these people and it adds two AUX inputs. It plugs into the CD changer control jack in the back of the head unit and fools the OEM head unit into thinking that there's a CD changer. The second set of inputs is for my MP3 player.

 

There is enough room to fix the AUX input box below the storage bin. If I decide I need a little more room in that bin I may move the AUX input box there.

 

Image 11. Storage bin replaced.

 

STEP 6 - REPLACING THE CENTER DASH PANEL

====================================

 

Before you replace the center panel, pull excess antenna cable and sound cable through the slot you cut in the junk bin. I also pulled up excess DC power cord and zip tied it all behind the scenes. Panel goes back. Screw goes back in junk bin.

 

STEP 7 - FIXING THE STARMATE REPLAY IN PLACE

====================================

 

This is what surprised me. After fooling around with all sorts of stuff and contemplating drilling through the suction cup thingy, I discovered that I can just wedge it in the junk bin compartment if I configure it correctly -- and it won't move! See how it's set up in the image below?

 

Image 12. Study this like a menu in an unfamiliar restaurant.

 

Note how Screw #1 in the back is squared up and how that screw is also set to give a slight angle. Anyway, slide the whole thing into the junk bin. Look at the image above. That is actually the right orientation to slide it straight back into the bin. If it feels loose, just open the angle a little bit at Screw #1. Whatever you decide upon, make sure that screw is tight.

 

Image 13. Mount in place without receiver.

 

The mount swivels on the end, so I have the Starmate Replay tilted up and towards the driver.

 

Image 14. A winner is you!

 

You can see how the head unit is set for the non-existant CD changer that is really my little AUX input box.

 

LAST THOUGHTS

====================================

 

Everything was easier than I expected, but then I had strorg's great how-to and a lot of outstanding how-to's on Jeep KJ Country. That Jeep site has a how-to section that has great instructions for things like CB radio installation, which can help you planning your own Sirius install.

 

The last piece of the puzzle is to hardwire the power so I don't take up the socket and I don't have any cables exposed at all (except the little bundle that plugs into the Starmate). Whenever I do that I plan to write it up if there's any interest here.

 

Also, it occurs to me that if I can affix a tiny drawer slide to the top of the junk bin, I can attach the Starmate Replay to a hinge and then attach that to the slide. Then I can still use the junk bin for, well, junk. I'll look into this.

 

Finally, if you screw things up too badly, use the flux capacitor.

[exile]

Stencil,

Their portable unit can't listen to Sirius while on the go. You can only record to the units HDD and then playback like a Tivo. You need to dock it to listen to live streaming Sirius.

 

XM has them beat in this regard because the XM will let you wander about listening to live stuff provided you get a good signal.

[Josh]

Stencil' date='

Their portable unit can't listen to Sirius while on the go. You can only record to the units HDD and then playback like a Tivo. You need to dock it to listen to live streaming Sirius.

 

XM has them beat in this regard because the XM will let you wander about listening to live stuff provided you get a good signal.[/quote']

 

Right - by "portable" I meant something in which I could have a dock at home and one at her office. Was thinking of this unit:

 

http://www.xactcommunication.com/Sirius-Satellite-Radio-7/XTR1-SIRIUS-Satellite-Plug-and-Play-Receiver-12.html

 

with basically a home kit and maybe the boombox or portable set up for her at work.

[Robot Monkey]

Do you know anyone with a Sirius unit that shows signal strength? It might be useful to see what kind of signal is available both at home and at work before pulling the trigger.

[Darius]

I bought my wife the sportster. It has a 44 minute buffer and a docking station for the car. I bought her an additional home kit which included another docking station to use at work. She can easily move the sportster from the Jeep to her desk and back again. My friend is coming up tonight to tidy up my install job because well he's the professional car stereo installer. So far she loves the unit. It worked perfectly right off the bat in the Jeep (even with my shoddy install). The interface seems quite usable with the 10 presets plus the direct channel entry. The display is nice and big so you can easily glance and see where you are at. If anyone has some specific questions about it I'd be glad to answer them.

[The Daisy]

Nice install there.

 

I have the exact same unit, so you've given me some ideas.

 

Mine is mounted to the window of my vehicle right now and it basically "rests" on the dash. I hate that the wires are laying on across part of the dash though. I'll have to try and mount mine up like yours... if it's possible in my Focus.

 

Glen

[Robot Monkey]

I don't know anything about the Xact XTR1 or eCost, but they are selling it on closeout with both a home kit and a car kit for $9 after discounts/rebates.

 

http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecce/shop/detail~dpno~667136.asp