SiriusXM anyone

[jswharton]

Was wondering if anyone is using SiriusXM? I know streaming radio is good and that most of the SiriusXM programming I would like to access is online but data is a limiting resource. So I had a thought of getting a portable radio and hook it through the stereo, think that is possible? Wasn't sure how reception is off the beaten path, in trees, etc and if an external antenna is required. Any ideas? Thanks to all

[BB_TX]

The new truck came with 6 month trial Sirius. Signed up for it afterward. Love it. Stays on Willie's Roadhouse full time. Off hand I can't remember ever losing the signal except under awnings, underpasses, or such. Don't remember trees bothering it.
Don't know what best options there for adding after market.
Since it is satellite, signal in remote areas is not a problem. We can drive from north Texas to south central Colorado (or any where else) and never lose the signal.

[Devildog]

Love my Sirius xm. Just finished a trip to Colorado springs.for two weeks and back. Able to catch the race, news, wife's favorite listening, without having to hunt for radio stations or ads. Had it now for almost two years. Can also add travel link with the display for weather alerts and traffic alerts on my in dash Nav. Will also update sports scores if that is your thing. But radio part, very good.

[tim43]

I have S/XM and enjoy the system. The only hastle is renewing the contract every six months and getting the best price, usually about $30.00 per system. Pay more for the unit in the house as it is the primary system. I do take it on the road and hook it in through the entertainment system.

[jimcol]

I had an XM portable radio for my old truck. Ran a portable antenae and played it through the truck stereo system using the aux input. Bought another portable antenae and mount from Best Buy and placed it in the 5'er. Don't remember how I wired it but played it through the entertainment system in the 5'er. Just moved the portable radio from the truck to the trailer. When they stole the truck that system went with it so I never replaced it as the newer truck had the built in Sirrius radio. Sold the antenae and mount from the 5'er on Craigs List. Jim

[Art-n-Marge]

I used to have XM, then Sirius/XM when they merged. I did have difficulty with it in underpasses or areas with tall leafy trees, or even around skyscrapers, but those times were rare. We had it because it was required if I wanted the XM Traffic capability that my nav system supported. But at the last resubscription (we would buy 3 year subscriptions) they decoupled the satellite radio from the satellite traffic, so we did not get the radio, just the traffic. We tend to use CDs or the disk library for music versus the satellite radio. We did have several favorite stations (especially comedy channels) but we don't miss it. It was kinda cool driving several large states and being able to not have to change the station, but you can only listen to so much comedy before your sides hurt.

Lots of entertainment systems available for vehicles have a USB port. This is what my other friends and relatives use. They bring their IPODs, IPADS, etc. and listen to their own stored music.

[Ozz]

We plan on keeping the Super Duty until it goes in the coffin with me, so Sue bought the lifetime deal. We love it as well, I got tired of trying to find a station on the road we could listen to without all the static and commercials.

[triumphess]

We LOVE our Sirius! We have it in both vehicles and in the house! Bought a second home kit so that we can also have it in the Monty without having to disconnect everything each time. The way our floor plan is set up, we sit the antenna on the top edge of the slide next to the entertainment unit -- we have great reception!!

[DQDick]

We've had it in both vehicles for years. Out in the boonies where the stick house was you couldn't get any station consistently in the summer. Now we have it in both vehicles and the Monty since it comes in on the higher channels of Dish and we run it thru the stereo.

[Rainer]

All of our new vehicles (we purchased 3 in the last 18 months) came with a six month free subscription of Sirius/XM. As the free subscriptions were expiring on two of these vehicles (one is still under this freebie for a couple of more weeks), we began becoming inundated with letters, emails and even phone calls to re-up for their pay service.

Their pricing was way too high but the closer we got to the cut-off date the lower the pricing got - all the way down from hundreds of dollars per year to finally just $25 for six months.

But I still wouldn't buy it.

Why?

Because I have an iPhone that is Bluetooth enabled on the Sprint network that gives me unlimited data and with it I can easily connect to Pandora http://www.pandora.com/.

Here's what I love about Pandora

• It's only $3.99 per month for their premium service, but you can use their free service too.
• Their premium service has one feature I love - no DJ chatter whatsoever, and no ads either
• The ability to create your own specific stations based on artists or genres
• The ability to shuffle songs between your favorite stations which provides a more interesting mix of your kind of music
• The ability to like a song which will then show up more often, or to dislike a song which will then never be in you station stream again
• no cutting out of service under bridges or in the shadows of large tall buildings or tree canopies
• Oh, did I mention it was only $3.99 a month

Okay, there were some instances I was completely out of cell phone coverage, but then we either played a mix of the 1600 songs I have downloaded on my iPhone, listened to a "book on CD", or even just appreciated the quiet.

[racerjoe]

we use one of the portable car units in our camper. we were able to plug it in and run it thru the speaker system. I use the moveable antenna and set it on the top window ledge.it does work well and where we camp cell service is weak but do get enough signal from sat. to use radio.I set up the car unit because I also use it in my tractor during the season. Got to have tunes you know!!! no matter where we are

[brenkco]

I couldn't agree more with Rainer. I even have a 'lifetime' prepaid subscription with SirusXM in my Ford truck. It's included in my Dish subscription. I dislike the DJ chatter so much that I never listen to it. I use Pandora and ITunes Radio (ITunes radio is included with ITunes match $25.00/yr). I use both in my rig, car/truck and at my office.

I recently gave up my unlimited data plan on my cell phone and have no worries about exceeding my data cap.

Ken

[kdeiss]

We have had XM for over 10 years. One unit in our SUV.The portable unit I move from Home,Truck and Fiver.You get a discount on the second unit.When I was working we had three units I pay quarterly

[Flymutt]

We have an XM Delphi, MyFi radio with a home and vehicle kit that we got years ago. It was fairly easy to hook up to the RV entertainment center. We use it all the time while traveling because we don't watch that much TV and we can ALWAYS get a signal with the interior movable antenna. I love baseball and can get all the games so that alone makes it worth it to me. The only problem is the yearly "bargaining" with XM to circumvent their price increases. That is a pain but we generally pay around $100/year. Good luck and "good listening"

[richfaa]

Like flymutt the yearly debate with them over rates is a pain. We also pay @ 100.00 per year after a fight.

[jswharton]

I was a little worried I'd be thrown off the forum for asking such a stupid question! Thanks for all the feedback. I have the Sirius/XM active in the truck but was unsure about the portable one, but now thanks to my friends at the MOC, I off with confidence to add a second radio that is portable. Thanks

[Drifty1]

If stupid questions get you through off this site these guys would of "86ed" me a long time ago.... IMHO.

[mazboy]

talk to someone in crutchfield.com there are lots of options. I love my Sirius radio because of the talk radio shows

[c214dick]

We got XM/Sirus with our new Explorer and forgot how much we missed it. A number of years ago we bought an XM2go and all the accessories. I activated it for use in Florida and will never cancel it again.

[Denfinger]

In addition to the great radio and music line-up especially around the holidays, I have the traffic option turned on for my 2012 Ford F250. Using the GPS MAP, I can see traffic patterns up to 5 miles out which I really appreciate when cross country traveling through large cities. Well worth it.