Satellite radios

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Satellite radios

Postby WarPony » Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:30 pm

I've seen alot of people using car radios in their tears and wondered if anyone used the satellite recievers instead of. I have been tent camping many times where there is NO station that I like and wished I had something like this. I know it costs so much a month to subscribe but I might convert the car and home over to accept the portable type. Hell, whatdaya pay for cable/dish a month?
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Postby Stephen G. » Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:37 pm

Good question! I am curious about that type of system also. My wife and I where at the beach last summer and there was a hurricane coming and we diddn't even know it. A radio like this would have at least let us know what was going on(wife says its a must have on our future tear). Does the reciever need to be mounted outside?


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Postby tdthinker » Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:40 pm

I think it is between 20-30 dollars a month for xm radio and you dont have to sign any contracts saying how long you are going to use it(pay for it). And I am pretty sure the recivors are small or not even used. bye
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What is cable?

Postby Chuck Craven » Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:52 pm

I don’t know, as I don’t have cable. My dish is for EME moon bounce!
My car radio has a tape drive in it, so I just tape the music I like. But I always carry a weather radio with me just in case one of those twisters comes to visit. Trailer parks are magnets for tornados. As for a TV, I have been tent camping for many years and it always seems to rain. (That is way I am building a tear). So reception on a mono rabbit ear is bad even under the TV station. But I go camping to get away from commercial stuff.
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Postby Eric Adams » Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:59 pm

tdthinker wrote:I think it is between 20-30 dollars a month for xm radio and you dont have to sign any contracts saying how long you are going to use it(pay for it). And I am pretty sure the recivors are small or not even used. bye


$9.96 a month. I have XM. Great product!!! I have a "home kit" that I'll use in my Teardrop. I have the Roady2. :applause: :D
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Postby George T. » Wed Dec 08, 2004 12:32 am

Greetings from Colorado!

I've had my XM for about two years now and won't give it up! In fact, I have two receivers. One is hard wired in my van and the other is a Roady. I use the Roady in different vehicles/locations. Most of the time it stays in my workshop. My wife gave me wireless headphones for my birthday, so now when I use a power tool in the shop , I grab the headphones and keep on humming along...

The xm sounds great in my teardrop too! :thumbsup:

BTW, I sell XM radio at work. The best value and most portable [not including the new $350 MyFi...] is the Roady 2. Has built in FM modulator in the power supply. Plug it into the cigarette lighter, put the magnetic antenna on the roof and tune your FM radio to pick up the signal. Neat!

Check it out at http://www.xmradio.com. Another good place for XM information is http://www.xmfan.com.

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Postby asianflava » Wed Dec 08, 2004 7:23 am

George T. wrote:I've had my XM for about two years now and won't give it up! In fact, I have two receivers. One is hard wired in my van and the other is a Roady. I use the Roady in different vehicles/locations. Most of the time it stays in my workshop. George T.


So does that mean 2 accounts? or like cable, one account with an extra fee for the additional reciever?
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Postby tdthinker » Wed Dec 08, 2004 7:49 pm

That is nice and cheep. They have a "body" that is ether a radio for home or for the car, the actual peice that makes it work is moveable so you only have to buy one receiver. bye
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Postby TomS » Wed Dec 08, 2004 8:03 pm

How well does XM work under trees or other overhead obstructions?
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Postby Eric Adams » Wed Dec 08, 2004 9:42 pm

TomS wrote:How well does XM work under trees or other overhead obstructions?


I have had no problems at all. It works indoors at my house. :)

Concrete and metal messes it up. I found out that if you put the antena on a large metal surface (car top) it acts like a reflector. :) The antenna is magnetic on the car kit.
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Postby George T. » Wed Dec 08, 2004 9:42 pm

Greetings from Colorado!

Yep, two accounts. You can save on multiple radios by paying at least three months in advance. The first radio is $9.99, the second - fifth account is $6.99. Details at http://www.xmradio.com/service_subscrip ... iption.jsp .

Depending on the unit, most have a "buffer" that records "ahead" for 5 -15 seconds, much like an antiskip cd player. When the signal is blocked for a short period of time, you might not even notice it. If you are under a canopy [bank, gas station, etc] or the southern exposure is blocked by a large object [building, mountain, ponderosa pines covered with snow], you will lose your signal. Some large metropolitain areas use terrestrial repeaters [building based units that re-broadcast the signal] to help eliminate signal drop outs. About a year ago at The Colorado Tearjerkers campout in southern Colorado, we were in a "bowl" next to the Delores river. Radio reception was virtually nil. I boogied with the blues without a problem using XM.

Traveling all over the west/mid west, I have truly enjoyed satellite radio. I won't have a vehicle without it. As a matter of fact, listening to Christmas music [XM] on the way home tonight, I was thinking of how I am going to integrate XM into the 1951 Hudson Hornet that's in the works....

At work today, I hooked up a Sirius unit. I found that it was not as easy to receive a strong signal as compared to XM. I haven't had a good chance check to out the programming yet. One of the gals that works for me has the Sirius and says she prefers the XM. You can check out Sirius at http://www.sirius.com/ .

For more information/comparisons, go to http://www.myrateplan.com/satellite/radio.php .

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Postby exminnesotaboy » Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:06 pm

I have had Sirius in my car for about 2 years now and I can't imagine not having in the future. No commercials for the music stations and the selection of different types of music is wonderful.

As nice as it is in town/'burbs, it really shines for weather reports(semi-regional) when I am car/tent camping. Usually, I plan well to know what the weather is going to be, but it really helped us during a February rally racing tent adventure a couple of years ago in Southern Missouri when a *surprise* snow storm was on it's way and we couldn't get any local stations at all.

I pay $12.95/month and would pay double if I had to - however a second receiver is only $6.99/month + accessories. Not sure how I am going to work it into my Cubby when that time comes, but it will be part of it.

Unless I am in a garage or solid structure above, I don't lose signal. Tree's, cloudy, etc... don't affect the signal for me at all. The new antennas are tiny: 2"L x 2"W x 3/4"H.

Although I haven't used XM, I am sure it is just as good.
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Postby Gage » Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:53 pm

George T. wrote:Greetings from Colorado!
As a matter of fact, listening to Christmas music [XM] on the way home tonight, I was thinking of how I am going to integrate XM into the 1951 Hudson Hornet that's in the works....
George T.

Hello George, I got an XM Commander by Terk, it's not like the Pioneer units where as it doesn't need a CD radio to hook up to, any FM radio will work. I got it for my '56 & '59. I haven't installed it yet, it's going under my dash with quick disconnects (so I can use it in both the F100 and the Wagon). It also has a remote, that way I don't have to have it on the dash. Just thought I'd throw that at you if you hadn't seen one yet.

Have a good day,
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Postby Dennis T » Thu Dec 09, 2004 8:05 am

:thinking: with all this talk about XM radio I was wondering about Sirius Satellite Radio? Does anyone have this system? How do you like it? I know when we travel to go camping or go to events it's a lot of time in the car. I hate when a song you like fades out and then have to look for a new station. My new car has a satalite ready radio installed so I am weighing the option of getting it connected. Thanks for the help.
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Postby BrianB » Thu Dec 09, 2004 12:16 pm

Some of you might be interested in systems that bg and I have built. They're simply computers that store your entire music collection as well as play movies, display maps, and much more. If you'd like one that just plays music, PM me and I can show you how simple it is to make one (even for the computer illiterate.)

I probably won't add one to my trailer since I already have one in my car, but that's one possibility for those of you who just want to take your music collections on the road and don't want to pay a monthly fee. My site www.brianburton.org/impee3/ as well as www.mp3car.com (who bg is an admin of) has lots of information.
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