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Old 11-27-2005, 12:32 AM   #21
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NPR Yes!, but no!

Hi all -

Went back and forth about Sat. Radio before getting it, asking everyone concievable about it, did they have it? Which one? Why that one? Etc....

Finally made the plunge and got XM, primarily because it had good NPR coverage. As others have said, the coverage is good but not great ie. not all programs. In defense of XM, they do carry BBC, which is AWESOME! NPR is also pretty good. Also have CNN which is handy.

That however, is not the clincher for me. The clincher is that they have NO commercials. Other than for other XM channels and programs. That is the bomb!

Got the car set up, with a home setup which I move to SilverToy when we travel in her. Both work with the FM modulator, which is easy to use and works great. When you get into a FM rich envirnment, move the modulation up or down .1 or .3 MgHz and you are listening again. Have a car cradle, and a home cradle into which the reciever gets fitted. There are antenea for each. The home antennea just has to be on a southern facing window ( it has a 20 ft cord - easy) and the car antenea is a simple magnetic mount which I fitted on the roof. Ran the wire ( thin!) down the rain gutter to the passenger door ( less opening and closing) and then under the dash - took 2 minutes! Easy and then off to the races. Registering the receiver took about 10 minutes on the computer - cheaper than talking to a person ( don't know why!) and the yearly plan is cheaper than the monthly fee. Even got my oldest son a Roady II for his car - 2nd receiver is about $7/mo to add to existing service.

XM has the 40's, 50's, 60's etc... and old time radio shows like the Shadow, Dragnet, Bluegrass, comedy ( blue and clean!), baseball, reggae, rap, disco, on and on. Not that I am hawking XM, it is that that is all I have experinenced so far.

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!! And I don't have Cable because it causes too much time in front of the TV!

Actually, I got XM before we took a cross country trip with SilverToy early this year and it was great to be able to pick something and have it without interuption for several hundred miles - until I picked something else - and took it again on a cross country trip ( without SilverToy) and it again proved that I will NOT live without satelite radio any more! Never thought I 'd say that.... Actually didn't use the CD's too much as a result of the XM. Had them with me but the spontonaity of XM selections helps keep you on your toes and listening when the hours get long.... IMO.

Take a good look at the program guides, pick you fave and go with it. Don't look back! Not that you will. I'm hooked, kinda like Streamin'....

My 2 cents worth.

Axel
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Old 11-27-2005, 07:14 AM   #22
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For what it's worth if you have DishNetwork at home you can listen to all the Sirius feeds on channels 60xx . If you hook up to your home stereo you won't have to buy the home docking station or mess with the exterior antenna at home.
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Old 11-27-2005, 08:18 AM   #23
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XM has NPR also. Just so you know. They also have CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ESPN, ESPN News, ACC, Big East, PAC 10, football,etc... Great programming in my opinion. Who listens to Howard Stern anyway, what a gasbag. Opie and anthony used to be a pay channel on XM but not enough people bought it, so they just included it in your regular channels, thanks, but no thanks. Then a few months later they upped the monthly cost by $2 a month, to cover the cost of the O&A show contract. This is the only thing I don't like about XM, I thought it was a little sneaky. And you can buy the Playboy channel for the same $2 a month, don't really understand this one either. I mean it's radio, right?
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Old 11-27-2005, 08:25 AM   #24
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We use XM both in Chummy and in our home. We can enjoy NPR anywhere with XM but I really like the BBC for good precise, truthful news coverage. There are so many happenings in the world that never make it on our news broadcasts here in the states that the BBC covers.
At home and outside in campgrounds we use a Playdock by Cambridge Music. Sadly, this is an obsolete unit but can still be found on eBay and some electronic stores. The sound is phenomenal.
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Old 11-27-2005, 08:36 AM   #25
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Man, am I confused ! I bought Cirius instead of XM because XM did not have NPR. Now you are all saying that XM has NPR, but I looked on the XM web site and found only this:

XM Public Radio - XM 133 provides insightful, entertaining, and provocative programming produced by some of the most respected names in public broadcasting, including Public Radio International (PRI) and its station partners Chicago Public Radio and WGBH Boston; American Public Media (the production and distribution arm of Minnesota Public Radio); and Boston public radio station WBUR.


Which is not NPR. What am I missing?

By the way I agree with you about BBC, also CSPAN Radio has some very good stuff.
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Old 11-27-2005, 09:49 AM   #26
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I purchased a lifetime subscription to Sirius radio when it appeared sometime ago. I have never been more happy with the system. Even though I don't listen to all 100 channels it is pleasant to not be interrupted with comercials.
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Old 11-27-2005, 10:13 AM   #27
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Guy99, does Sirius NPR include the items you listed that XM carries? These are all heard on regular FM - NPR.

When I travel in the USA I immediately notice how difficult it is to keep a NPR signal. The stations are often few and far between and even where they are plentiful, they most often have weak signals.

You find yourself seeking another NPR station as often as every 20 minutes or so.

The other irritation is the fact that the programs are not synchronized in a national broadcast so often you’ll bring in the next available station only to find that they are running a program that you listened to somewhere else two hours ago.

XM and Sirius are both coming to Canada next month but it probably makes more sense to have a subscription in the US then it does here.

That’s because we enjoy the ad-free, publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Ninety percent or more of the items are broadcast nationally, delayed only for time zone. The coverage is so good and the signals generally so strong that you can follow it coast-to-coast and even into the Arctic.

Incidentally, the satellite radio pre launch stories here say that you cannot use an American receiver to get a signal in Canada and visa-versa. Is this true??

If you tell yourself satellite is only $15. a month it will seem OK. If you realize that’s $900 over five years you may say “Whoa” and go back to twisting the dial.

It all goes to show not just important technology has become in our daily lives but how expensive it is.

If you add up the annual cost of phones -land and mobile -your cable, internet service, various subscriptions, now satellite, etc., etc. you will astonished at the figure.

Sergei
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Old 11-27-2005, 10:32 AM   #28
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Smokeless Joe,
Sirius does not have the XM Public Radio station, that is an XM creation. It does have BBC, CSPAN, 2 NPR feeds, and PRI plus lots of other news feeds. Many (but not all) of the shows on XM Public Radio are found on PRI. As was mentioned, the NPR feeds do NOT include Morning Edition, All Things Considered, or Weekend Edition - bummer you have to find these on broadcast.. Also, there is significant overlap between the two NPR feeds, and shows do repeat during the daily schedule so if you are driving all day, you may hit times when you have already heard (or don't care for) everything which is on.

Best thing to do is to review the programing on the two sites and choose what you prefer.

http://www.xmradio.com/
http://www.sirius.com/
http://www.npr.org/everywhere/sirius/
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Old 11-27-2005, 03:33 PM   #29
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our vote for Sirius.

Radio Shack is running a one day sale: $30.00 for a Sirius sat. receiver!

join the club and enjoy
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Old 11-27-2005, 04:49 PM   #30
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happy with XM (especially with MLB coverage)

Originally we went with XM because our truck and trailer had XM ready receivers. It was a relatively easy and inexpensive mod to connect the XM "black box" for the Sony in the trailer. Everything works right through the head-set with excellent sound quality. I wish there was more NPR coverage, but we enjoyed what was on almost all day up at the Grand Canyon last week. I really enjoy the baseball coverage. Every game that is played on a given day is available with XM. We just upgraded our non tow vehicle (VW New Beetle TDI) and purchased it with XM playing.
Enjoy,
Ken
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Old 11-27-2005, 05:26 PM   #31
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Sirius for US

The biggest reason we went with Sirius is that Howard Stern starts with them in January and they carry the NFL and NBA. XM on the other hand carries pro baseball and the NHL. If that's what drive you, this may help you make your choice.

Mitch
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Old 11-27-2005, 05:35 PM   #32
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Our Bambi came with a Sirius radio installed. Before activating it, I was thinking about getting an additional car kit to be able to use it in the TV but, except for on the internet, they were hard to find for the Streamer unit (made by Blix) and cost between $40 - $50. I found a Starmate model on sale at Radio Shack for $20 (after rebate) which included the same antenna and power cable as in the Airstream, so I can move the radio between the AS and the TV. Regarding the differences in programming, if XM is anything like the channels that DirecTV now provides, I'd say the edge goes to Sirius.
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Old 12-21-2005, 05:59 PM   #33
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I bought an XM Roady XT today and have the antenna sitting on the top of the Fantastic Fan motor (Thanks, Driftwood!) and the Roady broadcasting (tinycasting) to my 1979 Motorola stereo/eight track that came with the Airstream. It's plugged into the 12v outlet in the credenza, and I'm enjoying Ch. 40 so far. While I am no audiophile, I think the sound is good and the variety good. I would prefer it with no announcers at all (the device shows the group and song name), but I think that I'll drop Napster in favor of this. Somehow, it's neat hearing the Doors through speakers installed in 1979... and the audio quality is probably about the same as the old radio is capable of, too. Gee, I can hide this thing, but I like to look at it, too. (I'll get the real Dodge adapter for TowHog, but this is cool so far.)

Maybe I should get the remote for it, too. Then I can really hide it.

Lamar
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Old 12-21-2005, 06:09 PM   #34
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Hey there Lamar!

I like the remote control. As you know, my receiver is mounted aft, above the rear bed, and I can change stations or mute when needed from the front couch. I use the remote in the Tow Vehicle also. Helps avoid looking down to change channels while driving.

When in bed, I just aim the remote at the wall mirror forward, and it works just fine.

Sirius - XM, who cares, as long as its satellite.
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Old 12-21-2005, 06:16 PM   #35
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Norm, you're the guy that got me interested in this! Now I'm listening to Otis Redding's version of "White Christmas." This is fun.

Lamar
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Old 01-21-2006, 12:13 PM   #36
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Thumbs up

We have an Airstream buddy we travel with occasionally. He has an XM thingy installed in his trailer and VthatTs.
Found out last summer up on the California coast at Kirkwood campground (which never gets much of anything via the airwaves) that I could tune my radio to the station he was listening to and get the same station in our trailer!!! Really cool!
I had to occasionally go over and have him change channels so that was not all that good. And we have to ask him to travel with us if we want to listen to NPR on XM.
We'd probably opt for Sirius as it seems to be the only one to carry one of our favorites, "Car Talk" on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
At this time we have plenty of CDs and prefer not to subscribe to yet another service provider.
But I am thinking about this....
Thanks for lots of info on this subject. I'll be watching and listening.
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Old 01-21-2006, 01:15 PM   #37
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Had a Kenwood Sirius receiver put in my Titan this week. So far, I really enjoy the commercial free aspect. Look forward to Prairie Home Companion pretty much wherever I happen to be....

The Kenwood came with both the car and home kits -- I put the home kit together in about 15 minutes -- basically, you snake the antenna feed in through a window, feed the audio output into your home stereo and fire it up.

I had a local car stereo shop put in the car kit -- they did a real nice job hiding all the wires. However, I did manage to get ripped off for a $50 RF Modulator that I didn't need (the Kenwood comes with an RF Transmitter that broadcasts right into your car stereo -- it works just fine).

For my Airstream, Fairley, I am going to order another home docking kit. I suspect I'll run the ant lead down the reefer vent.

Radio Margaritaville is my A-1 preset.

mike
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Old 01-21-2006, 06:40 PM   #38
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Our trailer came with an XM capable radio, but I can’t justify the cost for the service considering that there will be long periods when we will not use it. The trailer has been in storage since Nov 1 and will stay there until late March (winters are generally cold in Nebraska). Does anyone know whether XM offers a special rate for Travel Trailer subscribers? Perhaps it is possible to start and stop service as with a newspaper?

We do receive Serius music on our dish system. Especially channel 72.
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Old 01-22-2006, 04:44 AM   #39
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Talking

I subscribe to XM but bought a boat load of Sirius stock for around $2.00 a share awhile back. I have two receivers, the first one costs $8.43 a month because I paid for two or three years at once when the price increase was announced. The second subscription, I think, is $7.00. I have a car kit that I use between two of my vehicles and my TV is hardwired, but the receiver is removable. I have a radio in the kitchen of the house, stereo connector for the big system in living room (which also gets Sirius via Dishnetwork) and a boombox for outside on the patio, which I take when ASing. I also have car kit in the AS but bring the boombox too, so I can have music inside the AS or outside. I have a SKY-FI II receivers and love the flowing visual stock ticker feature and the ability to see all the NFL scores real time. I like the alert feature that tells me when artists I have selected are being broadcast on another XM station. The ability to record a program is pretty cool, too. I have hundreds of CDs (pre satellite radio) that I burned onto a harddrive and make discs (CD) of audio files or MP3 files for travelling. Since SAT RAD I haven't bought a CD in over 3 years. Can't stand commercials and I'd pay twice the subscription rate XM or Sirius ask just to avoid them, or I'd go back to my CD collection. I make decisions about purchases the old fashion way-- the internet. Ha, ha!

Regarding mounting in the AS and vehicles: RAM Connectors makes heavy duty connections for mobile electronics. They are available from Bass Pro Shops and I have found them at an internet site called www.gpscity.com Like the moniker that someone on the forums has which says, 'if its worth doing, its worth overdoing.'

I'm in my mid 40s and I'm somewhat gadget oriented. My father, who is mid 70s, liked the 'big band' station on XM so well that he asked me to set him up. Now he has XM in his TV and 5th wheel. My brothers and I hooked him up with a flat panel for his 5th wheel, too, this past christmas. Now he doesn't want to come back in from the road. That would be okay, but we can't get him to answer his cell phone to see how he is doing. He tells my mom that he's leaving for Florida and when we finally get him to call us two weeks later it turns out the he changed his mind and went to Michigan! Gotta' love it!
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Old 01-22-2006, 08:06 AM   #40
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Hi I have XM The reason I bought XM was for NASCAR radio but sirus will have NASCAR'S contract starting in 07. I have two moble units one for my pickup the other for my Harley, I also have a base unit for my Airstream, that came with a indoor outdoor antena, I can usualy pick up antena signal from inside trailer if I have a window faceing to the southeast, if not I run the antena out the door under trailer to the top of th electric toung jack and let it sit on top of jack and point antena to the souheast. For my XM reciever I just tune into a station on my Airstream radio and then the same station on my XM reciever and you can enjoy the brodcast through the stereo speakers of your Airstream,s built in stereo. I also use this method in my truck and Harley just move your XM reciever truck trailer bike or you can purchase the boom box for it. Only problem I have now is that I will probably half to look at SIRUS in 07 for NASCAR radio.
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