Sirius Satellite Radio

[jordandvm]

We have a Sirius SatRad in our new 2005 28' CCD that we've never used (came with the audio pkg). We like the concept of the SatRad in our vehicle (which has XM) while traveling. We enjoyed the 3 free months subscription of XM with our (now 1 yr old ) 2004 Avalanche (and endured months of endless subscription enrollment phone call attempts by XM after 3 months). The XM in our TV is built-in, which I assume means we can't use it with our AS . We were wondering if anyone has modified (mounted) their AS Sirius SatRad(which appears to be portable) to work in their TV while on the road and AS while camping? I would assume it would require mounting an additional magnetic roof antenna in the TV hooked into a (purchased separate) docking kit mounted to the dash that would plug into the cigarette lighter. Now that we're retired and we'll be on the road more, we thought this would be a nice addition to both the TV and AS!
Has anyone done this with their new AS?

[desidou]

Jim & Cheryl -

We have SIRIUS Satellite radio in our cars and recently purchased a 19' Bambi. We were too cheap to go with the full audio/video package, so my husband installed a SIRIUS docking station in the Bambi for us that is connected to the factory radio. It seemed pretty simple. You will need an antenna and a docking station (if your install didn't come with one already).

What equipment did you get with the satellite radio?

My guess is that even if you have any equipment that came with your trailer, you're still going to have to activate the service and pay the monthly (or you can opt to pay yearly) fee for the service.

One other wrench to throw into the mix is that if you had XM satellite service, you can't use SIRIUS equipment to connect to the XM Service, you'll need XM equipment or vice versa for SIRUIUS -- basically, the equipment is network/provider specific.

I'm not sure what your quesiton is with respect to the TV -- lots of digital cable providers now bundle satellite radio with the digital cable package, but this is not the same as a subscription to the service. You have to access it through the digital cable connection. Is this what you are referring to?

Also, instead of a flat panel TV (as an option with the AS), we purchased a TV Tuner adapter (it connects to my laptop via USB) that allows us to connect to cable and view TV Programs my laptop -- that was our work around for the TV option. We don't plan to watch much TV, so this solution should work fine for us.

If you provide more detail, I'll be happy to help if I can!

Desi

[rtaylor537]

I have a sirius lifetime subscription and two docking stations purchased from radio shack. I connected the output from the radio to my sony cd player in our
airstream and the antennae is looking directly upward through the skylight. We have an excellent sound system which can be moved home when we leave our campsite.

It was easy to hook the system to the cd player. Just remove the unit and plug the jacks into the back of the sony and then reinstall in the cabinet.

It is a marvelous idea, this sat radio.

RTaylor

[airstream6666]

Hiya Jim and Cheryl!

Hmmm, you have several questions.

First, Sirius and XM are competing technologies, and you may be confusing them somewhat (or I may be confused, which is at least as likely). Do you really have XM built-in to your TV, or are you talking about Sirius content broadcast as a part of a Dish Network or some other satellite or cable subscription?

I an a huge fan of Sirius, and have been since an early subscription when they had less than 50,000 customers — a bit over three years ago. I feel that I owe some fair part of my recovery (still ongoing) from a serious medical event to Sirius satellite radio service, making the time for an answer to your question easy to find.

If it’s the Dish Network service you’re talking about, and if you have that service available for use on the road, then you’ll have that regardless of any service you’ll have as a part of your radio in the CCD or your Avalanche. I am sure that there may also be some other packaging available with satellite service.


To get Sirius in your CCD and your Avalanche, one easy way to do it would be to install a plug-n-play Sirius adaptor in both your AS and your truck (one plug-n-play unit that you can move from your truck to your AS). The same plug-n-play unit can also be moved to additional tow units, some other car or truck, your Gold Wing, a 4x4 ATV, your Donzi, etc. — including a boom box or personal portable — all with one subscription.

One particular recommendation I would make is to consider using the Terk RV antenna instead of any magnetic mount on your Airstream.

Another would be to use the hardwire connect instead of your plug-n-play adaptor’s RF modulator, to take advantage of the greater bandwidth available (translating to better sound) and the same ease of movement among vehicles.

I hope this helps.

Seeya,

— Johnny

[desidou]

Originally Posted by rtaylor537

It is a marvelous idea, this sat radio.

AMEN to that one! We love our SIRIUS and we are so happy to get it working in the Bambi -- this is the first trip with ours connected, so I'm looking forward to having commercial free music ALL weekend long!

We also purchased our units from Radio Shack (the Orbiter series) and have 3 docking stations -- 1 for each car and the other for the Bambi. We also have 2 in the house - 1 in the garage and another in the living room. It's wonderful to be able to take the Orbiter and plug it into any of the docking stations and have the radio right there. Definitely worth the subscription fee!

[tomriley]

Hi Jim & Cheryl,

We ordered the Sirius Radio in our 2005 31' Classic as you did, and then activated a Sirius subscription after taking delivery of our trailer. We love the Sirius, and decided to get a docking kit for our home. We have it connected thru our home audio sound system, with the antenna mounted on a rain gutter, and get excellent reception. We haven't yet gotten a docking kit for our tow vehicle, but will likely do so.

Assuming Airstream installs the same Sirius unit in all applications, ours is the "Streamer" model, which has been primarily marketed in the trucking industry. I found the best source for docking kits to be large truck stops (such as Flying J), most of which also have online sales departments also. The ease of plug-in and removal of the unit makes it excellent for moving from one docking station to another.

Tom

[jordandvm]

Thanks Desidou, Johnny, Tom, and RTaylor for your replies!

I do realize XM & Sirius are different technologies that do not share the same hardware configurations (ie Sirius radio hooked up to XM antenna).

What equipment did you get with the satellite radio?

It appears from the Sirius users guide, I have the "Streamer" main unit + batteries and remote control. I haven't checked to see how it's connected to the audio system in the AS, but would think it would probably be through the CD player. The users guide shows that a separate docking station (sold separately) can be purchased to install in our TV (tow vehicle not television). Does this mean I can play the Sirius radio through my truck stereo system as well with this docking station? I don't see any obvious connectors in my truck dash that I could plug the streamer into (probably missing something)

One particular recommendation I would make is to consider using the Terk RV antenna instead of any magnetic mount on your Airstream

I assume I already have a built-in antenna in the airstream, so would I use the Terk RV antenna in my Avalanche?

I found the best source for docking kits to be large truck stops (such as Flying J), most of which also have online sales departments also.

Great! I'll check it out!

Thanks again for all your help..........I'm getting "Sirius"!!

[guy99]

We have Sirius in both our 2000 Yukon XL and our 1984 310 Limited MH. One radio, one subscription, with a docking station and antenna in each vehicle. Our radio also came with a docking station and antenna for use in the house.

Deciding factor for us between XM and Sirius was the availability of NPR programming on Sirius.

[Chaplain Kent]

I have installed XM in my motor home and they now have NPR programing. We use a docking station at home and since it is portable we take it with us to use outside when camping. Installing a magnetic antenna to our aluminum bodies is a trick. I have no TV and want no TV, thus no TV anntenna. I still need to come up with a more permanent solution to the antenna and the wire.

[desidou]

Originally Posted by jordandvm

Thanks Desidou, Johnny, Tom, and RTaylor for your replies!

It appears from the Sirius users guide, I have the "Streamer" main unit + batteries and remote control. I haven't checked to see how it's connected to the audio system in the AS, but would think it would probably be through the CD player. The users guide shows that a separate docking station (sold separately) can be purchased to install in our TV (tow vehicle not television). Does this mean I can play the Sirius radio through my truck stereo system as well with this docking station? I don't see any obvious connectors in my truck dash that I could plug the streamer into (probably missing something)

Ohhh, TV = Tow Vehicle -- sorry, I forgot to switch gears for the AS Forums where TV means something different than 'television'. Sorry about that!

Yes, you should be able to purchase a docking station for your "Streamer" unit that will come with an antenna, a 12-V connection (usually to your cigarette lighter) and they also usually throw in a FM transmitter that will take the music coming from your SIRIUS 'apparatus' and broadcast it as a FM station that you tune your TV (Car/Truck/SUV) radio to. That's how our model works. You can also get them 'permanently' installed (the docking stations), but the FM transmission seems to work for us. It can get annoying though if the stations pre-programmed into the unit are occupied by a local station. If that happens, you can change the station you're broadcasting to and find another open one to listen to your SIRIUS on.

Also, you may want to check w/ your local Radio Shack, I think they sell the docking stations for the 'streamer' line of radios. You can also peruse the hardware available on www.sirius.com (here's the link to the "radios" page: http://www.sirius.com/servlet/Conten...=1065475754231&)

Best of luck to you!


Hope that makes sense!

[airstream6666]

Hiya, Chaplain Kent:

The Terk online catalog is at

http://www.terk.com/pdfs/MOBILE-LB.pdf

and includes the XM-4 clip antenna which corresponds to the
SIR-4 clip antenna I used.

It looks really good, seems to perform a bit better than the magnetic antenna I tried briefly, etc. Mine is mounted on the cradle for my TV antenna. I removed the clip and drilled the cradle for a direct bolt-on. The clip model includes the right-angle bracket necessary for this install.

Seeya,

Johnny

[airstream6666]

Here's a picture (Thanks, Janet, for the help).

It's a smidge less than 12 inches long.

— Johnny

[desi arnaz]

xm is so much better..................i think sirius will be out of business in a few years anyway.........how can they keep it all together and still pay stearn half a billion for 5 years with only a million subs?

[guy99]

I just looked at the XM web site and I didn't see any NPR programming, there was some public radio programing, from PRI and some other sources but I didn't see NPR.

Did I miss it?

[jordandvm]

If I had my druthers, I'd prefer XM over Sirius for two reasons

1. Becuz I already have it built in to my truck/dash stereo system. I don't need another 12V thingy hanging out of my 12V sockets (I already have a Garmin iQue 3600 nav system connected to 12V in the truck).
2. I agree XM has the largest market share and is likely to continue to stay in business. I think they offer comparable services (not sure about NPR on XM).
If XM would allow me to extend the subscription for my truck radio to a secondary unit (which I'd have to purchase) in my AS, this would be cleaner.
So is it possible I can have one subscription for the XM radio in the truck, that would also enable a second XM in the AS? My intuition is to say they would not allow this and would have to buy a second subscription.....which I would not do!

[driftwood]

I bought both ... the stock that is.

I also have Sirius Satellite Radio in the vehicles & Airstreams because they had more news, CNBC, NPR (the Lone Ranger ) etc. when I first subscribed ~ 2 years ago. Will not go without it, now.

The traffic & weather each four minutes for mega-cities is invaluable traveling X-country and to assist in choosing the by-pass or straight thru routes.


desi arnaz may be right about Sirius's longeveity but I'm betting that the month before good-ole Howard Stern goes on the air, that stock will jump 25% for a short while. It jumped when they announced his deal and jumped again when Mel came aboard to run it. Further, I'm sure that Mel will be selling ad spots during Howard's broadcast to offset at least some of the expense.

IMO - You can't go wrong with either for both entertainment or investment.

[plains70]

Hi
We have a Sirius Sportster that we move from car to car. We installed a "kit", being a magnetic antenna & docking station (to cig lighter) in each car. We also have a boom box that we are currently using in the AS.
Since we have all this, we do not want to change to a Sirius Streamer, or XM.
We would like to put some sort of permanent radio into the AS (80 Excella).
The AS has the original Sony AM/FM cassette player & it works great.

Would it be better to just buy another "kit"? If so, would it be better to use the magnetic antenna, or purchase a "Terk"? We sometimes camp in the boonies, & have had trouble aquiring the signal with the boom box. Is there a way to hard wire something into the Sony, or would it be better to just plug into the 12 volt plug in on the wall of the AS?

We are not opposed to drilling a hole in the outside of the AS for an antenna. But truthfully, the idea is somewhat frightening.

Opinions, ideas, cussing, discussing are all welcome. We want to do this the right way. Thank you.

K