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SilverToy · 05-12-2005, 02:46 AM

Went a head and got a Roady2 XM reciever. Also got a home kit that is a sepererate item with all the doo dads that you need. Roady came with all it needed for car mounts.

WOW!

This thing is AWESOME! Plays thru a FM modulation that is adjustable to more around local stations. It is just AWESOME! All 50's all the time. All 40's all the time. All Frank all the time. Wow, just pick you lick and you are there baby!

Only downside to this "Awesomeness" is the fact that the Sony Headunit cannot/ will not receive the FM modulation being sent out by the Roady. Time to chuck the dead duck!

Anyone have good (read cheap experiences with any e-tailers out there?????)
looking at possibly getting a CB radio to augment the in car environment a bit more as to what is going on in the nearby world.

Does anyone have thoughts on CB - does it work? Is it worth it for me to get and install?? Prace paid by you?? Does it do what it it 'known' for to do????? Glowing and damming tesstimonials are welcomed!

Axel

swebster · 05-12-2005, 06:36 AM

Axel,
Good to hear that XM is that good. When I upgraded to a Sony Head unit from the old am/fm/casette one of the things I wanted to XM compatibility. I ended up with an XPlod head unit which will plug into and control/display XM. I have yet to add the XM receiver and service but from what I can tell it looks pretty easy.

Our unit (MoHo) came with a CB radio. I typically don't leave it on but when I'm going into our out of traffic or metro areas I find that the information truckers know about which lane to get in or where to get off to avoid a wreck invaluable.

Thinking about upgrading to a cobra cb which contains everything in the handset. I think its about $120 from Camping World/Truck Stops.

Jim & Susan · 05-12-2005, 07:02 AM

Love my XM. I have the same model as you. One word of caution. The power connection internally in the recever is weak. Make sure you mount the receiver so that it won't fall/drop. Mine did and it broke the connection down inside the receiver. Had to take it apart and resolder the power connector to the board (tiny,tiny,tiny connection!) Had to borrow a fine point solder iron from a buddy and use a magnifying glass to see the connections! We're talking small, weak, easy to break.

Love the '40's channel and the classical channels. Enjoy.

Jim

Chaplain Kent · 05-12-2005, 07:13 AM

There is nothing better than an "82 equipped with an XM satelite radio. Our son gave us a Roady as a gift. I admit probably would never have bought it for myself now I can not imagine being without it. The biggest problem I had was putting the magnetic antenna on our aluminum body.

rluhr · 05-12-2005, 09:10 AM

I have the Roady II also. The only problem I've noted is finding a clear channel for the FM transmitter. On long trips we've had to change the frequency several times as we drove in range of local FM stations.

For this reason alone I think it is worth it to upgrade to a head unit that can take the XM signal input. But also, the sound quality will be better with a direct connection. I'll be making this change soon.

balrgn · 05-12-2005, 09:28 AM

We too have XM, Although it is the SkyFi, with the Boom Box. It is a great, portable unit. Just put the Antenna reciever on the roof. Run it in the truck as well.

TheLuvShack · 05-12-2005, 10:01 AM

I have the Roady2 in my TV and really don't have any issues with reception via FM. Sometimes I do need to switch FM frequencies as we travel. This is easy to do. Just find an empty frequency on the FM dial and tune the Roady to that frequency by pressing "menu". My hook up in the TT consists of another car attenna, the 12 volt power cord from the TT and an inexpensive surround sound system. Just plug the XM into the auxillary input on the surround amplifier. Kind of like when you set the XM up in the house only you're using an auto anttenna instead of a home attenna. I think you get better XM reception by using an auto antenna because you can mount it outside of that big tincan we call a TT. I use a NexxTech surround system that I purchased for $80 at Circuit City. It includes all speakers, DVD player and AM/FM reciever. I'll tell you, for $80 bucks you can't beat the performance of this unit. Check out the reviews at the Circuit City website. Personally, I don't use a CB.

casarodante · 05-12-2005, 11:53 AM

I will weigh in on this also.

I have XM in my tow vehicle. I added it with XMDirect to my existing Pioneer head unit. Nice and clear.

My son gave me his Roady2. I have designs for putting it in the Airstream. I put in a 12 volt cigarette lighter outlet on the side of the radio box behind the door. I am debating putting the antenna under the A/C cover and running the wire down in the refrigerator box then behind the fold up table then up to the XM unit. But for now I will just put the antenna in whatever window it works the best.

Many times we can't get much radio so this good, especially while boondocking!

Over59 · 05-12-2005, 05:07 PM

So I like the whoe idea but not the FM thingy. At home I just plug it into my system. Are there dash radio/cd units that have sirrus or xm tuners built in?

casarodante · 05-12-2005, 05:26 PM

That is the beauty of having a head unit that is XM (or satellite) ready. The Pioneer that I have was ready. You can get the actual Pioneer add-on XM unit which can get close to $200. Or go the XM Direct route by Terk. XM Direct

It is two pieces. One is the XM Tuner and the other is the interface for your head unit. They support Alpine, Kenwood, Sony and Pioneer. The cost is around $100 for both.

I found that the two pieces are easier to hide that the larger Pioneer unit. It also comes with an antenna. In the XM radio fan forums, people have said that the antenna can be under plastic with no signal loss. This is true. I mounted my antenna between my windshield wipers under the cowling (plastic) between my hood and windshield. Works great!

Tikihut · 05-12-2005, 07:22 PM

my tow vehical came with an XM Radio it from the factory already installed. I never thought I would pay to listen to the radio but I do now. I love it. I would never have done it, if it weren't for the free 3 months that GM gave me when I bought my 2500HD quad cab.

Swanny · 05-31-2005, 12:16 PM

Thought we'd jump in on this discussion as well. We upgraded the 8-track tape player to a Pioneer model that was wired for Satellite radio. The Pioneer unit was very reasonable at Best Buy and the Sirius unit was $100 with a $50 rebate. Anyway, after installing the system, we decided to upgrade the speakers and WOW what a difference. To keep the classic look of our AS, I kept the same size speakers so I could keep the original speaker covers.

Whether you choose XM or Sirius, it sure beats having to spin through all of the commercials to find a station you like. Especially when you're on the road.

Mitch

grizzy · 05-31-2005, 02:02 PM

We also travel with XM radio -- we're now using a MyFy set that is very portable, allows you to record up to 5 hours of programming, has a built in FM transmitter and a built in antenna. Using either the Home Kit or the Car Kit you can simply drop the unit into a carrier and have antenna, power, and line out hookups. Also, in my Avalanche I've added the direct connect FM modulator from Delphi (available for all Delphi units) which eliminates the need to change FM stations -- when the XM is on it overrides any other station. You can't beat driving across the entire country and being able to listen to the news, talk, sports, or music that you want whenever you want.

Rhodie · 05-31-2005, 03:24 PM

We have the Sirius that came with our Bambi, but AS is sending out new unit as this works for about 10 minutes than quits, so can't wait till it's fixed! Only thing is using FM transmitter over bieng hard wired, you have to have a free frequency and there are NONE in San Diego so you here some interference.

I have been told there is a part that will turn off local stations while the satellite radio is activated, and would love to know if anyone is using this, where you bought it, and if it works!

Barb

nwclassic · 05-31-2005, 04:07 PM

We can vouch for the value of the Cobra CB (handset). Easy to install, no dash space needed, antenna removes and caps with a half twist, gives NOAA weather, scans and has signal boost/filter. Not enough for serious CB types, perhaps, but for our amount of use it is just right (traffic advice, Wx, travel companions).
Brian and Terri

Jim & Susan · 05-31-2005, 04:52 PM

Just found out via the XM website that XM's commercial free channels are now available (with a regular subscription) as streaming audio over the internet, at no extra cost. You do have to sign up for the service (also free). TOO COOL.

Jim

Over59 · 05-31-2005, 06:39 PM

I want it built in. Like AM and FM and WB are built into the radio in my wife's car. Can this be had? I don't need another gadget to carry around and worry about someone stealing from the truck.

Chaplain Kent · 06-07-2005, 07:47 AM

I sort of have it built in. My radio is XM ready or will accept XM directly through it from a plug in the back. Next I built a mount in my console that makes the XM reciever appear to be built in. However, since I do not have a remote for it and it is a long reach to anywhere from my driver's seat, I hid a catch and a very long cord so I can release it and change channels while cruising down the by-ways.
Yes XM will now strteam on your computer for no extra charge.