Thread: XM Equipment - what do I need?

Hi all...I've been looking into XM Radio and I'm quite skeptical. It seems like it isn't even practical unless you are driving a mercedes, cadillac, or lancer evo...I mean, it's really high-end. By high-end, I mean expensive. It seems the cost-benefit ratio is about 10:1.

But, to give it a fair shake, I need to know exactly what I need to get XM Radio just in my car. I have an XM-Ready in-dash receiver.

Do I just need to buy a 'plug-n-play' tuner, like the skyfi, or do I need to buy some sort of an antenna and a receiver?

A nice little diagram of what equipment I need, how they connect, and what the connection is (like mono RCA, etc) would be just what the doctor ordered.

Cheers,
Adam

If your head unit is XM ready you should be able to get away with a Universal Tuner box (XMD1000) and Smart Digital Adapter. Both can be had for around $100. You can go
here

they have a diagram of how it should be installed and you can purchase them there as well if you like. Also if you car doesnt already have an antenna you would need that as well. Im not sure if it comes with the universal tuner or not.

Double check the manual for your head unit though.

Does it require a special antenna for satellite, or will the normal antenna (used for FM and AM) work?

I have Sirius but I would assume you would need the satellite antenna for XM also...btw do not know your location, but where I am at there really is no radio, Satellite Radio is the best thing for me...

Is there any 'good' way to mount the antenna on, say, a dodge neon? I don't mean as far as the position of the antenna, but I mean as far as the wiring...how do I hide the wires from the antenna and get them through the door? Further, How do I hide the wires that will be going to my head unit?

Also, am I correct in saying that "XM-Ready" means it does the job of the Delphi SkyFi? (Changing songs, channels, the 'actual music' stuff)

If you want to hide wires its going to take some work. Your not going to install it in 10 minutes and expect it to look good. Most people put the antenna on the roof. Most toward the rear of the car but some like myself have it towards the front. You can then hide the antenna wire in the molding around either the rear window or the windshield depending on where you install it. As far as brining the wire in to the car if you check out crutchfields website they have some video that can give you some ideas. Also it may be possible if you buy the parts you need from a best buy that they will install it for you, but thats up to you.

And yes your head unit would do all the changing of the channels and display song titles and such.