Advice for sirius xm radio with fm transmitter

[Teehar]

Been thinking about getting siriusxm radio,I don't want or need any fancy bells and whistles.Want the easiest connection possible.I also don't wanna fool with many wires and accessories.For example,I have an mp3 player that simply plugs into the aux/cig lighter and broadcasts on fm channels.It works great.Does siriusxm have anything similar?I had an xm radio years ago,had to connect up a modulator,plus power supply,and antenna.Too many wires for me in a car.No aux inputs on the factory stereo either.

 

[JerseyMatt]

Save yourself $15 a month and get Slacker on your phone. Better music stations than XM and only $4 a month. Unless you are looking for the talk/sports...

There is no self contained sat radio for the car. They all require antenna and power, and thanks to the FCC the ones that have built in FM modulators require some type of physical connection to the radio antenna..

 

[Teehar]

The talk is more interesting to me,I have my own music collection with no annoying djs or commercials.Mainly sports talk is what I would be interested in.I noticed they have the rodayxt which has an fm transmitter,anyone use those?

 

[Tampa8]

I am a long time subscriber. The radio you want is the Roady. It is an older model that works very well, and has two very important things you are looking for.

1. It has the older FM modulator, which means stronger, and no other connections to get sound to your radio is needed as the new ones do. The FCC neutered the newer models.

2. It needs no cradle. Plug into the cigarette lighter, place the antenna where you want, in many parts of the Country even on the dash, plug that into the receiver and you are done. Not needing a cradle means you can do the same thing anywhere, including the house, another car, work, etc.. easily where there is an FM receiver. Of course you can also connect via hardwire for sound to any receiver.

"Newer" model (Still as described above)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002INUIY/?tag=satell01-20

Older (1st) model (Still as described above)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00013ZI08/?tag=satell01-20

Just be sure wherever you buy that it has the antenna and everything included, though the antenna is easy to come by, same antenna used today though now somewhat smaller.

The Roady XT needs a cradle, but is also a very good unit, much thinner than the Roady. I don't believe it has the older (stronger) FM modulator, that's what sure connect is addressing.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KYE43A/?tag=satell01-20

The XT and newer Roady can change screen color. I don't think the older Roady can.

 

[Teehar]

Awesome!Thanks Tampa8.k:

 

[Teehar]

One more question.They advertise a $9.99 talk package,is that stand alone or does it have to be added to a core pack?

 

[Tampa8]

Stand alone. Also just recheck my post I edited with more info since you saw it...

 

[Teehar]

I just gotta ask,why did the fcc neuter the fm transmitters?Geesh,I can remember as a kid Mr.Microphone had a pretty strong transmitter.Guess they have outlawed them by now.The Sa10085 is the one I'm going with.

Thanks again for your input Tampa8.

 

[Tampa8]

There were a few complaints of people pulling up next to someone using the receivers and it was overcoming their radio station if they happen to be on the same one. It lead to the FCC finding they were not within specs. (Too strong) But XM was not mandated to take them off the market, just adjust for the new models.

 

[Peter Parker]

We had someone on this forum who said he delighted in broadcasting Howard Stern ona frequency that would normally

 

[Teehar]

Do you have to pay $15 activation fee,or is there a way around that?Did a little digging on the web hard to get a definitive answer,some said that you could do it for $10 by activating online.

 

[Tampa8]

I don't have a definitive answer. But I don't think it's uncommon for them to waive it from what I read people post.
There are often coupon codes online (by doing a search) that have discounts. You might find one that gives a discount on a year's service for the regular subscription, which might be close to what the talk subscription you looked at is.
For me one of the big things beyond the decades music channels is baseball, any game no blackouts. But that I believe is in the full package.

 

[Teehar]

Just wanted to say thanks again for your advice Tampa8!

Got the roady2 yesterday,took minutes to set it up,fm transmitter is indeed very strong.I brought it in to activate it,connected it to my powerpack w/built in radio,could also pick up the signal on other radios in the house.Was surprised that the signal was so strong in the car with the antenna just laying in the dash.Think I'm gonna velcro it,make it easier to move from vehicle to vehicle.I activated online,thinking I would save $5 on the activation fee,wrong,it was still $15.I did a chat and they are supposed to waive the fee,still haven't seen it post yet,I'll wait till tomorrow to see if it shows up.

While browsing the siriusxm programming packages,I noticed an a la carte package for $7.99.Pick 50 channels,catch is you have to have a starmate receiver.Maybe something to consider down the road.

 

[king3pj]

I have also been digging around the internet for information on satellite radios lately. I normally just use my iPhone for Podcasts, MLB, and music connected to my car when I'm driving. Recently I have been driving through the country in Northern Michigan more and more and then I am limited to podcasts and music stored on my phone. Streaming pandora and MLB is out.

I have been looking at their packages online and $200 annually for everything seems like the best option to me. My home Onkyo AVR supports the SiriusXM internet service so I want that in my plan. The other plans that aren't annual don't seem to include the internet option witch seems a little crazy to me.

The Roady that Tampa mentioned seems like it would be perfect for me. Easy car setup and I would never have to take it out of my car because the Onkyo would handle everything at home. One thing that I noticed is that the Roady is listed as an XM model. On their packages site I see that they have the channel lists broken down by Sirius, XM, or SiriusXM radios. There are a lot of channels listed so maybe I'm missing something but I don't really see the difference between those 3 radio types in the channel list.

Is there a difference in audio quality between Sirus and XM? Should I be looking for one of the hybrid SiriusXM models instead? Is one model more future proof than the other? I'd hate to buy a radio and find that the side I bought is being phased out. I want all the sports play by play stations and the talk stations. I would like most of the music channels available but that will probably be my least used portion so if I have to give something up that is where I would do it. Are all the sports and talk stations available on both radio types?

Sorry for all the questions. I obviously don't have much knowledge about satellite radio.

Edit: Is there any reason I shouldn't go with the Onyx model for my car instead. It's about $70 cheaper.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002Q0W80C/?tag=satell01-20

Edit 2: I found out why you didn't recommend the Onyx. After reading amazon reviews it sounds like you have to run a wire to the outside roof of your car with that model. No thanks.

Edit 3: It looks like the Roady XT also requires an antenna on the outside of my car. I was under the impression that the antenna was built in to the radio on the models they are selling now. This is the same reason I didn't sign up for satellite radio years ago and it looks like it hasn't changed. I don't want a wire running from outside my car and across my dash. Looks like Satellite radio still isn't for me.

 

[Teehar]

I don't have all the answers as to packaging between sirius vs xm.From what I have gathered they are pretty much the same.As to the antenna,I simply mounted mine (very short wire run) on the dash.Comes in great everywhere I have been,sure you will hit a dead spot here and there but,don't think having the antenna mounted on the roof would make any difference.I mounted the roady right above the vents on the dash,the antenna wire I tucked most of behind the panel,there is only about 8" exposed.Wife didn't complain,so it must not be much of an eyesore.

I believe there are models that can use the vehicles existing whip antenna.Connecting it would be harder though.Don't quote me on that either.

 

[king3pj]

I don't have all the answers as to packaging between sirius vs xm.From what I have gathered they are pretty much the same.As to the antenna,I simply mounted mine (very short wire run) on the dash.Comes in great everywhere I have been,sure you will hit a dead spot here and there but,don't think having the antenna mounted on the roof would make any difference.I mounted the roady right above the vents on the dash,the antenna wire I tucked most of behind the panel,there is only about 8" exposed.Wife didn't complain,so it must not be much of an eyesore.

I believe there are models that can use the vehicles existing whip antenna.Connecting it would be harder though.Don't quote me on that either.

It sounds like that could work for me. I can't believe they still don't have a self contained unit for cars similar to a Garmin GPS or something though.


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[andrewj0781]

I like the XpressRCi from XM. It's like a DVR for Satellite radio. You can record up to 10 songs and play back when ever you want and you can pause the radio when you need to and pick up right where you left off. (No extra fee either)