More dropouts on factory installed unit than my portable

[jcoppola]

In my vehicle I have the Sirius sportster 5 and for the most part the reception is excellent only droping signals in tunnels and under overpasses. My wife just purchased a Chevy Traverse with XM built in. It seems that the signals is frequently dropping, sometimes every 10 seconds or so on some routes that I know with my unit I never have dropouts. Any way to correct this? Are factory units more prone to this than potable units? Is XM more prone than Sirius even though the companies are the same? Appreciate any info or if there is in way to boost the signal somehow.

Thanks
John

 

[JimmyMcGee]

XM uses geosync orbiting sats, which means they are always in the same spot in the sky all the time. Southern sky. Sirius uses tundra orbit sats which means they are over the US a majority of the time in differing spots. Though Sirius is moving to geosync sats.

So basically if your Southern sky is blocked by trees or buildings, hypothetically, this mean XM could have more drop out than Sirius. But since they have ground based repeaters I am betting it's an equipment issue.

 

[codee]

My xm always cuts out in certain areas where i frequently drive whereas my sirius hasn't dropped out yet that I can remember. Works perfectly in my garage even. Tis been this way ever since I got both of them (got both on launch week)

 

[atvman]

I have a self installed xm radio that works better than the factory unit in my new corolla. I can be in the middle of a parking lot and the xm in the corolla works when it wants to. Of course the radio would not act up when the dealer looked at it.