Need good high gain XM antenna

[mewilsie]

Does anyone know of a good indoor XM antenna? I can't run a cable outside and the glass is about 1 inch thick gas filled. Can't even get a signal with a regular indoor antenna.

Any help would be great, thanks.

 

[WalksInDarkness]

I don't think XM makes anyhting like that. I was hoping to get an outdoor mast antenna, like they have for Sirius, but no dice.

 

[mewilsie]

Bummer.

 

[jegrant]

The Sirius outdoor antenna might work, though; I have found that all the XM/Siri antennas I have tried are compatible with all radios.

Or, get the Terk outdoor XM antenna:
Terk XM6 Outdoor XM Radio Home Antenna

That might just be the ticket.

 

[WalksInDarkness]

Thanks for the tips jegrant!

 

[truckracer]

I installed an outdoor (sirius) antenna in our office building. We connected one office with coax from a dual port power passing splitter to a sirius stratus car radio on a power supply.
The other coax port was connected to an XM car radio on a power supply.

Both radios work flawlessly. Sirius and XM use the same band just different types of encoders and authorization systems. The antennas are all compatible.

 

[WalksInDarkness]

"Mewilsie", I ended up putting my stock XM antenna outside on the window sill this weekend. Coincidentally, I started getting even worse reception the last few days; I guess some people have been complaining about this, ever since the programming merge. Anyhow the manual says the antenna is OK for outdoor use, so I just used some of that foam double-sided tape and put it on the sill. The cable is thin enough that I can still close the window no problem, but if yours won't close tight enough you could buy some foam gasket at Lowe's or HomeDepot etc. It might be worth a shot to double check your manual, and see if your can be used outside.

 

[jegrant]

That's what I did to solve a tough reception problem. I just took standard "home kit" type antennas (the square ones with a base attached with a hinge) and used cable ties to tightly secure them to a gutter. They have been very reliable and provided great reception.

When I can borrow a ladder (and/or hopefully warmer weather arrives) I plan to take them off the gutter, and since my needs have changed (to only one antenna for Sat. Radio) I plan to try sticking a magnetic antenna to either the mast or the back of one of my Dish Network dishes, and see how that goes. I would probably still use some cable ties at least along the mast area, but I believe that for day to day use, the magnets in those antennas are plenty strong enough to hang onto the dish. And as long as they're not on the side of the dish that faces the LNB, I can't imagine it being a problem.

 

[uli2000]

XM used to sell a wireless antenna expander. It consisted of a XM antenna and a wireless transmitter and a reciever that plugged into the radio. I dont know if its for sale anymore, though. Was about $150. You could put the antenna and transmitter somewhere you got signal and use the wireless reciever in the area you coulnd't.

Here's one. It seems they've gone down in price since the last time I looked.