REVIEW: Dish Network Sirius Receiver (SR200)

Scott Greczkowski

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Sep 7, 2003
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At the recent Team Summit in Dallas, Texas retailers were shown and given a brand new Satellite Radio receiver, this receiver is the SR200.

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The SR200 is based on the popular Brix Streamer and is made by Pana Pacific although the unit is branded Dish Network. The unit comes packed just like a Dish Network receiver.

Installation of the SR200 was a breeze, anyone can do it, you just need some patience. You can just pop the antenna on your roof and run the wire in then plug your SR200 into your Cigarette lighter and go, or you can do a more quality installation which takes a little longer, but gives you a professional appearance.

I opted to go the more professional route since this was being installed in my wifes 1 day old brand new 2004 Suzuki Verona.

Installation was made easier by a special antenna installation tool that was given to us by Sirius at the show (unfortunately I don't know if they sell this tool or not) but is basically a flat plastic stick and is cut at an angle at the end of each side to help you separate the rubber gasket on your car window away so you can slide the antenna cable behind it.

I ran the antenna around the cars back window and down into the trunk, from the trunk I ran the cable under backseat, and was able to run the cable under the carpet without making a single cut in the carpet. The antenna wire come out in the dash where the radio is mounted.

The radio is mounted to the window under the rear view mirror using a very high quality suction cup mount. With it mounted here it easily lets the driver or passenger read the display and change stations, plus its mounted in a place it does not effect your view of the road.

The radio is plugged into the cars cigarette lighter which in this car turns on when the car is on, and off when the car is off.

This unit is a FM modulated, it lets you select between 88.1 88.3 88.5 and 88.7 FM. It also has a jack on the back of its base unit so you can use a cassette adapter or you can hardwire it to your car audio system.

When you turn on the SR200 you are welcomed by the Sirius logo. A few seconds later you are enjoying Sirius.

You can change stations by turning the dial knob you can directly enter a stations number by pushing the knob and inputting the channel you want to tune to, or you can set up to 20 presets.

There are 2 banks of 10 presets, unfortunately on the SR200 you can't have a special direct entry mode, you can't just type in the channel number, instead to go to direct mode you must press the main tuner button and then enter in your channel number. To me this is the biggest problem with this radio, of course with that said if this is the units biggest flaw then the radio is not that bad.

The radio is much bigger then my XM SkyFI unit, and it also gets MUCH hotter then my XM units. I am told by a few at Sirius if I think this radio is hot I should see their first generation units. :)

The bright orange display is easy to read, even from the backseat it is easy to read.

The unit comes with a IR remote control, this remote is kind of bulky for what it does, I leave my remote in the backseat so the kids can change stations from the backseat.

I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the sound via the units built in FM Transmitter, while it was not CD quality is was plenty good enough for my wifes enjoyment for her daily ride back and forth to work. (80 miles round trip each day)

Of course her travel to work each day showed me the flaw with the FM modulator. First off her FM antenna for her car stereo is built into her rear windshield. Second in her travels she goes through areas where every frequency that the SR200 can transmit to are in use. Because of this she does experience some fade in her Sirius audio, and in some cases the local radio station overpowers the Sirius FM modulators signal.

Because the unit is so large (and because my wife is so happy showing off her new car) when everyone sees the Sirius Radio they ask her why she has a TV in her car. (Of course she then gives them a demo of the radio) :D

There are some features of the radio I have not tried, with the main one being S-SEEK. With S-SEEK you can store a favorite song title in memory and when that song is played again in the future you will be alerted that your song is playing.

The units will soon be available for a MSRP of $149 from your local Dish Network retailer. Now while you may be able to find the Brix Streamer version of this radio cheaper, I should note that the cheaper radio does not come with this high quality suction mount. This mount is worth the extra money.

Overall I grade the unit a B+ with improvements needed in the direct tuning and FM modulation power.

While I did not get into the programming available from Sirius in this review, I must admit I do enjoy the Talk programming which is offered on Sirius (and which is not available on Dish Network) with uncensored shows such at the Mike Church show, your ride can be a very fun ride indeed.

Thanks for visiting SatelliteGuys.US!
 

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Good review. I completely agree with your assessment of the FM tuner being a weak point. For me it was the MAJOR weak point. I can't stand fuzz when i'm getting a digital signal.
It would be a good idea if we could find out if Sirius was limited by the FCC as to how much power they could use for the transmitter. I'd love to know if they are at the maximum transmit power level by law or if the power was limited by another factor like cost to mfgr.
 
Peluso said:
Good review. I completely agree with your assessment of the FM tuner being a weak point. For me it was the MAJOR weak point. I can't stand fuzz when i'm getting a digital signal.
It would be a good idea if we could find out if Sirius was limited by the FCC as to how much power they could use for the transmitter. I'd love to know if they are at the maximum transmit power level by law or if the power was limited by another factor like cost to mfgr.

If you're getting static, it's only because of another station broadcasting on the same frequency causing interference. Switch the channel selector on the back of the unit to another frequency.

I have been demo'ing mine by having a person park their car next to mine and tuning to the same station that mine is broadcasting. The sound quality is great even in the vehicle next to mine! I'd say the FM modulation power is more than adequate for use in the same vehicle as the radio.

By the way, if you have inputs on your car's stereo, you can use the "headphone" jack on the back of the PNP cradle along with the proper cable/adapter and use your line in/aux input on your car stereo.

I love mine, and when I lost my first one to my wife's suburban, I had to hurry up and get a new one put back in my vehicle!
 
If you're getting static, it's only because of another station broadcasting on the same frequency causing interference. Switch the channel selector on the back of the unit to another frequency.

We have done that, as I said she drives so far each day that as she travels she goes through areas which there are stations are all the frequencies.

She can not drive and flip theough the station selector slide and find the station on her radio as well, She for now just ignores the static and in 10 minutes its gone.
 
I find that I have a little signal interfearance, but i'm a bit of a audiophile so the sound of the ocasional static drives bothers me. I have tried every frequency allowed by the unit.
 
One method that a lot of people have installed is an FM Switching Module. I know that Audiovox makes one that is relatively cheap. Basically you install this so that your FM antenna for the car radio goes into the switch as does the FM Output located on the side of your Sirius car mount. Then this plugs into the antenna jack of the car stereo.

The only negative to this method is the electronic switch will disable your car antenna when the Sirius is on. In order to listen to normal radio stations you must have your sirius radio turned off so the FM switch enables your normal car FM antenna. On a positive note it isolates the incoming FM broadcasts that are interfering with your 88.x output from the sirius. Plus it is injecting the FM signal directly to your car stereo.

Unfortunately these high demand items are a little tough to find right now. I have not tried one yet because of the backorders for them. From doing some research on the net it would seem everyone is highly praising them, especially when they are having interference issues like you mentioned.

Do a search on the Audiovox SIRSWB. Last I looked, they were backordered on Audiovox's website. Circuit City also carries them but they are also out of stock.
 
So far I like my Dish/Brix Sirius setup. I to have to agree that the modulator setup leaves a lot to be desired in the fidelity department. I used a tape adapter into my car radio. Mucho better! The only shortcoming with the COBrander is the lack of accessories. Well that and my dash area looks like the back of my tv - TO MANY WIRES! Oh well...
For now I can't wait to jump in rig and crank DiBrix..
 
I used the FM modulator for about a week. I went the cassette adapter route as well. To me, the biggest problem with the antenna switch idea is the installation effort. I don't want to have to tear apart the dashboard to get to the back of my stock radio...I'm getting to old for that kind of stuff...plus...there aren't too many days between now and November where the (Vegas) weather would make this an easy task.
 
I'm a dish subscriber (America's Top 180)
Does that include sirius radio, if I buy a head unit ?

Activ8
 
Sirius questions on performance

I read the review and had questions I hope some of you experts could answer. I was looking at the DISH Network SR200 myself... but with the FM Modulation issue brought to the fore-front... do the JVC and Audiovox models have the same issus as the SR200?

How do the indeck receivers offered by Kenwood and other manufacters compare to the mobile brands as far as performance? Does FM Modulation matter with these too?

I appreciate any advice or information that can be offered.

MTM
 
michaeltm99 said:
I read the review and had questions I hope some of you experts could answer. I was looking at the DISH Network SR200 myself... but with the FM Modulation issue brought to the fore-front... do the JVC and Audiovox models have the same issus as the SR200?

How do the indeck receivers offered by Kenwood and other manufacters compare to the mobile brands as far as performance? Does FM Modulation matter with these too?

I appreciate any advice or information that can be offered.

MTM

In my opinion there is nothing wrong with the FM transmitted units. There is FM bleed over at times in the presence of a strong terrestrial FM signal. I have a Kenwood H2A and an Audiovox PNP2 that uses no FM mod switches with minimal or no bleed over. I have another PNP2 that I had to purchase the module switch. I really don't know if it is the automobiles or the specific radios. At times I think the Sirius antenna has a lot to do with the bleed over. I can reposition this cable and the bleed over disappears.

SQ will be better from a head unit, but more expensive and the SQ difference may not be evident in an actual on the road driving experience. A co worker purchased a SR200 and he uses the tape deck adapter. There is no need for the FM switching module in a in dash or head unit.
 

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