what sirius receiver to get?

one028

Well-Known SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Feb 27, 2004
33
0
southeast michigan
im new to satalite radio and decided to go with sirius. i want a plug and play receiver that is easy to move from one vehicle to the next and bring into my house. i am really not sure if a fm transmitter is the best way to get good sound, but i guess its the easiest way to port it from car to car. i have checked circuit city and best buy and am not sure what to go with. i see some of them come with car kicks some dont, some have fm transmitters some dont. what can someone suggest for me around the $150 price range (or less is even better). thanks.
 
I have the older Audiovox PNP 2 with a bombox, etc. and have been very satisfied. If I were starting over, I would get the best deal I could find on an Audiovox.


da Doug
 
TA1754 said:
Any new promo codes this week, I'm looking to purchase a Sportster.

Apparently Sirius is holding the line on promotional codes. I would be careful about using these codes unless you qualify for the promotion. Retailer employee, Ford employee, Walmart employee etc.....
 
is anyone having the antenna not connected problem with the sportster or the pnp3? im still debating on getting either the starmate or sportster. im concered about the antenna problems people are having with the sportster. the starmate seams like a decent receiver but i dont like the fact that there is no cradle, the wires hang out of both sides of the receiver and the suction cup window mount that comes with it. i think im leaning toward the sportster.
 
Sirius_Rich said:
Apparently Sirius is holding the line on promotional codes. .

Read: they are not honoring them. When you enter a promo code, it does not say anywhere on the site or during the order process who that code is intended for. They will take your order, confirm it, give you a customer and order number, finalize the transaction, then a week later when you are expecting your radio they may (or may not...depends how they feel that day) email you and tell you they have decided to cancel your order. To be fair, I'm sure they don't do this with all codes and I'm sure they have honored some of them when they felt like it, but I just wouldn't count on it.

If you do order with a promo code I would suggest calling them and placing the order on the phone. Get the rep's name and employee ID# and any other info you want.

Anyways, back on topic, I tried ordering the startmate. The "promo" I used had either the starmate or sportster free if you sign up for at least 3 months. I liked the small size of the starmate, especially considering I already have XM. The sportster was just a little too big for the space I had. The mounting did concern me since it didn't really have too many options, but I figured I would figure something out once I had it.
 
lostcause said:
Read: they are not honoring them. When you enter a promo code, it does not say anywhere on the site or during the order process who that code is intended for. They will take your order, confirm it, give you a customer and order number, finalize the transaction, then a week later when you are expecting your radio they may (or may not...depends how they feel that day) email you and tell you they have decided to cancel your order. To be fair, I'm sure they don't do this with all codes and I'm sure they have honored some of them when they felt like it, but I just wouldn't count on it.

If you do order with a promo code I would suggest calling them and placing the order on the phone. Get the rep's name and employee ID# and any other info you want.

Anyways, back on topic, I tried ordering the startmate. The "promo" I used had either the starmate or sportster free if you sign up for at least 3 months. I liked the small size of the starmate, especially considering I already have XM. The sportster was just a little too big for the space I had. The mounting did concern me since it didn't really have too many options, but I figured I would figure something out once I had it.

I am sorry you obtained a code from the net or even purchased one from an unscrupulous eBay seller. If you do not qualify for the promotion, you do not qualify. Only those that the code was intended were to know the code, but there are no secrets anymore with the internet.

I know your unhappy over this as you have complained on several formus and boards elsewhere. I wish you luck in the future. :)
 
Sirius_Rich said:
I am sorry you obtained a code from the net or even purchased one from an unscrupulous eBay seller. If you do not qualify for the promotion, you do not qualify. Only those that the code was intended were to know the code, but there are no secrets anymore with the internet.

I know your unhappy over this as you have complained on several formus and boards elsewhere. I wish you luck in the future. :)

Not to beat a dead horse, but it did not say anywhere at all that I did not qualify for the promotion. It was a full week later that I was told they had decided to cancel my order. Anyways, as you said, with the internet there are no secrets anymore. I would bet that most people who order with promo codes of some type find them on the internet, or through friends who got them off the net. It doesn't make them invalid.

Anyways, I'm really not on any kind of anti-sirius crusade or anything. I'm certainly not telling anyone not to get sirius. I had a bad experience, and so did many others with the same promo. Doesn't mean they are a bad company, just that in my eyes they have some customer relations issues. Heck, if they come up with a promo that is tempting enough, I might still take advantage of it.

As a matter of fact, I even gave a suggestion on how to go about placing the order with sirius. My suggestion was meant to help. If you are going to use a promo, I suggest calling them and ordering by phone to confirm the promo. Get the person's name, ID#, and anything else you can use should they later decide to cancel your order for whatever reason. I don't think it would do much, considering I had a confirmation email, AND a verbal confirmation by phone, but it can't hurt to get the info.
 
I, too, got "burned" on this deal. Even though I knew it was in the too good to be true bucket, I went ahead and pulled the trigger. I just yesterday (after two weeks) officially found out that I wouldn't be getting my equipment.

It's unfortunate that Sirius was so naive to think that they could put the offer out there for use in this day and age without any further verifications on whether a person truly qualified for the promotion that they offered. Hopefully they will have learned their lesson for the future.

However, that being said, it's also unfortunate that they don't realize that they could increase their subscriber base by offering a "close to free" unit. Effectively, it would be the "giving the razor away to sell the blades" concept. The razor in this case is a pretty significant cost, but they could put it out there and make a subscriber commit to a year (or perhaps two) with penalties for early termination.

The cellphone industry does it. Why can't Sirius (and XM for that matter)?

Back on topic - between the units that I've looked at, I think that the Starmate is the one for me based on the size, etc. The Sportster is coming in second.
 
Just a note for those who feel as if they were burned -- it's relatively common for a company to cancel orders that were placed if they realize there was a pricing error or other irregularity. As long as the company didn't already charge your credit card, they're OK to do so. Once they charge your credit card, you have a legal transaction that has been finalized, and the company is obligated to fulfill the deal. Buy.com learned this the hard way in 1999 (to the tune of almost $600k).
 
i ended up getting the sportster and had it professionally installed. i used the fm transmitter for awhile but decided i needed it hardwired. it sounds awesome. here is a pick of my install.
 

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one028 said:
i ended up getting the sportster and had it professionally installed. i used the fm transmitter for awhile but decided i needed it hardwired. it sounds awesome. here is a pick of my install.

Good looking mounting job and thanks for the pictures. Glad you like your radio. :D
 
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