XM Radio

Supposedley I hear that Saturn (& GM) will be putting XM equipped radios in
all future models. (its an available option right now). Just my 2 cents on
XM, I think its the greatest thing since CD's. After selling many cars and
setting it up for customers, I was sold on it, bought one for myself. I have
an hour drive to work every day and the constant barrage of commercials,
same old top 40 cr*p and unfunny, uninteresting monotnous talk show banter,
XM is a breath of fresh air.

WallyMart is selling the Delphi Roady 2 which self installs in minutes for
$94. not bad. I had it up and running in 30 min. They are raising thier
rates from $9. a month to $12. on April 2nd, ppl who subscribe beforehand
can get locked in to the old price.

Better than FM quality, near CD quality sound and over 100 stations to
choose from. I love it.

 

Marx

I was wondering where you heard this?

Thx.

 

IMO its only better if its free. The last thing this world needs is more
bills... I like the idea of mp3 player hookups mentioned in CE's post.

 

I agree...I bought it for my wife as an Christmas gift, and after thinking
about it - returned a few days later. Everything is always "only 10 or 20
bucks a month", but it all adds up and the next thing you know, your paying
a ton of money out a month for a lot of "inexpensive" incidentals. And of
course, the always rate increases that will be forever coming on it. I just
had to draw the line at paying for radio....Just IMO...

Scott

 

Satellite radio is nice.... except when you are: under a bridge, under heavy
tree branches (summer), in a tunnel, down the opposite side of a hill from
the salellite, in a garage, in a parking garage, most other places without a
clear site of the satellite location.

 

Satellite radio is nice.... except when you are: under a bridge,
under heavy
tree branches (summer), in a tunnel, down the opposite side of a hill
from
the salellite, in a garage, in a parking garage, most other places
without a
clear site of the satellite location.

The built in time and spacial diversity functionality eliminates the
problems you mention for almost all circumstances. Most major metro
areas have repeaters that eliminate any further problems.

The state I live in has no area where reception is not AT LEAST AS GOOD
as terrestrial radio. In addition, I've travelled two of the
surrounding states without the slightest problem in any area. Dropouts
occur in no more than a half dozen places, and never for more than a
second or two. There is not one repeater in the state I live in. In
short, this really isn't a problem.

Sounds like you either (a) haven't tried it, or (b) live in a area
where there are no repeaters and major obstructions.

 

Well, I live in a rural part of town and drive through a thin road lined by
very tall trees and power lines with no loss of signal or quality. I have to
add that most ppl who have XM will tell you that where the signal can be
blocked there will be a very brief loss of signal.

My personal decision to get XM was because:

1. changing my radio or adding on a 6 CD changer would potentially cost
$2-300 or more after professonal installation. That would cover the cost for
an XM unit and 1-2 yrs of XM service.

2. legal MP3s you pay for anyways, as well as legal new CDs (up to $20.
each) and it ends up being more expensive, considering MP3 subsciption
services and/or medium (CDs or a very good MP3 player).

3. I already budgeted myself for $200. and based on the above, XM was the
smartest choice for me and the most easy and inexpensive way to enhance my
current car stereo.

4. So. FL. is flat...perfect for XM signals.

5. I can listen to over 100 channels of music w/o going bananas or wrecking
my car pushing buttons to escape commercials and mindless drivel. Oh, and
today I listened to a whole album I havent heard in 20 yrs. on my way to
work and faced the day with a smile. That alone makes it worth it.

just my 2 cents.......
marx404

 

Have you ever tried XM? In addition to direct satellite
broadcast, XM has terrestrial repeaters in major markets. I
rarely lose the XM signal. In fact, compared to fading FM
stations and static prone AM stations, XM reception is
perfect. Sirius is a little more prone to dropping out in my
area (no local repeaters?), but is still better than all the
local AM stations, and all but a couple of local FM
stations. And once you leave town, there is no comparison. I
can stay on one satellite station forever with almost no
signal loss for 100's, even 1000,s of miles. Try that with
any local station.

Ed

 

I can stay on one satellite station forever with almost no
signal loss for 100's, even 1000,s of miles. Try that with
any local station.

This is a major advantage to XM IMO. I have about 15 or so channels I
listen to on XM, and they're always on, familiar DJs, and you know what
to expect and when. Whether I'm near home or 1000 miles away, I get
what I'm used to.

That's worth 13 bucks a month to me, even without the benefits of the
better music and other content.

I used to spend at least $100/200 a month on CDs and my collection
numbers in the thousands. But I have bought fewer than 5 CDs in the
last 3 years because my CD collection is totally obsolete with XM
available.

It is one of those things you just have to try before you can
understand it....

 

I'm happier listening to the wind with my money in my pocket. It only
took me 5 brand new CD's in my life (50-80 dollars total) to realize I
was throwing my money away on something I can live well enough without.
The most I will spend on a music CD now is a dollar, if that, at a
garage sale. 10 cent plastic isnt worth more than that and the sooner
people realize this the better.

 

I'ts called get a cd burner get a big spool of cdr's and make your own damn
cd's there are still a ton of programs with wich you can download free songs

 

I'm happier listening to the wind with my money in my pocket. It
only
took me 5 brand new CD's in my life (50-80 dollars total) to realize I
was throwing my money away on something I can live well enough without.
The most I will spend on a music CD now is a dollar, if that, at a
garage sale. 10 cent plastic isnt worth more than that and the sooner
people realize this the better.

Everyone has to have their own priorities in life.

 

I have just discovered a problem with my XM radio: My morning drive to work
isn't long enough now.

marx404

 

have just discovered a problem with my XM radio: My morning drive
to work isn't long enough now.

I'd wager you haven't noticed it yet but your blood pressure is lower
when you get there, too....

 

MP3's are easier to carry with you than XM radios.