Sirius or XM?

[Arachnid J]

Does anyone have a problem getting a channel early in the morning when you first turn on your XM Delphi unit? My radio pulls up the (((XM))) screen and freezes. After a few minutes I can remove it from the cradle, to turn the power off, and on the next attempt it will usually work. It works fine when placed in the cradle on my home stereo. The only thing that I can figure out is that it has to warm up. Any suggestions ?

[Joe_Black]

Sounds like a hardware problem. Double check your connections, especially any that use mechanical connectors (crimps, plugs etc.) as they may be losing contact during thermal contraction. A little circuit board or contact cleaner and then a dab of conductive grease should do the trick.

I've got SIRIUS (which is now $10 a month) and only occassionally do I not have audio first thing in the morning, but it's due to scheduled channel updates which just take a minute or so.

So check those connections and look over your cradle too, they're may be something preventing it from seating properly or allowing it to vibrate loose.

[Arachnid J]

The cradle and the FM Modulator were replaced today. It worked great all day today and then tonight I went out to try it and it did the same thing. It may be the unit itself, but if that was the case it seems like it would do it in the house too. I can't figure it out.

[Inaba]

I have Sirius and I love it... Just signed up for a years worth of service.

I will never go back to OTA radio again.

I didn't know Clear Channel is out of XM, now... that's one of the big reasons I went with Sirius. Regardless, Sirius is well worth the money.

[Joe_Black]

Arachnid, I'm assuming you've got a two cradles; one in the VX and the other for the house. Since from your description it seems as if it's getting power (screen freezes) I'm more inclined to look at the antenna and it's connection. Check where the antenna plugs into the cradle, make sure it's seated fully and that the micro-coax hasn't been kinked at the plug. Then check your cable route and look for kinks or damage the cable sheath. If all that looks okay then maybe swap your home antenna for the VX antenna and see if the problem follows. I know the antennas have different mounts, but you're a VX owner; get creative! Besides, it's just temporary for troubleshooting.

Good luck!

[Dallas4u]

Originally posted by tomdietrying
When the witch hunt is over, I'm buying where ever Howard Stern goes.

For those who care (or maybe those who don't), Howard Stern announced he would be on Sirius for 2006.

[Joe_Black]

SIRIUS stated they would need 1 million new subscribers to pay for Stern's 5-year deal. Considering that Howard commands the most loyal fan-base imaginable SIRIUS should pick up a significantly larger market share than XM almost overnight. He'll have his own channel where he can say and do whatever he wants while giving the big stiffy to the FCC and the government. It's a Stern listener's wet dream!

Don't get me wrong, even as a SIRIUS subscriber I've got nothing against XM since satellite radio is a duopoly. Think Coke and Pepsi, one's bigger than the other but they're both HUGE. It's all a matter of taste. But this Stern deal is going to flip the tables, and XM's cash situation isn't going to let them top it easily. The cool thing is, the more these two try to top one another the better it is for us, the consumer.

[WyrreJ]

Originally posted by Joe_Black
He'll have his own channel where he can say and do whatever he wants while giving the big stiffy to the FCC and the government. It's a Stern listener's wet dream!

The FCC has got themselves into the biz of regulating satellite TV via the rules of carrying local channels, don't be surprised if they try to get a piece of the action with satellite radio. With semi-recent advances in broadcast technology, the FCC's original mandate of spectrum allocation is pretty much obsolete, but no organization will ever voluntarily declare victory and close the doors, they just start looking for other reasons to justify their existence.

Plus, or until then, with no rules to break, Stern's appeal may drop. Can't be the underdog fighting the man when there is no the man...

[Heraclid]

I read a report today that stated that SIRIUS stock jumped nearly 18% following the Stern news. Say what you will about him, but that is pretty remarkable. Especially considering that he won't be on SIRIUS until early 2006.

XM carries a few heavy hitters of its own, so I'd be curious to know how the current market share comparison shapes up. From where I'm sitting, it seems like XM is definitely much more "visible" out there. I had never heard of SIRIUS before Joe Black told me about it, and never saw anything about it at a retailer until much later than that. Times are changing, though.

[zadam123]

I just got XM due to the fact that opie and anthony started there oct 4. Its not bad I got the road2 which is a really hard unit to find and even harder to find extra antennas and cig lighter adaptors for,

Adam

[BaM*BaM]

I really have no idea about Howard Stern. Is he the' Left's' Rush Limbaugh? That in itself, is pretty sick. (one, very well payed professional idiot is enough, I would hope.)

But maybe Howard Stern is needed to fill out this great world. I, personally, have never heard him say anything more relevant that the fact that the size of women's breasts is very important to him.

I do, however, find a HUGE need for NPR radio. And I know Sirius provides NPR feeds, but I have also heard that these feeds are very different than the usual live feeds broadcast by the local NPR stations?

Does anybody know if this is this true?

[Joe_Black]

Originally posted by zadam123
I just got XM due to the fact that opie and anthony started there oct 4. Its not bad I got the road2 which is a really hard unit to find and even harder to find extra antennas and cig lighter adaptors for,

Adam

Check eBay, pages of Roady2 units and accessories. Plus all that stuff is directly available from XM's website and affiliated vendors such as Crutchfield.

Delphi Roady/Roady2 on eBay

Originally posted by BaM*BaM
I do, however, find a HUGE need for NPR radio. And I know Sirius provides NPR feeds, but I have also heard that these feeds are very different than the usual live feeds broadcast by the local NPR stations?

Does anybody know if this is this true?

It's not like listening to your local NPR show. They have content on 3 channels (if you include PRI) that's specifically for SIRIUS spun off from what we're familiar with on broadcast NPR. They do have all the regular shows too, such as Prairie Home Companion, Wait Wait and Car Talk. It takes a little getting used to, because it's 100% NPR whereas your local station broadcasts mostly music with these shows scattered in throughout the day. You can check out the line-up at the NPR web site and listen in.

NPR Now Schedule
NPR Talk Schedule
PRI Schedule

[tomdietrying]

Well, I made my decision. Since Howard is going to Sirius, I'm going to Sirius.
Peace.
Tom

[psychos2]

i may have to switch to xm. i cannot stand howard stern.he used to be funny ,now he is just plain annoying. shawn

[Dallas4u]

Originally posted by psychos2
i may have to switch to xm. i cannot stand howard stern.he used to be funny ,now he is just plain annoying. shawn

You'd seriously switch to XM from Sirius because of Stern... even if you had to pay extra to get his broadcast? Interesting...