Sirius radio

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Once and Future
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Sirius radio

Post by Once and Future »

What equipment are people using for Sirius radio reception in SE Alaska? My S50 radio unit finally died. The used ones I buy don't maintain a strong enough signal.

I bought a mushroom shaped antenna a few years ago and had pretty reliable reception. But the S50 is not supported anymore, so I can't update the firmware on the ones I buy now, which seemed to give them better reception. I hate to quit on that model as I had several docks and accessories for them. Also, back then the FCC allowed them to have a stronger FM broadcast feature so it could broadcast its own signal to a car or boat radio. I understand now I will probably have to connect with a wire.

So I would appreciate if anyone would chime in with what radio and antenna combination they are having good results with.
JKD
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Re: Sirius radio

Post by JKD »

I fish here in SE Alaska. I was given a Sirius-XM system for Christmas one year and didn't do anything fancy to get decent reception that I connected to my AM/FM sound system. Other than having the incoming signal blocked from time to time by trolling superstructure, it worked with no problems for 2 seasons - and then reception began to become intermittent in September. When our Coho season closed I had my favorite electrician check my system out and he discovered that the "hockey-puck" Sirius antennae on the top of the cabin was toast and was not receiving at all.

I don't have the model of Sirius-XM receiver/radio we installed [in 2013] written down here at home, but at this point I'm planning to replace the dead puck with a more substantial mushroom-shaped Sirius antennae to see how it will work. I'll check to see what model the radio unit actually is and let you know.
actionalaska
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Re: Sirius radio

Post by actionalaska »

I've had the same problem of keeping an antenna functioning in the harsh environment of se AK. The latest antenna I have purchased seems to be the best so far. It's from a company called TSS radio. They seem to cater to over the road truckers. The antenna has two seasons on it and has the best reception I've experienced so far with satellite radio. I never gotten more than a few months out of the mushroom style marine antennas. Perhaps just some bad luck, with that product, but mounted in the same location on the same boat the TSS antenna is working great.
JKD
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Re: Sirius radio

Post by JKD »

actionalaska - Thanks for your information. I haven't gotten around to purchasing a mushroom-shaped antennae for my satellite radio yet, so I will check-out the TSS unit you describe.

Once and Future - I also see that I didn't follow-through on my promise to check on the satellite receiver and let you know what it was. It's a "Sirius Starmate 5" which appears to be a fairly standard piece of equipment on other boats besides mine.
Once and Future
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Re: Sirius radio

Post by Once and Future »

Thanks for the replies, you two. While I was waiting I bought a Stratus 7 for use on the Sirius network. It seems so cheap and junky that I haven't activated it yet. Came with a car kit, doesn't appear they sell a home kit for when I am at the cabin. Does not come with a remote control for changing channels from across a distance. Not room for all 3 cables to fit well. AND, FM transmit feature doesn't work even though I have it sitting within a foot of my FM radio right now!!! :evil: Sounds like I will have to see if Starmate 5 is still available.

Two different customer service people at electronics companies told me that Sirius and XM are "One and the same now". Well, they are owned by the same company, but their programming streams are not identical. For example, on Sirius, NFL games are included in one of the cheaper packages. You pay extra to get NFL games on XM programming. I had to return an Onyx unit that had Sirius in the name because the box stated it was for use on XM network only.

And here is my pro-tip. If you want to put up with the hassle, you can threaten to cancel your subscription and about their third offer to keep you will be pretty good programming package for about a hundred bucks a year, and no bogus add-on fees for the Recording Industry of America. BUT, then you have to remember to cancel before your one year anniversary, or you will be auto-rebilled for the next 12 months at a much higher rate. Wash, rinse, repeat. :|
JKD
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Re: Sirius radio

Post by JKD »

Once and Future - Thanks for the "pro-tip". That sounds like how my first subscription went. I DID cancel my first subscription and then got a flood of mail with better offers.
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