Okay all, I have the Kenwood KDC-319 deck in my car. I've been tossing with the idea of spending the money and putting the XM radio in it. (deck is set up for it, but need recievier, antenna).

Does anyone here have it??

How hard was it to install??

Any complaints??

Is it worth the money to get??

 

Its a digital signal so it'll sound alot better then FM. Plus there are lots of channels. The downside is the subscription fee. As far as installation, it's easy. Just have to find a good spot to mount that little antenna.

 

I hate that damn antenna!! That's why I don't have XM yet. Got a friend that tried it on the dash, he said it was alright, but it cut out if he went under bridges or inside tunnels. I hate the idea of that antenna on the outside of the car.

It says "Hey, look, I have XM inside! I probably have other expensive equipment inside that you'd like to steal!!" Just seems like a freakin' theif magnet to me.

 

I haven't looked in full detail at them, but I see your point Tom.

Maybe you could mount it under the hood and still pick up a signal or inside that little "box" in the hatch that locks....

 

Inside the hood........thats funny!

I've had XM for 9 months and i love it. Ten fish....big deal. It's VERY worth it. The only people who seem to complain about it are the people that don't have it. Try to find someone with XM who loves music that says they don't love XM. And good luck.

It's also worth having a big ugly antanna. The ones that are about the same size and shape as a computer mouse aren't bad, but they all need to be as high as possible, especially the farther North you are.

I had a six disk changer in my truck, took it out, don't need it anymore. I have an emergency disk in the H/U just in case i get stuck in a bridge or behind some bedrock, but i have'nt needed it yet. In nine months i've listened to about 15 minutes of regular radio,...... traffic reports.

I have a non-movable Pioneer unit in my truck, and a Delphi SkyFi for everywhere else. I would reccomend the SkyFi for anyone new to XM, or anyone only planning on ever having one unit. The SkyFi can go anywhere, car, home, boat, plane, and they have a boombox for it too. If you get a unit that stays in the vehicle, your really limiting yourself. You'll get hooked like i did and want it everywhere. Suddenly FM becomes unaudible. And, because it's free rein programing, you'll hear stuff you forgot about. That goes a long way for the MP3 collection. I started with the Pioneer and a few months later bought a SkyFi so i could listen to it anywhere. If i had to do it again i'd just have the SkyFi. But a second unit (up to four additional units) is only $6.99 a month. So i end up paying $17 a month. Way worth it.

Try these sites for a lot more info.

www.xmradio.com (XM's home site)
www.clubxm.com
www.xmfan.com

 

I wonder if I could cut into my roof and "sink" the antenna so the top of it is flush with the roof. (I can weld and the car needs a paint job anyway.) That's be a hell of an idea. I might even be able to fiberglass the sides in to make it a permanent fixture; but I probably couldn't paint the damn thing. Oh-- wait, forget about fiberglassing the sides... what about just filling the sides with black silicone? Hm.

Does the antenna just pick up signal from the "top"? I think the roof mounts use the metal car body as a groundplane... hm...

Haha, that'd be trick as hell... screw a frenched FM antenna; I've got a frenched XM antenna!

 

I've also been kicking around the idea of installing XM in my radio but I am with Tom on the the whole antenna thing. My thoughts were, and I think I might have seen it mentioned on here before, was to put it in the back of the car, perhaps in the middle of the trunk or something like that.

Also has anyone had any experience with the RF modulator? Do you lose any sound quality using that? I have an aftermarket Pioneer CD headunit, with no casette... so that is the route that I would most likely be taking. Thanks!

 

You lose in the fact that it's not a true digital signal. Sort of like playing a CD through a tape player with one of those cassette adapters.

But, the Pioneer XM modulator also has an IP Bus connection, so if you did ever buy a Pioneer radio that was XM Ready, you could ditch the modulator bit, and go true digital. I wish I'd known that from the start... passed up an $80 FM modulator at a going-out-of-business sale. I have an XM-ready Pioneer deck, and didn't want the added-on look. Yeah well if I had only taken a closer look I would've seen the blue IP Bus connector on there. Dammit!!

 

Tom, they have their own ground. The "mouse " ones just stick on. A magnet could be used instead. I put mine in the middle of the roof in the rear. (T/A). I have an eight inch mast, glass mount one on my truck, ugly as as a stump, ......but.......i could'nt care less when i'm jammin' down the road. Just stick it on a go. Don't be Frenchen'. Five years from now a smaller one will come out...........it would be like a seventies cars with the holes in the dash because it had an aftermarket 8-track or some other damn thing installed at one time. I would bet a on a F-body, it could be mounted high on the hatch glass....inside, and work ok. Maybe in the third brake light pocket (87-up). I have a notchback, so on the roof it went.

WW, the mod will take some sound. If you have RCA's in, in your H/U, you could put a SkyFi/Sony P&P through there.

 

one other thing to note on the pioneer tunerboxes. They are what is called backwards compatible, meaning that if you have an older pioneer radio either cd or tape that has cd changer controls built into it you can use the pioneer direct link with it. If you are using the the changer control thats ok too. All you have to do is run the changer cable to the tuner box's data cable output and you can have both! It really gives more people the abliltity to take advantage of the true digital sound.

 

Sweet! That's awesome! So to my understanding what you are saying is since I have CD changer controls on my Pioneer I can simply connect the XM box to my reciever as a "CD Changer" and utilize digital sound?

 

$10 a month for 200 channels that all suck. I'd rather spend that $120 for a years worth of sat radio on my girlfriend.

 

yep thats what I am saying pretty trick huh.