Story Author: Mike Maroulis, mmarouli@iun.edu
Publish Date: June, 2004
Source Publication: TechBuzz Report

Are you like many people that I know, still trying to decide if you want to invest in getting a satellite radio for your car or home? If so, this article may help you.

If you are like me, you spend a large amount of time in your car, and wish to be entertained without having to listen to annoying local Disc Jockeys. You may be thinking that we have CDs to listen to with absolutely no commercials. I thought this way for a while, until I realized that I was spending more money in a month burning CDs than I would spend on the monthly fees for Satellite Radio.

Currently there are two providers in North America that provide Satellite Radio service, Sirius, [www.sirius.com] and XM, [www.xmradio.com]. Both of these companies have pros and cons to consider, but before you get to this step, you will need the equipment.

Most newer vehicles, especially GM models have Satellite Radio ready car stereo systems built in. Some of these are ready for Sirius and some are for XM. Your car dealer can give you more information about this. At this time, there are many hardware configurations that you can choose from if you have a vehicle that is not satellite ready.

XM: The leading and more trusted manufacturer of XM tuners and equipment is Delphi, [www.delphi.com]. They manufacturer the receiver/tuner, the antenna, and the adapter.

Sirius: Sirius receivers are made in general by the following three companies; Clarion, Audiovox, and JVC.

The main components are the same with either provider. For your car, if you do not have a newer head unit, there are two ways to listen to your Satellite Radio, through either your tape deck, or you can have the signal re-broadcast through an FM modulator that you can tune your car radio into.

Personally, I had chosen the Delphi receiver with car kit and the portable boombox. The car kit included the tape deck adaptor and a magnetic antenna that stuck onto the roof of my car. The boombox was really nice in that it allowed me to go virtually anywhere and listen to my favorite XM stations.

Depending in what you are looking for in a receiver will in some part dictate which service provider you choose. Since I had chosen the Delphi equipment I activated service with XM. For a cost of about $11.95 a month I received over 120 channels of digital music, news and sports. The thing I liked most, as a fan of Fox and Friends on Fox News Channel was that I could watch the beginning on TV at home and listen to the rest of the show in the car on my way to work. The music is crystal clear and the DJ’s do a great job of entertaining without becoming annoying. Many of the stations have call-in requests, which are all toll-free and they really do play your requests in a timely manner. A really nice feature that XM has added in the past year is live traffic reports for major cities including Chicago. Minneapolis, Seattle, San Diego, Atlanta and Miami/Ft. Lauderdale are scheduled to be live later in the year. It is also important to point out that XM’s customer service is amazingly competent and helpful.

Now onto Sirius. I have spoken to many people who subscribe to Sirius and they also have the same comments. Upstanding customer service, enjoyable programming, and easy to learn equipment.

If you decide to get a system that you are going to keep in your car only, I would suggest getting a new head unit/receiver built in that is XM or Sirius ready. Cosmetically it will look better, and you will not need an FM modulator or tape adaptor. The Satellite ready units also almost always include a CD player for those times that you just want to listen to a CD.

You do have the ability to install the unit yourself, but many times both Best Buy [www.bestbuy.com] and Circuit City [www.circuitcity.com] run free installation specials on new head units.

Here are some tips that you should remember though. Since Satellite Radio is a subscription service, regular FCC regulations do not apply, on certain stations, you may hear profanity since edited versions of songs do not need to be broadcast. Also at this time, Sirius does not offer traffic information, and there is no talk of offering it in the near future. Neither service is 100% commercial free on every station. Both services normally run on an average of four minutes of commercials for each hour. Still not bad considering that many morning shows, for example WBBM-FM (B96) [www.b96.com] is normally about twenty or more minutes of commercials per hour in the mornings.

My recommendation if you are planning on purchasing XM or Sirius is to shop around. Many different stores offer different packages and prices for the equipment and can offer different installation options. You can find Satellite radio at most electronics stores such as Best Buy or Circuit City and large retailers such as Wal-Mart [www.walmart.com]. I would not recommend purchasing online from places such as E-Bay without first checking the warranty information.

Recently Delphi unveiled their newest XM product for those who want a simple “Plug & Play” option. The Roady is a package deal including the receiver, including three color customizable face plates, a cassette adaptor, cigarette lighter power cord, and the magnetic rooftop antenna. The Roady retails at Best Buy for $119.99+ tax and is consumer installed in about 10-15 minutes.