rshipp Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 Just installed Sirius radio on my 07' GSA and I am lovin' it! No ipod to mess with. Just listen and ride. I am not sure why I never did this. All kinds of music available. woo hoo!
RichEdwards Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 Satellite radio is the best alternative in the audio market. I listen to XM (it offers major league baseball) and NPR. That's it. No commercials ever.
OoPEZoO Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 +1 I've had mine for a little over a year now, and I can't imagine not having it. I used to use a cheap MP3 player, but the SAT radio is much less hassle and I don't have to try and find new songs to program into it. I forget to swap the unit over to my truck every once in awhile.........and its just torture when I attempt to go back to regular radio. I can honestly say that I would dump my cable TV at home before I would scrap my Sirius subscription.
Bheckel169 Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 I started with XM and have it for the home and installed a kit for my truck. Then, I bought a new truck which had 6 months of Sirius radio for free. After, having both now, I'll take XM over Sirius anytime. Sirius, IMHO, has a lot of canned music and seems very commercial. I like the human element of XM and many of their disc jockies program their own music. More spontaneous, less predictable and allows you to enjoy what they enjoy. A case in point is The Loft on XM 50. Mike Marone and his two other disc jockies offer up some wonderful music and you never know what you're going to hear (of course, I like the acoustic, singer songwriter stuff and my son-in-law is played regularly on it), whereas on Sirius 30 the same singer songwriter music is repetitive and simply wheels through the same music each cycle. If I ever hear one more Paul McCarney song (the same one) again, I'll puke. As soon as my free period ends, I'm changing to XM. Bruce
eddd Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 I've been with XM for about 5 years, and I have 3 receivers: one for the house and RV, one for the truck and motorcycle, and one for when I'm on my bicycle. I also access it on line at work, which requires that I bring my aircard as they block streaming audio on our network. When I take the RT or truck for a long ride/vacation I bring an extra receiver in case I have trouble. Other than NPR, I never listen terrestrial radio. Do think I hooked?
flat_twin Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 We got XM after the wife's new car came with a built in XM receiver and a 90 day trial period. I 've since bought a Skifi2 unit and move it between the house, garage, personal truck and company work truck. A recent field repair at work required three vehicles at the the job site. I instructed the other two trucks to tune to 88.5 to receive my XM signal. Everyone agreed, commercial free Blues made the afternoon go a little quicker!
Dave McReynolds Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 I used my new Zumo with XM on my trip to Torrey in September. It was a great companion crossing the Nevada desert. The Zumo had some kind of intermittent fault that caused connection to external power to cut in and out at odd times, thus losing the XM whenever it happened. Despite all my fiddling with contacts, etc., nothing I did seemed to have any effect. It would just cut out and then later that day, or maybe the next day, would cut back in whenever the spirit moved it. Whenever it would cut out, I would feel a strange isolation from the world that I hadn't felt on other trips prior to XM. Sometimes, I would want that feeling of isolation, of course, and would turn off the XM for a while. When I got back, Amazon was most gracious about sending me a replacement Zumo even before I sent the old one back to them, which included the motorcycle base as well as the Zumo itself, so I never had to figure out whether the fault was in the base or the Zumo, but I suspect it was in the base, since it never cut out when I used it in the car, but then I've only used it in the car for short periods of time. I haven't had the problem since getting the new Zumo, and would hate to take a long trip without it. I wonder if both Sirius and XM will survive? I got hooked on XM because it came already installed in my new car, and of course is built into the Zumo XM antenna (I don't know that there is a Sirius Zumo antenna), so I've never tried Sirius. With agressive marketing techniques like that, one would have to suspect that XM is coming out on top.
smiller Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 Just as a counterpoint I've installed XM on the bike twice (got tired of it once and decided to give it another try.) For me I find that in spite of the large selection of channels I found myself constantly skipping around a lot looking for something I wanted to listen to. My main interest was news and spoken-word stuff but too many commercials there. I just keep going back to my MP3 player. I may be unique and perhaps my player is better-stocked with music than most, so that on a random playlist I don't know what is coming up next, kind like sat radio... but unlike sat radio I do know that whatever it is I'll like it... The audio quality of sat radio isn't so great as well, and declining all the time as they try to squeeze more and more channels into the same bandwidth. Listenable on a bike but that's about it (for me), otherwise I find the extreme compression levels fatiguing. Different strokes.
OoPEZoO Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 I wonder if both Sirius and XM will survive? I got hooked on XM because it came already installed in my new car, and of course is built into the Zumo XM antenna (I don't know that there is a Sirius Zumo antenna), so I've never tried Sirius. With agressive marketing techniques like that, one would have to suspect that XM is coming out on top. I keep hoping that the merger of the two companys will go through. That is the only thing holding me back from buying a NAV system right now. I want the Zumo, won't give up my Sirius, and refuse to have a Zumo + Sirius reciever rigged up to work simulatiously. I can't justify having two farkles that I consistantly have to move from car to bike. I have my fingers crossed that they will get it all sorted out and eventually offer Sirius programing on a future Zumo. Until then.......I'll be lost on some back road trying to read a map and jamming to my music .
finallyabeemer Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 Don't root too hard for merger. Last time I checked, the consensus was still that the broadcast/hardware technologies were so different that it would be impossible to cross convert or somehow make them compatible... So if they merge and choose not to support both sets of hardware, one goes away and exising equipment becomes obsolete. And some would argue that if they merge and become a monopoly, there would be a rather real chance that they would NOT choose to support both, as that basically costs twice as much.
Silver Surfer/AKAButters Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 XM-The greatest thng to happen to broadcast in my lifetime. One problem though. I can't seem to get it off the comedy channel 150, (not for the squeamish). I laugh so hard sometimes , I have to pull over.
Bob Palin Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 Just installed Sirius radio on my 07' GSA and I am lovin' it! No ipod to mess with. Just listen and ride. I am not sure why I never did this. All kinds of music available. woo hoo! I've gone the opposite direction, I may not even renew my XM subscription. The real change occurred when I discovered podcasts which allow me to pick what I listen to when I want spoken word programs. There are a couple of channels on XM I miss which play more eclectic selections than I would normally be exposed to.
bakerzdosen Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 I keep hoping that the merger of the two companys will go through. That is the only thing holding me back from buying a NAV system right now. I want the Zumo, won't give up my Sirius, and refuse to have a Zumo + Sirius reciever rigged up to work simulatiously. I can't justify having two farkles that I consistantly have to move from car to bike. I have my fingers crossed that they will get it all sorted out and eventually offer Sirius programing on a future Zumo. Until then.......I'll be lost on some back road trying to read a map and jamming to my music . Keep in mind, you may have two things to move back and forth. The sat radio is actually in the antenna. Otherwise, you'd have to buy another one of those (and pay the additional monthly fee) if you really want to move between car and bike. Most people seem to have their puck antenna permanently mounted on the bike so it doesn't walk off on its own while parked somewhere.
OoPEZoO Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 Keep in mind, you may have two things to move back and forth. The sat radio is actually in the antenna. Otherwise, you'd have to buy another one of those (and pay the additional monthly fee) if you really want to move between car and bike. Most people seem to have their puck antenna permanently mounted on the bike so it doesn't walk off on its own while parked somewhere. I didn't realize that the hardware was actualy in the antenna. Personaly, I think thats a really poor design.
OoPEZoO Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 Don't root too hard for merger. Last time I checked, the consensus was still that the broadcast/hardware technologies were so different that it would be impossible to cross convert or somehow make them compatible... So if they merge and choose not to support both sets of hardware, one goes away and exising equipment becomes obsolete. And some would argue that if they merge and become a monopoly, there would be a rather real chance that they would NOT choose to support both, as that basically costs twice as much. I don't really want to get onto the Monopoly discussion. But honestly......I would be fine with any of those outcomes you mentioned. With the radios going obsolete. I would have no problem scrapping my current radio in order to replace it with better technology. I kind of saw things moving in this direction which is why I bought the cheapest low tech reciever they offered. I just hope it all gets sorted out quickly. In the mean time, the industry (XM and Sirius) are just sitting there without the abilitly to move forward with their technology. I can only imagine how frustrated their engineering departments are. The overall potential for either company is through the roof, but they are both completely handcuffed right now.
russell_bynum Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 For me I find that in spite of the large selection of channels I found myself constantly skipping around a lot looking for something I wanted to listen to. My main interest was news and spoken-word stuff but too many commercials there. I just keep going back to my MP3 player. That was my gripe. I got tired of the commericals. Plus, my iPod doesn't have any songs on it that I hate. XM was OK, but MP3 players just work better for me.
bakerzdosen Posted October 29, 2007 Posted October 29, 2007 For me I find that in spite of the large selection of channels I found myself constantly skipping around a lot looking for something I wanted to listen to. My main interest was news and spoken-word stuff but too many commercials there. I just keep going back to my MP3 player. That was my gripe. I got tired of the commericals. Plus, my iPod doesn't have any songs on it that I hate. XM was OK, but MP3 players just work better for me. +1 Maybe I've just been in bad locales or with lousy hardware, but every time I rent a car with XM or Sirius in it, I hate how often the signal drops. It's just annoying. But, with that said, I'm guessing it'd be better than my iPod's hard drive freezing up from the cold...
tallman Posted October 30, 2007 Posted October 30, 2007 And w/the 2730, and others, you get GPS, XM, mp3, audio books, traffic, weather, all in one unit. Cures what ails you. My antenna is in the top of the map window of my Big Mak Diamond Space Case, along w/my Autocom. Easy to remove and stash. YMMV.
Dave McReynolds Posted October 30, 2007 Posted October 30, 2007 And w/the 2730, and others, you get GPS, XM, mp3, audio books, traffic, weather, all in one unit. Cures what ails you. I think audio books would be the next thing for me. I have a Zumo, and I know it will take supplemental chips. Is that how you get audio books onto it? Do they come on chips, or do you have to transfer them from CD's to your computer to the chip?
Sidmariner Posted October 30, 2007 Posted October 30, 2007 I agree it's a good thing, however I found the programming on my favorite channels, like the "Moving Easy", "The Bridge", "Sirius Gold" and the comedy channels to be really repetitive. On a long road trip you could hear the same cycle of material two or three times a day...really boring. I got hooked on the RAdio Classics, with the vintage commercials being especially fun to listen to. Apart from that Sirius is mostly good for listening to news, the CBC and NPR. Finally, for those who don't have it, Sirius is not commercial free. There are commercials, and they are really annoying and repetitive too.
Ben_Ricci Posted October 30, 2007 Posted October 30, 2007 Keep in mind, you may have two things to move back and forth. The sat radio is actually in the antenna. Otherwise, you'd have to buy another one of those (and pay the additional monthly fee) if you really want to move between car and bike. Most people seem to have their puck antenna permanently mounted on the bike so it doesn't walk off on its own while parked somewhere. I just added a small Sirius receiver to my ST and I bought an extra "vehicle kit" with it and I can go seamlessly between bike and pick-up just swapping the little receiver. The fee is an additional $6.99 a month for the new receiver (I already have it in our cars.) I like it because I occasionally get tired of music and want to hear news/talk, etc. I can't do that easily and on the fly with just an MP3 player (and I actually get tired of my MP3 player selections at times).
finallyabeemer Posted October 30, 2007 Posted October 30, 2007 Not always. Both of my receivers (Delphi RoadyII and a Terk unit) are not this way. The Delphi is dedicated to bike only. But I have antennas installed in all of my vehicles (3 cars, RV) and just move the Terk receiver from vehicle to vehicle. But each does require a compatible head unit.
bakerzdosen Posted October 30, 2007 Posted October 30, 2007 Keep in mind, you may have two things to move back and forth. The sat radio is actually in the antenna. Otherwise, you'd have to buy another one of those (and pay the additional monthly fee) if you really want to move between car and bike. Most people seem to have their puck antenna permanently mounted on the bike so it doesn't walk off on its own while parked somewhere. Not always. Both of my receivers (Delphi RoadyII and a Terk unit) are not this way. The Delphi is dedicated to bike only. But I have antennas installed in all of my vehicles (3 cars, RV) and just move the Terk receiver from vehicle to vehicle. But each does require a compatible head unit. Not always, but always with the Zumo.
azkaisr Posted October 30, 2007 Posted October 30, 2007 I agree it's a good thing, however I found the programming on my favorite channels, like the "Moving Easy", "The Bridge", "Sirius Gold" and the comedy channels to be really repetitive. On a long road trip you could hear the same cycle of material two or three times a day...really boring. I got hooked on the RAdio Classics, with the vintage commercials being especially fun to listen to. Apart from that Sirius is mostly good for listening to news, the CBC and NPR. Finally, for those who don't have it, Sirius is not commercial free. There are commercials, and they are really annoying and repetitive too. Neither is XM. The thing about Sat comercials is that they can't be for the local car dealer since it is a national broadcast. Makes selling ads a wee bit tough. That is why you get the junk ads they have on say NFL Radio. The music does get cycled a lot which I think is insane seeing how there is so much more of it available. Still in the middle of nowhere out here in AZ, it is nice to have it. Kaisr
Shaman97 Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 Just installed Sirius radio on my 07' GSA and I am lovin' it! And those of us that bought Sirius stock at $7/share (it's now at ~$4) truly appreciate it. What i enjoy about satellite radio is the ability to listen to a different type of music. Jazz, blues, classical, etc at the touch of a button. They all are repetitive for a period of time, but the tunes cycle through every month or so, and newer/different tunes get on the playlist. For rock, there are 'vault' (lesser played) tumes that I never thought I would hear over the air - some I wish I wouldn't hear again, but that's the beauty of it, too.
CruisinCruzan Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 Zumo, Roady XT, iPod Nano on my RT. The wife and daughter really enjoy them on trips of any distance. They each like the formats that are present on the XM and anything that makes my passengers happy makes me happy.
scout6 Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 Been with XM for many years. Have one in the house and one at school (5th grade classroom). I take the iPod on the bike so I can listen to some programed ride lists (curvey roads, long straights, etc), Audible.com books, and of course 2 or 4 hour blocks of XM radio that I ripped to MP3 when I listen online. One tool, many jobs. Of course being able to dump the photos from the digital camera onto the Ipod is good too.
Armando Posted October 31, 2007 Posted October 31, 2007 The best part about my radios is that I bought them used and they are still active. its been 8-9 months and have not had to pay a fee.
OoPEZoO Posted November 1, 2007 Posted November 1, 2007 The best part about my radios is that I bought them used and they are still active. its been 8-9 months and have not had to pay a fee. Nice....that rules!
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