Sirius/XM ... again

[BlacknTan]

I allowed my trial subscription to lapse because of frequent dropouts of the service. However, I did think the programming was good ... Not good enough to warrant the regular price, but good enough for a promotion.
They call me on a weekly basis to try to get me to sign up again. My answer to them has always been the same, that if it were not for losing signal on a regular basis, I'd be happy to subscribe. Well, the last call, I went through my usual spiel about losing signal, but the agent noted that another satellite had been added in this area because of complaints like mine.
I still get a promo signal, but not something I want to listen to all the time. But while I've been listening, there have been NO dropouts.

Could their story be on the level, or am I just getting better reception as the trees lose their leaves ... or whatever?

 

[badhabits]

I am still am having dropout problems particularly when driving under trees. I can understand when driving through a close valley but underneath trees.

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

They're bullshittin' ya, here's the latest list of sats owned by Sirius/XM:

XM and Sirius satellites

Its possible that you're getting a better signal from less leaves on trees, but I would bet its more because of several things that happen with RF radiowaves, one being Ionospheric conditions and what's called the Faraday rotation. Lots of techie-geeky stuff here, so I won't bore anyone with the details. Basically though, the seasons and the atmospheric changes during fall and winter can sometimes allow slightly better "propogation' of the sat's signals being received on earth.

 

[marshal]

It costs them in the vicinity of 100 million to build and put the satellite in low earth orbit. They're not going to add a satellite because people in a certain area are complaining of intermittent outages.

 

[mcarey86]

My reception is great. I think a large part of it has to do with location. I have one intersection that I deal with, where it always cuts out.

Plus I just paid something like 30$ for 6 months of service. Even if it cut in and out semi frequently, I pay more for a week of gas.

I really only have it for Opie Radio and the Jam station though.

 

[Saker]

Mine only drops when I go under overpasses mostly...not during the normal course of unobstructed areas!

 

[1mgone10]

My signal drops out if a large bird flies by. When my year is up I'm all done.

 

[DEERUNNER]

They're bullshittin' ya, here's the latest list of sats owned by Sirius/XM:
XM and Sirius satellites
Its possible that you're getting a better signal from less leaves on trees, but I would bet its more because of several things that happen with RF radiowaves, one being Ionospheric conditions and what's called the Faraday rotation. Lots of techie-geeky stuff here, so I won't bore anyone with the details. Basically though, the seasons and the atmospheric changes during fall and winter can sometimes allow slightly better "propogation' of the sat's signals being received on earth.

Those radio frequency radiowaves can be so problematic. So, like, satellite radio is the same as FM, UHF, etc? Please do explain.

 

[jrandom]

Its possible that you're getting a better signal from less leaves on trees, but I would bet its more because of several things that happen with RF radiowaves, one being Ionospheric conditions and what's called the Faraday rotation. Lots of techie-geeky stuff here, so I won't bore anyone with the details. Basically though, the seasons and the atmospheric changes during fall and winter can sometimes allow slightly better "propogation' of the sat's signals being received on earth.

Mmmmmn you said Faraday :biggrin1:


Mine drops out only in the back part of our parking garage where there is no line of site outside, it kinda trips me out...only a little though

 

[marshal]

Sounds like Toyota is using a shitty antenna

 

[Jhalko]

I am still am having dropout problems particularly when driving under trees. I can understand when driving through a close valley but underneath trees.

On my recent cross country trip the absolute worst satellite reception I got was in Virginia.

My reception is great. I think a large part of it has to do with location. I have one intersection that I deal with, where it always cuts out.

Plus I just paid something like 30$ for 6 months of service. Even if it cut in and out semi frequently, I pay more for a week of gas.

I really only have it for Opie Radio and the Jam station though.

For sure, I don't know if it's just the trees as my reception in western NC was mostly fine compared to Virginia. Here in CO it's better driving east versus west but that could be my roof rack and angles.

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Those radio frequency radiowaves can be so problematic. So, like, satellite radio is the same as FM, UHF, etc? Please do explain.

Ummm, yes. Not sure if you're being a wise-ass or you're truly sincere with your question. In case you're just asking because you really wanna know, yes, it is UHF, more specifically, between 2045 and 2332.5 mhz.

The difference is the fact that instead of an antenna on earth transmitting to your radio in your vehicle, the antenna is about 22 thousand miles up in the air. This leads to susceptibility of reception due to many factors. Solar absorption, geomagnetic storms, solar flares, all play a part in signal degradation, and that doesn't cover all the other anomalies in satellite interference.

I've been a ham since '91 and still have my satellite radio equipment, and although I haven't done any sat work in many years, I still remember a little about sat communication! I am definitely no scholar when it comes to the intricacies of satellites, but when I hear some douchecanoe stating they have a new satellite in the air just so they can sucker in some guy to re-subscribe to their services, knowing well enough that its a flat-out lie, I like to call it as it is, bullshit, plain and simple.

And, when the OP gets service, and it starts dropping out again on him, he'll be even more pissed off than ever!

 

[NORTHERN]

Sounds like Toyota is using a shitty antenna

Can we swap in a better one ?

 

[badhabits]

It costs them in the vicinity of 100 million to build and put the satellite in low earth orbit. They're not going to add a satellite because people in a certain area are complaining of intermittent outages.

Isn't that about what they pay Howard Stern per year. It might help to get rid of him and put up a new satellite.
:bolt:

 

[SCOTT748]

I also did the trial extension of $30 for 6 months, doubt I will ever pay the full price, but will gladly pay the trial rate again. Down the street from me, there is a few trees that have large overhanging branches, and they get me for about 2 seconds to and from work every day. Besides that, the sound quality is impressive and XM beats the hell out of all the non-stop talking on my local stations!

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Can we swap in a better one ?

You could, but I doubt it will fix the issue with dropouts, unless you go with something really god-awful ugly!

Check around for high-gain xm or Sirius antennas, they are everywhere, but remember that the gain you will need will require the antenna to be MUCH larger than before! Something like this would probably improve your signal reception:

And don't forget, you'll need to adapt it to the existing connector in the rear. That will require some soldering/crimping/disassembly of the existing wiring.

What I find interesting is that most of you who are experiencing dropouts are mainly on the east coast. The satellites, judging from the link in my initial post, has an arc running through the middle of the country, so you're all on the edge of the satellite's window. Lower angle and further distance could be the issue here and not so much atsmospheric interference. A larger antenna would probably help this issue, but is it worth having some big ol' hockey puck stuck to your roof worth it?

And, just in case someone wants to see what's actually inside of the sharkfin antenna, here ya go:

And the triple sma connector that goes to the 4R:

I removed mine and installed my gps antenna inside the sharkfin. I don't have XM/Sirius service, so no sense having all that stuff in there. Plus, I was lazy and decided not to run new coax through the vehicle, so I just spliced my gps antenna's cable into the stock wiring, then changed the connector in the dash to fit my Pioneer head unit's gps jack.

 

[DesertCanyons]

xM Sirus radio antennae

You could, but I doubt it will fix the issue with dropouts, unless you go with something really god-awful ugly!
And don't forget, you'll need to adapt it to the existing connector in the rear. That will require some soldering/crimping/disassembly of the existing wiring.

.., but is it worth having some big ol' hockey puck stuck to your roof worth it?

And, just in case someone wants to see what's actually inside of the sharkfin antenna, here ya go:

And the triple sma connector that goes to the 4R:

I removed mine and installed my gps antenna inside the sharkfin. I don't have XM/Sirius service, so no sense having all that stuff in there. Plus, I was lazy and decided not to run new coax through the vehicle, so I just spliced my gps antenna's cable into the stock wiring, then changed the connector in the dash to fit my Pioneer head unit's gps jack.

[MENTION=118444]flyinhawaiian01[/MENTION]
That's really smart. How did you get the antennae off the roof to make the swap? A lot of the roof rack companies build U-shaped turns in the rack frame to "avoid interference with the satellite antennae". Do they mean physical contact with the shark fin or reception interference?

I'd rather remove the shark fin than have a hole or cut-out in my roof rack. I have no need for the xM/Sirus radio. I mostly listen to my local NPR station around town and CDs on trips. I'll want to add a remote HD device for my tunes someday, rather than carrying CDs. I'm just not interested in paying for the xM/Sirus subscription.

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

The antenna came out pretty easily actually! I forget what size it was, but believe it was a 25mm nut on the bottom, just under the headliner where the antenna is bolted to the roof. There's a "slit" in the stud (for the cable to pass through) that comes through the roof, so you can actually put the socket directly over the nut to get it unbolted, although a crescent wrench or large pliers will pop it off just as easily.

I modified the inside of the antenna's die-cast base to fit the stock Pioneer's gps antenna using a dremel. Removed all the antennas, then grinding the rear part flat so the Pioneer antenna would sit flush and not touch the sharkfin's body. I dunno why I didn't take pics of the process, normally I do for everything I mod just so I know what the hell I did! :frusty:

For me, I just use Pandora or the 128gb of music on my phone, that's plenty enough for me to keep me entertained! For me, there's really no reason to pay for XM, as I've found similar stations through Tune-In and Pandora as I used to listen to on XM.

 

[jerseyrunner5]

I am going on a year with my 4R now and got the 3 month trial and then added on the 6 months for $30 plus whatever small taxes etc... That was about to be up so I called to cancel because I did not want to be put on the regular subscription and I got them down to like $90 for one year after 2 phone calls. I am happy with the service in both Miami and NJ. I love it since there are so many channels and I don't have to browse for channels on XM like i would with FM when I drive back and from from FL to NJ.

 

[cbreze]

I gave up on Sirius. Not only do I dislike their policies and come-ons, but even in town in certain areas I would lose signal. Pandora thru my cell signal provider works much better IMO. Plus I have a few hundred CD's. The stations I liked, mostly jazz the dang DJ would talk to much before the music played. If I wanted that I can listen to NPR. The hell with sirius.