who understands Sirius radios? I wanna get one | FerrariChat

who understands Sirius radios? I wanna get one

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by SRT Mike, Jan 24, 2008.

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  1. SRT Mike

    SRT Mike Two Time F1 World Champ

    Oct 31, 2003
    23,343
    Taxachusetts
    Full Name:
    Raymond Luxury Yacht
    So... I was talking to the people at my work and they requested Sirius radio to listen to while they work... and FM has WAY too many commercials.

    I sort of thought about it for my car anyway, and since I am first in and last out at work, I thought it would be cool if I got one I could use in the car and bring in to the office to let them listen during the day. Then I went on Sirius' website and saw a huge range of prices - $20 for some INV unit and $350 or so for the Stiletto 200. Wow.

    First I was gonna get the stiletto because I can bring it from car to work no problem - and I could use it when I bike and at home. But in reviews it gets crap reception - so I would need 2 home kits (one for home and one for work) and a car kit. Now we're talking more like $500+. ouch.

    Honestly I don't really care about using it while I bike - probably get crap reception and you have to use their headphones anyway since they are the antenna... well I break headphones like crazy when biking so I doubt that would work. So if I dont care about mobile use and instead just want car and home, I could get any of the units right?

    So at the store today I look at the Inv2 - its like $30 WITH the car kit (thats a lot better than $350!). Then for $50 I get the home kit. That should work.

    But there are about 10 different radios. Honestly, what is the difference between the various ones (other than the stiletto, I get that it's portable).

    If I got the Inv2 with the car kit, couldnt I just use the car kit to wire it up at my office? We have a stereo out in the shop and I could use the FM transmitter to make Sirius come on some existing FM channel... and it comes with the antenna (but would the car-kit antenna work indoors?). I have a car-voltage power supply so thats a non-issue.

    Or I can get the Stiletto and buy 2 home kits and a car kit- but thats $$. The plus side is it records songs and sat programs for later replay - but not sure I'd use that. It CAN get signal wirelessly and we have wireless at work - but only DSL so I dont want to use up all bandwidth.... and if I was using wireless anyway I dont need a radio at all since you can listen to Sirius online, so I could plug the computer out back's sound card into the line-IN on the boom-box and listen that way, no?

    or is there a reason to get one of the other car models higher-end than the Inv2? They ranged from $39 to $199 or so

    If I get a car kit for my car, does the antenna need to go outside the car? I ain't cutting a hole for an antenna so if it does that option is out. if I can stick it inside on the glass then I'd do it I think.

    I am so confused... I am debating whether to just get the cheapest car model with a car kit and use that at work (provided it will get reception indoors - will it?). plus side is its cheap and doesnt use our internet bandwidth. Or just listen online and plug the computer into the boom box - problem with that is you need to interact with the player every 90 minutes or it shuts off - kind of a pain in the butt.

    What to do? what seems the best solution or am I missing something or misunderstanding how it all works?
     
  2. MarkPDX

    MarkPDX F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Apr 21, 2003
    15,111
    Gulf Coast
    Dunno how your office internet is filtered but it might be easiest to get an online Sirius subscription and listen through the internet stream on your computer, no worries about reception.

    The memory/replay feature is great if you are driving and want to pause while you are on the phone or out of the car for a few minutes.

    You can just put the antenna in the window, I have mine up on the very front of the dash where it meets the windshield so the antenna has a good sky view and is out of the way.

    For home use you really don't even need to have the antenna outside to get good reception... I have the antenna on top of a shelf in the corner of the room where it is out of the way and there is nothing in the attic above. Occasionally there will be a signal interruption for a few seconds but it's not enough to be really bothersome.
     
  3. joker57676

    joker57676 Two Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 12, 2005
    23,767
    Sin City
    Full Name:
    Deplorie McDeplorableface
    I have the Stiletto and have had zero problems with it. I have the car kit and the boombox for my bedroom and couldn’t be happier. When the unit is not plugged into a base station, you do not need the antenna headphones to get reception. They are only a booster for low reception areas. I have had no problems ever getting reception without them. This is possible because Sirius bounces their satellite signals off terrestrial antennas so you really don’t even need a clear view of the sky to get reception. Besides that, it picks up wifi signals so you can use their internet radio when you are in a hotspot and cannot get a decent signal any other way.

    While the initial start up cost with the car unit and boombox is steep, it's worth it. I cannot listen to terrestrial radio anymore. If for some reason I forget to bring my Sirius in my car, I just don't listen to the radio.
     
  4. Dave328

    Dave328 Formula 3

    Nov 24, 2002
    2,133
    Katy
    Full Name:
    Dave
    AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Dave
     

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