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Just Got Sirius... (and a question for current subscribers)

W

wmgcbs

Guest
I am SO disappointed I can't even begin to think about it. I have moved the antenna to every single room in the house, next to a window, and I can not get a signal at all. I can't believe that I can't even get ONE signal. I called Sirius, and we made sure everything was hooked up properly, but obviously, living in Central NJ does not let one get Sirius. I've had the boombox on with the antenna out the window for two hours and not one bit of a signal is coming through.

Is this anywhere near normal??
 
> I am SO disappointed I can't even begin to think about it.
> I have moved the antenna to every single room in the house,
> next to a window, and I can not get a signal at all. I
> can't believe that I can't even get ONE signal. I called
> Sirius, and we made sure everything was hooked up properly,
> but obviously, living in Central NJ does not let one get
> Sirius. I've had the boombox on with the antenna out the
> window for two hours and not one bit of a signal is coming
> through.
>
> Is this anywhere near normal??
>
Unfortunitly there's probably no terrestrial repeater nearby the town where you live. You will have to have the antenna placed outside prefrerbly on the roof with a clear view of the sky to pick up a signal straight from the satellite. They do make antennas for the home that can be installed on the roof like a TV antenna.
 
> I am SO disappointed I can't even begin to think about it.
> I have moved the antenna to every single room in the house,
> next to a window, and I can not get a signal at all. I
> can't believe that I can't even get ONE signal. I called
> Sirius, and we made sure everything was hooked up properly,
> but obviously, living in Central NJ does not let one get
> Sirius. I've had the boombox on with the antenna out the
> window for two hours and not one bit of a signal is coming
> through.
>
> Is this anywhere near normal??
>


You're probably going to need something like this:

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?main_cat=2 04&CAT=&PROD=ANSIR6
 
> I am SO disappointed I can't even begin to think about it.
> I have moved the antenna to every single room in the house,
> next to a window, and I can not get a signal at all. I
> can't believe that I can't even get ONE signal. I called
> Sirius, and we made sure everything was hooked up properly,
> but obviously, living in Central NJ does not let one get
> Sirius. I've had the boombox on with the antenna out the
> window for two hours and not one bit of a signal is coming
> through.
> Is this anywhere near normal??

Of the two satellite services, Sirius definitely loses the reception battle. I don't live anywhere near a terrestrial repeater, and I had almost the exact same problem. I'm not sure how the boomboxes are set up; I have the Starmate. One of my friends advised me to take the car kit's antenna, as opposed to the home kit's antenna, and put it out my window and leave it face up in an unobstructed area of the garden. It's not recommended by most people on this board, but it's worked for me ever since (never a drop or a glitch), and it's been a lot better than the outdoor antenna, which got clear reception when it worked but could never be positioned for 24 hour reception. I don't know if you can do the same or maybe trade for a different receiver, but, if you can, it's something you might want to look at.
 
> Of the two satellite services, Sirius definitely loses the
> reception battle. I don't live anywhere near a terrestrial
> repeater, and I had almost the exact same problem. I'm not
> sure how the boomboxes are set up; I have the Starmate. One
> of my friends advised me to take the car kit's antenna, as
> opposed to the home kit's antenna, and put it out my window
> and leave it face up in an unobstructed area of the garden.
> It's not recommended by most people on this board, but it's
> worked for me ever since (never a drop or a glitch), and
> it's been a lot better than the outdoor antenna, which got
> clear reception when it worked but could never be positioned
> for 24 hour reception. I don't know if you can do the same
> or maybe trade for a different receiver, but, if you can,
> it's something you might want to look at.
>
Thanks for the info. After sitting through a painful migraine last night, probably from the stress of over three hours of trying to position the antenna, I have decided to just return it. I'm not paying for frustration. I'll just have to settle for good old NYC FM radio. Sirius got too hectic and frustrating.

Thanks again!
 
> > Of the two satellite services, Sirius definitely loses the
>
> > reception battle. I don't live anywhere near a
> terrestrial
> > repeater, and I had almost the exact same problem. I'm
> not
> > sure how the boomboxes are set up; I have the Starmate.
> One
> > of my friends advised me to take the car kit's antenna, as
>
> > opposed to the home kit's antenna, and put it out my
> window
> > and leave it face up in an unobstructed area of the
> garden.
> > It's not recommended by most people on this board, but
> it's
> > worked for me ever since (never a drop or a glitch), and
> > it's been a lot better than the outdoor antenna, which got
>
> > clear reception when it worked but could never be
> positioned
> > for 24 hour reception. I don't know if you can do the
> same
> > or maybe trade for a different receiver, but, if you can,
> > it's something you might want to look at.
> >
> Thanks for the info. After sitting through a painful
> migraine last night, probably from the stress of over three
> hours of trying to position the antenna, I have decided to
> just return it. I'm not paying for frustration. I'll just
> have to settle for good old NYC FM radio. Sirius got too
> hectic and frustrating.
>
> Thanks again!
>

You gave yourself a migraine over not getting a radio to work? ouch..
You're right. FM Broadcast might be the best solution for you.
 
> I am SO disappointed I can't even begin to think about it.
> I have moved the antenna to every single room in the house,
> next to a window, and I can not get a signal at all. I
> can't believe that I can't even get ONE signal. I called
> Sirius, and we made sure everything was hooked up properly,
> but obviously, living in Central NJ does not let one get
> Sirius. I've had the boombox on with the antenna out the
> window for two hours and not one bit of a signal is coming
> through.
>
> Is this anywhere near normal??
>


First, what receiver did you get? Since it's a boom box, can you take it out where it's completely open (say a grassy park or a school playground) and pick up anything?

If it is the Xact receiver, you should be able to go to a menu selection ("Satellite pointing" I think) that will show you what strength signal you are getting on both Satellite and terestrial frequencies. Other receivers should have similar functions.

Here, north of Atlanta, I pick up Sirius solidly by satellite with the antenna placed on a sill facing northwest. My XM receiver picks up nothing there, but does fine on a sill facing south. Driving between suburbs on the northside, I depend on the repeaters of both services, especially when driving through forested areas (Atlanta being the most heavily forested metro area in the country)

A month ago I was driving through central NJ going to Manhattan, and I listened to Sirius the whole way with no problem until well into the Holland Tunnel. Going out of the city a week later I drove down I-95, but I don't remember if I was listening to XM or Sirius. Still no problems, but I didn't check either time to see if I was getting Sat or repeaters.
 
> First, what receiver did you get? Since it's a boom box,
> can you take it out where it's completely open (say a grassy
> park or a school playground) and pick up anything?
>
> If it is the Xact receiver, you should be able to go to a
> menu selection ("Satellite pointing" I think) that will show
> you what strength signal you are getting on both Satellite
> and terestrial frequencies. Other receivers should have
> similar functions.
>
> Here, north of Atlanta, I pick up Sirius solidly by
> satellite with the antenna placed on a sill facing
> northwest. My XM receiver picks up nothing there, but does
> fine on a sill facing south. Driving between suburbs on the
> northside, I depend on the repeaters of both services,
> especially when driving through forested areas (Atlanta
> being the most heavily forested metro area in the country)
>
>
> A month ago I was driving through central NJ going to
> Manhattan, and I listened to Sirius the whole way with no
> problem until well into the Holland Tunnel. Going out of
> the city a week later I drove down I-95, but I don't
> remember if I was listening to XM or Sirius. Still no
> problems, but I didn't check either time to see if I was
> getting Sat or repeaters.
>
I got the Sportster, and when I used the antenna aiming function, I got no bars for either terrestrial or satellite. Also, I can easily obtain any FM frequencies in this position normally. Does this suggest that I have a problem with an antenna or something of that nature?
 
> Thanks for the info. After sitting through a painful
> migraine last night, probably from the stress of over three
> hours of trying to position the antenna, I have decided to
> just return it. I'm not paying for frustration. I'll just
> have to settle for good old NYC FM radio. Sirius got too
> hectic and frustrating.

I don't blame you. I've said it many times before, "Radio shouldn't be something I have to work at to enjoy!" If you're still interested in Sirius, you might want to see if it offers an online only subscription. Sirius has quality programming, and that might be an easy way for you to enjoy it. The sound quality is also better than most online radio.
 
> I don't blame you. I've said it many times before, "Radio
> shouldn't be something I have to work at to enjoy!"
> you're still interested in Sirius, you might want to see if
> it offers an online only subscription. Sirius has quality
> programming, and that might be an easy way for you to enjoy
> it. The sound quality is also better than most online
> radio.
>
While I agree that Sirius has quality programming, the only way that I feel that it would be justified to pay for it is if I have it in the house, in the car, and as my main source of radio. The only reason that I even thought about Sirius is that in the past few months, I have had no real FAVORITE radio station that plays the oldies music in New York City. Since Sirius had a great lineup of personalities and the music I love, I figured it would be worth it to pay the $12.95 a month. When I wind up spending three hours trying to get even a HINT of a signal all over my house, it just became too stressful.

I might as well listen to WJMK.com, since no commercials are present, and the music is still playing. Although the playlist is just like any other oldies station, no commercials will do it for me!

Well, back to NJ 101.5 WKXW's Summer Oldies Weekend. Maybe I still have a day of (somewhat) good radio left before the summer unofficially comes to a close!


Thanks again for your insight!
 
> > I don't blame you. I've said it many times before, "Radio
>
> > shouldn't be something I have to work at to enjoy!"
> > you're still interested in Sirius, you might want to see
> if
> > it offers an online only subscription. Sirius has quality
>
> > programming, and that might be an easy way for you to
> enjoy
> > it. The sound quality is also better than most online
> > radio.
> >
> While I agree that Sirius has quality programming, the only
> way that I feel that it would be justified to pay for it is
> if I have it in the house, in the car, and as my main source
> of radio. The only reason that I even thought about Sirius
> is that in the past few months, I have had no real FAVORITE
> radio station that plays the oldies music in New York City.
> Since Sirius had a great lineup of personalities and the
> music I love, I figured it would be worth it to pay the
> $12.95 a month. When I wind up spending three hours trying
> to get even a HINT of a signal all over my house, it just
> became too stressful.
>
> I might as well listen to WJMK.com, since no commercials are
> present, and the music is still playing. Although the
> playlist is just like any other oldies station, no
> commercials will do it for me!
>
> Well, back to NJ 101.5 WKXW's Summer Oldies Weekend. Maybe
> I still have a day of (somewhat) good radio left before the
> summer unofficially comes to a close!
>
>
> Thanks again for your insight!
>

> Sounds as if you have a faulty/defective antenna or reciever. Thousands of Sirius subscribers in your area do not have that problem that you state. Take the equipment back and get it replaced. Do you think for one minute that there arent other Sirius subscribers in your area, and they are receiving a signal okay? I dont blame you for being frustrated, but there are things you can do. Others have no problems. If I get a brand new car and its a lemon, do you think every other owner of that type of car faces the same thing?
 
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