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Questions from a future Sirius Subscriber

S

Skynet74

I want to get Sirius just so I can listen to Howard Stern. I only want to get a Portable receiver for use in my apartment. I really don't care about getting a receiver for the Car at this point since I'm home most mornings anyway.

Now here are my questions..... What type of antenna does the receiver use? What does it look like, how large is it and does it need to be placed outside? I Live in an apartment Building and I am limited to where I can place an antenna. Also .... Do I have to position the antenna facing Southwest like you do with Satellite TV (or) is Satellite Radio more flexible with where you can place the antenna?

Also..... Does anyone know if Sirius plans on Streaming the Stern Channel? I guess I could just subscribe to the internet stream as an alternate solution if it's available.

Thanks for any help.


John<P ID="signature">______________
Awsome Voiceovers for your station.
JohnChartier.com
206-600-2629
</P>
 
> I want to get Sirius just so I can listen to Howard Stern. I
> only want to get a Portable receiver for use in my
> apartment. I really don't care about getting a receiver for
> the Car at this point since I'm home most mornings anyway.
>
> Now here are my questions..... What type of antenna does
> the receiver use? What does it look like, how large is it
> and does it need to be placed outside? I Live in an
> apartment Building and I am limited to where I can place an
> antenna. Also .... Do I have to position the antenna facing
> Southwest like you do with Satellite TV (or) is Satellite
> Radio more flexible with where you can place the antenna?
>
> Also..... Does anyone know if Sirius plans on Streaming the
> Stern Channel? I guess I could just subscribe to the
> internet stream as an alternate solution if it's available.
>
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
>
> John
>
The antenna isn't that big. The home antenna sits on either a table or on a windowsill. I don't have the dimensions, but it doesn't take up a lot of space. If you live in a major city, you might be able to get the signal just by having it on a windowsill. Otherwise it will need to be placed outside somehow. Since you live in an apartment complex, if you have a balconey, place it on the balconey. This link will direct you to how you should point your antenna if you put it outside: http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/Page&c=Page&cid=1071870446092&

Most units sold at Circuit City & Best Buy only come with the car kit. You'll have to buy a separate home docking unit. I bought the Sanyo CRSR-10 unit, which has both in one package, and got it on clearance at Wal-mart. I like Sirius, but have second thoughts about my unit after my last unit quit working and had to get a replacement. I got the same unit, but afraid to remove it from the house because the last unit quit after putting it in the car, and while driving, it decided it would give the Acquiring signal message. In the car for it to pop up with that message in a cornfield, something was wrong. I I would recommend an Audiovox or Xact unit before I would recommend a Sanyo. They cost more, but at least the docking units look more durable and look like they would handle constant changing dock units than the Sanyo model would.
My reason for Sirius was the music channels seem programmed better than XM. I especially like Chill, but I however wished there was a separate 90's channel rather than 90's and Now, the Pulse, a Hot AC channel, minus the 80's, which are on a separate channel. At least XM has a separate Hot AC & 90's channels. That I do like.
Whatever unit you get, good luck with Sirius. Maybe someone can fill in some info that I may have left out on Sirius radio.
 
>slow down there sparky!!! first, get the sirius starmate, they are really cheap now, around $50.00 at radio shack, and buy a power adapter while at RS, much cheaper than buying the home power kit. now the starmate kit comes with the car antenna, so you might have some trouble getting a signal in your apartment with the car antenna, do you live in a metro area with ground repeaters??? LA, NYC, SF, Miami, seattle??? if you do you can get a signal in your apartment, if you don't then you have to find a window ledge where the antenna can get a clear view of the sky. and I don't know if stern will be streamed over the net yet, but around 12.95 a month for all of the channels, it's still very cheap for all the entertainment. plus, if you don't have a quality internet connection the audio stream will cut out alot. www.sirius.com for more info and www.siriusbackstage.com for a cool BB.:)
 
> Now here are my questions..... What type of antenna does
> the receiver use? What does it look like, how large is it
> and does it need to be placed outside? I Live in an
> apartment Building and I am limited to where I can place an
> antenna. Also .... Do I have to position the antenna facing
> Southwest like you do with Satellite TV (or) is Satellite
> Radio more flexible with where you can place the antenna?

Basically, most of the top 30 largest cities in America have ground repeaters...
If the 206 area code in your signature is your "home base", you live in Seattle (Thanks Google!)...Seattle DOES have a ground repeater...so you can basically stick it wherever. If that doesn't work, buy a container flower pot you can stick over the edge of your window and put the antenna in there...It'll stick out enough from the building that it shouldn't be a problem...

Also, the further North you are, the better (usually) the signal is. Being in Seattle, the signal strength is probably much better than here in South Central Virginia.

> Also..... Does anyone know if Sirius plans on Streaming the
> Stern Channel? I guess I could just subscribe to the
> internet stream as an alternate solution if it's available.

The short answer (I think) is that none of Sirius' talk channels stream. Since the Stern channel is produced in-house, it could be different.

Good luck,

Radio-X
<P ID="signature">______________
I wasn't born in the south, but I got down here as fast as I could...</P>
 
I agree with the portable philosophy. I just switched from xm, I bought the Sportster Replay with the car kit for 140 and learned Radio shack had the Sportster Replay with the home and car kit for the same price.

Since I don't have the home kit yet I can't give you an opinion but it wouldn't be all that useful cause it totally depends on your location.

I noticed NONE of the Sirius talk channels I checked were streaming. Didn't check each one but they don't stream Raw Dog, which is their content.

You can get a guest account and sample.

Stern's channels have some stuff now but they don't even show up on the Sirius online listen list. I suspect they never will cause I recall him mentioning on-air something about providing his show via some sort of podcast type service where you pay to download shows.
 
> > Now here are my questions..... What type of antenna does
>
> > the receiver use? What does it look like, how large is it
> > and does it need to be placed outside? I Live in an
> > apartment Building and I am limited to where I can place
> an
> > antenna. Also .... Do I have to position the antenna
> facing
> > Southwest like you do with Satellite TV (or) is Satellite
> > Radio more flexible with where you can place the antenna?
>
> Basically, most of the top 30 largest cities in America have
> ground repeaters...
> If the 206 area code in your signature is your "home base",
> you live in Seattle (Thanks Google!)...Seattle DOES have a
> ground repeater...so you can basically stick it wherever. If
> that doesn't work, buy a container flower pot you can stick
> over the edge of your window and put the antenna in
> there...It'll stick out enough from the building that it
> shouldn't be a problem...

I live in Tacoma, Wa. and just got a Sportster car and home docking unit yesterday. I have the home antenna sitting in a window sill on the east side of my house pointing NE and am Getting 7 bars out of ten on "TER" I assume this is a terestrial repeater rather than the satellite. The SAT bar sort of comes in and out at 3 bars.

Have not hooked up the car unit yet to see how that works.

The indoor antenna lookes like a small 2"X 2" bookend, best way I can describe it.

> Also, the further North you are, the better (usually) the
> signal is. Being in Seattle, the signal strength is probably
> much better than here in South Central Virginia.
 
> I agree with the portable philosophy. I just switched from
> xm, I bought the Sportster Replay with the car kit for 140
> and learned Radio shack had the Sportster Replay with the
> home and car kit for the same price.

I just got mine yesterday at Circuit City with a $50 rebate if you purchase at least a 6 month subscription. I looked at the Sportster Replay unit at Radio Shack first, and they had no mention of the $50 rebate. Glad I checked around and found out that CC had the rebate. Mine was (rounded) $150 (same as RS price) minus the $50 rebate, the home docking unit was an additional $50.
 
> I live in Tacoma, Wa. and just got a Sportster car and home
> docking unit yesterday. I have the home antenna sitting in
> a window sill on the east side of my house pointing NE and
> am Getting 7 bars out of ten on "TER" I assume this is a
> terestrial repeater rather than the satellite. The SAT bar
> sort of comes in and out at 3 bars.
>
> Have not hooked up the car unit yet to see how that works.
>
> The indoor antenna lookes like a small 2"X 2" bookend, best
> way I can describe it.
>
> > Also, the further North you are, the better (usually) the
> > signal is. Being in Seattle, the signal strength is
> probably
> > much better than here in South Central Virginia.
>
I live in Gary Indiana and I live in a mobile home, so I had to place the antenna outside in order to get a signal. I have the Sanyo CRSR-10 model, which I got from Wal-mart, which had it marked down to $60 when I bought it. It came with both the home & car kit. It's ok, but I wished I had the Sportster kit instead. It looks sturdier. Since this unit is working ok keeping the unit in one location, I'll keep it for the time being. Since I'm only 30 minutes from downtown Chicago, I get a terrestrial signal, and sometimes the terrestrial signal is stronger than the satellite signal. The antenna I'm using is the car antenna at home. Since I live in a mobile home, I just stuck it to the roof and the magnet holds it in place. I definitely will get the Sportster kit once I get a car, and I'll use that for the car. I just wonder if the Sportster model has the built in transmitter, or if I'll have to buy a separate transmitter. The Sanyo model has the transmitter built in, and I have it on the default frequency, 88.1. Since there's no 88.1 broadcasting into Gary, it doesn't create a problem. Now if I use the unit at work in Lowell Indiana, I get interference from both an 88.1 & 88.3, which both transmit into the area, unless the unit is that close to the antenna that it overpowers the terrestrial signal.
 
> > I want to get Sirius just so I can listen to Howard Stern.
> I
> > only want to get a Portable receiver for use in my
> > apartment. I really don't care about getting a receiver
> for
> > the Car at this point since I'm home most mornings anyway.
>
> >
> > Now here are my questions..... What type of antenna does
>
> > the receiver use? What does it look like, how large is it
> > and does it need to be placed outside? I Live in an
> > apartment Building and I am limited to where I can place
> an
> > antenna. Also .... Do I have to position the antenna
> facing
> > Southwest like you do with Satellite TV (or) is Satellite
> > Radio more flexible with where you can place the antenna?
> >
> > Also..... Does anyone know if Sirius plans on Streaming
> the
> > Stern Channel? I guess I could just subscribe to the
> > internet stream as an alternate solution if it's
> available.
> >
> >
> > Thanks for any help.
> >
> >
> > John
> >
> The antenna isn't that big. The home antenna sits on either
> a table or on a windowsill. I don't have the dimensions,
> but it doesn't take up a lot of space. If you live in a
> major city, you might be able to get the signal just by
> having it on a windowsill. Otherwise it will need to be
> placed outside somehow. Since you live in an apartment
> complex, if you have a balconey, place it on the balconey.
> This link will direct you to how you should point your
> antenna if you put it outside:
http://www.sirius.com/servlet/> ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/Page&c=Page&cid=1071870446092&
>
>
> Most units sold at Circuit City & Best Buy only come with
> the car kit. You'll have to buy a separate home docking
> unit. I bought the Sanyo CRSR-10 unit, which has both in
> one package, and got it on clearance at Wal-mart. I like
> Sirius, but have second thoughts about my unit after my last
> unit quit working and had to get a replacement. I got the
> same unit, but afraid to remove it from the house because
> the last unit quit after putting it in the car, and while
> driving, it decided it would give the Acquiring signal
> message. In the car for it to pop up with that message in a
> cornfield, something was wrong. I I would recommend an
> Audiovox or Xact unit before I would recommend a Sanyo.
> They cost more, but at least the docking units look more
> durable and look like they would handle constant changing
> dock units than the Sanyo model would.
> My reason for Sirius was the music channels seem programmed
> better than XM. I especially like Chill, but I however
> wished there was a separate 90's channel rather than 90's
> and Now, the Pulse, a Hot AC channel, minus the 80's, which
> are on a separate channel. At least XM has a separate Hot
> AC & 90's channels. That I do like.
> Whatever unit you get, good luck with Sirius. Maybe someone
> can fill in some info that I may have left out on Sirius
> radio.
>

My first Sanyo unit crapped out after two months but the replacement Sanyo is still going strong after about 10 months. My guess is the first batches they made had defects but newer ones work better.

Give your new one a shot in the car and I bet it works better this time.

Ape.
 
> My first Sanyo unit crapped out after two months but the
> replacement Sanyo is still going strong after about 10
> months. My guess is the first batches they made had defects
> but newer ones work better.
>
> Give your new one a shot in the car and I bet it works
> better this time.
>
> Ape.
>
If you read one of my previous posts, I bought my unit at Wal-mart on clearance. I don't want to take a chance on taking it to the car again as Wal-mart is known for stockpile some merchandise (non-expiring merchandise), and it be available well past the discontinuance of the product by the manufacturer.
 
New Sirius subscriber here... And boy are my arms tired!

The only way I can get a signal on my boombox is to stand way out in the middle of my backyard and hold the radio up in the air.
 
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