xm antenna

[b231v6]

Just got the xm roady. I like it but it really comes in like ****. Did I do something wrong? Antenna is on the center of the front roof. Leed is run along the windshield gap,down the A pillar drain spout and into the car.

I coiled the wire back and forth to take up less room under the dash.
It's the micro antenna,do I need a bigger one.

It kinda sucks to have to pay 10 bucks a month and have crappy reception.

Anybody have any suggestions.

[aperrego]

I have had xm for 3 years.. no problems ever.. in fact it is clear as a bell and have not listened to the commercial ridden fm since.


If you have the roady one.. Make sure you have all connections right.. Such as the antenna.. Are you running the TAPE interface or some RF modulator?

Adam

[b231v6]

fm modulater in after market cigarette piece under the dash.

Also,does the antenna need to be 6 inches back from the front window? Thanks!!

[aperrego]

I am thinking the modulator and thge receiver is some emi do you also have a cell in the mix somewhere? The antenna should be fine as long as it is on a level surface. Is this in the buick? If so u may want to ensure that the power connection to the back of the lighter is solid....Where did you buy it.. If you have issues like this ongoing I would return and replace the plug in piece..

[b231v6]

I had to move the antenna the middle rear of roof. It must make a difference because now I have a strong signal. It says that it should'nt be closer than 6 inches to any glass. Kinda a pain when you have a sun roof too. Only now I have that small antenna cord running over the roof.

When I got that fixed I was moving the modulater cord behind the radio and pulled something loose. Now I have no radio.dome light, power door locks and what ever else. Their is a small cylindrical type connector with female electrical fittings on one end. That might get pluged into the back of the radio. What a pain!!!


Thanks for your replies though.

[BlackBeauty]

Since the antenna is outside of the vehicle, I don't see how it would interfere with the glass. Are you sure your radio was set on the right station for the FM modulator? Does the Roady have a selector for FM modulator that you have to turn off when using an external FM mod.?

[b231v6]

Per instuctions you are not suppose to install antenna inside car and keep a minnimun of 6 inches from any glass,windows ,sun roof etc. The roady does'nt care what u use for a fm modulater,external or thru cassette adtr. External mod lets u choose between frequencies.

[Jarnutt]

the instructions are crap. I put about 4 out of every 5 Xm antennas on the dash or the rear deck without a problem. granted it may be that way only in Phoenix, but i almost never hear a complaint and ive installed hundreds of them. the roady should come with the generation 2 magnetic antenna that is no bigger than a pack of gum, and it can be double side sticky taped to the dash, and almost out of sight. We have the roady in our install bay here, and the antenna is actually about 30 feet inside the bay, taped to the wall, with pretty good reception. also, as another post reccomended, make sure you have it on the right station, antenna signal loss wont cause noise, it will just cut out completely.

[b231v6]

Well I just completed finishing up the antenna install. The antenna here in WI. needs to be on the roof. I've tried two different modulaters all at different freq. settings. Comes in but not crystal clear and always goes blank around underpasses and certain power line locations. Oh well I can live with it. If I install the Antenna in the car or near glass it's totally worthless. See how it works traveling down to Indy this weekend.

[Jarnutt]

after bringing it up around the shop here weve actually gotten the answer from out XM radio rep. There are 2 satellites for XM radio, Rock and Roll, (thats actually the names.) They make an X type pattern across the States, more or less the lower half. Those towards the upper middle and Canada get Less Satellite coverage. Most major metro areas, such as Phoenix in our case, have hundreds of ground repeaters, like cell phones do, that bounce the signal horizontally across town, and makes the signal easier to obtain when mounting it in the car. Those cities that dont have the ground repeaters, have to rely on the line of sight method, hence, on top of the car. Yesterday I put one in Nicks truck, mounted it on the dash, perfect reception. Hope this helps anyone whose thinking of Sat radio.