Looking into the XM Commander. Anyone have opinions on this?

I want streamlined look...no wires showing/bulky, etc..

Thanks

X

 

And a related question, are there any antennae which won't spoil the lines of the coupe? I really miss my XM, but don't want to drive with a strange growth on the car.
Rich

 

I've heard of people, in other hatch back type vehicles, mounting the antenna inside the hatch area. Perhaps you can do the same?

 

Or those ultra low profile sat antenna's that you could mount on your dash? Run the wire under the dash, get it up through the defrost vent area somehow?

 

Check out my album

 

WOW, that thing's HUMUNGOUS! Looks more like a rooftop antenna than the sleek low-profile dash mount units they sell now.

 

I found a tiny antenna for XM/sirius thats about the size of a quarter. I don't know who makes it, but it was around $30-35.. I am looking into a sirius recv. Found a pretty nice looking kenwood that retailed for about $300. The silver matched perfectly to the center area's silver color... But if you want XM, I guess it doesn't help ya

 

It's a first generation TERK satellite antenna. But the point is that reception is still great.

Sirius is better than XM in every way. HUGELY better reception (3 satellites as opposed to 1), ZERO commercials on ALL music stations (as opposed to 2+ minutes of commercials per hour on XM), better selection of channels, more mainstream stations (FOX News, Discovery Channel, E!, ESPN), better talk radio stations, more support from car manufacturers.

Sirius rocks, forget about XM.

 

Different strokes.. but I've been happy with XM for quite some time, have had no need for manufacturer support, good coverage from the TWO satellites plus local FM retrans, get all the channels discussed above. Most important, the traffic stations available in a number of large markets are HUGE for those who'd rather drive than sit. Wouldn't be surprised if Sirius has/will have similar, though the traditional broadcasters are hitting Congress hard to legislate away the ability of satellite broadcasters to offer local programming. See here for one view on the issue: http://grassroots.xmradio.com

 

Yes, Sirius offers the same, and in the near future Sirius is offering navigation advice based on your location. You tune into a specific channel and based on your location it will advise you about traffic and construction ahead of you and suggest alternate routes.

And Sirius has terrestrial repeaters as well. I can put my Sirius antenna in my trunk driving through Orlando and still get perfect signal. It's not FM range, either, it's the 2.3GHz frequency, same as the satellite signal, so it's the same quality.

 

XM has terrestrial repeaters as well. I'd really recommend researching both systems before shamelessly evangelizing one or the other.

 

I did research both. Quatrofoil above me mentioned the FM repeaters on XM, so I mentioned that Sirius had the same.

I researched both networks for an entire year before making my decision to go with Sirius. Sirius seemed like and still does seem like the better option.

 

X,

I have had the Commander for a little over 6 months now and have had no problems with it at all.

I purchased it at Circuit City in Fayetteville, NC and had them do the install. My X-Fire was the first one they had worked on and they were very sensitive about maintaining a clean look inside the cockpit.

They mounted the head unit just above where my right knee is on the lower dash. It's out of the way, which was the main issue for me. The micro-antenna is mounted just to the left of the center spine on the dash right up against the windshield.

No visible wires and everything works great. There is some static at different times of the day, probably because of the satellite LOS issues, but it quickly goes away.

I use the mini-remote control to do all the station changes, etc., so I'm not trying to look around the steering wheel. Once you get used to the stations you like, you won't have any problem with changing the station while driving.

Dont' have any pictures to share, but can take some and send them to you if you are interested.

Hope this helps.

Chris