Sirus/Xm Radio Question

[Drh2929]

I know everyone on here already knows the answer to this but i have searched the site and I am very confused. I have a F-90Bt and want Sirus/xm radio in my truck I know I have to by the box but which one is it the GEX P10XMT or the GEX -P20XM box? Is it even worth buying this ? B/c i see alot of stuff about Mergers and Bankruptcy so I am kinda scared to buy it b/c i dont want to lose my money if it isnt going to work in a month.? or should I look at maybe the HD Radio? Please fill me in and yes i did search but the more i read the more I get confused so if someone could just help me out I greatly apreciate it. Thank you

[norwestie]

I bought a Pioneer CD-SB10 and a Sirius SCVDOC1 dock to use with my Sportster 5. That way I can swap the Sirius radio from one vehicle to another. The Sirius stations show up on the F90 screen just like it was built in.

[SteveInNC]

For XM, it's the GEX-P920XM, which as I recall, I paid about $75 for. I"m not too concerned. Even if SirXM goes bankrupt, the value of their business is sufficient that someone would buy up the assets/business, assuming that they don't just do a reorg (Chapter 11). If you're a creditor/lender to SirXM, you'd be boned though... By that same logic, I would not recommend paying for a year or "lifetime" subscription - in that case you are a creditor, and it's unlikely that you'd get that money back. I do the quarterly thing.

 

As an aside, I've had both Sirius and XM radios in other vehicles. XM broadcast technology is superior to that of Sirius, in my opinion. The XM satellites are in geostationary orbits, meaning that they stay in the same relative spot in the sky as viewed from your car. The Sirius satellites are in elliptical geosynchronus orbits, where they move above and below the horizon throughout the day, while maintaining roughly the same general direction in the sky. At least one of them is always above the horizon, but their relative angle to your car changes throughout the day, so you may get signal drops at various times of day due to buildings, trees, mountains, etc. Both networks also have a series of terrestrial repeaters to improve coverage in areas like the downtowns of cities. I've read that XM had/has significantly more repeaters in its network, which should mean better coverage also.

 

You can pay a bit more and get combinations of the normal XM programming combined with Sirius-exclusive programming. Nothing in that package particularly interested me though. When the companies merged, they combined many of their music channels (and eliminated many favorite variants across each system).

[Drh2929]

Thanks alot so all I have to do is buy that GEX-P920XM and connect it to the back of the F90bt and get the service and then ill be ready to go? So even though they have merged they are 2 different services. This device is for the XM which in your opinion is the better one CORRECT?

 

Thanks Again!!

[SteveInNC]

Thanks alot so all I have to do is buy that GEX-P920XM and connect it to the back of the F90bt and get the service and then ill be ready to go? So even though they have merged they are 2 different services. This device is for the XM which in your opinion is the better one CORRECT?

 

Thanks Again!!

 

1) Although they are the same company (effectively) they had different contracts and licensing deals with Howard Stern, NFL, NASCAR, etc., so the base packages for each original system don't include the "other" side's exclusive content unless you pay extra. They even have different phone numbers to call to activate service. I'm pretty sure that the conventional music channels are now a combination of both sides' content. There was much anguish when they chose one or the other's channel to replace a similar station in the merged environment (e.g. the XM 80's channel over the Sirius 80's channel, etc.).

 

2) Yes, I think XM is better. The GEXP920XM is the add-on module for the XM service. It comes with a long cable that feeds data and power to the XM module, which you can mount elsewhere in the vehicle (in the trunk, under a seat, whatever), and an XM satellite antenna which feeds from that module to your roof, dash, or similar place with a clear view of the sky. This antenna uses a very thin wire, so you can easily run it out through the rubber gasket surrounding a trunk or hatch lid without too much concern about leaks. I ran mine through an interior body access panel and out through the tail-light assembly on my car, then up along the rear hatch door to the roof. For my truck, I ran it out the sliding rear window in the back of the extended cab.

 

When you get everything set up, the radio will have signals on channel 0 and channel 1, and possibly on a high-numbered weather/traffic channel. Channel 0 will be a preview channel that will tell you what number to call for activation, and will display your radio's ID (needed for activation) in the upper right of the screen. It's a combination of about eight letters and numbers. When you call XM, they will set up your service, then send an authorization over satellite to your radio. This authorization "ping" can take up to twenty minutes to arrive, but typically happens within five minutes. The radio has to be on the whole time while waiting for this ping, so be prepared to sit in your driveway or whatever. When the radio gets the authorization ping, the other channels will appear in your active channels list and you are good to go. There is a channel "List" button on the XM source display on the radio screen.

[jeffrey.pimentel]

fyi I have noted at least five or six of the channels are the same between xm and sirius just different names for example channel 120 on xm is XL comedy if I remember correctly and sirius it is raw dawg comedy..but yes they are exactly the same

[timg]

Most of the channels are now the same. They really screwed up a lot of Sirius channels during the merger...

 

Tim