XM Radio

[wesley_w]

I had mentioned in another thread that I had gotten an XM boombox plus car radio for Christmas. We have tried everything to get the boombox to work inside and it will but the signal keeps cutting out. It doesn't matter if you point it out a southern facing window or not. So, does anyone here have any ideas about an amplified antenna that will work or any other thing I can try?? I asked this in another thread but I'm trying one last time before I take it back. BrianHos said his indoors one didn't work well but the car one did so maybe it just isn't meant to be indoors.

 

[taco2000]

You might want to check out a signal repeater.

 

[cycloneworld]

When I had the boombox setup inside, I used an antenna extension and put the receiver thing on the window sill and that worked. But if you can't get signal right by a window, I'm not sure that will be much help.

Are there trees in the way? If you go outside with the boombox, does the antenna work then?

 

[wesley_w]

Thanks guys! I had tried taking the antenna outside on the south side of the house and it was no better than in our bedroom on the north side, which is where I want to put the radio. It actually gets just as good a signal in an interior room as it does outside.

taco2000, I was under the impression that a signal repeater is only for extending the antenna, but I hadn't thought of just using one with the antenna I have. That's a good idea so I'll get one of those and try it and report back.

Thanks!!

 

[CYVADER]

i have the same thing for sirius and can't get it to work inside either. bought the boombox for my construction job and it works great outdoors on jobsites, so then i got the docking station that works with my home stereo and that thing doesn't work for anything. spent 50 bucks on it and never use the thing. i also found out that if i parked my truck in a garage and had everything turned off without even having a key in the ignition that my Dewalt boombox could pick up the satellite signal from my truck if i had it tuned to the same station as the preset station on my truck. weird.

 

[Broodwich]

I have a Pioneer Inno with the home docking station. It works fine if I have the home antenna in a window facing south, but it is worthless inside if I don't have it connected to the docking station.

 

[jumbopackage]

a satellite signal is different than a terrestrial radio signal, so you're going to need a (relatively) clear view of the southern sky to get it to work, and I'm not sure a repeater is going to help a whole lot. The XM boombox I have has a longish extension cable that the satellite antenna attaches to to let you reposition it within reason. It works pretty well in my experience.

 

[taco2000]

In theory the repeater should work. XM uses, granted much more powerful, repeaters in urban areas where southern views are obstructed. Hope it works for you wesley_w.

 

[wesley_w]

a satellite signal is different than a terrestrial radio signal, so you're going to need a (relatively) clear view of the southern sky to get it to work, and I'm not sure a repeater is going to help a whole lot. The XM boombox I have has a longish extension cable that the satellite antenna attaches to to let you reposition it within reason. It works pretty well in my experience.

Here is the wierd thing. I only have a satellite signal, not a terrestial one. But it works in the interior room with no windows just as well as if you take it outside. The instructions say it will go through roofs and walls sometimes, but when I called XM to tell them my problems he asked me if I had tinted windows!! Anyway, I read on another board that some guy fastened his antenna to a piece of sheet metal and that helped so I might try that too if the signal repeater that taco2000 suggested doesn't help.

Thanks everybody, I appreciate all the replies...I really hope I can get this to work, especially when baseball season gets here. The other thing is, XM will merge with Sirius in 6 months and Iowa State network is carried on there so if I'm traveling I can get it. What would really be cool is to go to a road game, and have an XM Ipod type radio and listen to John and Eric!!

 

[pulse]

I have XM in my car. I can say that today the reception wasn't as good as it is usually. I'm not saying they are having issues on the entire network, but it is a possibility since it has happened before.