Sirius Radio Option - My Experience

[skeeter]

For those who may be lurking and actually haven't purchased a Liberty yet, or for those who may want to replace their current receiver with a Sirius-capable one, I thought I would post my experience as a "public service" and you can make your own judgements.

First, I would check out a 3 day free pass on the web to see if you like the stations. I thought I didn't want this option at all but it always seemed to be "paired" with the Trailer Tow option which I did want, so I resigned myself to spend the extra $$. But once I checked out Sirius on the web (I generally hate the radio and only play CDs) I was impressed – they actually had stations I liked. SOLD!

Once I picked up the Jeep and activated Sirius, I immediately noticed major drop-outs. I was getting about 3 – 4 per minute. First I went to a Sirius forum on the web. Everyone there was blaming my equipment. “Bring it back to the dealer and don’t let them tell you this is common!” was the general consensus. I told them I lived in a hilly, heavily wooded area. “Shouldn’t matter” was the reply. Well, I wasn’t completely convinced.

Then I called Sirius. Same “blame game” – must be your equipment. But when I pressed her, she admitted that they were taking a “survey” of people who complained of drop-outs because they may need to add more repeaters. Oh.

The next day I decided to go for a long spin to see what was what. As soon as I got about 2-3 miles from my house, suddenly everything was fine. No drop-outs. Went for about a 20-25 mile drive and only had drop-outs once I approached my house again. Whether it’s the woods, the "hill" we live on (more like a mini-mountain), or the cell tower that sits on the hill, something is a problem.

One more thing (I knew about this before I bough the Jeep), the Chrysler receiver doesn’t display the song artist/title info. A definite negative, but not a “show-stopper”.

Take all this for what it’s worth. The 2 lessons I was reminded of:

1)There are no guarantees with anything.
2)Don’t listen to self-appointed experts – they are often wrong!

Overall I am happy with it, I just know now not to buy a radio for “home”!

 

[billforde]

I have Kenwood's Sirius equipment installed in my Liberty. I been using Sirus for over a year now and can tell you it does drop out in places i didnt expect. Dont park under a tree if you want to use sirius. If the branches are over hanging you liberty, you will lose the signal. There is one street that i drive through with trees on both sides, that during the winter it was fine, but now that it is summer i get lots of drop outs on that street.

 

[matford]

From what I understand, you need to have a line of sight with the sky. If it gets blocked by trees, mountains, buildings, overpasses, ect... you will get drop outs.

 

[-=JoN=-]

i think u need like a cable or something for the name to come out. there was a thread on it in the electronics section.