sirius radio question

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dacflyer
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sirius radio question

Post by dacflyer »

i got a nice model at a yard sale this weekend..
i have a home docking station for it,, but i am looking for a mobile dock,.
my question is,.
is there a mobile dock that has the antenna built into it ? i am not fond of trying to hide 20 ft of antenna wire in my car, i seen a few that had suctioncup mounting. so why not have the antenna built into it ?
anyone know of such an item ?
i have the sportster SP-R2 model
thanks for any info.
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dacflyer
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Re: sirius radio question

Post by dacflyer »

if anyone does not know of such a animal.. can anyone tell me if its possible to shorten the antenna lead..preferably going into the antenna side. if i can shorten it to about 3 ft then i can live with it,, or shorter is ok too..
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CeaSaR
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Re: sirius radio question

Post by CeaSaR »

Dac,

I haven't looked for that model, but I have seen a person mount their mobile antenna (rubber duck type)
outside their window (second floor). You should be able to find one for your model or similar, somewhere.

CeaSaR
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Lenp
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Re: sirius radio question

Post by Lenp »

Dacflyer,
Not sure about shortening the cable but we add about 7 feet (cut-n-splice) to several antennas with no change in signal strength.
Len
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Bob Scott
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Re: sirius radio question

Post by Bob Scott »

Is Sirius the service that you have to subscribe to or pay for? Is the broadcast encrypted?

I was thinking that Sirius and XM Radio reported troubled finances a couple of years ago and that they may go broke and disappear, making the receivers worthless. Is there any substance to this rumour?

On the other hand, it sure would be nice to be able to listen to a car radio without commercials. Local radio seems to have more time for endless strings of commercials and hardly any time for music during the morning drive.
-=VA7KOR=- My solar system includes Pluto.
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Janitor Tzap
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Re: sirius radio question

Post by Janitor Tzap »

Here you go Bob,
http://investor.sirius.com/ReleaseDetai ... eid=230306

Thou, thanks to our current economy.
It hasn't been doing all that well.
Plus,
there is HD-Radio, and Internet Radio that are free.
All you need is a HD-Radio receiver.
Or a computer with a good sound card, chipset, and a bit of software.

Signed: Janitor Tzap
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dacflyer
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Re: sirius radio question

Post by dacflyer »

bob scott >> XM and SIRIUS are satalite radio.
but being satalite, i'd thought you have to aim the antenna to the satalite, but i guess not.

CeaSaR >> never seen a rubber ducky antenna for satalite radio.. Hmmm
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CeaSaR
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Re: sirius radio question

Post by CeaSaR »

Dac,

I may have been wrong in my assumption, but I thought I saw the receiver just inside the window
where the antenna was attached. Maybe it was something the owner kludged together. :/

What's the frequency of the satellite's transmitter? You could make a 1/4 or 1/8 wave antenna
based on that info. ARRL has lots of info on antennae that could help you make one.

Heck, if the wavelength is small enough, you could go for 1/2 or full and still be pretty short. :mrgreen:

CeaSaR

P.S. Don't forget about polarization - vertical or horizontal, if the signal is polarized.
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dacflyer
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Re: sirius radio question

Post by dacflyer »

i have no clue of antenna fabrication at all... :???:
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haklesup
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Re: sirius radio question

Post by haklesup »

eBay is knee deep in these. Just search on either "Sirius Antenna" or "Sirius car kit"

The antennas are $17 to $20 mostly with free shipping. Car kits are $50 and up but interestingly some used recievers with car kits are auctioning for less. I'll leave it to OP to find the right one.
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dacflyer
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Re: sirius radio question

Post by dacflyer »

knee deep..lol ya...
but was trying to find one thats is a mobile dock with onboard antenna,, trying to get away from the 20 ft long cord,, wadding it up is not an option either...i am still looking for options tho..
not giving up yet...
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CeaSaR
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Re: sirius radio question

Post by CeaSaR »

Have you tried the Empirical method?

Get another wire the same gauge and length as the original, then "half it" / cut it in half.
If it still works, half it again. Keep going until it stops working "well". At that point, you
can go back to the first "half" piece you cut off and go to the last "good" length and try
shortening it by 1/4. If it is still good, You can try 1/4 more, but I think at that point you
will probably already be at the shortest reliable length.

This method has worked well for me in the far past. I haven't had much need in about 18
years or so.

CeaSaR
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pwillard
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Re: sirius radio question

Post by pwillard »

It was amazingly easy to install the antenna wire for my sportster. The wire diameter is, well... tiny. It slid right under the rubber lip around the doors and windows until I could sneak it out through the trunk opening. No kinks were encountered. It's teflon coated... that stuff is nearly indestructible. I have never seen a sportster mounting base that had an integrated antenna. I'm pretty sure that the car internals do not give a full 180 degree access to the sky.
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dacflyer
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Re: sirius radio question

Post by dacflyer »

well reason i want something fairly compaq, is i want to transport whole deal from my car to work truck. i do not want to buy 2 docking stations.. i just wanna lay antenna in the dash and go. both vehicles have large dash shelf. and big windshields. so there should not be much of a problem of getting signal..
i suppose i could coil up the 20 ft of antenna cable, but thats still a hassle to carry all that around.
i like the idea of the suction cup mount. but not the long antenna cable..
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CeaSaR
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Re: sirius radio question

Post by CeaSaR »

Why not just permanently mount wire in each car and put a spring loaded clip (speaker jack?) on the unit
where the antenna wire comes out. Most consumer home receivers have a similar setup.

CeaSaR
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