Sirius Antenna

[jrahrah]

I'm looking to get a Sirius radio. The installation seems pretty straightforward. I'm wondering if anyone has run the satellite antenna from the inside to outside the vehicle? How were you able to channel the antenna wire to the outside?

[rockhead]

I have a 2001 RX 300. I'm also interested in installing a Sirius radio - for Howard. Not knowing anything about the installation, what are my options and what's the best way to go about this? I just purchased the vechicle, so I want to do as little damage to it as possible and don't really want to alter the SUV cosmetically (as in installing an outside antenna, etc).

Any advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm looking to get a Sirius radio. The installation seems pretty straightforward. I'm wondering if anyone has run the satellite antenna from the inside to outside the vehicle? How were you able to channel the antenna wire to the outside?

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[soggy60]

Ours is held by window sucker mount; but mount is 'stood' in cupholder in center console.

Sirrus magnetic mount antenna 'disk' few inches 'in front' of rear hatch seam; center left & right.

Lead antena wire between hatch & body; use little 'zip tie' to affix wire to base of rubber conduit of wire body to hatch.

Using little bamboo squewers or popsicle stick, lift lip of weather seal and tuck antenna wire under it; follow controur right or left to approx stoplight level. Can remove upper taillight trim screw & move trim a tad, push wire under it)

lead wire into cabin 'around' weatherseal where the wire will 'tuck' into a crack between interior trim.

Under rear seat cushion (above carpet, but under mat.

Under front seat.

Then the power feed, Sirrus antenna feed, and 'transmit to car radio' antenna are placed in a cable tender ( the plastic tube you can buy for 'hiding cables / wires)

Power from outlet at 'floor level' of center console.

Slack wire ( Sirrus antenna and power feel ) neat woulnd and stored under floor mat.

Above discussion, hopefully makes some sense. Our install looks fairly nice and is a lot cheaper than the hundreds Lex wants...

[dustrod]

I just bought on too. I mounted mine on the front middle roof. I went through the sun roof, wraped/tucked the excess wire in the upper molding and broung it around to the drivers door. Then hid the wire in the door molding up accross to the dashboard. As for the power, I wired the power DC cig lighter cord from the dash to the door moulding and down to the floor. Then under the drivers seat, tie up the excess wire and plug it in in the rear ligher. Hope this helps.

[LexNYC]

I haven't been interested in satellite radio because I can't seem to get one question answered! What happens when you go in a long tunnel? Sometimes we can get stuck in tunnels around NYC for a half hour or more. Does it cache like a few minutes of time so it'll play for awhile or does it just immediately go out?

[phillyfan]

I just installed a Sirius satellite radio. I attached pictures to show how I ran the satellite wire. The antenna is mounted on rear roof, middle. The wire is easy to enter into car at the rear door and pass inside molding along roof to the back of the rear passenger door. Then go down to the floor from there and to the front of the car by the front passenger feet area. I have a floor mount which works ok for me but once you get the antenna wire to front, center console you can pick where you want it. Any questions about the pictures let me know. The quality is limited by the attachment size allowed. No molding / plastic had to be removed, it is extremely easy to run the wire this way and is completely hidden when inside the car. Antenna wire can be seen when loading groceries, etc.. in the rear with door up.

When you go into a tunnel or if stopped at a light under an overpass, I do lose signal. I believe some of the models have a feature, similar to the anti-skip of CD players, where it stores the signal and broadcasts a few moments later. I doubt it would be helpful if you are passing through long tunnels though.

The power I took from the rear cigarette lighter and ran wire under floor console (tucks very easily underneath it).

[taba82]

Phillyfan,

Thanks for the pics of your install. Unfortuantely, when I view the pics it is very difficult to zoom in to view the details. Would it be possible for you to email me each pic as I want to install my Sat Radio in the same manner as you.

Regards,

Mike

I just installed a Sirius satellite radio. I attached pictures to show how I ran the satellite wire. The antenna is mounted on rear roof, middle. The wire is easy to enter into car at the rear door and pass inside molding along roof to the back of the rear passenger door. Then go down to the floor from there and to the front of the car by the front passenger feet area. I have a floor mount which works ok for me but once you get the antenna wire to front, center console you can pick where you want it. Any questions about the pictures let me know. The quality is limited by the attachment size allowed. No molding / plastic had to be removed, it is extremely easy to run the wire this way and is completely hidden when inside the car. Antenna wire can be seen when loading groceries, etc.. in the rear with door up.

When you go into a tunnel or if stopped at a light under an overpass, I do lose signal. I believe some of the models have a feature, similar to the anti-skip of CD players, where it stores the signal and broadcasts a few moments later. I doubt it would be helpful if you are passing through long tunnels though.

The power I took from the rear cigarette lighter and ran wire under floor console (tucks very easily underneath it).

[phillyfan]

Mike - I'd be happy to send you the pictures. The site only allows a 100KB picture which didn't allow me to give much detail. I tried clicking on your name to email you directly but it would not allow me. Did you want to post address here? I'll get the pictures out to you.

Curt

[phillyfan]

LexNYC -

I did a search about satellite radio and tunnels and found an article from CNN.com in 2001 that said the following

---To prevent dropout for motorists driving around mountains, through tunnels, or between tall buildings, XM is setting up as many as 1,500 repeaters on the ground to boost the satellite signal.

Sirius has three satellites in orbit and also will use ground repeaters where needed to push the signal around tall structures.

Both companies say their signals will be better than current FM signals. Capobianco with Sirius says the sound will be crystal clear. -----

I would imagine Sirius would definitely want to make sure NYC drivers stuck in tunnels are able to hear the signal, especially with the loyal Stern fans in that city. Also, Sirius is based in NYC. I wonder if any Sirius users could comment on driving in and around NYC.

[taba82]

Yes, please email me at taba469@yahoo.com

Thanks again.

Phillyfan,

Thanks for the pics of your install. Unfortuantely, when I view the pics it is very difficult to zoom in to view the details. Would it be possible for you to email me each pic as I want to install my Sat Radio in the same manner as you.

Regards,

Mike

I just installed a Sirius satellite radio. I attached pictures to show how I ran the satellite wire. The antenna is mounted on rear roof, middle. The wire is easy to enter into car at the rear door and pass inside molding along roof to the back of the rear passenger door. Then go down to the floor from there and to the front of the car by the front passenger feet area. I have a floor mount which works ok for me but once you get the antenna wire to front, center console you can pick where you want it. Any questions about the pictures let me know. The quality is limited by the attachment size allowed. No molding / plastic had to be removed, it is extremely easy to run the wire this way and is completely hidden when inside the car. Antenna wire can be seen when loading groceries, etc.. in the rear with door up.

When you go into a tunnel or if stopped at a light under an overpass, I do lose signal. I believe some of the models have a feature, similar to the anti-skip of CD players, where it stores the signal and broadcasts a few moments later. I doubt it would be helpful if you are passing through long tunnels though.

The power I took from the rear cigarette lighter and ran wire under floor console (tucks very easily underneath it).

[drewzer]

Could you please send me the pictures of your install as well? Thanks for your help!

zerdecki AT hotmail.com

-Drew

[phillyfan]

Drew,

Will send when I get home tonight.

[GoldenStateSilverSport]

Drew,

Will send when I get home tonight.

myself as well: pdnguyen3@aol.com

Thanks!

[sandimas3]

hi phillyfan,

would it be possible for you to email me the install pictures. i really need the help. thanks,

my email is - bryonp AT hotmail.com

[GoldenStateSilverSport]

hi phillyfan,

would it be possible for you to email me the install pictures. i really need the help. thanks,

my email is - bryonp AT hotmail.com

just sent bryon..cheers

[phillyfan]

GSSS,

Thanks for forwarding the email to the last request. Didn't check site last night. Hope no one had trouble with installation. It really is quite easy. If anyone still has any uncertainty let me know. If you wanted a visor mount you can take the wire across the top of the doors instead of coming down at back of the backseat doors. Running power there may be more problematic though.

[sandimas3]

thanks all!!! i'll work on that tonight.

[scottl]

I have 2001 RX 300 and I mounted my Sirius radio about a year ago. The antenna is on the rear of the roof (right side) and I ran the wire inside the car and tucked it under the molding, as a few others have done.

At first I had the radio mounted on the floor console but then decided it wasn't too safe having to keep looking down every time I wanted to see what was on. I bought one of those windshield mounts with the flexi pipe and suction cup and mounted the radio to the little triangular window next to the dash on the drive side. This way, I can just glance down to the left side of the dash board and see what's on. It works great and it's not in the way of the windshield.

Hope that helps someone.

[phillyfan]

I agree. The floor mount is not the best for everyone. The unit that was purchased for me was not the unit I had wanted. I had wanted one of the newer, smaller replay models. The Audiovox PNP3 is a larger model and I didn't want to clutter dash / window area. I also considered mounting next to shifter (Crutchfield sells a vehicle specific mount for the RX) but I still felt unit was too bulky for that location. The PNP3 comes with a nice remote that is easy to navigate by feel. Once presets are in it is easy and safe to move to stations you would like. Certainly a floor mount may not be best for models with smaller screens. I've seen a picture of a nice clean mount in the glasses holder (ceiling) using a custom fabricated piece of plastic which really looked great.

[SW03ES]

Any chance you could post the photos?

[mikey00]

Hi phillyfan,

Would it be possible for you to email me the pictures as well. I am most likely going with a floor mount for the same reasons as you. My receiver is just a little too large for the sunglass area and the floor mount looks like the next best place. I also think the FM transmitter uses the sat antenna wire so I want to get this in the back so it is near the radio antenna. Thanks.

mnovak99@patmedia.net

[jvmitche]

If you don't have heated seats, look into the area where the switches are. As far as location, I couldn't advise you MORE against putting it on the floor. I have mine in the switch area and it's already too low in a way. I was convinced it didn't matter also, that I just "wouldn't look at it". Well, turns out the Sirius is so good that I'm always playing with and checking out all the offerings -- and I know I'm definitely tempting fate by looking down that far for that long.

You're of course welcome to do whatever, just don't run into my RX or run me over when I'm crossing the street please. :D

[mikey00]

If you don't have heated seats, look into the area where the switches are. As far as location, I couldn't advise you MORE against putting it on the floor. I have mine in the switch area and it's already too low in a way. I was convinced it didn't matter also, that I just "wouldn't look at it". Well, turns out the Sirius is so good that I'm always playing with and checking out all the offerings -- and I know I'm definitely tempting fate by looking down that far for that long.

You're of course welcome to do whatever, just don't run into my RX or run me over when I'm crossing the street please. :D

I have heated seats so that was not an option. I put it on the floor using the adjustable bracket to point it up at the driver plus I have a remote so that helps a little. Nice out of the way place plus quick and easy install when you use that location. But you are right, for someone who changes stations often that is not the best location. The only good place I could find on the RX is dash or windshield but I didn't want to do that for obvious reasons. Next best place looks like sunglass holder, but then thats a little too high.

It must be cold in WI without heated seats. NJ has milder weather but you would be hard pressed to find a RX without them.

[rme]

I haven't been interested in satellite radio because I can't seem to get one question answered! What happens when you go in a long tunnel? Sometimes we can get stuck in tunnels around NYC for a half hour or more. Does it cache like a few minutes of time so it'll play for awhile or does it just immediately go out?

If you can't see the sky the radio cannot pick up the signal and you will get a lost signal msg on the Sat head....

[rme]

I haven't been interested in satellite radio because I can't seem to get one question answered! What happens when you go in a long tunnel? Sometimes we can get stuck in tunnels around NYC for a half hour or more. Does it cache like a few minutes of time so it'll play for awhile or does it just immediately go out?

You lose reception...just like a GPS...no clear sky shot not radio signals.