Sirius for home

Johnturner

Proud Member
Full Member
Messages
1,390
Reaction score
1,348
Location
Burlington, MA
First name
John
You guys and girls know a lot about a lot of things, so here's a question about Sirius Radio. I got this radio, SiriusXM Onyx, as a Christmas present, my son, the car guy, set it up in my car ASAP. I would like to use it in the workshop, which, unfortunately is located in my basement (bad for something that needs a view of the sky to work.). I can get the radio to work, intermittently, on the 1st floor with the antenna facing south. There is an optional antenna with 50 ft of cable, and/or an outdoor antenna. Anyone have any experience with this?
John
 

Gdurfey

Member
Full Member
Messages
4,049
Reaction score
7,943
Location
Florissant, CO
First name
Garry
Happy new year John. I have a much older version of a home/portable unit and yes, you need to be near a window or use an external antenna. I have a small window in my garage where I can “see” southwest and it worked pretty good the last time I had a subscription (I just use it for the speakers now). So you may not have to have a true outdoor antenna if you can experiment a little And you have some windows to the basement.
 

DKMD

Sawbones
Staff member
Administrator
Global Moderator
Full Member
Forum Moderator
Messages
10,894
Reaction score
16,532
Location
Enid, Oklahoma
First name
David
They make an app for iPhone(And probably android) that will play Sirius xm stations. I use it to play stuff in the shop through a cheap Bluetooth speaker.
 

barry richardson

Moderator
Staff member
Global Moderator
Full Member
Messages
10,279
Reaction score
16,763
Location
Buckeye AZ
First name
Barry
I use it in my shop, just run the wire and antenna out to where it gets a clear view of the sky.
 

phinds

Moderator
Staff member
Global Moderator
Founding Member
Full Member
Forum Moderator
Messages
9,812
Reaction score
17,387
Location
Cortland, NY
First name
Paul
I've used it both in car and in home. The in home requires that you have a well-placed antenna somewhere on your roof, with a clear path towards wherever their satellite is relative to you. We had to try several places before finding a good one. The signals are apparently really weak and if you travel much you'll find that there are consistent dead zones. I had one that took up a good portion of the trip when I pass from Binghamton to Scranton.
 

FranklinWorkshops

Member
Full Member
Messages
4,376
Reaction score
6,810
Location
Landenberg, PA, USA
First name
Larry
John, just a tip on Sirius pricing. Once you have a subscription and it is near time to renew, call them and say you want to cancel the service. They will transfer you to their "customer retention" agent who will try to talk you out of canceling. After a few minutes of give and take, they will offer you a deal and it will be something like $25 for six months. I did that for four years and never had to pay more than $3 or $4 a month for the service. I finally did cancel and just listen to music on Napster and Amazon Prime music service now.
 

eaglea1

Call Maker, Sign Engraver, Resin Caster
Full Member
Messages
1,667
Reaction score
2,530
Location
Oakfield , Wis.
First name
Randy
I like to use Pandora in the truck, works great and is free. I attach my iPhone via smart cable to the truck usb and voila.
 
Top