i love XM as well... don't forget to listen to Opie and Anthony on Ch 202....

Most of what i hear is good stuff, but you can check out this website, and many more people will be able to help ya www.xmfan.com

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Your mom's box

I worked with a guy that had one, and he loved it. Said it worked like a charm on his trail runs.

what made you choose XM? I'm looking at both right now, my friend just bought a car, it includes free sirius for a year and I'm impressed.

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I can't follow link because of my work's firewall, but I assume it is a link to the XM handheld unit. I have one, here is what you need to know:

A) It will not get acceptable reception unless it is in the home docking station or connected to the car antenna.

B) It has a 5 hour memory so that you can pre-record stuff (while in the home docking station) and listen to it on a ride, run, etc. However, I don't think the battery actually lasts 5 hours. Maybe 3-4.

C) It is right about the size of a full-sized ipod . . . maybe slightly larger. I personally would not want to carry it in my jersey pocket, but it wouldn't be that bad.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Eric

P.S. Why do you listen to dance/techno music in your car?

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

I'll check those stations out. I usually hit channels:

• 20, 21, 25 for current hits
• 74, 75 for blues
• 45-50 for rock
• 150 for comedy

Really with all of the channels availible it's a challenge to flip through so many. Not a bad complaint to have.

140=ESPN!!!!!

Sounds funny . . . I almost never listen to music. A couple of times I recorded 5 hours of channel 20 and selectively downloaded the songs I liked to my mp3 player. That's pretty cool.

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

Satellite radio is great. I use Sirius just like you use XM. You would like channels 61 - 68 on Sirius. However, when I am working out and listening to music I don't like the randomness that goes with radio. So I use the radio to find the songs and artists I like, buy the stuff on iTunes and use an iPod mini with playlists. The mini has been great for me. I have broke every type of MP3 player, but the mini has lasted a year. I will get a Nano in a few months when the bugs are worked out.

I have trouble believing that the portable satellite unit can be small enough to work right - especially if you are in heavily wooded areas or in a large city with skyscrapers.

It was one of the best parts about my new Element. I plan on renewing when my 3 months runs out.

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I'll be what I am
A solitary man

Glad to hear you like it. My wife and I are going to the dealer at lunch time to pick up new car we ordered and it comes with XFM subscription. What are some good alt rock (for me) and classic rock (for her) stations? I have never used it before. The car comes with 5.1 surround sound so looking forward to hearing digital on that system.

I went to the XM website and downloaded a page with all the channels and laminated it. I carry it around so i can refer to it. My favorites so far are Bluesville, the comedy channel, the Starbucks channel (74) and The Torch (31).

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I'll be what I am
A solitary man

I have XM in my car, and I use the FM modulator. However the sound quality certainly isn't what it could be. I don't have a tape deck, so I can't use that adapter. Does anyone know how difficult it is to route XM directly into the car stereo unit? It didn't look easy. Any other suggestions out there (I have the roadie)?

I think it will depend widely on the car. I looked into doing it with a Touareg we had. Stereo had a CD changer option, lots of guys would wire their XM or Ipod into the main deck using that option. you ultimately loose the option to add the CD changer, but it opened all kinds of possiblities.

Reception will be better if you happen to live in an urban area that has ground repeaters; I know people that have MyFis thave do who listen to them without external antennae just like a regular radio.

Otherwise you either go with the prerecorded content, or you might get the new headphones with and integrated antenna:

http://shop.xmradio.com/...spx?pid=42&cat=2

For better sound in a car, two companies that I know of make adapters that let you input the XM radio into your car stereo (generally via a port for an external CD player), http://www.blitzsafe.com/ and http://www.pie.net/. Contact them if you have a fairly late model car and they might have an adapter that will work for you (I have a PIE adapter in my 2001 Ford Focus and my wife's 2002 Ford Explorer, both sound great to me).

Yes, I have the portable MyFi (was the first to get one as I pre-ordered it last year).

I LOVE this thing. Have used it almost everyday for about 10 months. Awesome - get it!

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

Two of my friends have the MyFi and they love it. I personally have a SkyFi2 that goes in my car and my home stereo.

XM 47, 53, 54, 8, 9, & Raw 66

Also, listen to Opie and Anthony on XM 202, spread the virus.....

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Mike R

Software Engineer and Mac geek
Aspiring to be front-middle-of-the-pack in 2010.

Depending on your car, you can get an aux input adapter, which will allow you to hardwire the XM radio into the head unit and get near-CD quality sound. One company that makes these is PIE:http://www.pie.net/

If you can't find one for your car at PIE, go to this site's installation forum and post your question. They're very helpful.

http://www.xmfan.com/

I used a PIE aux input adapter in my Landcruiser, and the sound quality is every bit as good as CD's.

I'll reiterate the point that reception is spotty at best in my experience. I've always relied on recording stuff which becomes a pain at times. The unit is small enough for a jersey pocket, but too cumbersome to run with in my opinion.

You might also look into software that turns the online stream into MP3's. Then you can download it to an iPod or whatnot. I think XM got an injunction against the guy who wrote the program but banned software never really disappears so you might be able to find it.

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"I learned from the example of my father that the manner in which one endures what must be endured is more important than the thing that must be endured"

http://myfirstironman.blogspot.com

I love XM as well, I got the three month thing when I bought an Element. I will probably renew at the end of three months. I actually wanted Sirius so I could listen to Howard Stern and they have NPR talk -in my area NPR can be spotty and I like to have it for longer trips - with the exception of those two channels XM has a lot of great stuff. I tend to listen to 43, 44, 47, 53, 53 and 54 mostly but I tend to use a lot more of them than I thought including CNN. I also like having Air America, some of the shows are incredibly annoying- especially Randi Rhodes who seems to have some severe reality and psychological issues.

Anyone with the Element buy the inside bike caliper/hitch? I have been thinking of getting it put in but was wondering if you can do it yourself?

Regarding the hitch. I just fold the seats up, puts the bikes in and tie them with one bungee. No hitch needed and no taking the wheel off.

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I'll be what I am
A solitary man