Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 21:26:20 -0500
Reply-To: Mike Collum <collum@VERIZON.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Mike Collum <collum@VERIZON.NET>
Subject: Re: A little traveling music ... Siriusly
In-Reply-To: <001801c529c5$37f18b40$4c657d18@hsd1.va.comcast.net>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Hi caverat,
Part of the "Pain" was having to change both the Sirius unit and the
car's radio only to find that after going through all ten available
frequencies ... the local FM stations were bleeding over on all ten of
'em. Or ... if not right away ... soon. It was particularly bad near
New Orleans and, believe it or not, on I-81 in southern Virginia.
The antenna on the new beetle can't be lowered ... but when I REALLY
wanted to hear a Sirius program in a high interference area, I used a
portable radio which doesn't pick up as well as the beetle's radio.
I've looked into wired FM modulators and even they say that a powerful
FM station can bleed over on the selected frequency. If it's the type
that switches the car's antenna out when the modulator is on, then
interference should be infrequent and at a minimum, though.
I don't have a "Home" docking station, but I have two auto docking
stations for the Clarion receiver that I used during the trip. I have
one of the docks in the house hooked up to a 12v power supply and I
listen to it "wirelessly" using a boom box. I can also use a hand held
portable and listen to Sirius all over the house and out in the yard.
It's a 22 room Victorian and the Sirius unit is on the 3rd floor. The
dock I have in the house is the one that I use in my 7 passenger Vanagon
as well.
My Westy has the "Sirius Ready" Kenwood head unit and so is hardwired to
the Sirius tuner. no problems with that one.
The Sirius tuner in the Westy is currently behind the driver's seat but,
when the weather warms up, I'll either put it under a seat or in the
kitchen cabinet. The CD changer is also behind the seat and may end up
under one of the front seats, too.
The Sirius antenna is currently located on the thin metal strip inboard
of where the canvas is attached at the front ... just to the driver's
side of the pop top latch. Totally inside the Westy. It's been there
for 5 months now and the only time I've ever lost signal is when, as
expected, I was going under some overpasses or through tunnels.
Mike (Retired Submarine Sonar Technician)
Houlton, Maine
'84 GL 7 pass
'85 GL Westy
'00 GLS Beetle
caverat wrote:
> My father was complaining that at times during his travels there is some reception interference with local radio stations on the same frequency as his Sirius tuner. This is normal and the primary reason while the wireless Sirius FM-transmitter tuners have multiple frequencies to select from. However, in his case the issue was that while he was changing his Sirius radio to one of the different frequency options in order to find a "clean" local frequency, he was not changing the car's FM radio to receive on that same frequency. When he started doing this, his issues went away.
>
> The docking station is a wireless FM transmitter and the Sirius unit must be tuned into the same frequency as the car's FM radio. You can totally eliminate any possibility of interference by using one of the FM modulation kits that are also available. The Plug and Play models are pretty much all wireless now but have hardwired options available. If the docking station is going to stay in that car, then a hardwired option will give the best results. However, the wireless option works well also but may need to be adjusted if you are in a new area that has a local station on the same frequency. The ideal on lowering the car's antenna is a good one that will also help.
>
> The FM transmitter is pretty powerful. If you have one, turn it on and then get in another car close to yours and tune it into the same frequency. You will hear it clear in the other car. I did a test in a park with some friends and we had one wireless tuner that was broadcasting to four other nearby cars that were tuned to the same frequency. We got in one car and drove away and was able to go 50 or so yards before we lost the signal. The signal is powerful enough to overcome minor local interference but not powerful enough to overcome a high powered nearby FM station's transmitter on the same frequency. If you have ten powerful local stations on the same frequencies that the tuner can transmit on, then you may need to consider the hardwired option.
>
> caverat
>
> 89 westy
>
