TSS-Radio

I am going to try to post a nice example of a SIRIUS installation, along with instructions every week. We will kick it off with an install of a Sportster Replay in a 2006 Honda Odyssey. This install was done by jimmyha from SiriusBackStage and was originally posted Here.
Jimmy bought his Odyssey with the Nav system and DVD player, but Honda only integrates that system with XM. Unlike for General Motors cars, there does not exist a GM Sirius Connect equivalent to adapt the Honda system from XM to SIRIUS. Hopefully SIRIUS will release such a system in the future but as of today we are not aware of any such plans.
This install began with the installation of the antenna. As highlighted in red in the image below, Jimmy attached the sirius antenna above the windshield and routed it down under the rubber molding to the door where he squeezed it into the rubber molding around the mirror and through the door jam without kinking the antenna wire.

Then he ran the antenna under the glove box and stuffed it under the console and through the small storage area at the bottom of the console. This storage area is right below the accessory outlets, so running the power to it was easy.

When the radio is removed, the docking station and power cable tuck neatly into the storage compartment.

In tihs install the sound is transmitted from the Sirius radio to the radio in the car using the FM transmitter that is built into all SIRIUS radios. Better sound quality could have been achieved by hardwiring the audio connection using a Wired FM Modulator Relay or a Honda Aux Input Adapter.
The advantages of this install are 1. that it was quick and 2. that it did not require any modification to the vehicle and can be removed in an instant if necessary.

Thanks to Jimmyha from SIRIUSBackstage for letting us post his install on our blog.

We carry a lot more SIRIUS antennas than most other stores and are frequently asked, “which is the best deal”? The answer depends on your preferences, but hopefully the description below will be helpful:

We carry 6 SIRIUS antennas for the car:

Directed Electronics SIRIUS Replacement Antenna for $29.99 - this is the default antenna that a lot of other stores carry. It is similar to the antennas that were shipped with most SIRIUS radios about a year ago and it ships in a nice box.

SIRIUS Radio Antenna for $23.95 - this is a cheaper antenna that is functionally the same as the directed electronics one. We buy them in bulk and they come in simpler packaging (a plastic bag with a label).

SIRIUS Dot Micro Antenna for $39.99 - this is a higher gain antenna and, if you are in an area where you get poor reception, will offer you better reception. The Dot Micro is the antena that is shipped with most modern SIRIUS radios, including the S50, the Sportster 4, etc.

SIRIUS Mobile Dot Micro Antenna for $25.95 is functionally the same as the other Dot Micro antenna - it is also a higher-gain antenna and it looks exactly the same - but we buy them in bulk and they ship in simpler packaging.

The Terk SIR-Mini SIRIUS Antenna for Older Receivers for $39.99 uses the old-style plastic FAKRA connector. This antenna is only useful if you have a SIRIUS Radio that is more than 2 years old. Check your existing antenna to see if it has the old-style connector before ordering this product.

The XACT SIRIUS Antenna for $29.99 doesn’t really have any advantages over the other antennas. We don’t usually recommend it, but some people with XAct SIRIUS radios feel more comfortable with an antenna that carries the same brand-name.

We also carry 3 antennas for use in the home:

SIRIUS Home PNP Antenna for $34.99 is the same as the antenna that comes with most SIRIUS home radio systems and the home kits for SIRIUS PNP Radios.

SIRIUS Home Outdoor Antenna for $39.95 is an antenna that plugs into your SIRIUS home system, has a long 30-foot cable, and mounts on the outside of your home. Sometimes people need the outdoor antenna because the construction of their house or the foliage around their house makes it difficult for them to get a strong signal with an antenna inside their house.

The Monster SIRIUS Dish Mount/Outdoor Antenna for $79.99 also an outdoor antenna for use in the home, but it is a bit sturdier and also much more expensive. The cheaper home outdoor antenna is a better deal and we usually recommend it over the Monster one.

We also have 1 antenna that is specifically designed to be used in big trucks called the SIRIUS Truck antenna for $54.95. It can be mounted on a variety of places on a truck including the mirror mount, flap mount, air dam shield mount.

We also have an antenna that is designed to be mounted on boats - the TERK SIR5 SIRIUS Marine Antenna for $69.95.

After months of eagerly anticipating the SIRGM1 SIRIUS GM Connect we finally received our first small batch. It was only a tenth of what we had placed orders for back in November and December. That small batch we sent out to the first group that had pre-ordered it from us. We should be getting some more in over the next few weeks.

Product availability is something that our customers don’t always understand in the manner product gets to us. We place our orders with the distributors early, very early. When the product gets imported to them, usually from Asia, it will get shipped out to the dealers that had ordered it. That’s when it’s something that is easily available or in plenty supply. When it’s a product that’s in High Demand and Low Supply things change. And this is the case with the GM Connect XM to SIRIUS kit, as was the case with the Sirius S50. If it’s very popular and in lower supply, the distributor loses some power over who get’s shipped product and SIRIUS takes over a bit more. This is a common practice. SIRIUS may have a deal with Circuit City or Radio Shack or Best Buy in which they may receive a product earlier than the smaller independent dealers such as ourselves. The problem with the big box stores is that for the product to get from the main distribution centers to the actual consumer takes far longer in terms of time. For the most part we get things faster than the big box stores. It’s just unfortunate that at times we have many customers anticipating product from us and we have no control over it getting to us despite placing those orders far in advance.

This next week we have three big products coming in. The first one will be arriving on Wednesday, which is the SIRIUS Connect Home Tuner SC-H1. This was first announced at the 2006 CES Electronics show. It’s similar to the SIRIUS Connect Units for the Cars in the sense that it allows SIRIUS in a SIRIUS-Ready Unit, but this time it’s for Home Receivers. The next two products that we will be getting in on Thursday will sell fast, they are the Home and Car Kits for the Sportster 4, and later other SIRIUS Plug and Play Receivers as well as the SL100TK1. Not only is this a sigh of relief for Sportster 4 owners but it’s also a sigh of relief for those interested in the SL100 because once the SL100 comes out they will be able to have their Home and Car Kits ready to go. The SUPH1 is the awaited SIRIUS Universal Plug and Play Home Kit for the Sportster 4 and some newer model SIRIUS Radios, but currently only the Sportster 4. It will later work with the SL100TK1, the Sportster 3 ( a toned down Sportster 4), Starmate 3, Streamer GT3, and Streamer 3. If you have had a SIRIUS Home Kit before, the kit is pretty simple. It comes with the Home Cradle for the Receiver, a Wall Power Source for it, Home Indoor/Outdoor SIRIUS Antenna, and Audio Cables. As for the Extra Car Kit for the Sportster 4, we will also have the SUPV1. It includes everything you need to Dock the Sportster 4 Radio Receiver in another car. It includes a SIRIUS Radio Car Antenna, 5V AC Power Adapter, Car Cradle, and Mounts. We will allow orders to come in on Monday or Tuesday for the Kits that will ship out on Thursday.

Other than that, this next week we are also excited about our new Shipping option of DHL Express to Canada. Oh how fast it is.

As usual, things have been going great here at TSS-Radio. The weather is great and its the time of year for installing that new SIRIUS system in your car or truck!
I have been taking pictures to help everyone out with their install. We have added detail pictures to all of the antennas so that you can now see what the connectors on each one are like. Hopefully this will clear up any confusion about which antenna you need for your receiver. As you may or may not know, there are 2 types of antenna connector. The first type is the Fakra connector which is a square plastic connector and only found on much older receivers like the Kenwood and some OEM SIRIUS car receivers (i.e. Infinity). The other type is a regular SMB which is what the majority of receivers and docking stations have. The SMB can be straight or right angle. I have also added photos to the Truck antenna to make it easier to see what the mounting hardware is like.

In other TSS news, we will be getting the much sought after Home Antenna back in stock. The Home Antenna can be mounted on the outside of your house for a clearer view of the sky. We have also just added a part that will help you get a cleaner looking vehicle Installation is the 12v Power Hardwire Cable. This cable will allow you to have the power for your 12v receiver hardwired to your cars power, NO MORE CIGARETTE LIGHTER ADAPTER!
While we are on the subject of antennas and installation, we would love to see your Sirius Installation! If you live in the Chicago area and have a great Sirius Installation in your vehicle, email me at ross@tss-radio.com. Have a great 4th!

Ross

The Boston Herald recently published an article entitled Stern Sirius-ly annoys MIT radios listeners about how some radio listeners are accidentally getting snippets of SIRIUS programming, primarily Stern’s show when they are driving next to cars that are listening to SIRIUS.

The reason why that is happening is that the most common way for people to install SIRIUS into their car is with a Portable, or Plug N Play, SIRUS Radio.

SIRIUS wanted to make their basic radios easy to install, so they included a little FM transmitter in each of the basic radios. The user then sets the SIRIUS radio to broadcast on an unused frequency (in the article they mention that many people have tuned to 88.1) and then tunes their car stereo to that same station. The problem in this case is that the little FM transmitters seem to be a bit too powerful, and the signal reaches outside of the car and into someone else’s car.

There are several important issues that this story highlights:

1. in the same way that the signal that your SIRIUS radio is broadcasting can interfere with other peoples’ signals, their signals, or the much more powerful signals transmitted by the radio stations, can interfere with your signal, reducing the quality of your SIRIUS listening experience. The best way to improve your SIRIUS sound quality is to install a Wired FM Modulator Relay ($19.99) or an Auxiliary Input Adapter ($50-$100). If you need help figuring out which one is right for you, email us at sales@tss-radio.com

2. Newspapers (and people) tend to unfairly scapegoat Stern. Just as many people have gotten interference from other SIRIUS stations, like Martha Stewart, and no newspaper picked up that story. Please guys, give Stern a break, he has a really entertaining show that many of us enjoy listening to. We don’t complain about your listening choices.

3. Many modern electronics devices run on old-fashioned radio waves- cordless telephones, cellular telephones, Wireless internet, etc. As devices proliferate there will be more conflicts. One way to alleviate the conflicts is to use the radio waves to transmit digital signals, like SIRIUS does. If FM radio used modern digital technology many more signals would be able to be broadcast on the same amount of radio spectrum and we would all be better off.

So things are looking good for our favorite Satellite radio provider SIRIUS. They have just announced that they have signed up with Loral Space & Communications Ltd. who built the 3 currently orbitting satellites and the 1 backup satellite, to build 1 more satellite that will be unleashed into space in 2008. That means far better reception for all in the SIRIUS universe!

On another note, Howard Stern fans may have heard a conversation today on the show pertaining to the GM SIRIUS connect (SIR-GM1). Stern and the gang mentioned that they had the unit and that a friend had purchased one at a store. We just wanted to set the record straight by saying that SIRIUS GM Connect is still NOT available. After speaking to the Directed Electronics rep today, the release date has been pushed back again to July. We think that it will really be released closer to August due to the fact that it is not even production yet. In the mean time, we have our own fix for those who cannot wait . Check it out here TSS-RADIO. It is more expensive than the GM SIRIUS Connect, but it will work with some models.