Xm Radio

Silverado4x4 · November 20, 2009

I got the promo thing in the mail today for the wife's equinox and a e-mail for my truck to subscribe for 77 dollars a year per vehicle so I was going to do it but reading the aggreement they want the credit card number and its a automatic renew when the year is up same goes for a check as they automatic withdraw from the checking account when the year is up, this is BS now why cant they just send you a bill before the year is up and go from there. They lost a future customer today because of this and money for them. CHANGE YOUR POLICY XM RADIO.

amtz.zero · November 20, 2009

That does suck. But I've never had xm anyways. I just can't see myself paying for "radio", satellite or not.

stadt11 · November 20, 2009

^^ @OP

Haha, you've realized my point exactly, I had lots of trouble "breaking" this agreement because they said I "agreed" to this renewal when I was just doing a trial. It's pure BS! Their autorenewal is a joke! Don't do it!

StigMX5 · November 20, 2009

I have the Sirius $80 deal. After signing up for a couple of weeks, I just called them and told them I am changing my credit card and to remove my current card from their system. The rep said I would be invoiced at the next renewal time.

It was no biggie.

georgecdisc · November 21, 2009

I've read that you can usually get a temporary, one-time use, card number from your credit card number. Never heard of anyone actually using it to sign up with satellite radio, but I would give that a try. I hated the auto renewal, wish I knew about the one-time use gig (if it's real).

pistonslap · November 21, 2009

Man thats a da*n good price! I get my subscription (Sirius) thru the US and it must be at least twice that. Mind you I am paying with cdn dollars.

Luvbelly · November 21, 2009

You touched on the exact reason I dropped Sirius. Bill me, at which point I will make a determination if I want my subscription to continue. If they don't get the money they have my answer. The second reason my subscription was canceled is the "great" deals they were giving out to everyone else. Most everyone I knew was paying about half the amount of my subscription. Because they threatened to cancel or not renew, Sirius/XM gave them a special deal. Foolish me kept up with the auto pay and got soaked. It should be one reasonable rate for everyone (take it or leave it) billed in advanced with the customer deciding if and how to pay. Never again until they change their policies.

Luvbelly · November 21, 2009

While we are on this subject I have a question as well. With Sirius I used the antenna that came with my starmate unit. Reception was pretty good. Very seldom did I experience any loss of signal. With the free XM in my truck it's down right annoying. The same routes traveled during the same times of the year and I loose signal at least 10 times during a 30 mile commute. Is this most likely because of the factory antenna or because of the change from Sirius to XM. I know they are the same company now but do they use different satellites perhaps in drastically different locations?

georgecdisc · November 21, 2009

While we are on this subject I have a question as well. With Sirius I used the antenna that came with my starmate unit. Reception was pretty good. Very seldom did I experience any loss of signal. With the free XM in my truck it's down right annoying. The same routes traveled during the same times of the year and I loose signal at least 10 times during a 30 mile commute. Is this most likely because of the factory antenna or because of the change from Sirius to XM. I know they are the same company now but do they use different satellites perhaps in drastically different locations?

To my knowledge Sirius and XM are still using separate satellites. ie, you can not receive Sirius service from any XM satellite and vise versa.

I noticed the same change in reception you explained. I had an aftermarket Sirius unit, worked great and only lost reception one place from New Hampshire to Michigan about 20 miles from the US/Canada border. XM in my new truck I was losing reception constantly. I used my 3 month trial and did not want to pay for it. Now I am trying XM again because there is a promotion for everyone until the end of November to try it. I hate it, still. Crappy reception, and music channels with too much DJ talk IMO.

jrod332 · November 21, 2009

send them a cashiers check or a money order. That way dont have any account of yours. See what happens.

pistonslap · November 21, 2009

While we are on this subject I have a question as well. With Sirius I used the antenna that came with my starmate unit. Reception was pretty good. Very seldom did I experience any loss of signal. With the free XM in my truck it's down right annoying. The same routes traveled during the same times of the year and I loose signal at least 10 times during a 30 mile commute. Is this most likely because of the factory antenna or because of the change from Sirius to XM. I know they are the same company now but do they use different satellites perhaps in drastically different locations?

I did some research on this a little over two years ago. The site I was on showed the beam pattern of the different satellites.And the difference between Sirius and XM satellite beam patterns. I cant recall seeing much difference in the US of A but in Canada Sirius had far better coverage in some northern areas. One thing I remember reading tho was that XM had many more repeaters in overpasses, bridges etc than sirius.

georgecdisc · November 22, 2009

I did some research on this a little over two years ago. The site I was on showed the beam pattern of the different satellites.And the difference between Sirius and XM satellite beam patterns. I cant recall seeing much difference in the US of A but in Canada Sirius had far better coverage in some northern areas. One thing I remember reading tho was that XM had many more repeaters in overpasses, bridges etc than sirius.

Repeaters and satellite positions for Sirius:

http://www.dogstarradio.com/sirius_map.php

The XM version I knew of does not work anymore. Anyways, Sirius has satellites that move in a figure 8 while XM's satellites remain in static in the sky.

HomieG · November 22, 2009

...Sirius has satellites that move in a figure 8 while XM's satellites remain in static in the sky.

Exactly. Sirius currently has three satellites in orbit, but only two are active at a time. A good method to track them is the program "Orbitron" which can be located via a google search.

The Sirius orbit changes by 4 minutes daily, meaning over 2 hours a month. What that means is that marginal coverage in various parts of the coverage area will change, and it is noticeable. Here in the Southeast, when the western-most Sirius satellite is setting down over the equator, and theeastern-most satellite is not yet re-activated, the coverage sucks. And the time of day for that changes each day, noticeable over a several week period. This is called a geosynchronous orbit (satellite moves in the "sky" in relation to the receiver on earth).

Sirius, I believe, has launched a 4th satellite, to be in geostationary orbit (satellite appears to be in the exact same location in relation to the receiver on earth). I don't believe this satellite has been enabled, and wonder when that will be.

XM's satellites are geostationary.

Back to the original topic, I've been a Sirius subscriber for 4 years. We also have a 2nd radio sub in my wifes car. When that comes up for renewal, it better get the best price available, or we'll discontinue that sub. While my truck XM is currently getting the "free" 60 channels until the end of the month, I don't plan on renewing that, even at the $20 for 5 more months. My truck came with XM, and after the end of the initial free trial, I installed another dock in the truck so I can use the same Sirius dockable radio receiver from vehicle to vehicle. Even interfaced it with the factory truck antenna. While the reception is OK, it does change, mostly based on what I mention in the first part of this post.

stadt11 · November 22, 2009

I've read that you can usually get a temporary, one-time use, card number from your credit card number. Never heard of anyone actually using it to sign up with satellite radio, but I would give that a try. I hated the auto renewal, wish I knew about the one-time use gig (if it's real).

That won't work! I tried that and they submitted it to a collection agency, I was fuming!!

pistonslap · November 22, 2009

Interesting info there HomieG. I have noticed the differences you are talking about for a long time. I tried to explain this to some other subscribers and they acted like I was nuts! All they could come up with is "it must be your antennae". I use my radio in various areas for eight or more hours running equipment,so these reception glitches become pretty obvious after awhile.