Installing Sirius Receiver

[diesellabs]

Am contemplating a portable Sirius receiver as a Christmas present for the rig...We've got the Magnadyne RV radio now. Asking for experiences from those of you who have installed aftermarket Sirius/XM units.

Is the AUX input for the RV radio easilly accessible? From behind the dash or does the radio need to be pulled? I know the direct connection is the preferred method, but how about reception via FM transmission?

Does the antenna need to be on the roof? Saw some earlier posts suggesting reception through the fiberglass roof was adequate...Comments?

Mounting preferences for the receiver?

Thanks for all responses.

[diesellabs]

Am contemplating a portable Sirius receiver as a Christmas present for the rig...We've got the Magnadyne RV radio now. Asking for experiences from those of you who have installed aftermarket Sirius/XM units.

Is the AUX input for the RV radio easilly accessible? From behind the dash or does the radio need to be pulled? I know the direct connection is the preferred method, but how about reception via FM transmission?

Does the antenna need to be on the roof? Saw some earlier posts suggesting reception through the fiberglass roof was adequate...Comments?

Mounting preferences for the receiver?

Thanks for all responses.

[chicken legs]

I have the sirus sportster portable that I move from my truck to the RV when we hit the road. I use the FM transmitter method and put the antenna on the dash. I will say that when I'm near home the freq that I have selected on the coach radio and sirus remain unused all is good however: I have found that when I travel to Cal or Nev that freq is used and i have to search for vacant freq which is not an easy task. The upside is that I can use a digital boom box on the patio and pick up the FM transmission from the sirus still mounted in the coach. Soo good and bad with the FM transmission method.

[AFChap]

I use an XM unit much like Chuck using his portable, using the FM modulator and moving it between coach & toad. I toss the antenna on the dash by the glass. While traveling, I also sometimes have to shift to another FM freq, but that isn't a big deal. I have had a few reception problems when headed north, and have sometimes had to move the antenna to a side window to get reception. I also have used the outside radio to listen to the XM radio from inside the coach.

[tomsm]

Steve,

Assuming your '05 is not that much different from mine, remove the trim that goes over the video selection panel in the upper right cabinet. Reach up into the ceiling of that compartment and you should find a steel bar/tube going across the width of the MH. There is just enough room to slip the magnetic mount antenna between that bar and the roof above. I originally had put the antenna on the metal top shelf in that compartment, but apparently that steel bar "shadowed" the satellite and we sometimes lost signal. Signal has been strong since I moved it above the bar.

If you have the walkie-talkies, you can remove their charging station by taking out 4 screws and get access to the radio from there. You'll probably still want to pull the rear dash cover so you can route all the wires out between the dash and the cover. I tied into the cigarette lighter power from the back then just left a couple of inches of the power, antenna, radio hook-up cables sticking out from under the cover. When the cables are connected to the sirius, they provide enough anchor that it just rides on the dash with no other mounting needed. FM works fine too - we use it to pick up the sirius on the outside radio or a portable.

[diesellabs]

Thanks for the replies thus far...Good information!

Tom, you used an RCA plug into the back of the radio? Did it come with your install kit?
I don't have the walkie-talkie option but in the past I did open up the dash to replace the Freighliner InfoCenter.

Anybody have experience using the cassette player adapter available with some car kits as an alternative to direct-wire and FM?

Thanks again

[tomsm]

Steve - it's been a couple of years since I bought the radio, but as I remember, it came with a home install kit and a mobile install kit. One of those had a cable that plugged into the sirius and terminated on the other end with RCA plugs. The dash radio has a short pigtail terminated with female RCA connectors.

As you probably know, when you open that little storage bin beneath the radio, if you depress the metal strip "catch", you can rotate the bin on down flat on the floor and reach the back of the radio from there.

If you don't want to go to the trouble of the hardwire hookup, the FM works flawlessly. The only downer, as others have mentioned, is that eventually you will encounter interference from a local station and have to change frequencies - not a big deal after you've done it a couple of times.

[SCVJeff]

Steve: The Magnadyne radio has TWO Aux inputs. If you remove the medium useless tilt-out storage door under the radio you will find both inputs hanging down as female RCA jacks from the rear of the radio. There is also a line out to the amp as well that I may someday route to the outside radio. Anyway, plug in and punch up the Aux you chose.

[FrankO]

I installed my XM receiver in the MH and used the existing Sirius antenna that came with the MH. If you have the Sirius option with the radio there is a box that the antenna goes into that is in the back left corner under the dash. I mounted the Receiver holder to the left side of the dash with velcro and installed a 12V outlet along side the mount. Ran a 1/8th stereo cord that splits into 2 RCA jacks to the one of the inputs to the radio. Works much better than using the FM Radio option IMHO.
Good luck -- Frank O.

[diesellabs]

Thanks all. It's sounding better and better. I'll have to start talking to Santa...

I'll do some more research on available radios and car kits. Want to be able to move the receiver from toad to RV and back with minimum effort. Sounds like I need at least two antennas for the most basic setup; more cables if I want a more customized install in each vehicle.

Appreciate your experiences!

[AFChap]

Poor me!! No Sirius option, so no antenna in place. And my Visteon dash radio w/6 CD changer that I otherwise really like, has absolutely ZERO input jacks!! And radio shops I have talked to have told me there is no way to add an aux jack.

Steve, the MOST basic setup is to just move the portable antenna back and forth between vehicles along with the receiver & power plug. I have considered getting a second antenna, and then maybe attach one of the magnetic antennas to my rooftop TV dish, and string the wire through the driver window or something!

[John Hilley]

A good option is the In-Line FM Modulator, which goes in series with the radio AM/FM antenna. No problem with interfering FM signals.