which satellite radio headunit...sirius or xm?

[Joneeboy33]

alrite so the g/fs gonna get me another late xmas present satellite radio..im leaning towards sirius but which headunit should i get? and is the installation process long? plug and play? i don't want to have wires goin through my ceiling carpet and all.

[MCOjerry]

What do you mean by HU? Are you intending to completely replace yours, or do you just want to get a Starmate or something?

I have the JBL, but the Toyota receiver was too expensive, So I got a Sportster Replay 4, and had Circuit city install it. Wires are hidden. all you see are the small amount of wiring from the back of the unit.

[RichD978]

get the pioneer or panasonic.

its real easy, just run the antenna wire, tap the power and ground. plug the unit in and you're all set.

[RichD978]

get the pioneer or panasonic.

its real easy, just run the antenna wire, tap the power and ground. plug the unit in and you're all set.

Jerry your install looks like a basicdsr install. did they have it plugged into the cig. lighter? or did they tap the power from the back of the unit? Just noticed how they did the quick zip tie job by the unit. I usually tape the wires up so it looks neater

And I think he's referring to a Sirius interface for the aftermarket radio. Probably. Maybe. I guess

[MCOjerry]

That's what I wasn't sure about. Sounded like he wanted a whole new HU.

The power on mine is tapped through the back, under the dash. Based on where I wanted it placed, I'd have to see wires somewhere, there isn't anywhere to hide them completely.

I could have put it somewhere else, but I wanted it where I could see and reach it and I have a convertible, so I really couldn't put it over my head (high up). I figured I knock it off when I was trying to clamp the top down.

Prior to this, I had one rigged up and I tucked the wires under the dash, running the power to the lighter, but I wanted something more hidden, so I went to CC to have them do it.

[Joneeboy33]

well im leaning towards just a sportster. i believe those are plug and play..i was thinking about getting a whole new headunit because i wanted the navigation anyway (maybe pioneer) but im not totally sure because with the navigation the dash looked really plain and boring..

[NJTopdown]

Hey Jerry-
how is the Sportster mounted? Suction cup to the glass? Mount glued to the dash? I haven't installed mine yet b/c I haven't decided where to put it. In my Acura I had it where yours is but the Solara is tighter there. And the inspection sticker is there, too.

Deni

[Pitch]

There's a button on the car that says Satellite but nothing happens when I push it. Could I just buy a tuner or something for like a $100 and the standard headunit would play it? If not, why is that button there?

[MCOjerry]

Hey Jerry-
how is the Sportster mounted? Suction cup to the glass? Mount glued to the dash? I haven't installed mine yet b/c I haven't decided where to put it. In my Acura I had it where yours is but the Solara is tighter there. And the inspection sticker is there, too.

Deni

NJ - it's mounted w/suction cup. There's plenty of room for mine, it's a sportster replay 4. It's not in the way, at all. I don't have inspection stickers, but I know wht you mean (used to live in NY, we had 2 stickers)...this would mount well above the stickers. The suction cup is pretty strong too.

There's a button on the car that says Satellite but nothing happens when I push it. Could I just buy a tuner or something for like a $100 and the standard headunit would play it? If not, why is that button there?

Pitch - if you have a SAT button, that means you have the JBL system. Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think the base HU comes with a SAT button (I have been wrong before). Anyway, if it doesn't work, that means you don't have a receiver in your car, and the Toyota receiver is much more than $100...try over $600 installed. This is why I didn't go that route. You could install the receiver yourself, but that's a pain, then you are looking at $299 minimum...and you can't just use any revceiver and have it integrate into the Toyota HU...has to be the Toyota one.

The button is there because it's satellite ready.

[Pitch]

There's a button on the car that says Satellite but nothing happens when I push it. Could I just buy a tuner or something for like a $100 and the standard headunit would play it? If not, why is that button there?

Pitch - if you have a SAT button, that means you have the JBL system. Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think the base HU comes with a SAT button (I have been wrong before). Anyway, if it doesn't work, that means you don't have a receiver in your car, and the Toyota receiver is much more than $100...try over $600 installed. This is why I didn't go that route. You could install the receiver yourself, but that's a pain, then you are looking at $299 minimum...and you can't just use any revceiver and have it integrate into the Toyota HU...has to be the Toyota one.

The button is there because it's satellite ready.

Yeah, I guess it is the JBL. I just bought the car used, so I wasn't sure which system's in it.

I saw Pioneer has a tuner for their systems for $100 ( http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio ... ctID=17348 ), so I figured the Totota one was at a comparable price. Why isn't it or might there be something that I could install that would be?

[MCOjerry]

Ah, such is the SCAM of OEM crap! All the same electronics, but triple the price. They do make aftermarket receivers for OTHER car makes, but I have not found one for Toyota.

It's all a scam to get more dough from you.

[Joneeboy33]

ok its official..i think im going to purchase an alpine dvd player and just buy the portable alpine navigation system..i'd rather that because i can bring the nav unit into other cars if i choose to..as far as the satellite radio goes, that might be one of my later interests'..i went into best buy and was testing out the stations and wasn't that crazy about sirius but maybe later on it may be of greater importance.

one question i do have is that i do understand with pioneer, u cannot watch dvds while the car is in drive...does that hold true for alpine headunits as well? it is a pain to buy a dvd headunit when you can't even enjoy it to it's full extent?

[Joneeboy33]

also, if i want to watch tv, is the tuner all i have to purchase? if anybody has a tv tuner in their car, your feedback is greatly appreciated..