Sirius Satellite Question

[mday66]

I recently purchased an 04 Eddie Bauer. It came with the Audiophile radio system, same as my 01 Sport Trac, however this radio has a 'SAT' button which I understand is for satellite radio. When I questioned the dealership about getting satellite radio, they said it was a $500 equipment and install charge. I can go out on my own and start from scratch and buy everything I need for less than $200. So my question is, if I have a radio already that apparently accommodates satellite radio, what equipment, if any, do I need to buy and why was the dealership so expensive? Do I have to use the dealership for this sort of thing? And if not, where can I go? As you can see, I have absolutly no experience with satellite radio and am learning as I go so any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[MONMIX]

hi and welcome to the site

I am not positive about the factory HU but to wire the Sirius into my aftermarket Kenwood HU was cake. Plug and play.
You need the tuner and an antena. I believe I was about a hundred and change for mine.


Ford charges more for the simple reason of profit.

Let me know if I can help any more.
Dont be a stranger

 

[cybercreeper]

I did mine for less that $350. Installed a kick ass Alpine system with XM Radio. I love it. never again have i listen to regular radio again.

Alpine was $227
XM Adapter for alpine was $49
XM Antenna was another $49
Kit for stereo dash $10
Harness $8

total $343 time of installation doing it myself was about 2hrs. a bit long but it was my first time doing a HU installation myself.

 

[mday66]

Thank you. Some light has been shed. One question, though; what does HU stand for? Thanks again!

 

[JBROJ]

Head Unit... your radio basically...

 

[drjordan]

You can go to Sirius' web site. Go to "Get Sirius", then "Buy Direct". They have the Kenwood plug and play unit with everything you need for your car and home for $75.00. It's less than $100 with tax, shipping, and activation. I have that and I really like it. It comes with a cassette adaptor, but you should be able to buy a wireless FM transmitter or an RF modulator to use instead of the tape. Or, I have an Alpine HU with an adaptor ($15) that lets me plug an RCA wire into the jack for a CD changer. That way the sat. radio has it's own channel. I'm sure other brands will have the same type adaptor, and the Kenwood also comes with the RCA wire to use for that purpose.

The units that plug directly into the back of your HU are supposed to give you a clearer sound than any other method. The one like the dealer would install lets you control the sat. radio with your existing HU. But I like the way mine is done better because I can listen to a CD and look down and know what's playing on the sat. radio without switching over.

And, as has been said, you should have no problem installing it. Good luck.

 

[MagsXL]

Thanks!

mday66 -- Thanks for posting this question and thanks to everyone who's replied.

I've got a 04 Explorer XLT Sport and it sounds like I have the same HU as mday66. I just started researching how to install Sirius and whether or not I should do it myself or have the dealership do it.

Based on the replies, I think I'll give it a shot myself and see how it turns out. Those of you who have installed it yourself seem to be very confident that it's not extremely difficult.

Thanks again for the help!

-Mags

 

[Fantasymon]

XM sucks....Half the stations are edited. The sports selection is terrible...Wish I would of gone with Sirius instead....IU figured a way to get XM for free so havent been charged in 2 years--thats the ONLY reason I've kept xm.

 

[expblue]

i have a number to a company in nj and sells factory sirius kits that hook right up to the factory radio.they make it for ford.comes with all wiring,ant
and inst.wiring is for an explorer and ect.1 888 594-2136 they are very helpful
good luck.and anyone can install it.i think the kit was 250.also go on ebay there is always someone on there with factory kits

 

[elkhunter]

I just finished installing the wireless FM transmitter Sirious system. The hardest part is deciding on where to mount it. Then only two wires, antenna & cigar lighter power, a call to activate, and tunes time!

 

[mday66]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciated all the view points shared!!!!

 

[GoodMike]

always do installs like these yourself, everywhere wanted 80 dollars just to install, i asked them why, and they told me i wouldnt be able to see any wires. well i spent 30 mins and did it myself, no wires are seen. same with all my stereo stuff...its crazy expensive to let people install for you. now im looking at an alarm system for my new car...i dont think ill be able to install that myself...too hard!

 

[mad_dog97]

Sorry to resurrect this old thread but I've got a few questions that seemed similar.

I also have an 04 EB with Audiophile stereo and have seriously started thinking about getting sat radio. Any help with these questions would be appreciated:

1) Is the Audiophile stereo ready to take either XM or Sirius?

2) Do I just need the appropriate tuner? There seems to be a good deal of info on XM tuners but not as much for Sirius. Can I walk into BB/Circuit City and get one?

3) Where does the tuner go? Is there room to store it behind the dash or does it have to be installed elsewhere (under driver seat, etc.)?

4) What shows up on the HU display? Anyone got a picture?

Thanks in advance for this newbies questions.

Will

 

[blitzk]

Where did you guys mount your antennas?

 

[NaplesBill]

The factory Sirius module is a hideaway tuner. Very much like the optional tuners for Pioneer, Alpine, Eclipse, etc. You can not get these OEM tuners from BB or CC.

I mounted my antenna on my roof. My brother works for Sirius and sent me a prototype antenna that is much smaller than the one that came with my tuner. Here are a couple pics of where I mounted it and compared to the normal antenna:

 

[blitzk]

Thats the newer smaller antennas. The one I got from my first SIRI radio is about 2x the size of your big antenna! hah...

I'm still waiting for Pioneer's SIR-PNR2 to come out until I buy one for the X

 

[DeathsArrow]

Where did you guys mount your antennas?

I ran the wire along the passenger side and out the rear hatch onto the roof.

 

[Ewrencher]

You should be able to activite it from dealer at the normal activation price.

 

[Ewrencher]

Where did you guys mount your antennas?

I put it on the back near the tailgate and ran to wire down thorugh the truck under the seat and up to the stereo, but I don't know about sat head units.

 

[X24]

I had a Sirius Starmate Replay PNP in my truck for a while and I loved it. I recently switched to a Sirius ready HU and bought the Sirius receiver for my HU. I absolutely hate it. With my Starmate, it would be a rare occurance for me to lose signal once a day, now its a rare occurance for me to make it thru one song without losing signal. I'm using the same antenna in the same location, I only switched the receiver. Has anyone else had an experience like this? How often do you lose signal? I would blame it on the thick tree canopys in my area, but the Starmate had no problems.