Sirius mounting/questions

[Four0Sport]

Last week my fiance bought me a sirius radio set up, which is awesome. I ran all the wiring for the antenna, the FMEA, the power port and mounted the radio to the center vent in my 1993 sport using the supplied mounting hardware. It is ok and all but i was looking into a more customized mounting location such as where the ashtray is. Just wondering if anyone has any pictures of where they mounted their satelite radios. Been lookin around and have seen lots of unique ways of hooking up and mounting aftermarket units but looking for something more relevant to my install.

Also, on a side note, since there seems to be alot of audio/electronic gurus on this site. My head unit is a sony xplod that is listed as 'xm' ready, does this mean that a satelite radio is capable of being wired up to play through the head unit w/out using a FMEA or other devices?

Thanks in advance,

- Jack

 

[Donner]

I'm curious too...

Okay, well I have this Sirius kit too, but it's in the box still. I thought ya just plugged it in to the aux, and whamo! Good to go... Do you have any pics of your interior? I'm going to open this box and see what's inside...

 

[Four0Sport]

i watched the install videos on sirius' website and they didnt mention anything about using an aux input, there arent any a/v cables in the kit to do so. hopefully someone watching this thread has dealt with it b4.

 

[Donner]

I have a box load of cables.... do you have that same package as I do up there ^^?

 

[corkey]

that particular setup has an FM transmitter built into it, there is no wiring involved,
you just open the package , and partially assemble the stand, which suction cups to the window, or fits in the vent, and than turn it on tune it in, and than call them and sign up,
as for custom installation situations, be creative, just remember the antenna needs a clear view , like in the middle of the windshield , or a rear package tray ,
i put the antenna for my portable unit through the firewall of my car , and than mounted it to the flat spot on the back edge of the hood so i can see that nothing happens to it, or the cable,, most of the antennas have a magnet built into the bottom of them,and very long cable,

some of the units have a jack on the side that can be hooked up to a 1/8 inch stereo jack , so if you have an AUX input , it can run in through that too, or instead, but you have to get the proper cable yourself, , ,

 

[Donner]

Alright! What type of h/u do you have?

 

[Four0Sport]

i have a Sony Xplod that is 'xm ready', hoping that means i just need to run a cable from the back of the Sirius dock to the back of my head unit. I have everything hooked up and the radio is working, just tryin to see what other options i have as far as hooking it up and mounting it. thanks for the responses.

 

[Donner]

How about Corkey's h/u?

 

[jad2411]

When it says XM ready you need to buy an add on to that unit, will not just plug to any tuner, needs to be the one with the audio hookup for your stereo, same as in a cd changer...

 

[corkey]

my head unit is a Kenwood , the model is kdc-mp922, http://www.crutchfield.com/S-7alwDJdENZ0/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?I=113MP922
it is a full featured deck with a flip down face , and it controls a cd changer as well as a sirius black box, (kenwood ktc-sr901)
I have all the options working as well, it is am , fm , cd, cd changer, sirius , and it has an aux input that i run my laptop into , instead of an ipod,
i also have changed all the door speakers to Kenwood 3 ways, and added 2 Lanzar tweeters to the dash , and 2, 12 inch subs with a Kenwood 1000 watt amp, ,

 

[Four0Sport]

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-EvolJYMeh8d/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?I=042FO7090

found this on crutchfield.com, too bad they are out of stock. here is a link to the pro.fit website showing the pdf instructions.. pics are kinda bad cant really see too much of how the finished product looks.

http://www.pro-fit-intl.com/Adobe/FO-70-90.pdf

 

[98formulaLS1]

for the unit which is pictured in the second post: Here are my suggestions.

**I have the same unit***

It should have a permentant mounting bracket. I suggest you use it.

If your Sony radio doesn't have an aux input, then you should purchase the FM hardwire cable that is available from Sirius. This will plug into your Sirius unit, and then plug in between your radio and your existing radio antenna cable.

This will provide MUCH better quality than using the wireless FM modulator.

Also, I suggest that you buy a cigarette port extender, cut of the cable end, and hardwire it into your existing cigarette power. This will allow you to plug the power cable for your Sirius unit into the cig adapter which is hidden.

***You can not apply +12vDC power to the Sirius unit directly, as it requires +5vDC. Please use the circuitry that is provided in the cigarette power adapter provided with the kit.***

Any Questions?

 

[Four0Sport]

im pretty sure the last time i had my head unit out that it did have an aux input, i tried contacting sony and crutchfield and they were unhelpful. im going to pull out my head unit in the next day or so and see what all i have back there, and get the SN and hopefully one of the techs at sony can help me a little more.

thanks for your responses, i agree the FMEA isnt very good, i get the same reception w/out it. it would be nice to have something hardwired to the readio that way i dont have to constantly search for empty fm channels while im driving.


oh, btw.. you shouldnt have sold your F-body.

 

[98formulaLS1]

dont waste your time talking with the Sony techs.

All we need to know to give you the most direct answer is the model number of your radio and the Sirius unit.

 

[TheJackal]

My dad had his XM SkyFi2 radio mounted where the ashtray is in my Explorer back when he had it. I did use it a couple of times, but I hated that location. It was nearly impossible to see the screen, and he had lost the remote and you had to bend down to change the station. It was impossible to deal with while driving.

I had heard that someone was going to make adapters for "XM Radio Ready" radios, however, this might be vaporware as I've never actually seen one.

I did consider getting a new HU and Sirius tuner to replace the universal set-up that I have now. The only reason why I haven't is because HU tuners don't have Replay feature, which I use all the time.

If you do want to get a universal kit I suggest the original Sportster Replay, not the Sportster 4, because the 4 does not have auto-dim and it's obnoxiously bright at night, and the brightness setting is buried deep in the menu so it's a pain in the ass to change. You'll have to go on eBay to find it, tho, as they are long discontinued. I'd still have mine, if it hadn't have broken.

Best Buy sells a set of Bracketron brackets to mount a satellite radio or similar device. At $35, I never got around to it and stuck to the windshield mount. (Windshield mounting is illegal in California and Minnesota, tho)

 

[Four0Sport]

Sony model number ODX-CA710X and heres a pic of the back of my head unit

 

[Donner]

What's the blue circle on the far right?

 

[Four0Sport]

the tag on the back of the head unit listed it as a remote port? im not sure.

 

[Donner]

Is it CDX? http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/model-documents.pl?mdl=CDXCA710X

And next to the fuse is an iPod adapter...

 

[98formulaLS1]

youre in a tight position. The XM ready feature for this Sony radio requires that you use a universal XM radio. XM sells a cable that will connect to your radio, and connect to your XM receiver, but you need to make sure that your XM receiver will accept the plug from the XM cable.

If you go to crutchfield.com, search for Sony XM, and choose the only product under satillite radio adapter. Then click on the picture, and you will see what the cable looks like.

The next thing we need to know is the model of your XM radio.

The remote port is used to change your radio stations, volume, etc. If you were to have steering wheel controls, the connection from those controls would plug into this port.

Oh yeah, you don't have iPod control with that radio as stated above. Thats the Bus-In port, only to be used for Sony's CD changer or this XM cable.