most standalone sirius receivers will have a buffer in them. factory units dont.
Actually, the MFT receiver included in the 202A package does have a buffer and will replay the last 45 minutes on a given channel, IIRC.
My XM receiver will replay the last hour, and will cross channels. You can leave it on and pick up your favorite program (like Mike and Mike on ESPN) and then when you get into the car you can change the channel for another, rewind to the beginning and listen to the first program then continue on when it runs out.
But back to the original topic - my MFT Sirius (XLT, 202A) was dropping out every couple minutes on the way to work yesterday morning. 25 minute drive, 20 miles. On the way home, just for fun, I counted - 13 drops in the same distance. No tunnels, large buildings, heavy tree cover, road signs, none of that. Just open skies over the freeway. Most of them were just momentary drops, like skips in a record, but I don't have SAT radio to get that kind of reception. The weather was cool and there was cloud cover all day.
Last night on the way to dinner about 6:30 it was skipping again. Not as bad, but at least a half a dozen times in a 20 minute drive. A little tree cover over the road, but nothing major.
On the way home about 10:00, it skipped maybe once or twice.
Over the last 3 weeks, it has not seemed nearly this bad. Maybe one little skip every now and then.
My XM radio in my old X is a Delphi SkyFi add-on unit. It demonstrates none of the drops that this Sirius unit has. No drops or skips, unless of course you are shaded from the satellite by hills, cliffs, large highway walls, etc. But it never just randomly dropped out while driving.
So the question is - is this a vehicle radio or antenna problem? A Sirius broadcast/satellite problem?
At this point, I am unable to reproduce the issue consistently. It seems very random.
I was able to find some other references to people having similar issues, though they are a bit dated.
There is
this one
And check out the graphic in post 4 on
this one. Pretty cool, and informative, too. And a reference to
this forum Have to do some reading over there.
If what I have read so far is correct, XM uses a geostationary orbit for their two birds, and Sirius uses 3 that are flying a figure 8. XM seems to have opted for more stability, and Sirius for more coverage area. I think I like the more stability approach.