Satelite Radio Rocks!

[DieselDunn]

Just installed sattelite radio or XM radio as it's called in the wife's car. The installation for the truck is next week. They don't make a full DIN and a half so i'll have to settle on a DIN size.



The setup is really easy to use and no commercials. I listen to a lot of talk radio and this thing has everything you can think of for that. Over 150 channels for 9. 95 pretty cool.

 

[illflem]

Sounds pretty cool especially when you live in a small one station town like I do, no offence to anyone but I get tired of country music. How much for the receiver?

 

[HVAC]

Cost?

QUOTE:

"Over 150 channels for 9. 95 pretty cool. "



OK, so is 9. 95 the same as $9. 95? This being a cost, is it a one time charge? Is it a monthly charge? ? ?? ???

 

[High Voltage]

Think it's $250 for the receiver plus antenna plus activation fee.

Think they are trying to get $80 for the antenna less $30 rebate.

Activation fee is $14. 99. .

 

[Ted Constantine]

9. 95 is a monthy charge.



I have been planing to go check this out today as Illflem said montana radio is lacking





They come is a plugin model if your radio can handle it or in an FM Modulated verision just like CD changers. Plugins should be just under 200 dolars and FM version is 250-299 ish plug the extra cost listed by High Voltage.



Ted

 

[Rammin On]

There are 2 satellite radio companies ... XM which just rolled out their nationwide coverage . . and SIRIUS . . which will launch their service in Feb ... . From what I understand reading through some of the science mags ... SIRIUS will offer more stations and better reception than XM ... how they do that is beyond me . . I was contemplating getting XM ... but think I'll wait til SIRIUS rolls out to get more stations ... Just some food for thought . .



Interesting that the radios are different for each service ... You can also get a sat receiver to hook into your existing radio as well . . or so I'm told anyway.

 

[TxDieselKid]

well I don't like it because....

I am a Radio/Television major and some of our teachers pointed out things that are not so good about it.



XM v/s SIRIUS- much like the VHS v/s BETA tapes. one will win out but which is hard to say right now.



Many songs get popular on a local basis. A song that is popular here might not be so popular in a city 100 miles north, south, east or west from here. So playing music for a national audience is hard to do, it's been done, and still is being done.



They will not tell you much local information that is going on. Weather warnings, community calenders, etc. I know that the recivers for XM do AM and FM but you can't just get those local tid bits like before.



There are others that make me not like the service because I am trying to get into the Radio field, and this will just end up takeing jobs away from smaller communities. Think cable TV, and satillte TV.



I'll just stick with the good old FM, and cd's, but for you all in the middle of BFE, it's not a bad choice. Formats like national news, talk shows and what not are a great format idea, and will work, but for music it's another story. Think of all the money that MTV and CMT get for playing certin songs, and bands. It's going to be that all over again.



AJB

 

[pnwradar]

Re: well I don't like it because....

Originally posted by TxDieselKid

I am a Radio/Television major and some of our teachers pointed out things that are not so good about it.



Many songs get popular on a local basis. A song that is popular here might not be so popular in a city 100 miles north, south, east or west from here. So playing music for a national audience is hard to do, it's been done, and still is being done.



They will not tell you much local information that is going on. Weather warnings, community calenders, etc. I know that the recivers for XM do AM and FM but you can't just get those local tid bits like before.



There are others that make me not like the service because I am trying to get into the Radio field, and this will just end up takeing jobs away from smaller communities. Think cable TV, and satillte TV.



I'll just stick with the good old FM, and cd's, but for you all in the middle of BFE, it's not a bad choice. Formats like national news, talk shows and what not are a great format idea, and will work, but for music it's another story. Think of all the money that MTV and CMT get for playing certin songs, and bands. It's going to be that all over again.



AJB

A number of your "local" stations are probably running satellite feeds, already. The music comes over the sat receiver, and sub-audible tones are used at breaks to start the cart machines (or . wav files on the control PC). It's a lot cheaper to pay the sat fees than the on-air staff, and most folks never notice. The Production staff carts up daily local news and commercials, and it gets played by the machine at the right time.



It was first popular in the larger cities, but now most rural stations use sat feeds for most of the airtime. A small crew to do production, and cover the weekly high school b-ball game is all you need. It's awfully expensive to run a station the old-fashioned way.



-jon-

 

[TxDieselKid]

Re: Re: well I don't like it because....

Originally posted by pnwradar





A number of your "local" stations are probably running satellite feeds, already. The music comes over the sat receiver, and sub-audible tones are used at breaks to start the cart machines (or . wav files on the control PC). It's a lot cheaper to pay the sat fees than the on-air staff, and most folks never notice. The Production staff carts up daily local news and commercials, and it gets played by the machine at the right time.



It was first popular in the larger cities, but now most rural stations use sat feeds for most of the airtime. A small crew to do production, and cover the weekly high school b-ball game is all you need. It's awfully expensive to run a station the old-fashioned way.



-jon-

I know all about satillete feeds, most around here do it at night. Of the Clear Channel station group here, the moring guy on the country fromat runs a fed to Tyler for the classic rock show at night. The club here for R/TV is going to the national meeting in Atlanta this year and will tour the biggest feed station group in the country. There is another big one in Dallas.



Cool technology, but sucks for those who want a job in the field, like me.



AJB

 

[Ted Constantine]

Rammin On,

Where can you get info on the two options?



Tx- I can understand where you are coming from but understand but I don't get any radio stations often and when they do come in most of them are anything but good. As for weather they are right less than fifty percent of the time and in MT you can look west and be quite acurate. For me there is more bonus to sat than trying to find local stations. You could start up a station in Bozeman with some power and do well.



Ted

 

[illflem]

Problem in Montana is the durn Rocky Mtns. I'd say that in at least two thirds of the state there are zero stations, when you can get one it's usually NPR. That's why satellite sounds appealing.



Ted, I thought the MSU station in Bozeman played some good stuff, but I only have listened a little bit.

 

[TxDieselKid]

I know where your coming from...

I know where you guys are coming from, belive me. It does sound good no doubt.



AJB

 

[Rammin On]

Ted ...



You can try their web sites ... Sirius site is outdated ... I can't get the xm site to load.



SIRIUS



XM



Keith

 

[DieselDunn]

I went back and forth between XM and Sirrus.



I finally decided on XM because of two reasons, One XM is out and that which is out first usually wins in one of these games.



Two The programing is pretty close. The signal is great cant imagine it getting much better. Sure XM has all the news channels but it has commedy and everything else. Sirrus has NPR.



I figure it will go the way of satelite TV eventually. All the companies will become one and there will be no *****ing.



I'm happy, and I was told that SIrrus won't be out for at least August now.