SIRIUS Sportster 5 Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit

Installation was a snap. I had an idea of how I wanted to mount the receiver when it arrived but I ended up doing it differently and was very pleased. The product has good flexibility for mounting. The product arrived sooner than I anticipated which was nice. I mounted the unit under the dash on a mount with my GPS and was pleased with the results. I'm using the FM transmitter since I don't have an easy way to hook up to my radio and the sound quality is very good. Of course if you have an audio input on your radio that is the best way but if you don't the FM transmitter works great. I found that I didn't need the FM extender antenna. I activated on the web and the entire process took less than 20 minutes, including activation of the radio. My girlfriend activated her subscription by phone and it took a couple of hours plus confessing directions from the representative on the phone. If you follow the directions on the web everything should work easily. Ok, now for the problems. I tried two different debit cards from two different banks and the web page would say 'Invalid credit card'. I decided to try a card that wasn't a debit card and it went through with no problem. Also, I had to sign up for a year's worth of charges and there is an activation fee plus taxes so expect it to cost about $50 dollars more for a year's subscription. I didn't mind paying for a year in advance because now it's done. The total for the Sirius Everything was $194.47 but they do offer cheaper subscriptions. The only other problem I had was the instruction on the face of the radio after activation. It said 'Updated, press any key. Well, pressing any key takes you back to the activation screen. The book said to push in the 'Rotary knob' after the 'Updated' message. I did this several minutes after pushing another button and the receiver went to normal mode instantly.

Sirius XM is a service that offers great programming with few ads. On car trips there is no fading involved and the selection of news, talk and music are the same as you receive at home so it is comfortable to use. This product is small, light, and can easily be attached to a dashboard using provided mounting kits, but in my case I used velcro strips for optimum placement. The product does not run hot and the display is easy to read and gives channel content information. Mine draws about 300 milliamps of current from the cigarette plug so it's not a power hog. While it broadcasts the Sirius channel content to the car's FM radio, it has the standard earphone jack to listen directly or plug into a sound system if one choses.
My only complaint is the antenna connector is somewhat fragile and doesn't make as good connection as I would like. Its not the problem of Sirius, it is the connector technology of such small parts. Instead of a plug in connector a screw on base connector would be more secure.

I PURCHASED THIS FOR MY SISTER AT CHRISTMAS..SHE IS SO THRILLED
WITH IT SHE EVEN WENT OUT AND BOUGHT A DEVICE SO SHE
COULD USE THE RADIO IN THE HOUSE..GREAT ITEM!

This is my first Satellite radio and I'd say it's about as practical as one of Lady Gaga's outfits. The large knob on the front is amazingly useless. It's incredibly frustrating trying to use it and will undoubtedly cause accidents on the road. You would expect each click of the knob to move the selected menu item up or down during rotation, but the knob skips half the time, causing you to rotate 1-4 clicks to actually move up or down 1 item. I stick to using the dinky remote and holding it up to the device. I feel like a dweeb holding an IR remote up to my device while driving. I may invest in tinted windows so that people passing me don't look at me like i'm a fool.

Pro's
Memo/Artist Song tagging is great- although it doesn't work for 20% of songs/artists
Detachable for use in home...although 99% of owners wont ever do that.
DVR capability is great...record up to an hour...but if you change the channel, all data is lost...Sucks.


Con's
Can't adjust notification beep volume - when you've got a jam flowing through your speakers at a louder than normal volume, and a 'favorited' song comes on another channel, it'll beep at you at the loudest volume possible, bursting your eardrums. good times.
Reception from antenna is terrible, you'll loose data when under trees or bridges.
Cold weather causes screen to freeze until it warms up. that might take a while.
Interface is sluggish when navigating. I hate slow interfaces. I'm gona punch this interface in the face.
Knob on front is literally useless... it's almost random when it wants to work. Stick to using the remote

I'd say dont get this product, but it looks like this is one of the better ones on the market... so you're screwed. and so am I.

Buy the wired FM adapter. Wireless transmitter in the radio is worthless unless you don't mind listening to static.