SIRIUS SV3-TK1 Stratus Plug-and-Play Satellite Radio Receiver with Car Kit

I have three of these models and performance is great. One replaced a Sportster that died. The Stratus model does not have all the bells and whistles of the Sportster but I never used these features anyway.

Gets interference all the time. When I press the channel buttons they don't always go to the channel. I have to press more then once. It was difficult to find a good corresponding radio channel. Not near as good as my old Starmate. I'm thinking Sirius may not be worth it.

I found that the Stratus TK1 works much better than i expected given the mixed reviews. I found it quite easy to self install myself, it took a little over a half an hour. The reception is great where i live, no blank spots except near trucks using CB Radio. At home (i also got the home kit) the reception is twice as good. I also have internet access and can play it while i am at work. Programming with Sirius is wonderful and will get better when the XM stations become available to us. Worth my birthday money.

In the past 3 years I've had to purchase 3 different Sportsters due to malfunctioning product. The Stratus is the latest price equivalent and a complete DOWNGRADE.

My SPORTSTER cost $50 last year and had the pause, rewind, fast forward buttons, 30 presets, and a stronger antennae. That broke and this is the replacement: 10 presets, poor antennae signal, no pause, rewind, or fast forward.

This product sucks and I've had nothing but problems with Sirius equipment.

Wait for the merger because this will be obsolete in a few months. Hopefully their technology will catch up. Listen online if you really need it.

Pros:
1. I get the CBC and BBC programs I like!
2. Most stations don't have too many break-ins (commecial or otherwise) but some do.
3. I like that the song artist and title are displayed on the screen. That way if I really like the song, I can download it later.

Cons:
1. On some of the channels there ARE COMMERCIALS! I thought this was commercial free radio! I don't need ads for "male enhancement" playing through my speakers. I want to hear the comedy and the music.

2. I strongly reccommend having this professionally installed. Have them hard wire everything in so you don't have to use the wireless transmitter. The car power plug (the cig lighter plug--for the old school syles) is somewht loose in my Focus SE. Every once in a while, it will jar loose enough to cut the power to the reciever. Again, hard wiring will eliminate this.

3. You can still use the wireless transmitter but I would go to the Sirius website first, look up the recommended FM Frequencies and test them out in your area first. Sure this is a lot of listening to static but I was on one of the recommended frequencies and in a "hole in the ground" and *still* got a low-power station from somewhere. ANY interference will be heard while listening to the sat radio. The radio FM Transmitter itself only goes down to the 89 range while the best frequency for my area (not one listed on the website) is in the 88 range.