Woot XM alert

I recently bought a new receiver for my "home theater" and if I buy some special XM antenna (and subscribe to XM) I can tune in XM through the receiver. That wasn't a selling point to me by any means...it was just something extra. Then I looked into XM and decided that I don't need it. I'll stick with Sirius.

 

Not true.

Sure, your mp3 player has all the music you like that you already own,with no commercials. Satellite radio has that ... and lots of music you like and don't own, with no commercials ... and lots of music you don't know you like yet, with no commercials ... and comprehensive coverage of sports ... and comprehensive coverage of global news .... and 24-hour traffic ... and so on and so on.

 

The SkyFi2 has a built in wireless FM modulator, you turn your car's (or any) FM radio to an unused frequency (exs: 89.1 or 88.5), then turn on the SkyFi2 (after it's hooked up to your cig lighter for power) and put the antenna on your car roof (and run the cable to the cradle the SF2 sits in).
The SF2 uses your existing radio to broadcast its audio.

 

You do NOT need a computer to use the boombox. The boombox itself has the cradle, antenna and speakers to use XM.
All you need is for the antenna to have a view of the southern sky to get a signal.
Do NOT put it in a window with a screen, metal blocks the signal. Sometimes, you can get a signal through your roof and walls, but a window works best.
This is a great deal, when I bought all this individually 2, 3 years ago, I paid $100 for the boombox and $120 for the SF2 and car kit.

If anyone has XM questions, PM me, I've had it for more than 5.5 years and know the basics to help you out.

 

The SkyFi2 is great. 30 presets, the ability to select your favorite songs, so whenever they are on a channel you're not listening to, you'll be alerted & can switch to it & the pause & rewind feature, so you can listen to said favorite song over & over again (well, 30 minutes worth).

 

BYH,

As Cadet said, big difference between being in CT and the mountains of W. Va. for four hours.

 

As IJAG has said, there is some relative solitude in places such as West Virginia, though that's stretching the definition of East Coast. I'd also say that some of the southern states along the coast (especially the Carolinas) have some pretty out-of-the-way places.

But you are right. There is nothing like the solitude out west, where you can go 60 miles without a gas station off the highway. I drove I-90 through western Wyoming and southeastern Montana. That redefined my definition of "rural."

And satellite radio generally works when you're not driving through mountainous areas covered by trees and the like.

 

As did my 6-hour drive from central Oregon to Reno, at which point we hit about three towns of consequence (one just outside of Bend in the very beginning of the drive), the other of which were the beautiful outskirts of Susanville, Calif.

Unfortunately we had a rental, so no XM or Sirius. We would've killed for one though, even if it had a less than ideal signal.

 

Saw this through a click or two on the Woot site. Am I missing something, or is this a staggeringly good deal? Shouldn't a 40-inch LCD HDTV with a DVD player be about 2K?

http://www.ecost.com/detail.aspx?edp=35121048

 

I love XM. HC bought it for me for Xmas and since we both have kinda eclectic musical tastes (Classic rock, folk (well, me), country, jazz, jazz vocalists, and classical) it's an embarrassment of riches. And I have an adaptor which plugs into our stereo receiver.

And hell, we drove out to the middle of nowhere--where Double J lives--and never once lost a signal.

And for those who have it, Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio begins in 15 minutes on channel 15