is250al

so im thinking of buying a kit from ebay i saw for $299 and its for sirrus threw my 07 is250 and can still use control on screen and the guy said instead of using that ugly antena on the truck or roof that i can put that little square antena by the wipers on that black plastic, has anyone done this and when is a kit coming out that i can use the shark fin with sirrus? any place to get this

BounceNY

iTrader: (9)

The sharkfin is for XM only. The plug will not mate correctly to the sirius unit and the antenna characteristics may not the compatible with sirius.

On my car, I put the black magnetic antenna on the trunk near the center rear brake light. I think some have installed the antenna inside, but had problems with reception but I could be wrong.

ben_r_

Just get XM. They are going to merge anyway and youll get both the stations through the same hardware and you can use the sharkfin and the factory Lexus XM kit!

Bichon

First, the merger of XM and Sirius is hardly a certainty. The deal has to be approved by the FCC, the SEC, the DOJ, and the shareholders of both companies. The NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) is vigorously fighting the merger, which would require repeal of an FCC licensing provision that states that one company cannot own both satellite radio licenses. Consider precedent: a similar deal, where satellite TV provider Dish Network was to buy DirecTV, did not pass FCC regulatory approval.

Second, if the companies were to merge, the combined company is planning to continue operating XM and Sirius as separate services. Hardware capable of receiving both services (which use different compression and security) might be developed and marketed, but existing hardware like the Lexus XM module would still be limited to receiving the service it was designed for.

ben_r_

Oh, well i was just going off what XM has on their website... Not really following it any further than that. Link

Bichon

There have been dozens of newspaper articles and editorials about this, most talking about the difficulty of obtaining regulatory approval and questioning whether it would be good for consumers. You'll see some of them linked from this website put up by the NAB (radio industry association) that's using its strong congressional lobby to fight approval of the merger on this website.

is250al

Thank you guys but this didnt really ans my ? is it worth it to get a kit for $299 and bring it to someone to install and mount that antena by the wipers on the black plastic part?

golfproatl

Yes..is is worth it IMO. I bought a sirius unit a while back that intergrates with my nav system. We tried and tried to splice into the sharkfin but had no luck. I ended up with the pill box antena on my trunk. I don't love that but I really wanted sirius. XM was just was not an option for me. I need Stern and Bubba plus the NFL radio!

I think I paid about $350 for my unit.

mr350

Do you know why splicing into the sharkfin antenna didn't work?

350PsDMeuP

iTrader: (1)

dont all 07 models have the sharkfin, but some are saying that its for XM only, how is that? i have the sharkfin but no XM, i thought it was for decoration!

jetman

If you insist on Sirius, I would not get the Lexus Sirius head unit and antenna. Besides being difficult to install, the antenna mounts on the inside windshield, to the right of the rear-view mirror. The reception is, IMHO, not very good compared to an outside antenna. Way too many signal drop-outs, and in areas where I had absolutely no problems with my previous unit.

Lexus should develop an adapter to connect the Sirius head unit to the shark fin antenna, since I understand the antenna itself can be used for both XM and Sirius.

I plan on bringing up the poor reception to the dealer at my 5K service. I know the dealer installed the unit according to the instructions, but that still doesn't make it right. Maybe if enough people complain Lexus will be motivated to make a change...