Sat radio question
#16
The status of the new Sirius/XM satellite, FM-6, has changed from "moving" to "testing."
#17
#18
Lead Lap
#19
Well said. Serius XM satellites, called Rock and Roll, orbit at 22,000 miles above earth. The space station is at about 260 miles above us.
See the following:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com...ite-radio2.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station
See the following:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com...ite-radio2.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station
#21
XM and Sirius share programming and finances but their technology is different. You can't receive XM signals on Sirius equipment and you can't receive Sirius signals on XM equipment. Signals for Sirius come from highly elliptical orbit satellites and signals for XM come from geosynchronous satellites. wrisperj seems to be located in FL and South FL becomes fringe coverage for XM. What he is experiencing my be "as good as it gets" and spending money to replace equipment may prove fruitless. He should start by asking someone in his area, with similar equipment/provider, probably XM, how their reception is. This sort of problem is characterized by dropouts when driving in areas with lots of tall trees or buildings and is mitigated in urban areas by terrestrial repeaters.
#22
jmcraney: I just acquired a '14 ES and the dropouts are especially severe here in northern NJ. Do you, or anyone else, know if separate signals are still being sent out by Sirius and XM? My friend's '09 Mercedes has almost no dropouts on the same streets where I experience the worst dropouts. I am just wondering if the receivers on the current ES are just not up to par. Also, has anyone with these receptions issues gotten any satisfaction bringing your car back to the dealer (loose connection, etc.). The 3 month free trial period will be up before my 5,000 mile checkup and I'd rather not waste a trip to the dealer unless someone thinks I might have an equipment issue.
Last edited by jmcraney; 06-08-14 at 06:56 PM.
#23
Ah, that's interesting. I used to keep up on this stuff, but lost interest some time ago. I knew that at some point those satellites would either stop functioning or fall out of the sky. I thought only one technology would survive. I guess both are going to live on.
#24
If your '14 ES has OEM satellite equipment then your car has an XM receiver and if your friend's '09 Mercedes has OEM satellite equipment then his car has a Sirius receiver, according to the SiriusXM.com site. Since these are two different technologies, the signals come from two different sources. The XM signal comes from one of two geostationary satellites and the Sirius signal comes from one of three highly elliptical orbit satellites. Comparing reception of these two signals is not very meaningful. The two signal technologies are different and will always remain separate. New cars will soon be equipped with dual technology receivers but yours seems to be the single XM technology. About 7 months ago SiriusXM launched a new geostationary satellite, FM-6, that will transmit both Sirius and XM signals. The status of FM-6 remains "testing" with no indication when it will be operational but I expect that it will be in use soon as that will reduce the operational cost of the ground segment. The new satellite will have more power and better antenna footprint that will reduce the signal dropouts and will reduce the requirement for terrestrial repeaters. Since you are receiving signals I think it is unlikely that you have an equipment problem. If you have an opportunity to travel to a large metropolitan area where terrestrial repeaters are employed your reception may be very satisfactory.
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