SIRIUS XM RADIO ... RECEPTION FIX ? ?

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I had a discussion with a guy I know who had dealings with Sirius ( for work ). I told Him I got frequent DROP-OUTS when using it on my Spyder. The short version .. is the Antennae has a magnetic base for a reason other than it eliminates using Glue .... The metal ROOF of your car makes the antennae work better.... He suggested I figure a way to attach a small metal plate that I could put the Antennae on .... I had it on the top of the passenger backrest (RT). So I cut a piece of thin Galvanized sheet metal 2 1/4" X 3 1/2" shaped to fit on the upper part of the rear trunk by the backrest... I used some dbl. sided tape to attach it, and put the Antennae magnet on this....... Since I got the XM I have learned that Tree's don't affect reception and neither does being in my garage which has a plywood roof with asphalt shingles. Only large Solid objects will... So to test this, I drove on a nearby road where I travel all the time. I'm familiar with where the DROP-OUTS occur and I think my reception has improved about 50 to 60 %.... there were fewer drop-outs and they were shorter in duration..... I checked it again 12 hrs later with essentially the same results...... Mike

[Bob Denman]

Mike, This is how I had mine set up...

XM Onyx 001.jpg
But I eventually did make one small change: I cut a piece of foam into a wedge, and was able to mount the antenna to it in the same place; but it was positioned to sit flat.
The foam didn't hurt the reception at all, and i think that getting the polarity issue straightened-out did help!
But there's no reason why a piece of metal couldn't be bent into a shape that would do the same thing.
And having it under the top trunk lid does make for a very sano setup!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Mike, This is how I had mine set up...

XM Onyx 001.jpg
But I eventually did make one small change: I cut a piece of foam into a wedge, and was able to mount the antenna to it in the same place; but it was positioned to sit flat.
The foam didn't hurt the reception at all, and i think that getting the polarity issue straightened-out did help!
But there's no reason why a piece of metal couldn't be bent into a shape that would do the same thing.
And having it under the top trunk lid does make for a very sano setup!

...... Question ? - polarity issue ?? ........... if I get reception in my garage !! ... the Foam and plastic trunk cover isn't going to be an issue, imo ........ on the metal plate thing - your antennae is up-side down from normal roof install, so I don't know if M.P. would work ..... Also my XM unit is in a homemade holder in my Glove box ( RT ) ......... Mike