RE: XM Radio

["Hakim Madjid" <HMadjid@mindspring.com>]

Brian Vita wrote:

>Well, I've just broken down and decided that given the 20+ hours that I
>drive a week give me justification to buy an XM radio.  I did the research
>on their site and tried to buy it locally from the vendors listed.  None of
>the folks at the stores that I talked to really had a clue about the
>product.  None of them had a unit complete and ready to install.  I was
>forced to buy the unit from Crutchfield (mail order) and install it myself.

I bought my XM set up at the Circuity City in Burlington. I had it installed
there. (They charged around $70 for installation). They did a very good
clean install job on it.  I went for the Pioneer unit with the FM modulator.
About $80 for the Terk antenna roof mount antenna (the one that looks like a
computer mouse), but there is a $30 rebate on antenna. Inculding sale tax
and installation, it was about $420 for me total. So about $390 once I get
my $30 back. So I suppose that's one option, unless my good experience with
Circuit City was a fluke.

I like the sound quality - as you point out, and I have experienced very few
drop outs, even on long underpasses, such as the infamous lower deck of 93,
or the lower deck of the Tobin, I still get reception. Curiously, I can get
recption in the Copley SQ Tunnel of the Mass Pike, until if east bound I get
on the Copley exit ramps. XM does not work in the Summner or Calahan
Tunnels, though, but I didn't expect that.

Good programing Content, too, especially if you like less than manstream
music. And besides that I am a news junkie, so I like their news Channels.

My favorite channels so far on it, are BBC World service (a real version
there of, not the news feed the BBC distributes to NPR), CNBC, CNET, Deep
Tracks, Top Tracks, The Loft, World Zone, XM Classics, Vox (Classical vocal
and Opera) and Fine Tunning.



73, de Hakim (N1ZFF)