BajaNomad

satellite radio

johnEvegas - 12-8-2005 at 03:47 PM

I am taking the plunge and I will be in cabo to work and live shortly after the first of the year. I am looking at putting a deck into the car I just bought to bring down.

My question is: Which satellite radio service is accesable in the baja and more importantly Los Cabos?

I cannot wait the hang out and thank anyone in person that responds

Bajaboy - 12-8-2005 at 03:50 PM

I spent a few days, just north of Cabo, marlin fishing on my friend's boat. He had Sirius and we had perfect reception. I just installed one in my truck and can't wait for my trip to Baja in a few weeks. I love it.

Zac

comitan - 12-8-2005 at 03:50 PM

They both work fine in cabo, just decide which one is better for you, if you go into search satellilte much discussion on this subject.

bajajudy - 12-8-2005 at 04:45 PM

Ok this is my take on this. I have Sirius with a Sanyo receiver. If I were to do it over, I would want a remote to change the channels. Dont even know if that is available.
And if they had one, I would buy a big screen so when I am listening to the oldies channel and my husband and I get into....Ok Who did this? I wouldnt have to get up and walk across the room to read the teeny monitor. It's not that I am lazy but I have made a path in the rug going back and forth.
All in all, I am very happy with the Sirius...I have no experience with XM. Sirius does have dj's and some of them are annoying. Does XM also have dj's?
There is a long thread about this if you care to do a search.

Cardon - 12-9-2005 at 10:42 AM

I have both Sirius and XM and like both of them. If I had to choose one only I would go with XM, but that's just my personal taste. You can't go wrong with either one.

larry - 12-9-2005 at 11:30 AM

XM is more music driven---it has DJs, but they play a much smaller role than at Sirius. Sirius emphasizes on air personalities more (most notably with the addition of Howard Stern).

I have been to the XM studios in Washington DC, and have met several of the programmers. They have complete free reign as to what they can play on their particular channels---something which is really unique in radio these days. On some channels they play music from artists who are not even on record labels if the programmer feels it is good music.

XM broadcasts every major league baseball game. Both Sirius and XM have a lot of news and information channels.

This or That

MrBillM - 12-9-2005 at 11:51 AM

I would have bought either system. Sam's club was selling the Sirius and Costco the XM. The kit for the XM included more value for the price so I bought that. I'm sure I would have been OK with Sirius, but, in retrospect, I'm pleased with my decision because I'm not subsidizing Ellen Degenerate, Howard Sterno and others of that ilk.

Of course, since I listen to only a few of the available channels, I can't evaluate what most of you listen to. My listening breakdown is probably 80 % Big Band Swing, 10 % 50s Oldies or Classical and 10 % Fox, MSNBC news.

Attention XM users

Hook - 12-9-2005 at 12:07 PM

On my last trip to Baja (early November), we were hoping that the XM channel that covers San Diego traffic and weather might have the border wait times. Nope!

But sometime since then, they have included them on this channel, INCLUDING THE TECATE WAIT TIMES.

I know KOGO-AM has San Ysidro and Otay but they are only on the half hour and sometimes they dont give them at all.

Genrally, I find the XM DJs very non-intrusive, EXCEPT THIS IDIOT ON THE 60'S STATION. That guy talks (actually shouts) between every song, but I think his shift is limited.

New favorites:

The Loft
XM Cafe

What the hell happened to World Zone? It seems to have been replaced by an all-French channel unless it was a specialty show.

wrk - 12-9-2005 at 09:06 PM

Sirius has two npr stations I don't believe XM has any.

XM Sat. Radio

The squarecircle - 12-9-2005 at 10:38 PM

Greetings.. >>>>>> Reprobative Howard Stearn simplified the choice for me!!! >>>>>> Regards, sq.

bill erhardt - 12-10-2005 at 07:33 AM

XM Radio does have an NPR channel, and they have Bob Edwards previously with broadcast NPR.

bajajudy - 12-10-2005 at 07:53 AM

I dont ever listen to Howard Stern, that is for sure, nor any of the other talk radio personailities but I sure do enjoy Jimmy Buffett and the Rolling Stones stations.

XM reception

jeffg - 12-10-2005 at 07:19 PM

We've had XM for a couple of years and love it, I can't imagine going back to regular FM radio now. We have good reception at our house in Los Barriles, with the home kit antenna pointed properly. But in the car driving around it's a different story, we get good reception driving south until about Cd. Constitucion. Then the drop outs increase to the point where it's not really listenable, and we go back to the CD's. Heading back north it seems like we don't get decent reception until we get around Loreto. I've had the similar reception in 2 different vehicles, both with the car kit and standard mini-antenna. I think others may have had better results in the vehicle with different antennas.

Jeff

BajaRescue - 12-10-2005 at 09:31 PM

Never experienced any drop ous with Sirius on several trips all the way down Baja.

We went with Sirius because of the better NPR selection, too. Sirius also has PRI from Canada. Sirius has yet to add Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and I do miss Bob Edwards..

We wind up listening a lot to "Sirius Disorder," a great music channel for adults with "Music Attention Deficit Disorder." They play a little bit of everything, which suits me just fine...

Thing to do is go get a preview of each before you buy. Sirius offers a free three-day pass to anyone with a PC and speakers. XM offers the same deal.

BornFisher - 12-10-2005 at 09:51 PM

I`ve had satellite radios for years now and love both XM and Sirius. BUT........ as more people subscribe, more companies are coming out with recieviers. I recently bought a Sirius Starmate and it`s THE BOMB!!! I`m in radio heaven! Here`s a plan.... just go to Circurit City and buy a unit. Buy a month of service. If you don`t like it, return it and just be out about $13 for the months service. But if you do lots of driving, or just like music, I think you will soon be saying that $13 is well worth it!! Oh yeah... lifetime for Sirius is $500!!

postman - 12-12-2005 at 12:47 PM

I'm an XM listener. A plug for X-Country (12), if you liked the west coast music scean of the late 60's then you should like X-Country.

X-country is what?

Hook - 12-12-2005 at 02:20 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by postman
I'm an XM listener. A plug for X-Country (12), if you liked the west coast music scean of the late 60's then you should like X-Country.


What, you mean like the Doors, Quicksilver, SF music scene, Byrds, Flying Burrito Bros and their permutations, etc.?

Give me an idea of the artists........

Satellite radio

vjfamily - 12-12-2005 at 06:15 PM

We listened to the World Series in Oct while we were staying at our home in Buena Vista. Set up and positioning took 2 minutes. The unit also worked in the car. We chose a Roady 2.

bajajudy - 12-12-2005 at 06:54 PM

Just found new, to me, Sirius station...super shuffle..012

A-OK - 12-12-2005 at 09:17 PM

I got to get one...... maybe Santana Claus will bring me a Sirius !

BajaRescue - 12-13-2005 at 07:21 AM

Wish I had bought the radio that plugs into the car and a boombox. There have been many times I've been somewhere away from home and the car and wish I had my radio with me...

meme - 12-13-2005 at 09:54 AM

My Xm now has trouble getting OUT of the car into the boombox which is in the house! Hubby has now decided it's Staying in the car so guess I will likly have to work on getting one for house!:(:(

At least for XM

Hook - 12-13-2005 at 11:56 AM

I think the best deal is now the XM2go receiver. It is about the size of a cell phone and comes with separate cradles/antennaes/power supplies for in-home, on the road or for use as a "walkman" type device. Yes, it even has a small antennae that you can clip to clothing. Includes a remote control as well and a fairly large LCD screen for display.

You can either go straight analog out or have it broadcast its signal via an FM frequency. I use the FM broadcast capability to listen to XM on radios as much as 50-75 feet away from my vehicle. Very convenient for listening in the back of my cabover camper (on the dedicated FM radio in there) or sitting around camp. I dont have to have the windows rolled down and the radio blasting to hear it; I just tune in on my portable FM radio or an older Sony Walkman if I'm listening to sports that the wife doesn't want to hear.

Not a pure digital link between the two but, hey, last time I checked, my ears are still analog. The fidelity is plenty good and saves you from much running of wires and install hassles.

bajalou - 12-13-2005 at 11:59 AM

XM has some pretty good deals now for the Roady2 I think. I have 3 so not in the market for more right now.

:biggrin:

DYLAN to XM

bill erhardt - 12-14-2005 at 07:24 AM

Now XM has Bob Dylan.

oladulce - 12-14-2005 at 01:50 PM

Bummer that XM got rid of my favorite stations Ngoma (modern- africa/world music which sounds wierd, but is really good) World music , and Luna (latin stuff). Ngoma is online only now. Need something new for sunset listening time.

They substituted a bunch of Canadian and french cra... stuff.

Hook - 12-14-2005 at 08:06 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by oladulce
Bummer that XM got rid of my favorite stations Ngoma (modern- africa/world music which sounds wierd, but is really good) World music , and Luna (latin stuff). Ngoma is online only now. Need something new for sunset listening time.

They substituted a bunch of Canadian and french cra... stuff.


Agreed. What are they doing? Luna and World Zone were great.

What's the difference between the Roady2 and the roady xt/

Keri - 1-2-2006 at 10:07 PM

We got the roady 2 for xmas. The stores I was at were out of the xt at the time. I wonder if I should go back and trade it in for the xt. What are the advantages one over the other? thanks for any help,k :?::yes:

turtleandtoad - 1-3-2006 at 06:16 PM

I'm using the Sirius Sportster with the vehicle cradle/antenna and the boombox. It also has the FM function.

bajalou - 1-3-2006 at 09:35 PM

XM with a Roady2, a boombox and a Sony receiver(2+ years old). With 3 sets guess you can figure I like it. Often stream it over my computer when I'm online