satellite radio

88-1175 · Aug 10, 2014

my local fm talk station changed its format recently.a am channel picked up the line-up but I just get no good reception,im 35 miles from Pittsburgh but cant get any am worth listening,i am on a big hill with no trees surrounding my house shop.im thinking of going with a satellite radio, whats the general opinion of them??

preacher man · Aug 10, 2014

I am an OTR trucker and have had satellite radio for over 10 years. If you want sports, news, or any kind of music it is wonderful. If you want local programming it is nonexistent. I do use an external antenna on my truck to help level out the reception. I subscribe a year at a time and you save a good little money that way.

Russ from MN · Aug 10, 2014

We have XM in our car when we are traveling, its nice not to have to search for local stations. We cancel it when we are home, we have 3 good rock-and- Roll stations nearby.

RESLLS · Aug 10, 2014

I have Sirius in my semi. Not the whole package though. A La Carte. You pick 20 channels. Only place it doesn't work well is the west Virginia turnpike. $7.99 a month.

David G · Aug 10, 2014

I have XM, if you listen enough they all repeat.

notjustair · Aug 10, 2014

I've had satellite for about 12 years - I started with Sirius. I wouldn't be without it. We have a unit in the kitchen, the pickup, two cars, and docking stations in the cab tractors. I take it with me everywhere I go as I just pull the head unit out of the pickup. I'd starve before we got rid of it. We hardly ever watch TV (I haven't seen any since before wheat harvest in June) but the satellite in the kitchen runs an average of 5-6 hours a day. It's on right now (80's on 8).

Bob · Aug 10, 2014

I guess I'm a Luddite, but I refuse to PAY for radio.

Gonna be 57 pretty soon, and doing so ain't killed me yet!

In several of my vehicles, I have "radios" that accept a USB memory stick, and I have several thousand songs saved in that manner.

I take them along, at no monthly cost.

Works OK for me.

old bc · Aug 10, 2014

I have had XM for several years and love it. In our area you listen to Rock top 40 or Country Top 40 if you don't have satellite radio.

PJH · Aug 10, 2014

I have a satellite radio in my shop that's wired to the lights. If the lights are on, the radio's on. I like bluegrass music, and satellite is the only place to hear it. Costs around $12 a month, I think. I don't know if talk radio is even available on satellite. Check before you buy if that's your only interest! I've never "ran the channels" to see what else is on there.

Fullers Farmalls · Aug 11, 2014

Where are you 35 miles from Pittsburgh? I wish I could meet up with some YT'ers around the area. But anyway I had XM and loved it. Of course I wasn't footing the bill at the time but when I get my new truck I plan to keep the subscription up to date as it is better quality and has no commercials.

Charlie M · Aug 11, 2014

I've got it and love it - you can get stations dedicated only to the type of music you like. There are no commercials or DJ's that have to share their life story every day. Driving around I do run into dead spots where there is no signal. I would try to get some input from people around your area to make sure signal isn't going to be a problem.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 11, 2014

Remember cable tv
no commercials
uninterupted intelligent programming
and then all those other great opertunities

just you wait

the gift that keeps on taking

PJH · Aug 11, 2014

I forgot to mention - my shop has steel siding and roof, and I had to add a little outside antenna to get reception inside the building. You can't add "just any antenna" or at least not for the model of radio that I have, and at the time that I got it. At the time (ten years ago?) there were no generic antennas available - might be now, I don't know. Antenna kit was $30 if my memory is right. Radio will probably come with a mobile antenna, and if you have clear sky view, you can put the mobile antenna in a south window and usually get satellite reception. My windows lacked the clear sky view, and I had to add the antenna on the peak of my shop roof.

Chris Jones · Aug 11, 2014

I've read, and it seems to make sense, that there is a move toward streaming music from the web via sites like Pandora. Pandora has free subscriptions and allows you to create a station by "seeding" it with songs you like and dislike. It then tries to find songs like that and pay them and you can thumb up or down them as you listen, further improving it's selections. There are some, very rare, commercials and you can only thumb down so many an hour using the free subscription. Paid subscriptions remove limits. The down side is you internet access so in the car a radio offering Pandora uses your cell phones data plan.

Personally I don't listen to music much especially in the car. I don't have a cell data plan for Pandora. I hate the constant and lengthy commercials as well as the irritating banter between hosts especially during the morning drive. I'm also got better things to do with my money than paying for satellite radio or buying songs on an ipod or other such system.

PJH · Aug 11, 2014

Yeah - but so far so good. If it gets as worthless as TV, I know how to cancel it, and I will. We chucked the satellite TV when they changed their bluegrass music format to XM satellite. Why give them $60 a month when we can hear the exact same thing for $12?

rusty6 · Aug 11, 2014

Same here. As good as satellite radio might be, I refuse to pay for something I have been getting for free all my life. Good old CBC am radio gives me entertaining and informative service 24 hours a day with zero commercials. Some might say my tax dollars are paying for it but if so, I am certainly getting my money's worth.

T in NE · Aug 11, 2014

I've got the Sirius, when I was driving I had a "1" unit, and it worked good anywhere I went. Just had to dim it every evening or it would blind me.

There's talk radio, but if you're after the national shows from AM, you don't get them. You can listen to Fox News TV broadcasts.

I only have it now so I can listen to NASCAR news when I'm planting or harvesting. And if the sound guy gets any worse at balancing the microphones I am going to drop it. Always hear the 1 host well, the co-host can't hardly be heard, and by the time you get it turned up enough to hear them both, a commercial comes on and blasts you.

Frank 41 · Aug 11, 2014

I got 6 months free sirius with my pickup in 2010. I was very disappointed with ALL of the commericals. I thought when it came out, this was their selling point. Why pay to listen to them when it is bad enough to have to listen to them for free. Same with TV. 200 channels and get ALL repeats, not for me. I like just music and if I don't get anything good, I stick in some of my CDs or turn off the TV and get on the computer.

Dave Sherburne NY · Aug 12, 2014

If your talking about a radio for your shop, you can get stations from all over the world thru your computer. I listen to stations from Syracuse, Iowa, Wisconsin, Texas and others. If you know the call letters just type them into your search engine. Or your preferred type of music talk or whatever.

Tim in OR · Aug 12, 2014

In my shop, I have a radio out of a truck hooked to a power supply. I used coax and hooked to an antennae mounted High on the gable end of the roof. It works good for me. I get everything that I would get in my pickup.
Tim in OR

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