XM Radio, how to make reception better?

Question

Me and my girlfriend both went to Best Buy this past weekend and saw an XM radio on sell for about $70 and came with 3 free months of service. The unit we both got was the Audiovox Xpress XMCK-10A. I hooked up hers first since we had her car and everything at the time and we activated it and everything but the reception has static. We used a pretty local FM radio station which has clear reception all the time (not sure if that even matters) but we still here a little staic on all the channels. All the signal bars are showing pretty much all the time but yet their is still a small amount of static, just enough so that you can here it in songs and everything which is very irritating! What can we do to clear up her sound? Also, can I hard wire the power wire to the ignition so I can get rid of that bulky cig adaptor and make it look like a cleaner install? We mounted the unit on the top of the dash so both the power wire and antenna wire are hanging down the front which is ugly..

Answer 1

Well first of all, the static isn't because of a problem with the satellite signal.  Recently, the FCC required the satellite radio companies to severely cripple the FM Modulators in their units.  You can buy and install an FM Direct Adapter (should be available at Best Buy where you bought you radios).  This basically shuts off your car's FM antenna when the satellite radio is turned on.  You can also plug the satellite radio into your car's auxiliary input if it has one.

You can hardwire the power to the ignition.  I'm not sure how to do this.  What I did was bought an additional 12v outlet (you can get it at Radio Shack for around $10), wired that to the car's fuse box, then plugged the satellite radio's cigarette lighter power cord into it, and hid it all behind the dashboard so it's out of sight.

Answer 2

You should have bought Sirius.

Answer 3

1. Make sure the antenna has a clear view of the sky.

2. Put filters on the power leads to get rid of the static/hiss.

3. Rather than connecting it to the ignition switch, route the wires to the fuse box and tap into the car's radio fuse terminal. That way, you're also protected electrically.

Answer 4

Have you tried a metal spatula or tin foil?