Sirius Satellite Radio


Last Changed 1/23/2009
We had a very good radio with a 12 CD Changer in *Red Rover. But there were times we would get tired of the 12 CDs and didn't like to change the CD Module while we are traveling. Also, we like some talk radio from time to time and we find that hard to get on the radio unless we are in larger cities, places we don't want to be. The Red Rover's* Pioneer Radio could be the control unit for a satellite radio module but we felt the $13 a month fee was high considering the amount of time we actual in the truck. Some changes changed our mind. First, the merger of XM-Radio and Sirius Radio came with a Federally mandated lower subscription package starting at $7 a month. The second was to consider a docking radio that we could use in *Sparky* and *Red Rover. The extra listening time in Sparky* at a lower rate made the satellite radio option more palatable. First we made the decision to not use the current radio to control the satellite radio. We would only used the radio's amplifier section. The Co-Pilot prefers to control the radio and right now, the radio is in the hands of the Pilots. Our Pioneer radio uses a bus cable to connect the CD Changer. To pipe in the Sirius radio audio, we used a Pioneer CD-RB20 IP Bus adapter. The CD-RB20 plugs into the Pioneer Radio bus and then the CD Change bus plugs into it. The audio output of the Sirius radio plugs into the CD-RB20 and feeds the audio into the radio when the AUX mode is selected.
	There was enough space between the air conditioner and the dash panel to mount the Pioneer CD-RB20 IP Bus Adapter. If we had chosen to use a satellite radio adapter using the radio as the control head, it would have been mounted here.
	This is the Auto Dock Kit for a Sirius radio. The main parts we needed were the antenna, the 12v-to-5v power adapter, and the dock unit for the Sirius radio.
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	We bought this general satellite radio mount. We bolted it to the access panel to the fuse block on the top of the dash. We had to reshape the bracket a bit to old the radio the way we wanted.
	We choose the Sirius Starmate 5 radio because it was the only radio that support the lower cost Ala-Carte subscription plan.
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	The Sirius radio is closer to the Co-Pilot's seat. We mounted it a little higher because we often have tall drinks in the drink holder in front of where the radio is mounted.
	The view from the driver's seat is not as good as the Co-Pilot's but it is close enough.
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	We originally planned to mount the satellite antenna on top of the windshield sun shade support arm. However we could not remove the mounting bolt so we had to find a different location. We bought a steel bracket and shaped it a bit an mounted it with one of the upper mirror arm bracket bolts. We painted the bracket so it would blend in.
	Here is a bird's eye view of the satellite antenna on the steel bracket. So far the antenna is working but we are concerned that the antenna is located lower than it would have been on the sun shade. If we find the roof causes interference, then we may have to buy a mirror mounted truck satellite antenna which is about 12" high.
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	The Sirius radio installation in *Sparky* was a little easier. We mounted the antenna on the roof near the tailgate. It attaches magnetically but there is a rubber cover for the cable that is glued on.
	The antenna cable is very thin and we could route it inside the tailgate seal and then under the interior side panels and up to the dash.
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	This is the suction cup mount supplied with the Sirius Auto Dock kit. We had poor luck with the suction cup mount for the Garmin GPS unit and finally got a new mount that was attached to the dash with adhesive tape. We use Scotch VHB double sided tape (the kind with the red non-stick cover) to glue the suction cup to the top of the dash.
	Using the suction cup mount where we did positioned the Sirius radio is a good location for the driver and the passenger.
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