sirius radio

[Motteler621]

Im thinking of adding sirius or xm radio to my wj. I have a couple questions for the guys with it. Should I get sirius or xm and can some people who have installed them in their wj's give me some information as to were you mount the antenna. I have the alpine 9886 deck and it is sirius radio capable. Thanks guys.

[jeepster23]

Sirius and XM are basically the same thing now. You can get a sirius radio with all of sirius programming and all of XM programing too and vice versa. There are different packages available depending on what you want for programming just chect it out at either sirius or Xm online.

[Motteler621]

ok, so does anyone recommend a sirius radio over others? Also what is the best place as far as price to buy them.

[Motteler621]

well im thinking of getting the sportster 5 over coverting my alpine. I have a alpine 9886 receiver which I can add the coversion kit to make the satelite radio work through that deck but Im not sure if it will show the same amount of text as using the sportster5 deck for satelite. They are both almost the same price. Can some people chime in on this subject?

[LTrainGC]

Personally I would just go through the Alpine instead of wiring up the plug-n-play kit and having to find somewhere to mount it.

[jeepster23]

I agree its a cleaner look to go through the Alpine, but if you want mobility they have units you can use as like a walkman and then dock them in the jeep which is nice also. It is all up to you and your preferences.

[Unholyskorn86]

Yeah I would DEF go with through the Alpine. Doesn't it have scrolling text? It will scroll the entire track/artist if so...

[Motteler621]

hmm ok, I might go through the alpine now. Does it sound the same both ways or does one sound better than the other? I was thinking of doing something like this in the picture below. Can he not add sirius through his factory deck or something?

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h68/cleandurango/IMG_0283-1.jpg

[jeepster23]

It sounds the same both ways but is a much cleaner look to run it through the Alpine. I have no idea why that guy did it that way?

[LTrainGC]

It will sound much better directly connected through the Alpine unless you use a direct connection from the plug-n-play radio to the headunit i.e. through an aux input on the headunit (which is what I assume you would do instead of using the FM connection).

I had a plug and play unit in my 05 with the REC navigation because it just made more sense cost wise. The OEM mopar sirius receiver and install kit together is like 300-500 bucks, plus if you want to do it right you have to drill to install the antenna.

I got my XM Onyx on sale for $20 directly from XM and spent maybe $20 on install materials to get it hardwired and directly connected to the REC headunit.

[JETLIFE]

It sounds the same both ways but is a much cleaner look to run it through the Alpine. I have no idea why that guy did it that way?

Because I already had the Sportster 5, And I have an open AUX input from my Ipod connection. I mounted it there, Because I don't like it stuck to my windshield blocking my driver side tweeter.

And the Jeep Sirius kit is $400...plus drill holes in my roof! No thanks :rolleyes:

[Motteler621]

yea the alpine conversion kit is 120 from crutchfield. I think you still have to mount an antenna on top of the roof either way, right? but you can just put that under the weatherstrip at the top of the rear hatch.

[LTrainGC]

yea the alpine conversion kit is 120 from crutchfield. I think you still have to mount an antenna on top of the roof either way, right? but you can just put that under the weatherstrip at the top of the rear hatch.

The antenna that comes with the kit for your Alpine will more than likely be magnetic and won't require drilling. Yes, you can route it through the weather stripping.

[Motteler621]

where do you mount the magnetic one?

[Redsand]

I love my Sportster 5. I recommend running the antenna right to the front center of the windshield molding...its definitely the easiest. This is what I did....

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i99/redsand353/Five%20point%20Nine/wireroute.jpg

I had to run it down the step panel and back since running it directly down into the cabin caused a water leak. Water would run down the wire somehow and get it into the jeep. Running it this way solved the problem.

Here is how I have it mounted in the Jeep. (Pictured is my old Sportster 4)

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i99/redsand353/Five%20point%20Nine/insidenice.jpg

[LTrainGC]

I mounted mine at the rear of the Jeep, in the center.... ran the cord through the headliner, down the a-pillar, behind the dash.

[Redsand]

I like that, but I'm too lazy. I was also having problems with the round antennas rusting out and for a while I was replacing them every 6 months or so until I caught on to the problem. hence why i have the smaller square antenna...

[LTrainGC]

Yeah I had that little square antenna too. I haven't seen one of those big round antenna's in a while.

[Redsand]

yeah stay away from this...

http://www.satelliteradioexperts.com/assets/images/productimages/sirius/directed/sirius_dot_antenna_large.gif

I live a block off the beach so there is def a lot more salt in the air, but water somehow would get into the antenna through the round metal piece in the center. This would rot out the inside and cause it to no longer work. Very annoying until I finally pryed one open and realized what was happening.

[Motteler621]

so why didnt you just get a conversion kit for your aftermarket deck instead of getting the sportster 5, redsand? Do you think they would sound the same if I used a auxillary cord for the sportster 5 compared to using a conversion kit for the alpine deck only?

[Redsand]

I like having a dedicated screen for artist/track info. Also, with the Sportster you get fast forward, pause and rewind controls as well as seek alerts. You won't get that on your deck. I had the converter in my Thunderbird for a while, thought I would give it a shot. I ended up hating it and mounted another dock for the Sportster in the console. I would only go back to using the converter setup if I had a double din screen or something, but unfortunately that will never happen in the ZJ.

And I almost forgot to answer your question. There was no difference in sound quality as far as I could tell, you are still running an AUX into the headunit so there really isn't much difference regardless which route u go...

[Motteler621]

ok thanks. I will probably go this route then. Dont I need two cords like an aux cord and then an rca cord as well as the sportster 5 kit? also where do you recommend I buy at, crutchfield currently has a 30 mail in rebate on theirs.

[DJ BoNiOmArIo]

Aaron I might be a little late to this one but sirius is basically the same thing as xm and they both come with the same programs ... I would definitely do what the guys have recommended going through the alpine for a clean look and rather than having a cluster phuck inside ...

IMHO it's much better that way, I have the sirius installed seperately in the Jetta and through the radio in my GF's bug and having installed through the deck player is much cleaner looking plus only one dang thing to control

[Motteler621]

hmm ok thanks bonio for your input. Im still not sure what Im going to do. Il have to check out how it will look on my deck. I guess its basically a cleaner look vs. another mini deck (not as clean to some) but with options like rewind, pause, and record as well as more information displayed.

One thing I do like about having another mini deck is that I can mount it closer to my steering wheel so I dont have to reach over which is far away in these jeeps. I lost my remote to my alpine and hate having to reach over to keep changing channels. so it might not be a bad thing.

[Motteler621]

one other thing. Im not sure where I will be able to put all that alpine conversion kit stuff. There is like no room in the alpine deck area for it and it wont fit behind the glove compartment. I would like have to put it in the glove box, lol. They say you can put them under your seat etc but i dont even think I want to do that.

[Redsand]

Just because you have a separate unit for the satellite does not mean it wont look "clean". As long as you install it right and make sure all of the wires are hidden it will look good. I actually get alot of compliments on how I installed mine when people get the in the Jeep for the first time..

[mrjaydeeone]

I have an XMD-1000 XM receiver in my WJ I mounted it under the passenger side of the dash. I have a pioneer headunit that allows me to control the XM which is great. As far as the antenna I have a small antenna which is magnectic and should be mounted to exterior. I have it on the passenger side of my dash just sitting there, I had it in my last galant daily driver the same way, and in my other galant the same. It works great, the reception in my wifes accord with XM from the factory and antenna on the roof is no better then mine is.

[Motteler621]

installe mine, I put it in the same place moneen put his. Im very pleased with it. sorry about the quality of the pic, from phone.
http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/8991/cimg0025m.jpg

[SRTILL8]

great looking center console bro. matching wood vent(s) climate control wood housing, wooden ashtray, and lower wooden trey look great on WJ's! most of all i miss the digital* climate controls!

nicely done with the Sirius radio:thumbsup: i have it in my whip and listen to the comedy stations while in traffic* makes grid lock much easier to handle for me.

[Motteler621]

thanks man, yea that picture makes it look like its all scratched. Its really not, it just has dust on it and the light in the photo makes it look like scratches, plus the camera isnt that good on my phone.

[peepersjeepers]

I put mine in the same place and tucked the wires under the dash so they come through the ash tray/pocket. looks real clean and when i want to take it out so its hidden i unplug the wires close the pocket and put my sirius unit in the glove box. i also hard wired mine to the radio so i don't need the cig lighter. i made my own adapter by taking the cig lighter plug apart and running a power and ground from guts because you can't simply splice the wires from the plug. it sounds confusing but its pretty simple.

after all that though im going to the mopar siruis kit because i have a factory radio and i want to be able to control everything from my steering wheel.

[White WK Swagga]

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h68/cleandurango/IMG_0283-1.jpg

At first I was like "this jeep only has A/C no heat or something???" But then I realized it's Celsius. LMFAO