So I go into Best Buy yesterday to buy a XM radio. I stopped one of the installers who happened to be around and asked him to reconfirm yet again, "is all I need to do to hook this up is basically just plug it in? No wires (I HATE wires), ripping out the dash or any of that, right??"

Well he tells me "Well yes and no. You can just do it like that but you wont enjoy it. The fm transmitter in all of these units are very weak. You need to buy this $30 fm transmitter, rip out the stereo and hook it up in order to have good quality."

So is there any truth to this or is it just a sales gimmick to get me to buy extra stuff.
Double R, you said your friend had a double set up with just plug & play, right?? How was that? I dont know if the boss would think I have all my marbles together if I'd ask him if it's ok if I'd rip out the stereo in the truck. Company is realllllly picky with that kind of stuff. You aint even allowed to put your own cb antenna on (seriously!). You gotta take it into the shop and they'll gladly put it on for ya.

So uh, do I really need this additional fm transmitter?

 

The only problem with using an FM transmitter is that you can, at times, have a hard time finding a station that is either weak enough or not being used at all to allow you to use the sat radio. This normally is only a problem in and around larger metro areas though. The built in FM transmitters are not real strong but generally do a decent job unless, like I said, you are in or near a larger metro area with a lot of FM stations broadcasting.

Probably the best way (unless the unit has a aux input plug) would be to pull the radio and buy an adapter that allows you to hook your sat radio directly into the truck antenna. It will, or is suppose to, "disconnect" the truck antenna whenever you power up the sat radio.

If the radio has an auxillary input jack you can simply plug the sat radio in that using a patch cable.

 

Worked just fine for him. He would switch back and forth. Unplug one and plug in the other. I HAD Sirus for awhile and just used a plug and play. Only had problems when I was near a big city and the pre-programed FM stations were being used. Also would lose singal alot on the PA Pike. This was two years ago when I dumped it. I hear now that they give you more options on the FM and the signal is better on the PA Pike. Don't know though, havn't bought a new one to find out.

 

I had a satellite radio that the FM transmitter was great and worked good except once in awhile around cities. Then I bought the newer version of that radio with the ability to pause and the FM transmitter in it sucked big time. I swung into Best Buy and bought the antenna adapter and that works great. It's a couple minute job if you have the special tools to slide the radio out, which I got at Wal-mart for a couple bucks. 8) 8)

 

I agree that the FM Modulator (that's the thing that plugs inline on the truck antenna) is worth every penny. When I got my SkyFi3, even with a weak/nonexistent local station, you could barely hear the SkyFi. With the direct connect adapter, it's perfect all the time.

 

I have Sirius radio....First day is all I lasted with the FM transmitter. My truck happens to have a cassette deck (remember those). Got a cassette deck adapter, plugged it into the Sirius radio. Works great.
I dont like wires laying around the dash either. I wrapped the wire up into a neat small bundle and layed the bundle on the top of the AM/FM radio. My sirius unit is mounted to the dash (using a stick on plastic CB mike holder) above my AM/FM. The bundle of wire lays between the 2 radios.