XM Satellite Radio
I just got back from the Best Buy store and was checking out the XM Satellite Radios. They have several different kinds for different uses. I liked the one that can be used for car or boat, portable using with batteries, or with an adapter to plug in your electrical socket. The cost of service is $12.95 per month with installation at $14.99 via telephone or $9.99 via website. It has over 150 channels of music, sports, talk and entertainment. Most are 100 per cent commercial free.
I go to Canada fishing every year for about 2 weeks in the Northern Providence of Quebec. It is very remote and the only people you see are the ones at camp. I do bring a radio to camp and only get a few stations and those are mostly in French. Having the satellite radio would be very pleasant to listen to after being on the water all day. The cabin does have electricity thanks to a very large Diesel generator, so I could plug into the electric receptacle and save on batteries.
Does anyone have a satellite radio that you are using now? How do you like it? Any drawbacks? Any feedback would be appreciated.
posted by Double Dogged @ 7:24 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
I have a friend that has Sirius and it's terrific. Lots of great stations - just he and my friend who has XM run into reception problems downtown around all the big buildings. I would check with the providers to make sure it will work in the remote areas of Québec. Otherwise - great quality and tons, tons of stations. OH and thanks for the tip about the Polish and German deli - I never would have found them!
Thanks Bryan for the heads up. I will check out XM for the reception. I would think being a Satellite Radio it should be good for Quebec. At night at the cabin we have counted as many as 15 Satellites going overhead. The sky at night is just alive with the stars, shooting stars, and sometimes the Northern Lights.
I am glad the Deli tips helped you. I have been going to these 2 for years. Outstanding taste, and the prices are not expensive.
I got XM radio for father's day this year and I absolutely love it. I think it's the best present I've ever received (even if I do have to pay for the service myself). There are pros and cons to both XM and Sirius. For instance, if you like sports on the radio you want Sirius since they have the NFL, NBA and NHL. If you're just a MLB guy you go with XM (XM and Sirius both carry the NHL this year, but Sirius will carry it alone starting next year). XM also carries major college conference sports (football and basketball) for the Big 10 and ACC. I'm not sure about Sirius and college sports.
Also, keep in mind that only the music channels are commercial-free on XM. And even at that, the music channels will take a break to tell you what shows are upcoming, which genre you're listening to and/or how to submit song requests. The good news is those breaks only last about 30 seconds and aren't terribly frequent.
I read an article somewhere that compared XM and Sirius and it was basically a wash, except for one thing, which was a killer for the guy who did the comparison: He caught Sirius playing the same song at the same time on two separate channels that supposedly catered to two separate genres. He wasn't pleased with that at all and deemed XM's music playlist the clear winner.
Finally, and this may be most important to you, XM radio is up and running in Canada while Sirius radio in Canada is in its infancy. You may want to make sure that whichever service you choose will in fact work in the part of Canada you go.
Sorry for the book, but I'm a big satellite radio advocate now (regardless of the service chosen), and would much rather keep my XM than trade it in for the latest and greatest iPod. I don't think you could go wrong with it.
BTW, I have the SkyFi2 receiver with the car adapter kit and a SkyFi Audio System (boombox) that I just plug my recever in to for stationary listening. So I listen to XM in my car and then take the receiver out and pop it into the boombox and listen to it at work all day.
Hey Cheese, thanks for the good review. I like the one you have also, that is the model I was looking at, at Best Buy.
I was thinking Double Dogged, I was checking out sources of info on ice fishing shelter and I stumbled across your post about XM Satellite Radio that you have a great site here. I'm personally working hard at developing an online business around ice fishing shelter and I'd like to share this site with some of my own subscribers. Thanks for letting me stop by Double Dogged...I'll be back.
Get a shortwave radio! Shortwave is a fun hobby. I have a little one I use when camping, it's great. You never know what you'll pick up; there's many interesting international stations. Shortwave bounces off the atmosphere like AM. The main drawback about shortwave is that you have to wait until it's dark! It's hard to believe people pay money to listen to the radio.
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