[WillF]

I've noticed that Sirius would drop reception in areas where there are overhanging branches from trees, or very small under passes. It can be quite annoying, is this normal and to be expected?

 

[Poindexter]

It is normal for any Satellite radio system in any car, portable device, or where you position the receiver in a home.

Definitely not the fault of your car.

 

[aerodave]

Living near a terrestrial repeater can be a big help. If I'm out in the boonies, I notice that trees and overpasses can have more of an effect. If I'm in the city or suburbs, however, and bathed in the warm microwave glow of the terrestrial repeater downtown, I find very few places where my service will drop out.

If you go to this page at DogstarRadio, it will show you where terrestrial antennas are located, and what area each effectively covers.

 

[number2jcb]

XM has lots of repeaters, but sirius blew most of its cash on Howard Stern. When the merge happens, I expect to see the quality of service increase. That said, I cancelled my subscription. I don't like it when companies call me 3 times a week for two months about my subscription running out. Man, I wish Audi made an HD radio tuner. My father is a big radio guy, and let me tell you, only a cd compares to the sound quality. And AM radio will blow your mind in HD. The voices are crystal clear. I envy his HD radio tuner he installed in his Chevy.

 

[bigwhite]

crap

just picked up S5, outstanding in every way except that crappy satalite radio. dies out for everything

 

[aerodave]

Maybe there's something crappy about New Jersey. I mean, even more than usual. Because the complainers about Sirius reception are all from jersey.

Frankly, I have better reception with fewer dropouts in the A5 than any of the other 6 receivers I have had in the past or still have. My last car had an aftermarket antenna stuck to the roof, and it was almost as good, but not quite. The Eos has an antenna hidden under the somposite trunk lid, and it hates trees. Every receiver I've tried, including my Sportster boombox, can't get reception in the garage with the door open (the metal door overhead is an effective signal blocker)...except for the A5. This car always has rock-solid reception, even under the open garage door.

So in my experience, the Audi antenna/receiver combination is as good at getting signal as anything else I've ever had.

 

[bigwhite]

new jersey

must be jersey then. problem is, in new jersey, everyone complains about everything. maybe thats why there is so many complaints from here.

i guess new jersey isnt as layed back as ohio, with all the pastures and cow tipping, u guys must be too busy to notice the crappy reception

 

[Blacky3.2]

I have the same problem. I'm new to the sat radio game. I'm not very impressed. It drops out all over the Central Coast. I keep thinking I have an incoming call so I look over at the MMI. I listen to my SD card mostly... I don't have Nav.

 

[ShadyJC]

I'd have to agree with aerodave, I've gotten less drop-outs with the Sirius radio in the Audi than I have in 3 previous cars that had Sirius installed, both factory and aftermarket setups.

 

[JACKPAC]

It is normal for any Satellite radio system in any car, portable device, or where you position the receiver in a home.

Definitely not the fault of your car.

I have a portable device in my Acura with an external antenna and I can drive through long tunnels and it never goes out. Oddly enough, it sometimes goes out in my garage with the door open.

 

[ccompton]

Living near a terrestrial repeater can be a big help. If I'm out in the boonies, I notice that trees and overpasses can have more of an effect. If I'm in the city or suburbs, however, and bathed in the warm microwave glow of the terrestrial repeater downtown, I find very few places where my service will drop out.

If you go to this page at DogstarRadio, it will show you where terrestrial antennas are located, and what area each effectively covers.

I actually used to work for one of the companies that made the terrestrial repeaters and they make a huge difference...bad news is that Sirius hasn't covered many non-metro areas very well (they tried to do the cities with tall buildings first). So, if you live a more suburban or rural area, you will probably have "fade" from time to time under trees or even in storms.

 

[SDS5]

Interesting comments - I had Sirius Radio on the second day it was launched - subscriber <100. Not because I like all the channels but because I have been in the Sat Comm business all of my working career (well almost) and was fascinated by the first system like this.

Sirius uses satellite in highly eliptical orbits so the elevation angle is high allowing the signals to cover urban canyons and in between buildings. Trees are a difficult problem particularly at these frequencies where the wavelength is comparable to the branch size giving heavy attenuation. Fir trees seem to be worse. From a system designers point of view, having more than one satellite gives the receiver the option to pick up alternative streams, but sometime both paths are blocked for long enough that you get a dropout - it shoudl be very infrequent. Anyway, the system is designed with time, frequency and path diversity - generally its a well designed system, and augmented by terrestrial repaters for the cities.

My only complaint about the service is that the Audio quality has got worse over the years as they reduce the bit rate and cram more channels in.

Let's see what happens when Sirius and XM merge.

 

[Quickag]

Another country heard from.

I'm on my third antennae in my Cayenne with the non-factory installation. Finally I am getting mediocre reception in South Carolina and better reception in the Phoenix area. I believed some of the problems were with choosing FM numbers that are close to actual radio stations. In SC, the programs keep jumping between a local station and Sirius. With my A5, I have none of these problems. The Sirius stations are generally excellent.

Didn't Sirius and XM merge last year? I don't hear of any changes in either's programming or service. Any one know differently?

 

[glopez62]

FM Reception

The reason for you recieving good Sirius channels with the A5 is due to the satellite ready radio. This radio does not use FM channels to broadcast the Sirius channels. You can think of it as an Aux in or CD player.

 

[Barry626]

Maybe there's something crappy about New Jersey. I mean, even more than usual. Because the complainers about Sirius reception are all from jersey.

Boy u hit it on the head!
I just came back from NJ "Belleville".
I had nothing but drop outs in various areas of NJ.
Now that I'm back home in NY, no drop outs @ all!