My sirius reception blows...

JAH1 · #1 06-05-2010, 06:09 PM

...have any of you taken the antenna out of the spoiler and just stuck it right on the roof?

I have had several cars with Sirius and every one of them whether it was factory or aftermarket got better reception and received the signal quickly and cleanly (ie: instant scanning between stations etc). I tried to improve it by mounting a piece of metal to one of those brass looking screws under the spoiler and then putting antenna on that but it didn't provide much improvement.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/ideas.

Joe 2006 4.4

TowX · #2 06-06-2010, 07:28 AM

I used to have mine on the roof but every time I went through the car wash the brushes would move the antenna on the roof. When the antenna finally died I put the new one in the spoiler. Reception is far worse in the spoiler. When it was on the roof I could go under overpasses and rarely loose the signal. Now it looses signal for a second or so under every overpass, especially annoying in urban Chicago driving. And it takes a long time to initialize in mornings. As just a test, I pulled the top off the spoiler and drove it, and no problems at all. So I'm trying to decide if I should go back to the roof and get my reception back, or leave it where it is for cosmetic reasons.

4MoJoe · #3 06-06-2010, 02:02 PM

I get that same problem with my XM. There are points in town when if I drop down a small hill it just stops altogether for blocks. I wish there was a better place to locate the antenna ...

X5 Meister · #4 06-06-2010, 11:53 PM

My sucked and it was mounted on the roof, so that pretty much closed any chance of mounting it in the spoiler. However I then finally figured out how to get the best results from it and have been happy since...cancel the subscription.

JAH1 · #5 06-07-2010, 08:58 AM

LOL. I thought of that....and also the satisfaction I would get by yanking the mother F antenna right out and throwing it in bushes. However, I am addicted to sat radio now and don't know if I could go back to just discs, ipod, FM or....God forbid....actually speaking to my wife and kids.

X5 Meister · #6 06-07-2010, 11:34 AM

Feign sudden deafness if forced to speak to the wife and kids on a long drive. That's your only hope.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAH1

LOL. I thought of that....and also the satisfaction I would get by yanking the mother F antenna right out and throwing it in bushes. However, I am addicted to sat radio now and don't know if I could go back to just discs, ipod, FM or....God forbid....actually speaking to my wife and kids.

papasmurf · #7 06-08-2010, 07:46 AM

I have shitty reception too, and mine is in the spoiler. I cannot bring myself to mount it externally, however.

JAH1 · #8 06-08-2010, 08:22 AM

It takes 2 seconds to remove spoiler, I'm going to stick it on roof. I suspect that if I put it close to/under the right roof rail then it wont be noticeable nor will it get knocked off. I'll report back after I do it in next week or so....

Kunphuzi0n · #9 06-08-2010, 05:29 PM

I have been wanting to do something about this too. I love the look of it in the spoiler, but its kinda annoying now because some places we drive there are trees near the road and now that the leaves are fully grown in it goes out occasionally. I have been thinking about buying one of those shark fins from ebay and use it to cover it. I dont think it will make much or any difference because it will be covered either way.

Any other suggestions out there?

X5 Meister · #10 06-08-2010, 06:05 PM

You can create a solution for everyone. Remove the spoiler and take very accurate measurements of the inner spoiler area and then have a long piece of sheet metal custom cut for the space. Mount the antenna to it, cover it with the spoiler and see how it works. Also make sure you have the latest version of the roof antenna to start.