I have a Sportster, that is probably 3.5-4 years old.

For the past week or so, I have been losing the signal several times a day for extended periods. My driving habits have not changed and I am not driving in places where reception would be blocked.

I am wondering if my radio is going bad. Does that happen? Is there a way to tell?

I have a Stiletto 2, but like the Sportster and do not have the car adapter for the S2 yet.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I have one in my wifes truck and it too has been having problems aquiring the signal. There is another post listed where the person's sportster seems to have crapped out. Now I wonder if this is really just a random event...

It could be the antenna.

I am also having problems with my Sportster. Sometimes there are 3 bars of signal but no sound is coming out via direct connection or via fm transmitter. And it happens in both my hone and car dock. I have a newer Sportster Replay that works fine but has the shitty fm transmitter. I just bought another Sportster off of ebay and I hope that one works for another 2 years. Good thing I didn't get a lifetime subscription!

I have two Sportsters which are used in two separate cars. Both have been having reception problems for the last several weeks. They blackout for long stretches of time. It has gotten to the point where they are basically useless.

And here I thought it was just because I canceled a subscription...

I just ordered a refurbished sportser replay and antenna from tss ($100). I'm trying to delay the purchase of new equipment until I know the company will be around for a while. I probably should have just tried replacing the antenna to see if that fixed the problem, but I figured the receiver was on it's last leg anyway.

I am also having problems with my Sportster. Sometimes there are 3 bars of signal but no sound is coming out via direct connection or via fm transmitter. And it happens in both my hone and car dock. I have a newer Sportster Replay that works fine but has the shitty fm transmitter. I just bought another Sportster off of ebay and I hope that one works for another 2 years. Good thing I didn't get a lifetime subscription! Same thing here. The funny thing is, no problems before all the "updating" what did they do?

I know it's a crap shoot but has anyone called customer service or Directed Electronics about this problem?

sirius customer service sucks, they might offer another shit radio but, I love my sportster r and I read somewhere Dir Elec is no longer making sirius stuff

Same thing with me. Old Sportster purchased before Xmas 2004 first used in December 2005

Over the past few weeks, sometimes when I had a strong, constant "2 bar" signal, the Acquiring Signal message has been displayed for a relatively long period of time

But today was even weirder. At the start of the show, the audio just dropped out. The signal was strong and the Stern show PDT was still displayed, but no sound. I thought it might have been because it was snowing. It happened several times.

So I just unplugged all the wires, dusted it off and now it's working again, hopefully for good. (spoke too soon: it crapped out again!)
:bc:

It's ironic this happened today after I read about them charging for the Internet listening service :mad:

Same thing with me. Old Sportster purchased before Xmas 2004 first used in December 2005

Over the past few weeks, sometimes when I had a strong, constant "2 bar" signal, the Acquiring Signal message has been displayed for a relatively long period of time

But today was even weirder. At the start of the show, the audio just dropped out. The signal was strong and the Stern show PDT was still displayed, but no sound. I thought it might have been because it was snowing. It happened several times.

So I just unplugged all the wires, dusted it off and now it's working again, hopefully for good. (spoke too soon: it crapped out again!)
:bc:

It's ironic this happened today after I read about them charging for the Internet listening service :mad:


Same thing happened to me except on a different radio. The radio is dying. Don't bother repairing, it cost about the same as a new one.

Same thing happened to me except on a different radio. The radio is dying. Don't bother repairing, it cost about the same as a new one.
Which radio would you suggest I get and where should I buy it?
I'd just want one with all the home docking equipment (since any new receiver probably wouldn't be compatible with the home kit for the Sportster SP-R1)
Thanks! :)

Seems to be working fine now. Started working some time after 8am as the sun came out and all of the snow and ice began to melt. It has not crapped out once (crosses fingers)

Seems to be working fine now. Started working some time after 8am as the sun came out and all of the snow and ice began to melt. It has not crapped out once (crosses fingers)
Spoke too soon (again!)

It lasted a while though, 10 hours with no audio drop-out interruptions. Strange thing is, after I turn it off and on again, Acquiring Signal is displayed, but my alerts still work (so would the PDT if I didn't turn it off). The signal is there, just no audio :(
Even if I put my hand over the antenna until the signal strength becomes an 'X', the PDT info is still displayed! :eek:

Now it starts to work at 8 o'clock am or pm (at least those were the times on Thursday)

If I hit the Direct channel button, the PDT will display the channel info briefly before switching back to Acquiring Signal


I still would appreciate suggestions for a cheap new receiver and home kit, etc. :)

Just talked to Sirius customer service about this same problem last night. Of course the guy provided ZERO help and proceeded to offer me a lifetime subscription to lock in the current rates and internet.

What doesn't make sense is that it doesn't work via the FM transmitter in the car or hooked directly to the boombox in the office. The display is fine it shows full signal and the static will cut out when I turn it on, but no sound. This has happened a few times the past couple months. It will cut out for several days, I always keep it on anyway at work and then suddenly it will come back on again and it'll be fine for the next few weeks. Now it's off again.

I really don't want to get a new radio because this is one of the pre FCC models with the stronger FM transmitter. They are getting more and more scarce on eBay.

"Acquiring Signal" is a kiss of death. The POS receiver is on the way out.

I had this same issue with my wife's receiver a year ago (Original 1st generation Sportster from 2005) and there would be days where the Acquiring Signal would stay on for hours then it would work, I ended up getting her a new receiver.

I have this same issue this week with my 2005 Sportster as well, last year it had the "No antenna detected", so I took it apart and fixed the solder joints for the antenna but now Acquiring Signal is here again.

Does anyone have an electronics background and succesfully repaired this issue?

The new receivers have a less fm transmitter range and I don't want to dump my boom box and home dock station, so any advise here would be great.

The only thing working for me is the old school electronic fixer method: smacking it with your hand. Unfortunately, it hurts and usually requires several hits and I wouldn't want to have to get out of bed several times in the morning just to do that

Well, it seems my receiver works fine on Mondays (I started having problems last Tuesday). Not one drop out until near the end of the Wrap-Up show, but that briefly happens anyway

Ironically, some local Philly FM radio stations seemed to have drop-outs today, but one was attributed to power outages/surges in the building

The only thing working for me is the old school electronic fixer method: smacking it with your hand. Unfortunately, it hurts and usually requires several hits and I wouldn't want to have to get out of bed several times in the morning just to do that

That works but not all the time, I also got to a point where I turn it on at night, after about two hours it starts to work, so I leave it on all night, this way it still works in the morning but as soon as I shut it off and plug it into the car, it's back to Aq/sig.

At this point I'm listening to O&A on my drive to work, meanwhile paying Sirius for not being able to listen to Stern, fucking marvy ain't it. :mad:

Mine has worked fine for the past two days. A couple drop outs but not when I had the show on in the morning. I'll still probably get another one though

I picked up another used gen 1 sportster on ebay, $40 is worth not having to keep smacking it thru my drive every morning.

Sirius radios are garbage. I am on my third radio since 2006 and that one is on the way out also. S-10, just stops playing, no sound, does not come on, does not shut off, locks up with NO buttons working. I have to take the battery out to reset it. What a joke!

Im at wits end I have a stratus and the signal goes from 3-bars to aquiring signal 4-5 times over the course of the morning. I usually record Howard to listen to the whole show or skip crap but I get back to drop outs of 20-30 min I would just use the player but starpayr is gone now and you can't reset every hour and half if your not home the signal sucks!! XM is always on why!!! I wish they would spend more time on reception than other garbage channels and frivolous offers that show up in my mailbox

I have a Sportster, that is probably 3.5-4 years old.

For the past week or so, I have been losing the signal several times a day for extended periods. My driving habits have not changed and I am not driving in places where reception would be blocked.

I am wondering if my radio is going bad. Does that happen? Is there a way to tell?

I have a Stiletto 2, but like the Sportster and do not have the car adapter for the S2 yet.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

ThanksI had the same problem with my car radio, once I cleaned the antennae it seems to work just fine.

yeah. cleaning antenna does seem to help most of the time.

I finally had to get up on my fucking roof and place 2 differant antennas but it still cuts out but not as often. I live right beside Lake Ontario on the beach there is nothing in the way Sirius has to work improving their signal instead of all the other shit....!!

My radio has been cutting out alot lately. Called CS, they of course said that I should be in an open are away from trees or buildings. Whatever....

I too have been losing signal a lot lately. Seems strange....

Two of my radios are also experiencing problems. It cuts out completely or says acquiring signal most of the day One is a Stiletto 1, the other is a newer Starmate Rewind.

done deal. optical out is working on the conductor . :)

I called to cancel my sub and they sent me a new radio with the same problem. shitty reception.

I cannot get a steady signal at my home after having no problem for years.

The bane of my existence! It's amazing what they blame a lack of signal on. Most of the time its tress, but apparently some trees are good and some are bad as my entire drive is trees! I never thought I'd gte a cell signal over Sirius.

Over the last month, my signal continuously drops out at home and in the car. It is getting very annoying. I always get the message "acquiring signal".

Northern Calif--signal in and out the last few days----fix it Sirius

I'm new to Sirius and was afraid this was the norm for this equipment.

I have an Audiovox PNP3 that I got right before Stern went to Sirius that is now exhibiting many of the problems mentioned in this thread.

It will work fine for an hour or two in the morning, then the audio will cut out.
I know the FM transmitter is working because the FM radio in my car is quiet until I shut the unit off, at which point you can hear the background static of a very weak FM signal.

I reset the unit to defaults (which cleared 4 years worth of stored favorites... argh), and messed around with the transmitter options and stuff. Nothing has kept the radio on for more than a couple hours.

If the audio goes out and I turn it off and back on, sometimes it will say Acquiring Signal for hours even though I have full signal strength... I checked/cleaned the antenna, but I figured if there was an issue with it, it would be shown as 1 bar or even an "X" in the signal strength area.

I just ordered a new Starmate 5... Not totally broken up about it since I will now have the pause/rewind feature the old receiver lacked, but it is also made by Audiovox and have to say I'm less than impressed by how long my original receiver lasted.

has anyone ever tried pulling their head unit to see if it has a AUX port in the back, or buy a new head unit with the Aux in front. I bought a Alpine unit about two years ago with a USB and Aux, the only time i lose signal is when im under a bridge getting on the highway or at the bank drive thru. Check the back of your factory head unit as most have a AUX port, this connection is much better than the FM signal.

I have the exact same unit and did not have issues until yesterday. I received the same "acquiring signal" for a long time last night and again this morning. This was the first time I had this issue. It is working again now (left on for 20 minutes), but I love the PNP3 and would likely try to find another one if it does go out.


I have an Audiovox PNP3 that I got right before Stern went to Sirius that is now exhibiting many of the problems mentioned in this thread.

It will work fine for an hour or two in the morning, then the audio will cut out.
I know the FM transmitter is working because the FM radio in my car is quiet until I shut the unit off, at which point you can hear the background static of a very weak FM signal.

I reset the unit to defaults (which cleared 4 years worth of stored favorites... argh), and messed around with the transmitter options and stuff. Nothing has kept the radio on for more than a couple hours.

If the audio goes out and I turn it off and back on, sometimes it will say Acquiring Signal for hours even though I have full signal strength... I checked/cleaned the antenna, but I figured if there was an issue with it, it would be shown as 1 bar or even an "X" in the signal strength area.

I just ordered a new Starmate 5... Not totally broken up about it since I will now have the pause/rewind feature the old receiver lacked, but it is also made by Audiovox and have to say I'm less than impressed by how long my original receiver lasted.

I have the exact same unit and did not have issues until yesterday. I received the same "acquiring signal" for a long time last night and again this morning. This was the first time I had this issue. It is working again now (left on for 20 minutes), but I love the PNP3 and would likely try to find another one if it does go out.

I ended up replacing it with a Starmate 5 after posting. I did some other stuff first, like trying my first receiver in another cradle but it had the exact same symptoms. Sometimes it'd work for 3 or 4 hours, other times it wouldn't work all day. I was really wanting the pause/replay feature, so I'm pretty happy with the Starmate 5. It has been flawless on my original Sirius antenna, so I'm pretty sure my original radio was the source of my issue.

The new FM transmitters suck! That old Audiovox could be heard 2 car lengths away, now I'm struggling to find good audio on channels with even the weakest FM signal. Pretty sure I'm going to have to wind up getting the little thing that lets you plug the audio out right into the FM antenna port of the car receiver. My options are limited since the vehicle I primarily use the Sirius in is a company car.

The FM transmitter is one of the main reasons I live this unit! I can plug in and listen anywhere in the house. I have even had it pluged in at home and could hear it as I drove away from the house. I guess the neighbors can get free sirius a good part of the day! :bigsmile:


I ended up replacing it with a Starmate 5 after posting. I did some other stuff first, like trying my first receiver in another cradle but it had the exact same symptoms. Sometimes it'd work for 3 or 4 hours, other times it wouldn't work all day. I was really wanting the pause/replay feature, so I'm pretty happy with the Starmate 5. It has been flawless on my original Sirius antenna, so I'm pretty sure my original radio was the source of my issue.

The new FM transmitters suck! That old Audiovox could be heard 2 car lengths away, now I'm struggling to find good audio on channels with even the weakest FM signal. Pretty sure I'm going to have to wind up getting the little thing that lets you plug the audio out right into the FM antenna port of the car receiver. My options are limited since the vehicle I primarily use the Sirius in is a company car.

The FM transmitter is one of the main reasons I live this unit! I can plug in and listen anywhere in the house. I have even had it pluged in at home and could hear it as I drove away from the house. I guess the neighbors can get free sirius a good part of the day! :bigsmile: Same here. I have an original Starmate unit from 2005 that I mostly leave in my office (3rd floor of an old building). That thing transmits a signal that can be picked up in my car about 200-300 yards away. I sometimes have to do a double take to make sure that the unit isn't actually in the car.

I'm stilling having issues and basically the unit is now useless. Do you know if the wiring for the car would work with a different unit such as the Starmate or one of the others? I guess I don't mind switching to a different unit, but I don't want to mess with the antenna and power wiring or have to pay someone to do so. I know the cradle would be different but I was hoping the input for antenna and power were universal.


I ended up replacing it with a Starmate 5 after posting. I did some other stuff first, like trying my first receiver in another cradle but it had the exact same symptoms. Sometimes it'd work for 3 or 4 hours, other times it wouldn't work all day. I was really wanting the pause/replay feature, so I'm pretty happy with the Starmate 5. It has been flawless on my original Sirius antenna, so I'm pretty sure my original radio was the source of my issue.

The new FM transmitters suck! That old Audiovox could be heard 2 car lengths away, now I'm struggling to find good audio on channels with even the weakest FM signal. Pretty sure I'm going to have to wind up getting the little thing that lets you plug the audio out right into the FM antenna port of the car receiver. My options are limited since the vehicle I primarily use the Sirius in is a company car.

The antenna is the same, but the power cord I got with my new Starmate is different from the PNP3.

The antenna is the same, but the power cord I got with my new Starmate is different from the PNP3.

Did you mean the opposite. Looks like the power cord is a standard 12V. I ended up buying a used pnp3 unit off ebay. Not worth it right now to switch everything out until Howard commits one way or the other.