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Windowsill antenna
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| Windowsill antenna
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| Buckeye_01 |
| I want to buy one, but don't know how they perform. Tell me all the bad things you know. |
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| Buckeye_01 |
| I don't have a home kit for my starmate, and I am looking to buy one...it includes a windowsill antenna, and I want to know how well they work or how bad they are. sheesh |
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| samiklaus |
Quote: Originally posted by Buckeye_01
I want to buy one, but don't know how they perform. Tell me all the bad things you know. |
Haven't had any problems. Sometimes it loses signal strength and I need to adjust the position a bit, but that's it. |
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| Swede |
| oh I thought you meant like a dish, I have a window sill one and I am fine |
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| spaulds |
Quote: Originally posted by samiklaus
Haven't had any problems. Sometimes it loses signal strength and I need to adjust the position a bit, but that's it. |
same here, ive even used it on the dashboard in an emergency |
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| Morning Wood |
| if you're talking about sirius, most likely you're going to have to put it outside... at least where i live. luckily i live in a house so mine is on the roof with an extension cord. |
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| Stern4Life |
I have a boombox with antennae for my Streamer Replay Model. I just put the antenae out on the window sill and it works great.
When I leave in the morning I take it out of the Boombox and put it in the car |
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| ItsBigForty |
I have the home antenna and am not all that happy with it.
In order to receive solid reception all of the time I have to place it outside. I don't know if it is the screen in the window but having to do this sucks in the colder weather.
It is also very particular in being aimed to the NNW.
What I find odd is that if I put my boom box in my car with this same antenna it work fantastic. No aiming, obviously, I just throw it on the dash and plug the boom box into a DC to AC converter. |
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| WraparoundJones |
| i work in a building that happens to have no windows facing west and i spend 30-40% of every day moving the antenna to get a signal. i actually have a "moving sirius antenna" job number on my timesheet at this point. poorly thought out technology and it's exhausting my will to live. |
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| mondo529 |
| I spent about 30min. trying different places within my home to find a strong signal. I used two small sheetrock screws and hung it on an inside wall with the antenna facing the floor and I get three bars all day long. |
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| Stern4Life |
Quote: Originally posted by WraparoundJones
i work in a building that happens to have no windows facing west and i spend 30-40% of every day moving the antenna to get a signal. i actually have a "moving sirius antenna" job number on my timesheet at this point. poorly thought out technology and it's exhausting my will to live. |
What a Drama Queen....Sheesh |
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| DevilDog |
| I got one from Radio Shack for my Sportster. It works great. The wire is long as hell, too, so you can put it almost anywhere. Sucks that it's $50, though, with the cradle. |
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| Buckeye_01 |
| Thanks for the input folks. My living room window faces north, so if it needs to be NNW i'm in business. |
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| perks |
| I live in a downtown area (read: surrounded by tall buildings) and my antena works great once i placed it on the outside sill. I've never had to move it once it went outside. When I first got it I tried to use it on the inside sill and got somewhat disapointing results having to move it every so often. |
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| faf72 |
| I used to lose reception all the time with it in the window sill, so I put it on the roof, no problems at all, then the FM modulator allows it to go to every radio in the house. |
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| DeputyTank |
| I have an xact boom box and can't find the right radio for it. My wife bought me the boom box plus a replay radio for Christmas, not realizing that the boom box needed its own radio, so I took the replay back and found an st1 Starmate that fit, then it never worked, so I took that back and ordered a Brix Streamer replay from Sirius, after explaining the problem to them they assured me the radio would fit into my boom box, so $189 later and waiting for two weeks guess what the radio they told me would work doesn't fit in my boom box. So after all the frustration I finally just put it in my car and listen to it there and I still have an expensive boom box with out the radio, and some one just tried to drill the door lock out of my new van Tuesday to steal my Sirius radio now that is gonna cost $2000 to repair the lock plus the paint, but other than that I like my radio. lol BTW my dog died also! Tank |
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| xpurityx |
| Here at work we have a window facing north, and we're juuuuust out of the repeater range, our reception is super sketchy and requires tweaking the antenna super slightly several times a day, turning it 10 degrees, raising or lowering the stupid flip up thing. Frustrating as hell, but what the eff can you do... |
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| PO'd Mcgriddle |
Quote: Originally posted by Buckeye_01
I want to buy one, but don't know how they perform. Tell me all the bad things you know. |
Hey Buckeye! (great name btw)
I have a boombox and a sportster replay radio that I keep in my upstairs bedroom with the antenna screwed to the windowsill outside, never lose reception. The wire is thin enough that you can close the window on it in the winter (I have double hung windows) and you should not have a problem.
Keep in mind too that you can tune any other radio in the house to whatever station you program your radio to and pick up reception. If I'm home, I tune the radio upstairs to whatever I want and then tune my living room stereo receiver to the right channel and booya.....Howie.
Go Bucs! |
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| Buckeye_01 |
| PO'd, that's good stuff man. I too have storm windows and was wondering about the shielded cable and shutting the windows. Give me a holler if you are ever down south (akron) and we'll hook up for a brew or 14. |
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| smenzie |
Quote: Originally posted by WraparoundJones
[B]i work in a building that happens to have no windows facing west and i spend 30-40% of every day moving the antenna to get a signal. i actually have a "moving sirius antenna" job number on my timesheet at this point. poorly thought out technology and it's exhausting my will to live. [/ B] |
Are you retarded? Poorly thought out technology??? Its a fucking satellite antenna....it needs a line of sight to the satellite...THAT IS THE TECHNOLOGY!!!!!!!! It says this everywhere..... :rolleyes: |
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| PO'd Mcgriddle |
Quote: Originally posted by Buckeye_01
PO'd, that's good stuff man. I too have storm windows and was wondering about the shielded cable and shutting the windows. Give me a holler if you are ever down south (akron) and we'll hook up for a brew or 14. |
No problem man.
14 sounds good, but what are you gonna drink? ;) |
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| WraparoundJones |
Quote: Originally posted by smenzie
Are you retarded? Poorly thought out technology??? Its a fucking satellite antenna....it needs a line of sight to the satellite...THAT IS THE TECHNOLOGY!!!!!!!! It says this everywhere..... :rolleyes: |
how about having enough satellites to send signals to the other 50% of the country who face N/S fuckface? |
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| SternFan100 |
Quote: Originally posted by WraparoundJones
how about having enough satellites to send signals to the other 50% of the country who face N/S fuckface? |
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| huntr |
Ive found using a car antenna in the house works better than the regular "house" one .. I dunno about wondowsill
I just went to radio shack and bought a low profile car antenna and a 15$ 12v adapter .. viola instant home kit |
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| smenzie |
Quote: Originally posted by WraparoundJones
how about having enough satellites to send signals to the other 50% of the country who face N/S fuckface? |
:scratch: |
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| thoroldjames |
Quote: Originally posted by Buckeye_01
I don't have a home kit for my starmate, and I am looking to buy one...it includes a windowsill antenna, and I want to know how well they work or how bad they are. sheesh |
i found that when i had the antenna right up against the window it worked like shit, put it on kitchen counter, facing patio door, and no problems |
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| jbny67 |
I got the extention cable when I bought my radio & antenna.
I put the antenna on the roof and never have any signal problems. |
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| HornyRon |
| I got an XACT XTR-3 Visor that mounts in the car and I got a home kit with antenna. I mounted the antenna on a bracket on my gutter, aimed it once to the west, and locked it in place. I get fine reception all the time. I had to drill a 0.25" hole through the window frame and seal it with silicone caulk. No big deal. It did not work well with the antenna pointed out a window so I had to do the roof mount. I've been listening since the heartbeat on Jan 9. |
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| Cheri |
| I've put the antenna on the roof, took about three hours to find a perfect spot, but I've never had a problem since. |
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| jeffro |
My antenna is in the attic. Full strength all the time. While it needs a line of sight, that line of sight can be through wood/tar/shingles. Just won't work going through metal or too many layers of wood, etc.
Ran a wire to the attic and the dam thing is just sitting in there. |
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| Timmy |
| I had to invent this cardboard extention arm so the antenna sticks out about 2 feet from the window. Without that I couldnt get reception, |
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| hattrick |
where the fuck do you people live? I'm facing SE and I get perfect reception with my antenna INSIDE my apt, no problem!
I am on the 7th floor tho, up on a hill, if that matters :)
good luck with that tho whereever you may dwell :cool: |
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| Lingtime |
| I agree the boombox sux. I hope they fix that shit soon i too work in a building with no windows nearby. You would think they could do something. BTW fuck the 30/30 bullshit.$25 donation, $13 for sirius who am I Donald Fucking Trump.I come to this site thats enough support. |
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| assmasterson |
Luckily, our living room has a window facing the north, so I have a car antenna sitting on the back of a chair next to the window. When the signal breaks up, I move it 6" left or right and I get my signal back.
Not sure how that works, but it does. |
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| Lerxst |
I have the home kit for my Starmate Replay, and I only had one problem with it. My power cord developed some kind of short or something, where it would take plugging and unplugging it in for a minute or two at first, then several minutes, then it stopped working.
I called the Radio Shack Warranty number, and they told me to return it to the store I bought it for a replacement.
I went back to the store, and they did not have any homekits, not only that, but the warehouse was out also, so they would have to ship me one from Texas.
About 6 days later I got the new power cord in the mail, and it works fine.
I was a little sneaky though, a few days after I got it, I called back the Radio Shack to say it still had not come in the mail.
They said maybe it got lost in shipment, and they would re-submit the warranty claim for me, and send me another.
A week later , my 2nd power cord arrived, and now I have a backup in case I need it. All for free....
Thanks Radio Shack :D |
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| Buckeye_01 |
Quote: Originally posted by POd Mcgriddle
No problem man.
14 sounds good, but what are you gonna drink? ;) |
I'll sneak 1 or 2 in there somewhere.
Thanks for all the great advice, and ideas folks! :2thumbs: |
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| Jokiefan |
Quote: Originally posted by Lerxst
I have the home kit for my Starmate Replay, and I only had one problem with it. MI power cord developed some kind of short or something, where it would take plugging and unplugging it in for a minute or two at first, then several minutes, then it stopped working.
I called the Radio Shack Warranty number, and they told me to return it to the store I bought it for a replacement.
I went back to the store, and they did not have any homekits, not only that, but the warehouse was out also, so they would have to ship me one from Texas.
About 6 days later I the power cord in the mail, and it works fine.
I was a little sneaky though, a few days after I got it, I called back the Radio Shack to say it still had not come in the mail.
They said maybe it got lost in shipment, and they would re-submit the warranty claim for me, and send me another.
A week later , my 2nd power cord arrived, and now I have a backup in case I need it. All for free....
Thanks Radio Shack :D |
Call Toyota and tell them you never got your Sienna either... |
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| Lerxst |
Quote: Originally posted by Jokiefan
Call Toyota and tell them you never got your Sienna either... |
:lol: Can you put in a good word for me? |
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| gasface |
I've tested both my starmate replay car and windowsill antena in my house (ok, shitty studio apartment).
The homekit antena signal is far stronger than the one for the car, which is great because receptiion for television, cell phone, any anthing wireless is pretty horrible in my area.
I thought I wasn't going to be able to recieve a signal, but I'm surprised and content how great the homekit antena works.
I had to try more than one windowsill but found one that picked up a stronger signal.
:) :) :) |
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| Barry Bonds |
| Only get one if u have windows that face the right direction or your out of luck. Listening to Savannah riding the sybian with 1 second interuptions is frustrating |
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| UnderToad |
| I have the Starmate Replay, but couldn't find the home kit back in January, so I bought the Sportster Replay home kit. The cradle is useless, but the power adapter and antenna are the same. At some point during the day I get some interference for about five minutes, otherwise the reception is fine with the antenna sitting in my office window. |
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| unregistereduse |
Quote: Originally posted by WraparoundJones
i work in a building that happens to have no windows facing west and i spend 30-40% of every day moving the antenna to get a signal. i actually have a "moving sirius antenna" job number on my timesheet at this point. poorly thought out technology and it's exhausting my will to live. |
i agree. real pain in the ass. if it weren't for stern . . . |
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| myquealer |
This map shows the approximate coverage area of the terrestrial repeaters (which will allow you to get a signal nearly anywhere inside a building) and the direction from the center of the map to the current position of the satellites, which helps for aiming your antenna when your reception is spotty.
http://www.DogstarRadio.com/sirius_map.php
Mike |
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| Siri |
Quote: Originally posted by Morning Wood
if you're talking about sirius, most likely you're going to have to put it outside... at least where i live. luckily i live in a house so mine is on the roof with an extension cord. |
I have mine in my front window. Just sitting in there. Actually they recommended I face it Northeast. I have it Southwest, and it still works about perfect.
Quote: Originally posted by Lerxst
I have the home kit for my Starmate Replay, and I only had one problem with it. My power cord developed some kind of short or something, where it would take plugging and unplugging it in for a minute or two at first, then several minutes, then it stopped working.
I called the Radio Shack Warranty number, and they told me to return it to the store I bought it for a replacement.
I went back to the store, and they did not have any homekits, not only that, but the warehouse was out also, so they would have to ship me one from Texas.
About 6 days later I got the new power cord in the mail, and it works fine.
I was a little sneaky though, a few days after I got it, I called back the Radio Shack to say it still had not come in the mail.
They said maybe it got lost in shipment, and they would re-submit the warranty claim for me, and send me another.
A week later , my 2nd power cord arrived, and now I have a backup in case I need it. All for free....
Thanks Radio Shack :D |
Thanks for driving up the prices on simple things like power cords for the rest of us.  |
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| mcfierce |
Quote: Originally posted by WraparoundJones
i work in a building that happens to have no windows facing west and i spend 30-40% of every day moving the antenna to get a signal. i actually have a "moving sirius antenna" job number on my timesheet at this point. poorly thought out technology and it's exhausting my will to live. |
do you work in Providence? I work in East Providence also with no windows.....I just threw the antenna up on the roof of my building and bought the 50 ft. extension wire........works great..... |
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| myquealer |
Quote: Originally posted by WraparoundJones
i work in a building that happens to have no windows facing west and i spend 30-40% of every day moving the antenna to get a signal. i actually have a "moving sirius antenna" job number on my timesheet at this point. poorly thought out technology and it's exhausting my will to live. |
Here's a map that shows the current direction of the satellites from Providence, RI.
http://www.dogstarradio.com/sirius_...=-71.41&zoom=10
Hopefully it will help you in aiming your antenna quickly when your reception goes bad. |
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| superlawyer80 |
| Don't get it unless you can put the antena on the roof. How many others are having problems? I am thinking about filing a class action lawsuit over this issue. |
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| YUTZ |
| I Live in L.A. and even with all the repeaters over here I still get shity ass reception, I think sirius really needs some serious work , i also beleive they are very lucky to have stern, cause if he wasnt there i would cancel my subscription out of frustration. I like the content but I think xm has better music, i got sirius strictly for Stern and his show is worth it. BUT LETS WORK ON GETTING SOME FUCKIN RECEPTION PLEASE |
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