I have a new sportster 4 and cant get any range from the transmitter 10 feet maybe cant even get to the other end of the house. I wanted to use this at work to share with others. Another coworker has the xact2 and his will go over 100 feet. Whats the distance rating and which will go the farthest? Thanks.

I see there is a signal repeater for xm. Is there one for sirius?

I've had the same question. I hope to hear the answer.

Edit:

I think that there is a way of doing this but I'm not sure how they did it. The guy at my office somehow shares with everyone else. I'll try to remember to ask him about it and let you all know.

I cant find one for sirius how can there not be one when there is one for xm???

My Sportster Replay gets across the house, at least 80 feet.

They may have weakened the transmitter in the latest models due to FCC problems.

So in this instance older is better?

I have been dealing with this issue for the last month also. I finally told Sirius to shove it this week and cancelled my subscription.

The short answer is the newer Sportster units have a very weak FM modulator due to the FCC limitations. The modulator is virtually useless in the home because you must have your receiving antenna within 2 or 3 feet to get a decent signal, based on my test.

I finally got one of the Sirius customer Service reps to admit to the FCC limitation. They seem to be hiding this fact because when I told a second representative what the first one said, they wanted to know the name of the person who told me that.

What has me steamed is I had one of the older units from December of last year and only returned it because 2 of the preset button backlights did not work. Otherwise it worked great and allowed me to tune in the Sportster on any radio anywhere in the house and even in my neighbor's house. If I had known about the problem with the newer units, I would have kept my old one.

Now I have a home cradle kit and a replacement Sportster and Sportster 4 (they sent me both and I have to return one of them) that I can't use because the store won't take it back. I feel like the victim of a bait and switch and I am not happy about it.

Anyone who is planning to use the FM modulator as their primary connection method is going to be sadly disappointed. If you have an older unit that does work, don't get rid of it.

Jeff

Get on Ebay, spend $15 or so and buy an external FM Mod. I've had one for about 2 years on my home XM unit. It broadcasts a signal almost a block away. It plugs into the earphone jack.

I cant find one for sirius how can there not be one when there is one for xm???

XM does make a home repeater, Sirius does not.

IMO, CCrane makes the best external FM transmitter (http://www.ccrane.com/radios/fm-transmitters/fm-transmitter.aspx) on the market. Although it is FCC compliant out of the box, you can make a simple 5 minute mod (http://www.xm411.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=8151) that will increase the range to 150-200 feet.

My older MyFi had great distance on the transmitter. I believe thats why the FCC took notice. People in cars next to you would pick up your XM over there stations. My MyFi would work from having the radio in my room out to my garage which is not connected to my house, at least 100 feet. It kicked ass

will the xm repeater work with the sirius?

will the xm repeater work with the sirius?


No

When it comes to the FM transmitter, the Sportster 4(this is the new one. Shaped like a rectangle) PALES in comparison to previous Sportster model, without question.

This of course was due to the FCC coming down on Sirius and XM for the range of the wireless FM transmitters built into these units.

Most people report, especially in the home where a LONG transmission would be nice, that when you connected the provided little wire antenna to the Sportster that it's wireless FM transmission range was pretty far.

So if you want one with a longer transmission range on a Sportster, get this one found at RADIO SHACK(they are in ABUNDANCE there):

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2137817&cp=2032054.2032117&parentPage=family

I DON'T THINK you have to get a certain serial/inventory number on those units, as those were one of the main one's in question with there great distance on the wireless FM transmission. I don't think they were recalled, and then new ones shipped out.

Whatever was out there could be sold and that the newer ones needed the restrictions.

This is the new one, and if you want long range wireless FM transmission, then avoid the newer ones, or get the CCrane unit:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2439399&cp=2032054.2032117&parentPage=family

I think they just replaced them

And if you want an excellent wireless FM transmitter, I second the above mentioned FM transmitter from CCrane.

It retails for around $80, but it is worth it.

After the little modification, my range in the house is PERFECT. And I can get it outside as well, at around 400-500ft away around the house for yard work.

And it is on the first floor. If I had it on the second floor of my house(higher up), I would even get better range due to line of sight transmission of FM signals.

It is definitely worth it IMHO. This little set-up keeps me from spending money on a newer unit. I currently have an Audiovox PNP2 unit, and will not spend a dime on the newer units.

Maybe the Sportster 3 would be something to get, but the other ones can bite me.

I would have liked to get the new Stilletto(probably the 10 hour one), but for the price, it is not worth it.

No DOCK of any kind. What a joke!

Stick it up your A** Sirius.

I love your content, but SMARTEN UP A'HOLE'S!!

You won't get another dime from me on hardware.

Maybe neither company deserves to survive with the moron's who are running them, and that is too bad.

I found a 700-watt FM amplifier the other day. It is from a solid-state FM Broadcast transmitter. Just got to figure out how much power it will take to drive it, and an empty frequency to put it on. I won't even need to take the sat radio out of the house...just tune in on the car radio for most trips.

So the Ccrane works with a sirius unit?

So the Ccrane works with a sirius unit?

Absolutely.

Thanks for the Ccrane info! I just received it and modded it in 20 seconds by pulling off the back label and adjusting that screw. I now have perfect FM reception from my Sirius Stiletto all across the house even on my little clock radio that has no antenna! This is a great product :)

Thanks for the Ccrane info! I just received it and modded it in 20 seconds by pulling off the back label and adjusting that screw. I now have perfect FM reception from my Sirius Stiletto all across the house even on my little clock radio that has no antenna! This is a great product :)
I'll second that. I have been using the C Crane unit (modded of course) for a while and I can tune any radio in my home and get a strong signal. I even wear a pair of AM/FM Hearing protectors on my lawn tractor and the signal i s fine 220' away. I made sure I picked one up before the FCC got involved and made them stop having the mod so easily accessed.

I've got a Replay from last year that transmits amazingly well. But I just added a One (from the free promo) for my work car that transmits sooo bad that I thought something went wrong with my activation.
Anyone have an idea when this FCC thing happened so I can look for some old stock in a local store?

I put a post in a different thread - but believe some of my questions might be part of this thread-

Have a (I believe) new Sportser Replay and live in Los Angeles area

Having hard time transmitting to FM station in my 2006 Honda Pilot, thought it was because of Pilot's antenna posistion and strength of Sirius Sportser transmitter and from what I have read, it sounds like the Sportser is to blame

How long is the wire that goes from the CCRANE thing to the Sirius receiver????, thinking I might need one to listen to Sirius in car

Anyone in Los Angeles area have good FM stations that are good to use??

Any other ideas on how best to listen to my Sirius in my 06 Honda Pilot???

sfre I think the direct connect option is the best whenever possible this will eliminate all the problems just get the FM Modulator (http://buy.sirius.com/products/wired-fm-modulator-relay/)

King Rat - thanks for the reply

So, it looks like the FM modulator plugs into my FM out or whatever on my Sirius and then I plug the other end into the Pilot antenna - is that correct? If so then I either get it professionally installed or try and find the antenna where I can plug in the FM modulator

thanks for the tip and the mod trick. i did it and can recieve sirius all over the house now. :)


by the way the cover was a bit difficult to take off because of the wheel and when turning the dial, you have to be very gentle. i was too agressive not knowing when to stop and snapped the dang thing right off. luckily it's strong enough now and i don't have to adjust it ever again. :p

Yes should just be able to unplug the antenna from the back of you car radio to plug into the modulator then modulator into the radio

Hello,
I have read all the posts here and printed the pictures of the mod so I think I get all that. Before I buy the C.Crane device, I was looking for one last bit of information. I see a lot of the messages say to plug transmitter into the headphone jack. I have the "home" base and there is not a headphone jack. There is a power input for the AC, there is a connection for the sat antenna and there is an output that goes to the stereo labeled audio out. I guess that is the same as the headphone jack but is there a connection out of the C.Crane unit that i can plug back into the receiver?
I want to play it on the main stereo system most of the time but i also want to play the music over other radios in the house and don't want to have to plug and unplug all the time. :)
Thanks

Moss what I did was left my satellite tuner plugged directly into my main stereo and I used the video audio out to send the signal to the ccrane unit this should basically work with any stereo. I have my satellite tuner plugged into the MD/Tape input and using the video out to the ccrane. Hope this answers your question.

Thanks,
This sounds like what I need to try.

I'm so glad I found this thread. I'm in the exact same situation as everyone else... Had a Sportster Replay, returned it, (headphone jack broke off, fell inside the unit,) and the FM transmitter on the replacement unit is useless.

I'm about to buy the CCrane transmitter, based on these great reviews. But, while looking around, I also found this one: wholehousefmtransmitter_com (sorry, replace that _ with a period. it won't let me type the url because I'm new.)

Has anyone heard anything about this? It claims to get "whole house" distance without any mods. and can run off of AC, cigarette lighter, or USB.

Hello,
I have read all the posts here and printed the pictures of the mod so I think I get all that. Before I buy the C.Crane device, I was looking for one last bit of information. I see a lot of the messages say to plug transmitter into the headphone jack. I have the "home" base and there is not a headphone jack. There is a power input for the AC, there is a connection for the sat antenna and there is an output that goes to the stereo labeled audio out. I guess that is the same as the headphone jack but is there a connection out of the C.Crane unit that i can plug back into the receiver?
I want to play it on the main stereo system most of the time but i also want to play the music over other radios in the house and don't want to have to plug and unplug all the time. :)
Thanks
I went to RatShack and bought a mini stereo splitter for $6.29 and split the out on the Sirius tuner so I can run either/or or both at the same time.

When it comes to the FM transmitter, the Sportster 4(this is the new one. Shaped like a rectangle) PALES in comparison to previous Sportster model, without question.

This of course was due to the FCC coming down on Sirius and XM for the range of the wireless FM transmitters built into these units.

Most people report, especially in the home where a LONG transmission would be nice, that when you connected the provided little wire antenna to the Sportster that it's wireless FM transmission range was pretty far.

So if you want one with a longer transmission range on a Sportster, get this one found at RADIO SHACK(they are in ABUNDANCE there):

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2137817&cp=2032054.2032117&parentPage=family

I DON'T THINK you have to get a certain serial/inventory number on those units, as those were one of the main one's in question with there great distance on the wireless FM transmission. I don't think they were recalled, and then new ones shipped out.

I got an older Sportster Replay on clearance from BB just like your Radio Shack link. FM modulator is pure ass. My clock radio can't tune it from 2 feet away so I am fairly certain that not even all of the original Sportsters will have good transmitters.

My clock radio tunes my year old Starmate Replay from across the room, and my stereo in the next room also picks it up great. The damn power port is broken though, so I had to "upgrade". Sirius' hardware quality is pure garbage. I thought my radio was broken out of the box. I'm so mad right now :mad:

I'm about to buy the CCrane transmitter, based on these great reviews. But, while looking around, I also found this one wholehousefmtransmitter.com (http://wholehousefmtransmitter.com/). Has anyone heard anything about this? It claims to get "whole house" distance without any mods. and can run off of AC, cigarette lighter, or USB.I have been using this unit for a while to broadcast Sirius throughout my 3500 sq. ft. home. It works quite well. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if my neighbors can pick up the signal several houses away. :)