[Danomite33]

I've listened to XM radio for 10 months and am NOT impressed. I typically listen to one station as the song goes, "9 million channels and nothing's on..." Then Jack FM came over the free channels; I listen to that now.

Anyone else unimpressed with the pay radio and ready to give it the heave-ho? Anyone gald that haven't added that new fangled gagdet to their pallet?

What's your take?

 

[BlueWing]

XM goes with me to the car, truck, pole barn, bike, house. It is the same way for my wife. There is a ton of good things to listen to on XM, from talk, sports, rock, country and a bunch of others. You can count me in on the must have item. Could I live without it? Yep. Would I be happy not having it? No.

 

[Lewis/EC]

I love mine. I like the fact I can switch from music to news, weather, comedy and then right back. Just something you can't do (well) with FM....plus I can listen to the same thing coast to coast.

 

[lomax]

I kind of agree with you but the jury is still out. I got my XM a few months ago and find it is nice to have when I get up in the hills where no radio is playing. The sound quality is not as good as the CD player however. I will run out my subscription and then decide if I am going to keep it or not. Maybe I need to check for new channels like you did. What channel is Jack on?

Cheers.
Marc

 

[Danomite33]

Bluewing: is the service provided for pay different than the service offered in rental cars? I've had a rental car for the last 10 months so I base my opinion on rental car service. I wonder if a full subsription is different and offers more variety?

 

[jjsC6]

For about two years I had XM in all three of my cars. I trade cars frequently, and there billing and customer service departments are so pathetic that I finally got tired of all the billing problems and have now cancelled all of them (even that they screwed up). I hear frequent stories like this from others.

I bought a car a few months ago with Sirius in it, and they promtly screwed up my servce one week into my "free" trial. I cancelled it right then and there. I actually seldom listen to radio anymore. I have several CD's burned with hundreds of MP3 encoded songs per CD. Much happier and saving a lot of money.

 

[Danomite33]

Jim: never thought about that issue - dealing with the mental midget in customer service. That would make me burn the bridge in a hurry. Still, did you like their programming?

 

[DubT]

I have it in the garage, on the bike, in the car and in the wife's car.

I like it. A couple of years ago I worked for a small motorcycle racing team and traveled from coast to coast, the truck we drove had XM, it was great for cross country travel.

Wayne

 

[kkaucher]

XM Radio

I have a bracket for my XM Roady on the bike and in each of the cars. My wife has no interest in listening, so she's happy listening to FM. My daughter lives with us, but she isn't able to pre-pay for XM, although she'd love to have it.

I listen to XM in whatever vehicle I'm in (or on!), and prefer it to broadcast radio, listening to CDs or MP3s, even my iPod. It's idiot-proof and the Roady is pretty well made; I've worn out one and am on my second unit.

I've had no trouble with XM's customer service folks - they've been great to work with when I've had a question, service issue, or billing question.

Would I do it again? Heck yes, I would!

Karl

 

[cycledude]

have been an XM subscriber for almost 2 years, using it only on the wing

not to happy with the channel selections but love the fact that u never loose the station

would like to have some stations with a variety of news, talk and music kinda like some of the regular FM stations

plenty of channels but i mostly only use about 3 of them

 

[Timmer]

I've had XM for about 3 years now and absolutely love it. I have a desk cradle and listen via the internet when not travelling. I will admit that I have an iPod for listening to "my" music. I find XM the best to listen to when doing some form of distance travelling and I also like listening to MLB during the summer.

I like it so much, I just added my daughter to my account.

 

[Dave]

I've had it since May and I love it. I took a 9000 mile trip in May and June and had no problems anywhere in the U.S. or Canada. No billing problems either. I'm keeping it.

 

[Professor 596]

Xm Radio Rules

I've had it my Jeep and my 18-wheeler for about 2 1/2 yrs, now and won't go back to the 'free' radio 100% ever. I only switch to fm to get the local news then switch back to xm. When I got my wing it was a no brainer. The minor prolems you get with tunnels, stopped under a bridge, or downtown around many sky scrapers are exactly that -- minor. Put in my vote for lovin' my XM.

 

[White Gold]

Love it and if you lived where I live you would love it too. 8)

 

[Mark Rowell]

I have a mount for the bike but not in any of the cages. I really like it for longer trips and listen mostly to country & western channels, 16 & 17, but I find those channels start repeating songs after several hours. Then I switch to channel 182 XM PBS as a change of pace. I have not found a talk radio channel that I like even though several are available. It gets really stale on long rides and I usually try to find an FM station with something worth listening to.

Where the XM shines in out in the middle of nowhere when you cannot get an FM station anywhere close to what you want to listen to, or worse yet, none at all. It is a pain when you drive out of range of the FM station you like and then have to search for another one with a similar format. XM radio solves that irritation. It is also nice that the signal strength does not waiver. If you are down in a canyon, it either works or drops out completely with just a little echo of the last words spoken or sung. I am not convinced that it is worth the money but I paid for several years in advance to get a lower rate. Around town I only listen to the local stations so I get news, weather, and variety. Having a variety of stuff to listen to is why I like radio over MP3 or CD players. In my opinion, there is no song that I want to hear over and over again.

I too have had some problems with XM radio customer service. I also found that my radio frequently loses its validation and goes to the preview channel. Powering it down and back up has always fixed the problem but it is tiresome having to go through that yank. :banghead:

 

[William Anzik]

Anyone glad that haven't added that new fangled gagdet to their pallet?

That's me. I have the CD changer and I love it. I agree with lomax - great sound. I listen to that 95% of the time so it doesn't matter if I'm in an area with no radio. I'd go MP3 before satellite radio because I'd rather hear what I want to play than what somebody else plays. Plus no monthly bill. :wink:

 

[chuckM]

I've had XM for 8 months now with a mount on the bike and in the car. I got so tired of regular radio repeating itself every 20 minutes that I had to try it. I don't know how I ever got along without it. I guess my justification is that it's equal to buying 1 CD or 12 downloads a month. I think I get much more enjoyment out of it than either of those.

 

[Geeze]

Before we got XM I wouldn't listen to the radio. I got sick of hearing commercials and the idiots on the radio in the morning. Now the radio is on all the time. We switch between several channels to give us a variety. I'm a CNN junkie and if I'm tired of listening to music I switch over and get the news.

 

[Mayor Hal]

Love my XM. Have had it since May 06. Have it on both bikes car and truck. Wife likes to listen when I have it on, but doesn't seem to bother with it if i am not there. Oh well, I have it most of the time anyway.
You can add up to 4 people to your own account and in your name to help reduce your subscription fee on each one too!

Shadow1
Hal

 

[Toyo]

I am with Lewis on this one. Coast to Coast of whatever you want to listen to. I just wish they would drop the Hockey and get NFL. I have 5 recievers total. Sure there are somechannels that the other guys have that I wish XM had, but you can have everything in life perfect! Ever try to listen to FM? My God how are these people doing it? So much static and those stupid local car commercials.