Satelite radio?

[kmac]

Just curious if anyone knows of a small portable XM/sirrus satellite that a person could carry?

I have looked all over the net and it appears as though every system needs to run through some other head unit and antennae system.
I see how nice and compact satellite nav systems are and they communicate with satellites...why is there no GPS sized XM player that I can carry in my pocket or tank bag and listen to 80's on 8 or 1st wave.....or?

Or is there?

 

[Checkswrecks]

???

I used to have a little Pioneer Inno. Sound was OK but the screen was hard to see in sunlight and it was hard to control with gloves. Don't know if the newer ones are better?

For ideas, try Googling the following: small xm portable radio

 

[Doug44]

Just curious if anyone knows of a small portable XM/sirrus satellite that a person could carry?

I have looked all over the net and it appears as though every system needs to run through some other head unit and antennae system.
I see how nice and compact satellite nav systems are and they communicate with satellites...why is there no GPS sized XM player that I can carry in my pocket or tank bag and listen to 80's on 8 or 1st wave.....or?

Or is there?

I have a Roady2 that I use on a motorcycle works ok for me. It has enough audio output for me I just plug a pair of earphones in it. You can also buy a audio amp if needed. It is small about the size of a thick credit card and comes with a external antenna you can put in your map pocket of the tank bag or Velcro it on top of your brake or clutch master cyl.

 

[trikepilot]

If you have a smartphone, just use this or something like it? less to carry and it can bluetooth to your helmet.

https://www.siriusxm.com/internetradio

 

[Dirt_Dad]

My Zumo 665 has a satellite radio built into it. It's with me on all rides on the Tenere. I don't use it for that, I use the satellite for weather data. But pay a few dollars more each month and get weather and radio.

 

[kmac]

If you have a smartphone, just use this or something like it? less to carry and it can bluetooth to your helmet.

https://www.siriusxm.com/internetradio

Doesn't that use gigs of internet space?
We have unlimited minutes of phone and text, but not that much internet time so if it uses that I don't know if it would work well for me. Also isn't that limited on reception....I can rarely get phone reception where I ride. That is why I was asking about satellite. I have had Verizon and T-Mobile in the last year or so and my buddy has AT&T and out in the desert, or mountains NOTHING works. Satellite radio works in my car almost everywhere.

 

[offcamber]

I have an old XM/Sirius radio I been thinking of rigging up on the bike. They use to sell Walkman style radios but they don't have them available anymore. I just need to pull the old antenna out of my Jeep and I can hook up the receiver.

 

[kmac]

That is what I am talking about camber. I have looked for new XM2go or the inno that was mentioned and those are all discontinued models. I am not saying there are none available, but they are discontinued so I am curious if there is something new or is it all smart phone based?

Does it require internet access to use on your phone cause that will not work for me.

I am ok if it is hard to use in gloves or bright light....so is my phone.
I am just tired of the Ipod thing and have stopped using it. I prefer my XM in the family truckster and was trying to find a small unit that is not discontinued or worked through the internet.

 

[Gee-Tee]

I have a Garmin 665 and the antenna and listen to XM every ride. I also have the weather subscription for when the need arises.

 

[kmac]

That looks like the best option Gee Tee. Thanks.
Way out of my price range for now, but I will sell some stuff and save up. I was thinking about a GPS system someday anyway. I love paper maps and will ALWAYS carry them, but a GPS would have been nice on my last trip and as my riding circle increases it would be helpful.

 

[trikepilot]

I have no idea what satellite radio on a smartphone uses. I am sure that it will connect via smartphone to either 3/4G cell service or to wireless if it is within range.

Would the money saved from buying another dedicated satradio unit not be better applied to an expanded wireless phone account?

Have you considered using a free service like Spotify or Pandora and just create an 80's channel or whatever other music you want. I stream Pandora thru my GalaxyG4 all the time when i have barely decent cell service - way deep backwoods of Appalachia - and it works fine right up till I lose cell service altogether. I love having EVERYTHING - 6 email accts, texting, phone, camera, video, mp3 music files, and anything on the internet at my fingertips in one smallish unit that bluetooths into my Scala G9.

Of course, this only works if you are regularly in an area that gets cell service.

 

[trikepilot]

Overlapping post, KMac...

And that same smartphone that does all that other stuff can also be a passable GPS in a pinch.

 

[kmac]

I hate my phone while riding. I never have my phone answerable or viewable while riding. I ride to avoid phones, business, clutter....
There is also something about the southwest that phone service is bad the minute you get out of populated areas.
Cali and the southwest are very different that much of the rest of the country imo.
In much of the places I have visited population is spread through a large area....farms or ranches mixed around small towns. In Cali it is massive cities and then a lot of nothing. They put a lot of cell sites in the populated city areas but once you hit a few miles out of that we get nothing.

Pandora is a viable option. I like them and already have an account, but I assumed it took internet to run it.

 

[trikepilot]

I, too, hate phones while riding. I don't use them while riding even though I can with my ScalaG9. Bikes are my escape from that reality. But another reality is that I - so far - cannot find a smaller, better, and more cost effective way to get damn near everything for comfort, enjoyment, and security that I need/want with me on the bike than a smartfone.

My point was that the smartphone that happens to also do calls, texts, emails, and whatever else you want to ignore while riding might be the single device answer to also get your music and your GPS along with photo/video capability. I personally do not think the GPS function of a smartphone is nearly as good as what you get from a dedicated GPS device (Garmin Montana in my case). But the music portion of the smartfone is something that I use all the time on the bike and just about everywhere else. My Galaxy S4 is my primary source of music on the bike, in the car, and at home. I have maybe 5k songs loaded on there as MP3 files but mainly use Pandora or Spotify in a streaming mode. These two music streaming services are free (or for a nominal fee you can go commercial free). You can stream Pandora without internet capability on your fone as I stream it all the time where I have cell service but no wireless connectivity. Now... as the cell signal gets poorer and poorer, these streaming services do suffer. When that happens - which is not infrequent here in Appalachia - I just start listening to MP3 files that are on my SD card that are not affected by signal.

 

[kmac]

I am gonna try Pandora on my next ride then,,,if I go over on my data plan I will send you the bill...right? )
Kidding of course , but going for a ride Friday evening to OC where cell service is never an issue so I will use that.

 

[trikepilot]

And now we have this new app to "potentially" remove another device from the bike if it works out of cell range (this is from thread in accessories here at ST Forum)

http://life360.com

http://oregonmoto.blogspot.com/2013/03/life360-gps-tracking-app-for-smartphones.html

I am a VERY heavy Pandora/Spotify streamer on a daily basis. I have 2GB on my data plan for my GalaxyS4 and with the account term ending in 5 days, I have used 0.651GB out of the allotted 2gb. However, I have no idea how much of my time streaming defaulted to an available wireless network as that is what these phones tend to do.

If the tracking app above works well in remote areas and develops a way to notify someone in the event of an emergency from non-cell covered areas, then we are talking about some serious synergy here. What 5 years ago might have required a cell phone, a laptop, a gps device, a music player, gobs of paper maps, a camera, a video camera, and a GPStracker now can all fit in my pocket or mount to the X-grip on my handlebars. Damn! I love technology.

 

[offcamber]

SO I was bored today and this thread got me thinking about a project I started about a year ago and kinda lost interest.

Normally when I ride I stream music from my phone via bluetooth directly to my Sena SMH 10 headset. Sometimes I just listen to the music on the phone sometimes I use Pandora....Pandora really doesn't eat up a lot of data BTW.

So that said.....I decided to hook up an old Sirius/XM radio I had lying around.

So here is what I came up with.....mounted the receiver to the bars with a cheapo case found on Amazon for less than $20...bought it about a year ago..never used it.

I think I am going to just double stick tape the antenna to the brake reservoir cover....it has a lot of cord, I just figure 8ed it up and will tuck it behind the radio.

POwer will come from the supplied powersupply plugged into the accessory outlet.

Audio will be fed to my Sena SR10 then via bluetooth to the SMH10

Here it is on the bike....If I decide to use it, it will only be for long trips...to much to hook up for commuting since the phone works flawlessly.

Again I was bored...

::006::



Please excuse the mess in front of the bike...and yes that's a disco ball sitting next to it.....don't ask.... O0

 

[kmac]

If you get even more creative you could mount the RC car, bench grinder and cutting torches somewhere on the bars as well.... ::025::

 

[fredz43]

Here is the setup that I have used on several bikes. Sirius radio with a lifetime subscription that I bought about 10 years ago for $500. The radio has a FM transmitter. My Cardo Scalarider G9 headset has a FM receiver, so I can listen to the Sirius thru that. If I want to listen to tunes from the Zumo 600's MP3 player, I say "radio off" and the nice lady in the G9 repeats "radio off" and shuts off the FM receiver. Then I say "music on" and the nice lady repeats "music on" and turns on the MP3 player in the Zumo which broadcasts via bluetooth to the G9. When my son is riding his bike with his G9 we can also talk bike to bike and I can voice dial my phone or answer calls that come in, all hands free. I like this setup and it does everything I want in an audio system. Oh, I can also hear the other nice lady give me turn to turn directions from the GPS in her cool Australian voice. If I don't want to be bothered hearing her say "recalculating" when I go off the route, I silence the audio of the GPS. Works for me.

I had used a Sirius antenna that has a short lead and would Velcro it to the top of my clutch master cylinder, but now have one semi permanently mounted to the rear rack and it seems to get a better signal.

 

[kmac]

Man that is just way more stuff than I want on a bike. I am much more simplistic I guess.