Tuning and modding » SXM Install (Sirius XM satellite radio)

I love music and have been an XM (now SXM) subscriber since 2002, mostly uninterrupted. I understand it’s not everyone cup of tea and the sticker prices can be off-putting, there are A LOT more choices now than in 2002 on how to listen to music and some would swear by the calm in the wind noise.

But, I love my SXM. And I frequently ride places with no FM or cellular coverage and so I either have to bring my own music (my phone makes that much easier these days) or opt for SXM. I listen to SXM 96% of the time I’m riding because it’s so much easier to set and forget. There’s plenty of variety on my favorite station for me and if not, I have 9 other presets a button press away. And new features like tune-mix actually shuffle songs between my preset stations auto-magically. There’s also nothing quite like taking a cross country trip and keeping your same stations, DJ’s and listening experience. So all this comes from a fan ;)

This is my third setup on motorcycles. I’m going to test out one change when I hook all this up, which I describe below. This setup worked flawlessly on my last bike for 18k miles, wet, dry, 20’F to 107’F

The parts: SXM Radio (and subscription), Antenna, Power supply, case, and vehicle cradle. Optional: combiner, bluetooth transmitter (e.g. Sena SR10 or SM10). This assumes you have some headset (wired or wireless already, with speakers in your helmet).

Assembly: When I bought the case, they had a plastic back with a notch that used to fit old SMX mounts. I used the round RAM ball base to line up to three of the screw holes in a triangular pattern and screwed the RAM ball to the case - sandwiching a piece of sheet metal I cut and bent to size as an antenna holder between the RAM ball and plastic. I used some self tapping household screws I had laying around that were, if I recall, somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4”. It’s surprisingly sturdy.

The bottom of this case has a rubber slit to pass wires through. I then run the power, 3.5mm stereo audio cable and the antenna cable into the case and connect to the vehicle cradle of my radio.

Power: I chose to buy a USB power cord since I already had USB power behind the dash and this simplified the wiring and fusing. You use direct wire cables, cig cables, etc. I found the USB simplest.

Audio: In may last setup, I ran the 3.5mm audio cable thru a mixer (long story) and to my Sena SR10, which bluetooth’d the audio to my helmet (Sena 20s and now 50s). Technically, this turned the audio mono, but I learned to live with it. The Sena SM10 is stereo and usually a little cheaper if you never plan to use radar or hand-held radio.

The ‘big’ change I’m going to try this go around, is I got my hands on a bluetooth vehicle cradle, which, if it works as I hope, will allow me to connect the SMX radio direct to Sena 50s via it’s “medial selective pairing.” If successful, this will eliminate the need for 3.5mm audio. (I have not tested this yet)

Antenna: I’ve had the best luck with my antenna placed on the top of a top-case, either at the hump (most have a slight crest somewhere) or slightly closer to the road behind me, past the hump. The biggest issues I’ve had with signal are mountains (hard to catch a signal hugging a 100’ wall of granite) and my body with all my gear. So the further away you can get it the better. On my VFR, I just used velcro to stick it on my give case or the plate underneath it when I ran without the top box. People said this was ill advised due to grounding planes and such… but it worked fine for 88k miles.

On my last setup - and this is definitely overkill that I acknowledge provides limited benefit - I actually ran two antennas through a combiner and amplifier. I put one as described above, this time, on metal plate on the top of my rear tail bag and a second antenna on the top center of dash. The rear was tilted slightly ‘back’ and the front, slightly ‘forward’ with the front one slightly to the left of center and the rear slightly right. This definitely helped with body-blocking-signal issues. Could not overcome the granite. I’m a bit torn on if I”m going to do this again, but probably will cause I have all the parts.

Notes:
* overall, it works great for me.
* One minor complaint: the buttons on this radio are small and hard to deal with with gloves. My old Delphi radio had big oval buttons spaced 3/8” apart. It was bliss. I still had that radio, but it won’t get all the new channels, as the you’ll want a radio that’s future-ready as they use the satellite bandwidth from both Sirius and XM to bring more channels.
* If you’re willing to buy another vehicle or home kit, you can use the radio elsewhere as the paid subscription is tied to the radio. I did this for a camping rig, which I’ll post below to separate
* I’ve never had any issues with the case and water. Never a failure due to water. Sometimes in the morning, if the bikes been outside all night, there’s a little condensation inside.
* The blue foam pieces are in there to keep it from moving around and the display pushed against the "window" so there's. shot at reading it. It'll wash out in direct sunlight, but can otherwise be viewed. Unfortunately the artist/song title is smaller due to album art, but I try not to play "who sings this" while riding.

It’ll be a while til it’s finally installed on my bike, but I’ll repost here with final pix and any install notes. This came up in another thread and @darrel, @Vtbob, and @lee were curious about my SXM setup, hope this helps! Happy to answer any questions

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Here are some links to parts.

Radio (consider buying direct from SXM if getting a new subscription, as they offer discount radio with so many months subscription): xm-radio-satellite.com/siriusxm-radio-onyx-plus-receiver-SXPL1/

USB power: xm-radio-satellite.com/siriusxm-radio-5-volt-usb-power-cable-powerconnect/

Case: xm-radio-satellite.com/large-protective-motorcycle-case/

Bluetooth cradle: xm-radio-satellite.com/bluetooth-siriusxm-satellite-radio-vehicle-dock-sxbtd1v1/?utm_source=New+Order&utm_campaign=dc76d5ee30-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_05_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b4800b2951-dc76d5ee30-105154809&mc_cid=dc76d5ee30&mc_eid=6e986d2bf4

Combiner Kit: xm-radio-satellite.com/siriusxm-satellite-radio-antenna-signal-combiner-kit/

Right angle antenna adapter, if needed (recommended w combiner kit): xm-radio-satellite.com/siriusxm-radio-right-angle-antenna-connector/

I ended up creating a camping rig that's quite similar, but packaged differently. I was also originally using the bluetooth dock in this rig, as it was paired to my small bluetooth camping speaker. This worked great, but it seemed just as easy to plug in the 3.5mm cord for the times I use it. If that goes up, I may consider another BT dock.

Anyway, the big differences:
* the antenna cable is corded up behind the dock, inside the case, taking the place of the blue foam.
* another USB power cord connects to my large USB batt pack I use to recharge things camping. I've not noticed this draws appreciable power, even after a few nights camping
* I used the thumb screw that came with the case for the metal bracket. In one position, it looks like the other, compact for packing. Flipped, it can provide an angled stand for the unit (as long as the antenna points south ish).

See no point in this as you can listen to radio, FM or web based, through the BMW connected app on your phone through the TFT.

Zitat von himoverthere im Beitrag #3

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See no point in this as you can listen to radio, FM or web based, through the BMW connected app on your phone through the TFT.

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I see. We are lucky in Europe to have blanket coverage of these things even in the most remote areas.

Even if there's reception, think about how many times you need to change stations during the day on a trip.

Yep. Quite lucky. If we had that, my phone and various apps would be killer. Especially now w connected ride and TFT.

But some of my favorite spots are rural enough that i can be sans coverage for hours. Kinda nice at times ;)

Btw, for those that stream to their phone, audio streaming is not a huge data hog and many allow you to reduce quality slightly when streaming to further reduce consumed bandwidth. Many also allow you to download your favorite channels at home on wifi and it will bridge coverage gaps with the downloaded content.

We are much more fragmented. All radio stations are locally operated so coverage is usually a radius around a single tower.

Some coverage is syndicated and there are a few large conglomerates that run local stations, but by and large, they cater to local audiences. And then there are the commercials. :(

UPDATE: for anyone considering the SXM install I described above, do NOT use the combiner. It's designed for large applications, say cargo ships, where only one antenna looks south at one time; I am thankfully not that fat.

Short version: a single antenna like this one will optimize reception on bikes, as it requires no grounding plane and provides 360' reception coverage.
xm-radio-satellite.com/siriusxm-radio-motorcycle-utv-antenna-with-adjustable-strap-mount/

Long Version: I re-installed my setup, with combiner and, instead of a OLD XM antenna, I installed one of the new, matching NGVA3 antennas, which will get both XM and Sirius signals for the 'extra' channels. When I did this, I got an Antenna damaged or disconnected error. Disconnecting one antenna solved this. I tried lots of fiddling on my own, but called SRS to see if they could help, as that's where I ordered from originally. I spent a solid 10 minutes talking to Matt at SRS and he was super helpful. (no affiliation, just satisfied customer)

The combiner is designed to phase-align signals from two antennas, but not at the same time. some large trucks or ships experience this when traveling in opposite directions as a single antenna ends up shielded in one direction. Hence, there's never competing signals, so it works to "Switch" to the one with signal. The old antenna worked because it only got XM signals, but could cause slight phase issues when receiving signals at same time (and provided no additional benefit).

I then explained why I hadn't tried their motorcycle antenna (no place on bars to mount) and he shared they recently released one with a go pro mount. Further, the standard magnetic car antennas (I was using), use the metal to create a ~6" grounding plane to maximize reception. Without a ground (using, but not 6"), you ~halve your reception.

So, I'm gonna try the motorcycle antenna. He recommends place most likely with clear view of southern sky. Considering I travel all directions... I'm back to debating up front or on the top case. The cord is 6' so up front is slightly easier, but I opted for a 3' extension, just in case. At least this way, I don't have to deal with 25' of [two] antenna cords to hide.