Antenna Question

[flukec]

I work in a building that get's bad FM reception and zero AM reception for terestrial radio. I bought Sirus, and set up the antenna that it came with at work, and I got zero reception. Do you think buying the home/office antenna would allow me to get some kind of reception? I noticed that the home/office antenna is about twice as big as the antenne my Sirus radio came with. Does that mean it's more powerful?

Thanks for any answers.

Luke

[sadrok]

I have the same problem with the home antenna at work. ZERO reception. I was pretty pissed to find out after i subscribed that they don't offer all the channels online, either. I'm looking all over the internet to find the answer. Let me know if you find anything, i'll do the same.

Thanks!

[RiseStar]

you need a clear shot of the southern sky to get reception. Sirius does have an outside antenna that is mounted to the outside of the building that may help. Have you tried it with the antenna near a south facing window?

[sadrok]

I'm up in CT. I work next to a small prop jet airport so i thought i wouldn't have any obstructions. I don't have any windows accessible to me, I am on the top floor though. I get excellent reception right outside the building, as soon as i go to my office... not one bar.

[dawgpound55]

i have the same problems as you guys. at work i get zero reception and i thought that maybe buying the home antenna (the terk sir-6) would make a difference since the thing looked like it would pick up the signal better, but no luck. if you're not in an optimum spot at work i doubt there is anything you can do to get the signal. ive pretty much tried everything from getting that sir-6, to parking my car just outside my window at work and trying to pick up the signal that way but nothing seems to work. whats worse is that i bought two (one for my girlfriend) and when we tried to return it they said "no refunds" even though the guy who sold it to us said we could return it if it didnt work work. the only reason i got sirius was to listen at work to listen to howard....but im so pissed that i feel like calling howard and telling him that sirius reception sucks. he'd seem like the only guy who would have enough power to do anything about it. the whole problem would be solved if they had howard online but then who'd buy the equipement? i guess they just want you to buy the product but dont care about the actual service.

it also got me thinking....have you ever noticed that when you go into a mall or store that is selling sirius that has the thing on but no music going? they say its because they havent activated it but i bet it because they cant get a signal inside either!

[superstar221]

Give it a shot...I am in the midwest and dont even have my home antenna near a window and I get the strongest signal....I was shocked...I thought I would at least have to put it by a window, if not on the roof....

[BassMasterK]

A couple of things...

Regarding pointing an antenna at the southern sky, this will work for a certain part of the US, but other places have to point their antennas in different directions. On the serius website they have a map that tells you which way to point your antenna based on where you live. Although even that is just a suggestion at best and they do say "try pointing your antenna in different directions to see what works best for you". I'm supposed to point mine E or NE and it actually works best inside when it is pointed S/SE go figure.

Streaming Howard Stern: Howard was saying that they are working on streaming his show and the holdup is that he wants to do it not just throught their site but his website as well. You would still have to be a subscriber and input your name and password to hear it. He didn't give a timeline on how long this would take.

No reception inside a business: I am no building expert, but I do remember that when I worked as a process server downtown that there were some buliding I would walk into, and my walkman/radio would cut out. Others there was no problem. Some building are constructed in a way that cuts out radio reception. I am guessing ones that do would also interfere with satellite radio reception as well. They have ground repeaters in lots of cities, but I don't know that these would penetrate a building any better. I would think that in a building like these, the only option is getting an antenna outside wihch probably isn't real feasable for many people, unfortunately.

They just want you to buy the radio and don't care how it works for you after that: I understand this was probably said out of frustration, but nothing could be further from the truth. It doesn't do them any good to have you sign up for a month or a year and then be so unhappy that you don't resign up. They are counting on two things to grow: keeping the subscribers they have, and those subscribers telling other people how kick butt the product is so that they widen their subscriber base.