Moved the antenna to the center dash speaker spot as others have done.

Still loosing reception in the same spots I did with the antenna behind that spot (under the dash). Also losing reception in those same spots with My Delphi Roady and a smaller xm antenna.

Thing is with the antenna sitting on the bracket, I'm losing reception in new areas. Seems to be mostly driving due north, and if I drive in the same spots going south I don't lose the reception. So I'm wondering if I'm in the perfect spot that the top of the windshield blocks the satellite? This is out in the middle of New Jersey, so I doubt there's terrestial stations.

Someone mentioned putting the antenna on top of a taillight. Wonder how that would work?

All else fails I'm moving it from the bracket back to the other spot.

Thoughts?

 

The XM antenna really should be outside the cabin of the car not on the dash. Some will say it works fine on the dash but it is designed to be outside the cabin. There are a lot of electronics in the cabin that can interfere with the XM signal.

Both XM and Sirus will drop out when going under trees,bridges or in hilly areas. It is the nature of the technology. Without a clear line of site to the XM satellite you will have a dropout unless you happen to live in a major metropolitan area that uses XM repeaters to compensate for tall buildings that block the line of site.

Some say they never have drop outs. They are lucky. They may live in very flat areas that have a line of sight to multiple XM satellites. Or they may just be in an area without a lot of leaf covered trees. Basically, just because one person says they never have an issue does not mean anything to you unless you drive in the same area as the person who claims they have no problems with signal reception.

I can tell you that in my area XM is more stable than Sirius was but I will still lose my XM signal when driving in areas with lots of trees and when driving along the sides of hills. If the satellite cant "see" your antenna you will experience a drop out.

My guess is you are losing the line of site to the XM sat in the same spots and no antenna placement is going to help you much. You can try it in the bumper but my guess is it might help a little but won't cure your issue completely. Unfortunately there may be no way to fix your issues with the signal dropouts. Sorry..

Wow, that was a lot of typing to basically say "sorry, join the club"

 

It helps, though, to read what you typed. I might still try moving it to the rear of the car, but I won't chase a good signal after that.

I have a home antenna that can "see" through some walls, which is why I'm frustrated. OTOH, I have to move it around some to get the best signal.

 

I have sirius, but here goes.

In my former C5 I had the antenna stuck on top of the rear bumper inside the fascia. It dropped out in predictable places like valleys, between large buildings, etc...

In the C6 I originally swapped out the XM for a sirius receiver using the stock XM antenna in the mirror. The signal dropped out in the exact same places as it did in the C5 with it on the bumper.

I then installed an AVIC-D3 in the C6 and put the antenna on top of the center dash vents (just above the radio). The signal dropped out in the same places as before, but seemed to take longer to search and find the channel once I was getting reception again. I'd guess my average dropout lasted 3-4 seconds.

Last weekend I removed the center speaker and put the antenna in it's place on a DIY metal bracket that's about 3/4" deep. Right now my signal doesn't drop out for as long, but it seems to flicker on and off quickly. Almost like there was a loose wire going to the speakers, but it is definitely the signal dropping out. I think I'd prefer one long dropout to the constant flickering like I currently have. The problems are in the same locations as before.

I made a new bracket that's barely 1/4" deep. The paint should be dry by now and I plan on installing it as soon as I get home tonight. Hopefully it will help.

One thing I did realize last weekend. The center speaker was almost directly above my antenna when it was sitting on top of the vent. I'm guessing that the vent location would be fine if you remove the speaker

 

I did the center speaker and have sirius, I have not dropped once. Every where around here is "OPEN" no hills, valleys, etc...

Not sure, I have going to drive the car this weekend in more dense areas to the beach house and I will let you guys know. I am in VA and i will be driving towards the east coast. Not like that matters but for a reference point.

 

Problem is I've pulled the speaker and have it sitting about as high as possible on a bracket.

Not looking forward to pulling the console apart again and having to route to the rear but really considering it.

 

I recently purchased a 2005 coupe that already had XM. For some reason it seems to work ok when I go to work traveling north bound, but doesn't get a signal traveling south bound. I Just made a round trip from CA bay area to Seattle and listened to XM going to Seattle, but never got a signal coming back south. Any ideas?
Thanks.

 

Factory xm installation?

 

Yes, it has the stock XM nav Bose system with the xm antenna on the roof.

 

Most of the problems discussed above are the reason I quit XM. Also, I only cared for about 5% of the music from any given station. I'm so much happier with my Ipod loaded with 870 of my favorite songs from my CD collection. BTW, another reason I dumped it was the sound quality sounded somewhat muddy. I think is was discussed on another thread is was due to the decompression of the music during the download. Not sure. Now my buddies and I are sharing CD's and my music library continues to grow.

 

Interesting. In mine, with the antenna buried where the center dash speaker was, I think the windshield frame blocks the signal when I drive north (should put the satellite behind the car).

In yours, I'm not so sure. A friend of mine with factory xm still loses the signal occasionally (Honda). I lose it a lot in the Vette. Listening today with an aftermarket antenna on the roof of my F-150, I lost the signal for a brief second. Same daily route to and from work.

An acquaintance in the business leads me to expect an occasional signal loss, but not that often.

 

Thanks for the input. Some have said that I have a bad antenna, so I will check that out. If that doesn't work I think I'll pass on the XM.

 

Maybe they have/had a satellite down? Just guessing because I've made a trip like that every year (sometimes multiple occasions) since 01 from Seattle to Redding,ca and back and I never had that problem. My vehicles which were XM equipped were a Silverado 2500HD (8.1L), a 08 base Z51 and an 08 Z.