traderfjp

I just had a Kenwood DNX890hd installed with new speakers, sub and alpine amps. I have an 08 C6 coupe. I did a lot of research and it seemed most people were happy with the antenna where the dash speaker goes. I pulled the dash speaker and made a metal plate. Anyway, reception is not that great. I also have the NAV antenna right next to it and that seems to pull in the reception pretty good. The guys at DD Mods advised that the Onstar may be interfering with the signal. I have to pull the HU to move the antenna so I want to do this once. Should I move the antenna to the cavity where the tail lights are? Is there a stock antenna for XM in the car that I should be using? My factory radio is a 6 cd changer and I didn't see any buttons for XM. Is there a better location? I had Sirius in my BMW and never lost reception but the antenna was a shark fin on the roof. Thanks in advance.

Revette

Your car does have XM radio and I believe the antenna is located in the driver's side mirror.

traderfjp

I'll have to ask my installer if he saw the cable. I spent about 20 minutes fishing the antenna through the dash and put it in the rear cargo area. Reception was better. I need to read more to see if it's worth pulling the HU to hookup the side mirror antenna. How are you enjoying your 427?

Revette

We managed to get the 427 on one club run so far and had a great time with the car. It is the first Corvette vert I've owned since the '65 that I purchased from a friend back in '67.

traderfjp

I almost bought a vert. with a manual top. I need a bit more luggage area and my car is not garaged and we live with 100's of birds that live in our bamboo. Did u buy a 6spd. or auto? Sometimes I wish I had an automatic. Just mash the pedal and go but shifting is mostly fun.

Revette

I've owned one Corvette with an automatic, a '79 that only was offered with an automatic. After driving standard shift Corvettes for nearly 50 years, it just wouldn't feel right to own a car equipped with an automatic. Incidentally, the 427 is only offered with 6 sp manual.

markcz

Factory connection to the XM antenna is above the rear drivers side wheel hump in a coupe, some pics HERE

You could run an XM antenna extension cord from hatch to your new XM box, or move the box to hatch if cable is long enough, but it probably isn't.

traderfjp

I read the whole thread and it was very informative. I found the stock XM tuner and wires for the antenna's that goes to each side mirror. If I decide to go this route I will need to pull the HU. Not looking forward to that. Another solution would be to by the adapter for the stock antennas and splice that into the current XM wire I have. Since I already have the antenna in the rear cargo area I decided to try mounting it on the rear hatch window and ran the wire under the head liner. Just moving the antenna to the rear cargo area improved reception. I'll know tomorrow if this is a good location. I guess inside the taillight is an option too. On my BMW I have a shark fin and can't think of a time I lost reception unless I was under an overpass. I know the dash worked for u but for some reason this was not good for me.

traderfjp

I can't seemto find the adapter that would allow me to use the stock antennas with my XM radio. The newest location is not working that well. Better than the dash but I still get cutouts.

Revette

Doesn't Double D offer an adapter to utilize the factory antenna? When looking at their website they indicate they have such a device.

tcccac

I just picked up a 2013 GS and my XM reception totally sucks. it is always going out. I also have a 2012 jeep GC and I hardly ever have an issue. in areas where the corvette goes out the jeep never does. what I can do? should the stealership fix this issue? I mean it is always losing reception with the slightest trees or even buildings. and trust me we don't have many big buildings here in NH. this pisses me off so much. thanks

traderfjp

I emailed them about the adapter but no luck. I guess I'll call tomorrow. I had Sirius in my BMW and never lost signal - it's the same commute I take with the Vette. I tried the antenna in several spots and still no luck. I'm thinking of buying a home XM antenna and putting it in the tail light cavity. I wonder if the Sirius receiver in my BMW was seeing different sats. I'm not sure if the factory antenna is any better than supplied puck. This is very frustrating since I really enjoyed my sat radio.

Revette

I have XM in my wife's Corvette and in my Yukon and really have no complaints, but then, I'm an old guy and maybe what you are experiencing I would disregard. There are places in our town where I find I lose the XM signal with both cars and have just assumed it is normal. As I said before, I grew up with AM, single-speaker, tube-amplified radio, so anything beyond that is a premium for me.

The radio in my '66 didn't work for nearly 20 years and it wasn't missed because the sound of the car was music to my ears. A couple of years ago I had the radio repaired by Jerry Rudbeck so I could say the radio works as new, but it is still far from today's music systems.

traderfjp

I'm not that picky. If I lost signal once in a while it would be fine but it's cutting out a lot. I want to try the stock antenna and see what happens. With my BMW I never lost signal. I went on the Double D website and didn't see the harness but will call tomorrow.

traderfjp

I ended up putting the XM puck on the oustide of my Vette - on the rear glass hatch. Reception is now usable. I still get some minor cut outs but not too bad. I'm thinking of cutting into the antenna (outside mirrors) and keeping the puck on the roof. This would give me three points to pull a signal in from. My only reservation is cutting and splicing such a small wire.

0Double D Mods

we have the info an offer them to those who purchase a radio from us and this is one of those things(along with a connector to retain the usb in console) that we have spent time figuring out for our customers

traderfjp

I took the plunge and cut my wire going to my puck and then spliced in the factory XM wires so I would have a total of 3 antennas pulling in signal. I took a test drive and I saw no difference from just the puck antenna on the outside of the hatch glass. It was all soldered and re-shielded so I feel like I did a good job. I was wondering if putting the antenna on the metal frame would help pull in the signal better.

I'm ready to buy a BMW sharkfin and mount it on my car. No holes though. My BMW 3 series never, ever lost signal unless I was under an overpass. The service was officially Sirius and since they merged I'm not sure if the sats are the same. I hate variables. Double D you should market spoilers with an XM and Nav antenna inside. I bet they would sell well. I'm also thinking a larger antenna in the tail light area might be an option too. I just want service that is equal to what I had.

tcccac

I am not fully understanding this reply. I don't need a radio I need better reception do you have a solution?

0Double D Mods

The reply is
For any customer who makes a purchases of a radio package from us we have the solution yes. We take the time to get all the info and testing to make sure we find the correct items for our customers. We will discuss the option of retaining stock Sat radio antenna along with SW controls that are fully functional and do not require cutting into the stock harness. Soon once fully tested this week we will have 12.00 option package that will allow you or someone to retain the stock USB connection in the console as well with an aftermarket radio such as the 890 or 990 that has two usb connections.

These adapters needed we only supply in packages to customers who purchase radios from DD MODS. I am sorry for this but we do not get into a habit of doing all the leg work trying different things to make the radio of choice work as it should and just give this info out to others who do not purchase from us. I am sorry if this upsets you or anyone else but when you spend 900.00 plus for a Kenwood NAV radio package the installer/audio store you went to or other online retailer purchasing it from, should know what is best for you and your install which is in this case 40.00 extra in parts.



For your issues with a stock unit...its mainly the signal coming from Sirius XM is the problem.

With the aftermarket SXV200 module and retaining the stock Sat radio antenna reception is better than or just as good as stock. The use of an aftermarket antenna that comes with the SXV200 module to add Sirius XM to any new 2013 brand of radio(Alpine, Kenwood, Sony, JVC, Pioneer) has always been a fun time finding a good spot as what works in one car does not sometimes work for another as for as antenna placement

0Double D Mods

You do not need the bar as you can retain both the stock GPS antenna in the C6 and with the adapters in our package you can retain the stock Sat radio antenna. If the C6 we are placing the new NAV unit into does not have stock NAV you simply can put the GPS antenna under dash like stock and it works great and only then add the optional adapters to retain the stock sat radio antenna