Sirius Offers FM Transmitter Fixes

[Force Commander]

http://www.radioink.com/HeadlineEntry.a ... todaysnews

After you read this please tell me WHO is going to downgrade their system to get Sirius out of trouble?

Sirius XM Radio has sent a letter to Sirius subscribers explaining how to work around the too-high-powered FM transmitters in their receivers.

This of course is to please the FCC and not have a massive forced customer recall. Can you imagine that reaction?

[AmpedNow]

I have received the following letter three times in the last three days...

Dear K-Rock:

Your SIRIUS radio contains an FM transmitter that allows it to operate wirelessly through your car FM radio. We have determined that the output of this transmitter exceeds the limits established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). As a result, the unit may interfere with the performance of radios operating in areas adjacent to your radio. There are no health or safety concerns associated with this issue.

* If you listen to your SIRIUS radio wirelessly through your vehicle's FM radio, then please review the solutions listed below and select the one that works best for you. SIRIUS will provide you the best solution at no cost.

* If you use your SIRIUS radio only when docked in a boombox, or directly connected to your car radio or home stereo using audio cables or a cassette tape adapter, then no interference can occur and no further action is required, provided you have turned off your FM transmitter. To turn off the FM transmitter, first press the MENU button. Use the channel up/down buttons to highlight “FM Transmitter” and push the SELECT button. Use the channel up/down buttons to highlight the "FM On/Off" menu item and then press the SELECT button. Use the up/down buttons to highlight "FM Off" and press the SELECT button. To exit the "FM On/Off" menu, press the MENU button. Use the same procedure to turn off the FM transmitter if you use Solution 1 or Solution 2 below..

Solution 1 - Direct Wired Audio Connection: If your vehicle radio has a “LINE IN” or “AUX IN” jack, you can use a stereo cable to connect directly to your SIRIUS radio. This solution is the easiest to install and provides the best audio performance. Many newer vehicles provide the required audio input jack. It will normally be found on or near the front faceplate of your vehicle’s radio.



Solution 2 - Cassette Tape Adapter: If your vehicle has a cassette tape player, you can use a cassette adapter that allows you to play your SIRIUS radio through the cassette portion of your vehicle radio. The adapter slips into your vehicle radio as easily as a cassette tape and provides better performance than a wireless connection.



Solution 3 - FM Extender Cable Kit: An FM extender cable will provide a special transmitter antenna that allows you to obtain the best audio performance through your vehicle’s FM radio. This solution is easy to self-install, but does require that an easy-to-hide wire be run in your vehicle so the transmitter antenna can be placed in close proximity to your vehicle’s radio antenna. Using this FM Extender Cable Kit, you will continue to use your SIRIUS radio exactly the same way as you do currently.



Solution 4 - FM Direct Adapter with Professional Installation: An FM Direct Adapter provides a wired connection between your SIRIUS radio and your vehicle’s radio. You will continue to listen to your SIRIUS radio through the FM tuner of your car radio, but the FM Direct Adapter eliminates the outside static and interference you sometimes experience when using a wireless FM connection. This solution usually requires professional installation. We will provide a certificate redeemable for installation at an installation center in your area.



Please go to http://www.sirius.com/optimize and select the solution that works best for you. If you have any questions, please call 1-(877) 635-5130. Detailed instructions will be included with your solution.

You will improve the performance of your SIRIUS radio and reduce the potential for interfering with adjacent radios if you properly tune your FM transmitter. Please see the FM Transmitter Set-Up Tips below for more information.

We are sorry for this inconvenience. We are confident these solutions will allow you to continue to enjoy the great music, news, sports and entertainment that only SIRIUS Satellite Radio can offer with no impact on your radio’s performance.

Sincerely,



SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO




FM Transmitter Set-Up Tips

To tune your FM transmitter turn off your SIRIUS radio and tune through the FM channels on your vehicle’s radio to locate an FM channel (except 87.7/87.9) that is not broadcasting in your area. If you use an FM channel that is being used by a local broadcaster, it will interfere with the performance of your SIRIUS radio. Once you have located an FM channel that is not being used for broadcasting in your area, save it as a preset on your vehicle radio. This will become your SIRIUS preset. If you’re not sure which FM channels are not being used in your home or travel cities, you can go to http://www.sirius.com/fmchannel and search for an FM channel based on zip code.

Turn on your SIRIUS radio. In the SETTINGS or MENU on your SIRIUS radio, locate the “FM Frequency” adjustments. Set the channel number on your SIRIUS radio to match the SIRIUS preset on your vehicle radio. Refer to your user guide for detailed instructions on how to do this. The FM transmitter in your SIRIUS radio is automatically set to FM channel 88.1. This may not be the best channel in your area.



If you regularly travel between cities with different active FM channels, you may need to find channels that are not broadcasting in each city. Several SIRIUS radio models can store multiple FM transmitter channels, so you can easily switch to the best FM channel for each city. Refer to the user guide for your SIRIUS radio for details on this feature. You will also want to set the FM channels that are not broadcasting in each city as presets on your vehicle radio.


Please note: this is not a promotional e-mail. As a SIRIUS subscriber, you will periodically receive service notices via e-mail. These service notices are intended to provide you with helpful information that will facilitate and enhance your SIRIUS listening experience.

There is no recall. But as you can see, they are trying everything they can to discourage people from using the FM transmitters.

What's strange is they say my radio is out of compliance... I have a Sportster 5, with an incredibly weak, compliant FM transmitter. Some of my previous radios have the 1/4 mile transmitters, but none of them are "officially" activated.

Of course, I've been ahead of this curve for some time. I started using Line In almost 3 years ago.

[sportsvoice]

I got that message, but I've always used Line In (first tape adapter, now a PIE CD changer port interface) with my AudioVox PNP2. That's because the unit only has 4 FM channels on it (88.1/3/5/7).

My wife had one of the old Starmate Replay units that had the powerful FM transmitter. Unfortunately, the display got cracked, so we had to get a replacement. The new one had the wimpy transmitter, so we had to get another PIE CD changer port adapter for her car because the wimpy transmitter didn't cut the mustard.

I've gotten 2 emails from Sirius (one for each of the two receivers) even though the broken Starmate has been deactivated.

[Bar Rat]

The receiver would retransmit for over a thousand feet?

Wow... and no, I wouldn't shut it down.

[sportsvoice]

Yeah, my wife's old Starmate Replay would cover the whole house with the built in transmitter. It was nice.

[Hoosier Daddy]

The receiver would retransmit for over a thousand feet?

Wow... and no, I wouldn't shut it down.

HELL No!

Connect it to that 6 bay Shivley with the radomes you picked up on eBay ...

[Bar Rat]

The receiver would retransmit for over a thousand feet?

Wow... and no, I wouldn't shut it down.

HELL No!

Connect it to that 6 bay Shivley with the radomes you picked up on eBay ...

Sirius for the neighborhood... and beyond

[The Snake]

Yes many Sirius-XM subscribers have gotten this email and hit delete after reading.

I guess the 19 million dollar fine wasn’t enough for the FCC. They wanted Sirius-XM to tell their subscribers that the radios are too powerful…

I know how great my signal range is; why in the hell would I lessen it? I can enjoy my satellite radio programming all through my home and even outside the home into my garage! The channel I use isn’t even broadcasting much of any signal (can you say static noise?).

What I want to know is why the FCC allowed the radios to be so powerful in the first place. On the back of my radio it states that the device complies with part 15 of the FCC rules and regulations.

So doesn’t this mean the FCC Ok’d the production of these radios? So the units where good when Sat radio wasn’t a threat to terrestrial, but now they could cause my neighbors to here commercial free music, Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, MLB, NFL and make them think about getting their own radio…please.

I guess the FCC is worried about some poor innocent kid using a walkman (do they even make those anymore? most kids in my neighborhood have MP3 player/cell phones) walking by my home and picking up a signal from my radio and hearing an F-bomb or some other bad word. But yet cable can use some of the same language after 9pm and show half naked bodies.


I’m just glad it’s not a forced change. But it does mean the future Sirius/XM duel radios are going to be weak range signal.

[Arp2]

What I want to know is why the FCC allowed the radios to be so powerful in the first place. On the back of my radio it states that the device complies with part 15 of the FCC rules and regulations. So doesn’t this mean the FCC Ok’d the production of these radios?

Transmitters are capable of much more power than the station is licensed to put out, and exciters are capable of much more modulation than is allowed. Responsibility lies with he who sets the controls, not the designer or regulator.

I guess the FCC is worried about some poor innocent kid....

Have something against innocence?

But yet cable can use some of the same language after 9pm and show half naked bodies.

Unlike over-the-air radio and TV, cable TV is strictly opt-in, and access and use can be controlled and decided upon by the end user. There is no assumption of decency with cable as there is with over-the-air broadcast. The comparison is invalid.

[The Snake]

Responsibility lies with he who sets the controls, not the designer or regulator.

Ok so you’re trying to say (just like the FCC is saying) it's the radio owner who is responsible for the FM transmitter signal reaching a wider range than it should?

Have something against innocence?

Nope, just stating the hypocrisy of the FCC being worried that a radio signal (one they can’t control) may harm someone, but turning their collective heads when Rush, O'Reilly or some other talking head spews hate on the radio.

But yet cable can use some of the same language after 9pm and show half naked bodies.

Unlike over-the-air radio and TV, cable TV is strictly opt-in, and access and use can be controlled and decided upon by the end user. There is no assumption of decency with cable as there is with over-the-air broadcast. The comparison is invalid.[/quote]


Granted the FCC doesn't control pay cable, but channels like NBC and Fox have adult content after 9pm. Also just as with any other radio program or TV program the channels used by Sirius/XM can be turned.

[Lester]

Granted the FCC doesn't control pay cable, but channels like NBC and Fox have adult content after 9pm. Also just as with any other radio program or TV program the channels used by Sirius/XM can be turned.

The only person turning the channel is the Sirius owner, not the folks in the cars around them... whose favorite channel (regardless of how boring) is being overpowered by Howard Stern.

[Arp2]

Responsibility lies with he who sets the controls, not the designer or regulator.

Ok so you’re trying to say (just like the FCC is saying) it's the radio owner who is responsible for the FM transmitter signal reaching a wider range than it should?

Does the radio owner set the output, or was it set by the manufacturer? There's your responsible party.

Have something against innocence?

Nope, just stating the hypocrisy of the FCC being worried that a radio signal (one they can’t control) may harm someone, but turning their collective heads when Rush, O'Reilly or some other talking head spews hate on the radio.

The only "hate" I've heard "spewed" has come from Air America, Pacifica, and others like them, not Rush or Shawn or Glenn or Neal. I mean, right now, said types are releasing the home address of an author whose research and writings they don't appreciate and instructing the audience to hate him, ignore what he's found, and go "visit" him and his family. But that's not important right now...no diversion or distraction, please.

But yet cable can use some of the same language after 9pm and show half naked bodies.

Unlike over-the-air radio and TV, cable TV is strictly opt-in, and access and use can be controlled and decided upon by the end user. There is no assumption of decency with cable as there is with over-the-air broadcast. The comparison is invalid.

Granted the FCC doesn't control pay cable, but channels like NBC and Fox have adult content after 9pm.

It's 10, and the right term would be (or could be) "indecent."

Time zones make such a rule...interesting.

But, yes, that window does exist.

Also just as with any other radio program or TV program the channels used by Sirius/XM can be turned.

The rule is "no indecency between 6a and 10p, and no obscenity ever." It is incumbent on an over-the-air broadcaster to program accordingly, and the consumer of OTA broadcasts can, does, and should have the expectation of "no surprises" in those hours. The standard "you can turn it" argument that gets regurgitated is really completely irrelevant.

[AmpedNow]

The rule is "no indecency between 6a and 10p, and no obscenity ever." It is incumbent on an over-the-air broadcaster to program accordingly, and the consumer of OTA broadcasts can, does, and should have the expectation of "no surprises" in those hours.

I agree when it comes to F-bombs, (like those ever really happened), but as has been mentioned before, certain formats seem to be more targeted than others.

Also, we're right back to defining what is indecent, target audiences, individual market dynamics, etc.

Of course, the SC will finally decide this fall how much authority the FCC has over broadcast content. If history is any indication, they better get ready to have their teeth knocked out. The threat of a $275,000 fine per utterance, no exceptions is governmental tyranny IMO. They deserve to have them knocked out.

The standard "you can turn it" argument that gets regurgitated is really completely irrelevant.

This is the same argument the Dittoheads make to liberals when defending Rush. Don't like it, turn it. Is it "irrelevant" now?

Same concept, different type of speech.

Once again, either speech is free, or it isn't. You can't have it both ways...


As for the Sirius modulators, the manufacturers are to blame, not the customers. They had to know they were over the legal limit when they were testing them. Guess they just hoped nobody would find out, even though us geeks were talking about them before it became common knowledge.

[Lester]

Whether you like Limbaugh or not, his rants are not "indecent". No court in the world would ever rule they were... just like Air America wasn't "indecent".

Stern dropping F-bombs on an OTA station (via someones Sirius radio)... not an apples to apples comparison.

I suspect, however, that if Limbaugh had a Sirius Channel, and he was blasting all over your NPR station via the car sitting in the driveway next door... you'd have a different view on the subject.

[darkpower]

Whether you like Limbaugh or not, his rants are not "indecent". No court in the world would ever rule they were... just like Air America wasn't "indecent".

Stern dropping F-bombs on an OTA station (via someones Sirius radio)... not an apples to apples comparison.

I suspect, however, that if Limbaugh had a Sirius Channel, and he was blasting all over your NPR station via the car sitting in the driveway next door... you'd have a different view on the subject.

So, you're saying Limbaugh ISN'T on Fox News Radio yet?

[Lester]

Couldn't tell you. We use Sirius (in the wife's ride) for music.

[Arp2]

The standard "you can turn it" argument that gets regurgitated is really completely irrelevant.

This is the same argument the Dittoheads make to liberals when defending Rush. Don't like it, turn it. Is it "irrelevant" now?

Same concept, different type of speech.

Once again, either speech is free, or it isn't. You can't have it both ways...

...and, once again, the immediate reply is "'fire' in a crowded theater, libel, slander, and indecency." It's not just "either all free or not;" it's more along the lines of "anything and everything that does not induce false panic, falsely direct one toward deleterious actions, falsely damages or destroys reputation, appeals only to base and prurient interests, and so on."

The real -- and I do mean REAL -- danger is that we wind up with some term even less precise than "indecent" as the guideline (or "law," if you want to use that term) and dive down into mere "feelings" of "being offended." Just look at what's happened just to our north in Canada or all over Europe....while people here are just trying to get away with saying "tits" to get a cheap chuckle, those people have lost the ability to discuss many of life's most important issues and ideas.

Also, we're right back to defining what is indecent, target audiences, individual market dynamics, etc.

Yeah, but half of the stations would suddenly claim a target of "18+ lovers of profanity, vulgarity, and porn" and that their market is a place defined by its underbelly, starting even more never-ending debates and enriching more do-nothing-productive lawyers. And, of course, I'll once again state that I've never heard the even halfway-logical argument that says, "indecency is mandatory to attracting an audience." As a matter of fact, I'll suggest that the "cleaner" and "more targeted to our better natures" stations are the ones better surviving and thriving these days.

Whether you like Limbaugh or not, his rants are not "indecent". No court in the world would ever rule they were... just like Air America wasn't "indecent".

Stern dropping F-bombs on an OTA station (via someones Sirius radio)... not an apples to apples comparison.

I suspect, however, that if Limbaugh had a Sirius Channel, and he was blasting all over your NPR station via the car sitting in the driveway next door... you'd have a different view on the subject.

So, you're saying Limbaugh ISN'T on Fox News Radio yet?

Goodness, no. Rush has had relationships with ABC (?...I think I'm mislabeling that or forgetting someone..."EFM?"....what was that?) and Premiere as syndicators in the past and will continue in relationship with Premiere through at least 2016.

Fox News Radio might as well be considered still a start-up and still a bit of a tentative one, IMHO. (I think an absolutely serious and committed Fox News Radio would have brought Hannity under its umbrella no matter what, within reason, the cost.)

You've been programmed for knee-jerk, emotional, explosive reactions that are simply not true....block them. Do your own research and learn the truth...you might find it fascinating and will definitely find it more satisfying!

[Jay Nunley]

I love it when this debate resurfaces.

I used to scream for total freedom. I won't do that anymore.

I will only ask for one thing and make one comment and I will never again complain about complying with inherently stupid, intrusive, and unconstitutional broadcast laws.


I ask that whatever is indecent and/or obscene to be clearly defined with specfic words and subject matter that cannot be aired and that ALL broadcast medium be required to comply (not just rock radio stations).

I always find it interesting that "free market" types tend to be the same people on the side of government regulation on this issue.

[Ace Purple]

Of course, the SC will finally decide this fall how much authority the FCC has over broadcast content. If history is any indication, they better get ready to have their teeth knocked out. The threat of a $275,000 fine per utterance, no exceptions is governmental tyranny IMO. They deserve to have them knocked out.

Thank goodness that TV had the balls that radio didn't have to fight the FCC all the way to the Supreme Court on this issue. Win or lose, it needed to happen. Hopefully the ridiculous (and arbitrarily decided) fines by the FCC will be replaced by the commission doing things like monitoring signal strength, license renewals, etc. as it was originally created to do instead of playing Kings of the Nanny State.

As for my Sirius Starmate, I'll keep the one I have that gives me radio coverage throughout the house. When I'm in the tanning bed for 10-15 minutes, the radio in there can pick it up from the Starmate in my bedroom. I like that. So the signal was set too strong? Tough shit. As Robert Downey Sr. said in Boogie Nights, "That's not an MP, that's a YP, your problem."

[Jay Nunley]

No offense to those "free market" types on the board. Most are personal friends or at least internet friends of mine despite being right wing douche nozzles. Douche Nozzle is a term of endearment in this case.