satellite radio

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by cfos

I'm not looking for a flame wars either, I just happen to disagree with your argument. As for citing materials and reports. If you look hard enough, you can find data to argue any point/hypothesis. Citing a report by the SEC may be valid, but it is still an appeal to authority. If I were to cite FEMA reports from the recent hurricanes in the South, would you believe all they said...? How about if it came from the President?

Laws changes just as authority. I started this post with a question regarding satellite radios and if people had installed them in Boxsters and if so, where. I did openly wonder about whether Porsche would opt for it and wondered why they hadn't offered it. I disagree with your argument and in fact was mistaken in that Porsche does offer it on the Cayenne. I did get the price quote wrong, nonetheless it is offered.

Personally, I don't care about the financial or government reports. As I said in another post, I currently subscribe, as do 4,999,999 others, to XM. Last time I checked, neither of us worked for Porsche and are not entitled to speak on their behalf as to why they do/don't offer it. We can theorize, but it really is moot.(unless you own stock) And even if satellite goes under next year, what is the lost? $300? $400? It's the experience that draws the value. Heck, if we want to go down this road, let's talk about how there won't be any gas left to run in our porsches in 40 or so years. So, rather than spend 10 or so minutes trying to find a report from an "authority" on whether gas will run out in 40 years to refute this post, let people that have satellite radios reply and answer the questions as to where they install their antennas and leave us to our faultering businesses. We can bring this back up in 10 or so years, k? Who knows, maybe next year Porsche will offer wiper blades on their headlights.

Hi,

I think you may have misunderstood. This is XM reporting to the SEC, not the other way around. And you have to be deaf and dumb in both eyes not to see that this is a very desparate situation they have - They're losing $480 for every person they sign up! BTW, realize I am not saying that you are deaf and dumb.. You make a lot of valid points.

And it's true that if you buy a Satellite Radio and they go under, you're only out $300-$400 bucks (of course you didn't factor in the cost of a replacement Stereo you can listen to). But, from a purely financial point of view, you'd be better off buying $300-$400 worth of XM stock, at least that way, if they went under you'd be able to take it as a Tax Loss...

Happy Motoring!...Jim'99

[cfos]

MNB: Sorry about misreading your post. To be honest, it was a lot of words and I skimmed it and posted my reply.

I don't argue that the satellite companies may be in dire straits, finacially. It really isn't my problem as a consumer (not invester). It all depends on what you want to get out of it. Case in point: Recently my wife and I flew to NYC and saw Spamalot on Broadway. Tickets cost about the same as my XM set up. If XM goes under t'morrow, I may be out a few invested $$, but I am satisfied with what I got out of it.

Also, the unit I purchased was a Pioneer that can fit in the palm of my hand. It broadcasts directly through my radio and will likewise broadcast through any other radio whether it is installed in a car or a boombox, so I am not out any money nor do I need replace my car stereo. Likewise, the models in the store ads are similar to all other radios -- they offer cd players, etc. The difference is that they are also either XM or sirius compatible -- thus you don't need the hand held unit I have. The reason I bought the model I did was that I can take it from the car and bring it in the house, or go for a walk and use headphones. Also should XM go under t'morrow, I could subscribe via satellite tv or EXPN to get baseball broadcasts; however, I would lose the enjoyment of the drive while listening to the game, or taking the wife to pick up taco bell (don't ask me, it's her favorite).

[Perfectlap]

The big start up loses for Satellite radio are nothing to sneeze at but most successful companies on the Internet were running at huge loses for years until they even broke even. There's plenty of private equity out there to keep it running for several years. The fact that there may be only one player and millions of people willing to pay makes the outlook good. Sirius stock is trading at a fraction of XM. Those holding sirius stock could see their shares become XM shares and make a killing. The press of an impending monopoly could fuel a further uptick in the sock....memories of MSFT.

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

Maybe we should revive this post in 6 mos. and take the temperature again. That would give some indication of which direction it is heading.

Happy Motoring!...Jim'99

[Mr. Boone]

In response to the original question of where to mount the satellite antenna, I was wondering if one could use the built in GPS antenna located in the center of the dash board adjacent to the wind screen.... may or may not work, and the cable terminations may need some work but if the car is fitted with the antenna and you don't have the GPS system it might be worth a try. I am not even sure that Porsche fits the cars that don’t get GPS with the antenna but I think they might. Are there any electronic engineers out there that can answer this question? Are the antennas that receive location information of the same nature as the antennas capable of receiving satellite radio broadcasts? I think the idea is worth looking into. Even if the GPS antenna won’t do the trick, this may be the best location for an adequate antenna. I like satellite radio for the access it provides to additional content not available over the air. Mounting one of those hockey puck antennas anywhere on the outside of my 02 S isn't going to happen....

[Lewmar]

I got XM in my wifes A4 cab by default. Like most, I did not want "another cable bill" and figured it would be left unactivated. Of course the dealer activated the free trial, and now we're converted. The content is great, and to be honest I'm happy to pay $30 a quarter just to avoid the ad's.

I'm about to buy a 987 and am concerned at no satelitte option, however I was at Best Buy this morning and they are selling the Delphi XM receivers for $30, which kind of kills the cost argument. This may be because Delphi filed chapter11, but that's a different thread..

[Perfectlap]

$30? hmmm...that's pretty good I think that's the one that you can convert into a walkman by sliding the tuner into a portable cradle with headphones.
I'm still holding out for the SkyFi2 which has a Tivo like function that allows you replay all the music from the last 30 minutes. It seems like I'm always catching a good song at the end with my current Satellite tuner.

[Lewmar]

It's this one, which I expect is on sale because its going EOL:

Delphi - Roady2 XM Satellite Radio Receiver
Reg. Price: $49.99
You Save: $20.00Sale: $29.99

The roady XT, which I suspect is the replacement for the above unit, seems to be the smallest , and is still reasonable at $79. (it doesn't do the Tivo thing, however). I wondered if I could integrate the cradle into the ashtray and dock it there, although it would be hard to see when driving.

Several of the sat receivers have user selectable backlight colors. Does anyone have a photo of a 987 dash at night? I'm not sure what color the P-car dash lighting is.

[Perfectlap]

I think its traditionaly been orange dash lighting.

I noticed Sirius has a unit with full color display and graphics on the BestBuy site.

Howard Stern was on Letterman last night. Good show, actually. Howard says that satellite radio is going to be huge!

But, he is kinda biased, since this media forum will be lining his pockets to the tune of $500 million for the next several years.