VW mods - Sirius Satellite Radio
Installing satellite radio has really added to the enjoyment of this trip. There
are over a hundred stations to pick from, covering just about every genre I could
want. The reception is crystal clear, and it's really nice to not have to hunt around
for stations every half hour when driving. I have it on whenever I'm in the van,
which is usually at least several hours a day. It even helps me feel a bit more
at home because there are always "familiar" stations available. After some initial
quality problems, I finally ended up with a good system I really enjoy.
What do I like?
- Having familiar stations available no matter where I am.
- A huge selection of over a hundred stations, including three National Public Radio
stations, Discovery Radio, several talk shows, and dozens of music stations.
- No commercials on the music stations, and only a few minutes of commercials per
hour on some of the others.
- It's not regulated by the FCC, and some talk shows can get pretty vulgar. Yes,
that's a plus in my book.
- The display shows the current artist and song name, eliminating forever that annoying
"who is this?" that often happens with traditional radio.
What's not to like?
- The equipment is bulky, so you have to get clever when installing it.
- There's a delay of several seconds when changing stations, so it's harder to quickly
scan several stations like you might on regular radio.
- The special satellite antenna requires line of sight to the satellite, so you
lose your signal in parking garages and under overpasses. I don't seem to have any
trouble camping under trees, however.
- The Panasonic unit I have generates a lot of heat - so much, in fact, that I added
two heat sinks. But this additional heat means it will drain a car battery much
faster than using the radio alone.
- No remote control. It would be really handy when lounging in the rear seat, especially
when I have the table all set up, with laptop, mouse, and external keyboard all
sitting between me and the front control.
Installation notes
I found the Panasonic CR-SRF100 on ebay in April of 2003 for $100, and it included
a year of service. I had to return the unit twice in the first few months because
it wouldn't work correctly, and it was a real hassle removing and re-installing
the thing each time. I don't know much about the competition, but this unit is bulky,
generates a ton of heat, has a slow button response, and has obvious quality issues,
so I can't recommend this model to you.
But it's been working fine for several months now, and this has been one of the
best mods I made!
It came in several pieces. The user interface is meant to be mounted within reach
of the driver, so I mounted it to the left of the stock radio, as high as possible
so as to minimally obstruct the idiot lights.
The main processor is huge, and not easily hidden! Initially I placed it inside
the dash, in the center just above and behind the plastic storage compartment, and
below the HVAC controls. But it stopped working after a few hours of use and I noticed
how hot it got (too hot to touch!), so I decided to mount it on the outside of the
console. This ended up being a very good spot, as I have no other use for thisawkward
space. I also bought two heat sinks designed to cool PC processors and mounted them
to the unit to help dissipate heat. See the picture above.
There is also an FM modulator that takes the audio output from the main processor
and "inserts" the signal into the radio antenna via an inline plug. The modulator
is about as big as a deck of cards and doesn't generate much heat, so I tossed it
inside the dashboard, near where the wires from the main processor enter it. I wanted
to keep the modulator within easy reach, as the next paragraph explains.
Since the FM modulator accepts the audio via standard RCA jacks, I have the option
to plug my laptop in whenever I want. I have an audio cable that goes from the "audio
out" port on mylaptop and plugs in to the RCA jacks on the modulator. This way I
can listen to a DVD movie or my entire burned CD collection through the van's speakers,
which are much better than the laptop's speakers. In reality, however, I have yet
to use this feature because I just haven't felt like dealing with the hassle of
the wire. I already have too many wires getting all tangled up.
The antenna is a grapefruit sized thing. The instructions said to mount it to a
flat metal surface with no obstructions, which is a real problem on the Eurovan
camper, where the pop top is plastic and the cab roof is covered by another chunk
of plastic. But someone on the
ev_update list said they mounted it under the plastic luggage rack over the
cab, so I gave it a shot. I mounted it near the center, toward the front where there
was enough clearance for it to fit. I snaked the wire inside the passenger door,
hiding it inside the door seal whevever possible. The pictures show where it is
still visible. I used clear packing tape to hold the wire down between the luggage
rack and the door frame, but it's collecting dirt and doesn't look pretty, as you
can see in the picture. Sometimes I temporarily lose the signal while driving, usually
when I'm going northeast, and I wonder if the metal tube that runs the perimeter
of the luggage rack causes interference. But it happens rarely, so I don't worry
about it.
