360 and Sirius radio, where can you hide the antenna?

Are you serious? Your worried about the antenna, something that's thinner then a pencil, obstructing your view? I'd be worried about if it will affect the looks of the car. But that's just me.

 

I think when he says "obtrusive visually" he IS referring to the way it will look and not in terms of it affecting his ability to see. At least that is my take.

 

Satellite radio is such a great addition to any car. I also will acquiring a system shortly. It pretty much makes riding in a car enjoyable in any traffic condition because you can always find something on thats pleasing to you. I highly recommend Sirius and even more so recommend its Raw Dawg comedy station. They play 5-10 minute bits from different comedian's CD's which I personally love. The only problem is I have actaully had to pull over once or twice because I was laughing so hard. And as for the antenna, you can put it on the very back edge on the roof (directly in the center), and you will hardly ever see it. The unit I will have is a little square about two inches long and wide, and about 2/3 an inch thick. It's hard to notice unless you are looking directly at it. Trust me, the very little pleasure you will loose from having to see the antenna, you will gain back ten fold with the great programming.

Mark

 

I have XM in both my cars. The 355 has a newer XM setup so the antenna is tiny. Maybe 1x1" and 1/8th tall. Stuck it in the corner of the dash and it works fine. My other car has the old school XM antenna that looks like a big computer mouse. Stuck that on the rear deck... I imagine you could do the same with the Sirius antenna.

-R

 

robin - they work fine inside the car - through the glass?

doody.

 

I put mine on the corner of the dashboard. No reception problems

 

Yup, both cars, no problems. I've seen them inside the dash on some cars and they work fine. The reception does seem to cut out more easily on my 355 than the other car, but that might just be caused by the fact that it's a different antenna. In my Pontiac, which has had XM for almost 4 years now, I used to drive to work every day in DC through a 1/2 mile long tunnel in the center of the city and not lose reception. XM uses ground relays on cell phone towers to bounce singals around, so there are a few areas it cuts out for a second or two, but otherwise it's pretty solid.

-R

 

We just put a system in my friends F430.

Put in an Alpine Headunit with DVD and Navigation and a Sirius unit.

The Antenna is mounted on the Top center of the dash. Does not look out of place at all!! But the cars got the tune going..
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I have XM in both a 360 Spider & Explorer SUV. I live in the Sierra Nevada mountains, around the Tahoe area. In both installations I'm using the newer, smaller antenna that replaced the larger 'hockey puck" marketed in early models. The SUV antenna is mounted magnetically to the roof, centered just above the front windshield. This works well in most all environments except those immediately next to tall buildings or in steep canyons.

As for the 360, I had the same concerns as you...looks. I ultimately decided to place the antenna on the dash, left of the steering wheel with a small Velcro tab . The wire is tucked between the dash and windshield, feeding toward the door. My installer wanted to put it on the outside of the front windshield (high-centered) w/ silicone adhesive but I just couldn't deal with it. It works pretty well on the dash but is a little more susceptible to breaks in the audio feed than the SUV's exterior placement. If you're in the flatlands, I think you'll find the dash placement will work fine with the added advantage of being unobtrusive and easily removable.

 

My 355 XM antenna was installed inside the passenger side of the dash behind the air vent. It is not visible and the reception is perfect. Tim

 

The two installers I talked to said to expect reception problems with Sirius if the antenna is mounted under glass, like the windshield. With XM they said you can even hide antenna under the dash. I'm just repeating what the installers are telling me....
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Don't know about Sirius; XM has a "signal strength" setting to check how well a given placement of the antenna works. BEFORE I permanently mounted the antenna, I drove around some (facing N-S-E-W) and watched the bars- like a signal strength meter on a cell phone. The dash placement, through the glass worked alright. If the installers are saying a certain placement won't work with Sirius, I'd pay attention. After all, they do this all day and have experience.