Most helpful client reviews
36 of 37 humans found the following review helpful.
Couldn't be happier
By AWBoater
This little unit is a great item. I purchased it for two reasons, first, it is plug-n-play, and second, it offers ala-carte selections.
What is ala-carte? For a for less on a monthly basis satellite bill, you may select up to 50 channels (minus the premium channels). I went for it, and actually was struggling to find 50 channels I liked. Other channels such as Margaritaville are indicated as premium, so they are a little add on cost. But all in all, suppose to pay from 60% to 75% for the ala-carte cost than the full package.
Admittedly the ala-carte price has risen over the years, but it is still for less than the full package.
I use this unit in 4 locations; which required the buy of a couple of docking stations.
My boat. I have an Alpine iDA-x100 head unit with a compatible satellite interface so I may use this unit on the boat. Since the Starmate 5 is controlled by the head unit, the logical choice was to mount it inside a hanging locker in the rear cabin so it was out of the way. The unit hangs on the locker's wall; safe and secure. And the unit is locked onto the docking station. Depressing the docking station release, and the unit pops off.
My car. I also have a docking station in the car, so it may be plugged into the car's stereo system. You genuinely need an upgraded stereo scheme for this, as an FM modulator is not a good substitute - no matter of whether you are attempting to listen to an iPod, satellite receiver, or any other audio device. The idea is that the FM modulator will play through an unused FM channel. But as you travel along the highway, stations come and go, which perpetually interfere with the "unused" channel.
Some FM setups are competent of disabling the antenna for the car stereo, and that is the only solution I see as working. However, even if such as setup is used, the audio quality is suspect. Therefore, I would commend a "proper" configuration, meaning low level RCA inputs. This may mean replacing your stereo, or buying a 3rd party adapter designed for your factory radio.
Ironically, I already have a factory XM satellite receiver in my car, which I applied for awhile. But for billing purposes, Sirius and XM are still considered distinguished companies, so you do not get a multi-unit discount if you have one Sirius and one XM unit.
And I have found that the car's XM receiver, due to the geosynchronous satellite orbits, is prone to dropouts when you do not have a clear sky, such as driving behind a hill, in a city with nearby huge buildings, or even a tree-lined boulevard.
Consequently, Sirius uses 3 polar orbiting satellites, and one of them is always in the neighborhood, which results in less dropouts. You may still get a dropout or two with a Sirius system, for instance you are downtown with high buildings, you may lose signal. But it is much less of a problem than XM as one of the satellites is in general at a higher overhead angle.
Perhaps the most difficult decision in the car is where to mount the satellite unit. I use a RAM-Mount cup holder setup which works great. Since the use in the car is temporary (when the unit is not home or in the boat), I merely pop the mount in the cup holder and plug the wires in when needed. This also allows me to without apparent effort and quickly remove the system when I park the car so it is not tempting to thieves.
Fortunately, my car has a set of RCA level aux inputs - conveniently concealed in the arm rest, so I may connect the Starmate to those and the cables are not hardly noticeable. But since I remove the whole shebang when not being used, this is not an issue.
Installing the antenna and docking station in the car was not even as hard as installing a car stereo. You do need a lot of basic skills, and may need to figure out how to remove a panel or two along the way. But it is not difficult.
My home. I likewise have a home docking station that I may use the Starmate to listen to satellite at home. I even purchased the remote antenna setup to attach to my house exterior. You'll find that most houses have galore trouble with the proper reception of the signal, and the best counsel if you want a home scheme is to buy a external antenna.
All of these solutions require plug-n-play docking stations, which are likewise available from the manufacturer of the Starmate 5.
Finally, I likewise have a portable "boom-box" adapter for the Starmate 5.
The best attribute of this unit - other than the ala-carte feature - is that it is portable, and the station ID is percentage of the unit itself. And with plug-n-play, you may move the unit from docking station to docking station and have satellite in your home, car, and boat without having to remunerate for multiple receivers.
10 of 10 persons found the following review helpful.
Good and bad.....
By Onecooldad
I have been a subscriber to Sirius for rather a long time, before Howard Stern jumped aboard. I have had the same radio for that time, the Sirius Sportster replay. Recently, the lights on the radio went out, so I looked to replace it. I came throughout this radio, liked the way it looked, so I purchased it. Well, I have mixed sensations in regards to it. I use the radio in 2 vehicles, one being a work truck. The Starmate 5 works great in my car, due to the use of the Aux input on the Starmate and my car's stereo. No noise, static.. crystal clear and wonderful. The issue I have is with the FM transmitter. When in my work truck, I need to use the FM transmitter. Well, this is a problem. On my old Sportster Replay, the FM transmitter was great... had no static on the FM station. Now, with the Starmate, I listen alot of background noise and static. Transmitter is weak, to say the least. I have tried multiple FM stations and have had no luck in silencing the noise. So, if you plan on using the aux input in your car with the Starmate, it works like a dream. Just be wary of the fact that the FM transmitter is weak, and you will listen noise over the FM station.
6 of 6 humans found the following review helpful.
Way better than FM radio
By BigHill35
I have had my Sirius radio for almost 5 years now , and mind you it is the same one. I was in a car accident and the car was totaled . I pulled out my Starmate and plugged it in to my home unit and it worked fine. Listen, if you buy this unit be prepared to compensate for a subscription in which you get the full package of channels, do not buy just the discounted package or else you will become frustrated, disapponited and miss out on some outstanding programming. Oldies music, 70's , 80's old school , top 20, Elvis, Sinatra and anything else in between. The reception on the radio is almost CD quality and seldom do you loose a signal unless you drive into a garage or tunnel . Even in heavy rain and clouds commonly you have outstanding reception. I've even drove from Oklahoma to Canada and the radio did not miss a beat. There are likewise dissimilar items you may buy such as a home docking kit and boombox to have more choices in regards to where you want to listen your radio. Sirius even goes further to have online control where you may listen the stream of music over the internet wherever you have an internet connection. The fee is regarding 3 extra bucks or so a month. That means any wi-fi spot starbucks etc. I have a wireless router at home so im competent to stream the music all over the house to the laptop, ipad , or ipod with the sirius app you may get for free. I take it to the garage , bedroom etc.. The only con I have is that they have not actually gone down on the price of the Starmate so will not going to buy another till the one I have breaks and merely does not work anymore. So make the best of your sirius radio, talk to others and see how they set up theirs. The choices on how you may listen are endless.
See all 24 client reviews...
