I was told that since I have a corvette, I would have crappy reception since there is no metal to relect the signal. Please tell me where you mounted, preferably stealth antenna. Also what antenna are you using.
Re: where did you put your xm antenna (ICULUKN-C5)
I'm using the TERK "mouse" looking antenna, mounted it on the dashboard wedged up next to the glass, on the passenger side, next to the pilliar, perfect reception, took a road trip from houston to san marcos (3 hours across tx) and had no problems with reception period. No antenna on the outside :)
Re: where did you put your xm antenna (KylePatrick)
COOL..Did you have to do anything special to mount? The install shops locally are telling me that the signal wont go through tinted glass, anyone else have this problem.
Re: where did you put your xm antenna (ICULUKN-C5)
Nope, its on the dash of the vette, I have 20% metallized tint on the car, all the way around :) It even works inside my garage, with the overhead door shut, kinda spooky.
Re: where did you put your xm antenna (KylePatrick)
This topic seems to come up every few weeks. The antenna will work through glass. It will also work through the non-metallic body panels. Since Labor Day, mine has been inside my rear fascia. Here is a picture of it as view from the inside. This picture was taken by putting the camera inside the drivers side tail light and pointing it towards the license plate area. The antenna is the Terk SR-2 (computer mouse style). It is sitting on top of the area above the license plate. Note the corvette lettering embossed in reverse view to get its approximate position.
It's a great stealth location and the reception is about as good as my external install on my pickup truck.
Re: where did you put your xm antenna (ICULUKN-C5)
ICU -
Yep! The dash is the way to go. Although the Turk 'turtle' will pick up through the rear facia, and, agreed it is 'stealth' that way, radio signals are strongest in line-of-sight installations. Your reflective window tint will have some adverse effect. Perhaps prior to a final committment, I suggest you place the 'turtle' on the dash to hear the reception. If you experience too many drop-outs you can then try another location.
My dash install works fine. Sure, it is noticeable but it nestles up nicely next to my Crystal tweeter's. Although I have changed radio HU, check out my site for pics.
You'll really like XM . . . :seeya
P.S.
Delphi is coming out with a hand-held XM about Xmas!
Location: Did you know that the "B" in Benoit B. Mandelbrot stands for 'Benoit B. Mandelbrot'?
Re: where did you put your xm antenna (ICULUKN-C5)
I had mine installed yesterday, they put a Sony mouse type (looks very much like the Terk antenna) mounted between the seats at the very front of the cargo area. Reception so far seems great - it's funny that the big buildings downtown don't seem to affect reception, going through tunnels doesn't (unless it's a long tunnel), but going under trees seems to result in an immediate cut out of a few seconds. Oh well. The sound quality is outstanding and the channel lineup seems endless.
I can only speak from experience on the coupe. I took a taillight out which is just 2 screws and about 30 seconds worth of effort. I ran the wires from the coupe cargo area around the carpet under the weatherstripping in of the rear deck lid and down a drain hole into the fascia. You could easily run this wire in about 10 minutes or less.
I don't want to see the antenna at all. The windshield/dash mount idea is great, but I want this to be as stealth as possible. It works fine. The only thing I may try to increase reception is to put a metal plate under the antenna of some length to get a better reflective ground plane. As previously mentioned, I get the same reception from the aerial mounted antenna on my truck.
Corvette Store
where did you put your xm antenna
