Piss-Poor XM Reception - Bad Antenna Placement?

Just installed an Audiovox Xpress and mounted the antenna just to the left of the driver's side windshield wiper (on that plastic box). I'm getting dropouts like crazy, sometimes 5 minutes long. Most of my signal comes from terrestrial sources, rarely any satellite reception. I guess that I need to mount the antenna in a better location, but I was worried about tearing up the weatherstripping around the windows. Anybody have any ideas?

Well, its not blocked by the hood (I can open the hood and not hit the thing). Could there still be interference?

 

How the hell did you run the antenna cable through the rear seats? I wanted to do that, but gave up because I couldn't run it through there.

run the cable under the carpet -- you can lift out the bench portion of the rear seat (pretty easy to do - just yank up on it pretty hard) - and that will give you access to the trunk from inside the car.

 

Once the wire is the in the trunk, tuck it up under the liner and up and out to the top of the trunk lid. Use some tape or zip ties to hold wire in place inside the trunk so that it does hang down everywhere.

 

 

Oh, and i strongly suggest that instead of placing the antenna on you trunk, you run the wire up along the seal of the back window and place it on the roof. Placing it on the trunk is just asking to get scratches on your paint.

Oh, and i strongly suggest that instead of placing the antenna on you trunk, you run the wire up along the seal of the back window and place it on the roof. Placing it on the trunk is just asking to get scratches on your paint.

 

Thanks for the walkthrough. Wouldn't it slide around just as much on the trunk as on the roof?

Thanks for the walkthrough. Wouldn't it slide around just as much on the trunk as on the roof?

 

 

At least on the roof it's out of reach - much less likely to be touched or pushed around.

 

I had mine on my trunk for a few months, and everytime i opened the trunk or closed it, it seemed like it would move around a bit --- and people were CONSTANTLY lifting it off and setting it back on asking me "whats this???"

 

i've some nice battle scars on my trunk becuase of that... (hopefully they'll come out with a little bit of rubbing compound a good wax)

people were CONSTANTLY lifting it off and setting it back on asking me "whats this???"

 

Ouch, I didn't even think of that. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

Is it hard to run the cable along the window seal? I tried it a little before and I don't think that I pushed the cable in far enough because it looked like the seal was sticking out (pulled away from the paint).

Ouch, I didn't even think of that. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

Is it hard to run the cable along the window seal? I tried it a little before and I don't think that I pushed the cable in far enough because it looked like the seal was sticking out (pulled away from the paint).

 

 

different cars seem to be better than others. My old nissan was much easier to do than the legacy, but it still wasn't too hard.

 

Get something pointy, yet soft enough to not scratch the paint ( i used the stick end of one of those small paintbrushes ) - and use that to jam the wire down under the seal. It should go in pretty easy, although you may take a little more work around the top corner.

 

jam it in there as far as it will go, and you shouldnt notice any bulging or the seal sticking up anywhere.

I'll give that a try tonight. Thanks for all of your help.

Problem solved. Over lunch I stuck the antenna to the quarter panel and scored. I guess the thing just needs a good ground plane or something. It was previously adhered to plastic via 3M Command strips.

well, it is magnetic for a reason..... and it does say "attach to a metal surface for optimal reception" for a reason.....

I had read that another guy on the forums has done this with his XM antenna, and had perfectly acceptable reception. That was why I mounted it there in the first place. I am well aware of the mounting suggestions given by the mfr., I just wanted to save some time. Thanks anyway for the literacy check, Mike.

The external XM car antenna requires a rather large grounding plane in order to receive the satellite signal properly. People who mount them inside of their cars with "perfect reception" are more than likely picking up terrestrial signals, which are MUCH stronger than satellite signals.

 

On a side note, XM has such a robust repeater network in Pittsburgh that I can use my Pioneer Airware nearly anywhere without connecting an external antenna. It works in my basement level apartment, in my office, on the parkway, and even inside of the tunnels... without an antenna! XM's repeater network provides a huge advantage, allowing the receiver to be used like a regular radio nearly anywhere in the metro area.

well then it's a good thing I live in the boonies^^

mine is a temporary solution but works like 99% of them time. i put it through my moon roof and it sits right in front of it on the roof of the car. i rarely get signal loss. i love my xm.