Before I was aware of NRA News I’d been considering getting a satellite receiver for my office (yes, I know I can listen online, but I didn’t want to be subject to the whims of net usage; something I’d been encountering on a more frequent basis of late when trying to listen to online streams).  I have XM in my truck and I prefer the variety to what I can get on local radio.  When NRA News announced their deal with Sirius Satellite Radio it seemed like an interesting opportunity.  They were offering a choice of one of their plug-and-play receivers along with a home or car kit for $49.99 with service for $9.99 per month (with a 12 month commitment).  The receivers alone usually sell for around $100 and the home or car kits are around $50.00.  So for home use the usual price would have been around $150.  A second receiver for XM would have been about the same cost in hardware (i.e. around $150) and the service would have been an extra $6.99 per month.  I suppose it’s not entirely cost effective, but the variety on Sirius is worth the extra $3.00 per month in service charges. 

So I chose the JVC KT-SR1000 along with the home kit.  When it arrived the installation instructions said it needed a north-facing window for optimum reception.  My office window faces east, so that posed a bit of a problem.  I went ahead and set it up and tried to angle the antenna to face a little to the north.  I was able to get between 1/3 and 1/2 signal strength, which was enough to get the preview channel.  Unfortunately, the signal seemed to fluctuate for no reason I could determine.  At first I thought it was wind blowing a nearby tree into the path of the signal, but that turned out not to be the case.  Even though I could receive the preview channel, the unit crapped out when I called to have the activation signal sent.  As soon as the guy at Sirius sent the activation the receiver displayed “Acquiring Signal.”

I decided to relocate the antenna to a north-facing window in another room, but this required a 50-ft extension cable, which was an additional $39.99 (plus shipping, taxes, etc) along with an interminable wait for the damn thing to be delivered.  Now I get a much better signal, but it’s still not satisfactory because it craps out at seemingly random times.  What I’ve learned is that Sirius chose to put up three satellites in elliptical orbits, such that two of them are supposed to be visible over the continental U.S. at all times.  Contrast this to XM which uses two satellites in geosynchronous orbit (I’ve always been amused that XM named their first satellite “Rock” and the second one “Roll”).  Since my neighbor’s house is very close to the north side of my house it appears that when the Sirius satellites play celestial tag with one another that they end up being hidden behind my neighbor’s roof, causing short periods of low or no signal. 

My next move will be to install an outdoor antenna on the edge of the roof and hope that it’s got enough elevation to see the damn satellites as they move around in the northern sky.  This is rapidly turning into way too much trouble for something that should have been simple.  I’ve heard that XM is better suited for home use due to the stability of its satellite positions.  Once you’ve aimed the antenna for maximum signal strength it will stay that way unless something physically blocks the signal, since the XM satellites aren’t moving in relation to the ground position.  I’m not looking forward to getting out there in our near-100° heat to put up the antenna, but I’m hoping that it will finish this once and for all.