A neat feature is its portability - the best of both worlds. It can be readily moved between car and home or wherever. When it's out of the car, you just need an antenna, power (get a cigarette lighter adapter, and you can use the included cord)and either headphones or some amplified speakers. The home kit (optional) can help here.

As far as reception goes - you have to have expectations in line with how the signal gets to you. In the case of XM, the satellites are in a fixed position over 22,000 miles above the earth. Just as with broadcast FM, if something gets between you and the broadcast antenna, the signal will fade or disappear. Unlike FM, digital signals don't "fade" and allow scratchy, weak reception, they just drop out when not enough information is reaching the receiver. The sound is either there in quality or it's not at all. So, set your expectations knowing that you may not be able to receive the satellite(s) when something significant is between you and it.

The biggest consideration is antenna placement. Some homes won't allow reception inside or certain areas. This is why long cords are available to get the antenna nearer to a "view" of the satellite's signal. Note that vehicle antennas need at least 6 inches of metal around the antenna. Follow the rules, and you will be very happy with it! There's nothing like it - so many choices. $9.99 a month to eliminate commercials is completely worth it!

XM Radio + Roady...What are u waiting for?????? (Rating: 4.00)
Review : First of let me state that I have been seriously considering XM radio for about a year and a half now.

When I first started researching the service I was put off by the high entry level costs just to get going. By that I am referring to the Tuner... the Main CD/Radio player..antenna installation etc. By the time I was finished adding everything up I was looking at about 800 to 900 dollars.

So I just stopped thinking about it until last November when Delphi released the Roady their all in one receiver. Let me tell you, this little silver bullet is everything and more than I expected.

It comes packaged with everything you need to have XM radio up and running in literally minutes. The package includes a cassette adapter for those of you that have that seldom used device in your car or truck.

For those of you who can't utilize that feature you can use a FM wireless adapter that is included for free currently through July 2004 through many retailers.

The sound quality for the Roady will vary depending on which method you choose for connecting. There are four ways of connecting this to your system the first being the best and so on.

1. Direct Connect--Will require you purchasing an adapter cable a PIE cable or Blitzsafe cable, if your head unit has an AUX input. Most newer cars have an aux or cd changer input. My Toyota has one and the cable can be had online for about $70.00

2.Cassette Adapter-- Sound quality is very good just a bit below Direct Connect in my honest opinion

3.FM Modulator-- Good sound

4.Wireless FM Modulator Good sound as well may be better in some areas than others

The portability of the unit is another big selling point to me on this item. I purchased through www.xmradio.com a home kit which comes with an antenna, power supply, stand,RCA cables, for $28.00 delivered.

The only reason I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is the connectors and connector location on the side of the unit. I take my in and out of my car frequently and the connectors seem a bit flimsy, although in all fairnesss I have had no problems yet.

My costs incurred are less than $150.00 for home/car so that to me equals an unbelievable value.

When you get right down to it it is a no brainer..... this unit is the best bang for the buck out there right now for Satellite Radio.

How to make motorcycling across Kansas on I-70 bearable (Rating: 5.00)
Review : My wife bought the Roady for me for my birthday in anticipation of a three-week motorcycle tour through the West.
I had it installed by Sean Franklin of Cyclegadgets.com, using a Hoon mounting bracket that secures the Roady to the top of the brake fluid reservoir on the right side of the handlebars of my '03 BMW K1200GT. The mount has a little platform where the magnetic-based antenna sits and the power source is hard-wired into the bike's accessory plug.
I use custom molded in-ear monitors made for me by an audiologist, so they deliver stereo sound while acting as earplugs to block much of the external wind noise.
Sean initially thought I would need to run the Roady signal through a radio or a Boostaroo amplifier. However, when I plugged my in-ear monitors into the Roady I was surprised to discover the signal was actually a bit too loud. As a consequence, I'm running an in-line volume control between the Roady and the monitors to back the volume off a bit.
I'm writing this from a friend's home in Alma, Colo., some 10,680 feet above sea level, having spent two days on the road from my home in Indiana.
I've made this ride many times, but this was the most pleasant ever, thanks to the Roady and XM satellite radio. The best way I can think of to describe the sound quality is "ear candy." The traffic/weather channel for St. Louis helped me avoid delays and the incredibly diverse music and talk offerings kept me from being bored at any point during the 1,300-mile journey.
The Weather Channel forecasts were especially nice to have, since weather is a major issue for long-haul motorcycle touring.
At my age (59 next week), I need reading glasses for close-in small reading, but I found the Roady display was quite easy to read without my glasses. Likewise, the controls are easy to work with a gloved hand.
(The unit comes with three sets of decorative trim - red, blue and silver faceplates and edging. I found the edging wouldn't stay put and interfered with my operation of the channel selector knob in the upper right corner of the unit, so I removed the edging.)
Cyclegadgets.com also has a rain cover for the Roady. Also, the unit is easy to unplug and stow in a tank bag, saddlebag or pocket if you're worried about rain or theft while you're away from the bike.
I expected to lose the satellite signal coming up U.S. 24 through the canyons from Colorado Springs, but it never faltered. About the only time I dropped the signal was under a gas station awning.
During the few pre-trip days that I had the Roady, I used it in the car and my wife immediately became an XM convert, so I expect there's another Roady in our future once I return home. Fortunately, XM has a family plan that lets you add units to your account for an additional $6.99/unit instead of the base monthly rate of $9.99.
The Roady is more compact than the Delphi SkyFi and way smaller than the Sirius receiver I watched a mechanic install on a Gold Wing.
Prior to the Roady, I'd used a Sony MiniDisc player with several hours of MP3 music I recorded from my collection. I ended up carring the player and maybe 20 discs, which took up a lot of space in my tank bag. I left that all behind on this trip.
XM gives me access to a nearly infinite variety of music, including a lot of new stuff I would never hear otherwise.
So, if you're a touring motorcyclist looking for a way to ease the tedium of hours on the superslab, the Roady may be the answer for you too.

Nothing bad to say about the unit itself (Rating: 5.00)
Review : My title says it all. The only complaints I have are the following:
Lack of accessories. Would be nice to have a boombox it can plug into.
The stupid external decorating accessories is just that, stupid. I stuck on the blue cover, and the blue rubber band. A few months later the blue rubber band was pulling on the corner button that it helped aid in changing my settings. It's safe to say I took that off.

But I have to give the unit a five for as the unit itself, it's great. So if you buy this I highly recommend get the remote with it, and if you want to hear it in the garage, bedroom, or whatever, get the home kit too.

Enjoy!

XM Roady Receiver - Very Nice (Rating: 4.00)
Review : Overall, this is a very nice little receiver. I was suprised at how good it sounded. Using the cassette adapter, the sound quality is far better than the ground-based broadcasts through regular FM radio. The unit has a lot of features for tuning and is easy to use but the buttons and tuning wheel are small and require nimble fingers - a little distracting while driving.

The XM programming is great and no commercials!

The installation is easy - no tools or special skills required. Although the 20' antenna wire was just barely long enough to route through the back of my SUV and out the rear tail gate window onto the roof - just a few inches to spare. If you have a really large SUV such as a Suburban or Expedition, you may not have enough antenna wire to do a rear roof-mount installation.

Overall, definitely worth the [$$$].