Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done?

Post by **tkeskic** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 2:49 pm

Well, I bit the bullet and order a Sirius kit for M35x today from Joe @ http://www.infinitipartsusa.com.

Not sure if it will work; But Sirius tells me they will activate the service based on the ID# Joe provided for the unit he was shipping me;

Turns out the Infiniti Dealers in Canada are under the impression that installation of the device is illegal, and will not do it. so I have to find someone to install it.

Also; not sure if the M35X Prem/Lux version I got with litterally every single toy you could get, actually has the n-bus wiring needed for the kit to install; I'm hoping that someone can confirm they have seen in in a Canadian supplied car?

I'm going to try and find time to dig through the trunk and see for myself. But any help in this area would be great;

Thoughts?tk

Post by **xekushnr** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 2:56 pm

i know XM is supposed to work to about 200 miles off the border of the US. my buddy says that his sirius reciever plays fine at his cottage in point-au-baril, ontario. which is probably about 200 miles from the US (maybe less, who knows.) it all depends on how close you are.

Post by **tkeskic** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 3:08 pm

Actaully the service is not in question, its now legal to own it in Canada;I can get service - I was looking for confirmation of the "prewire" for the reciever, (N-BUS) connector in the trunk for the device to plug into.

Does anyone have input in this - Service is not an issue, I resolved that with Sirius today, its the prewire confirmation I'm looking for...tk

Post by **tkeskic** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 5:54 pm

Well; the answer you have been waiting for; Will Sat Radio work in Canada and is the M35 pre-wired for it?

The Answer is YES! I just had the work done, and the wires were there; It was inside the trunk under the right side of the trunk roof, wound up tight, but there!

The Receiver fit in without a screw and mounted in snug, like it was designed for it, Three plugs, one for nbus, one two for the antenna's and it was done;

The whole process took my installer who has never did it, and a shortcut in the antenna mount 1.5 hours;

The Infinti OEM kit comes with a crappy black stick on Antenna, but I'm going to order a nice "shark fin" like one...

The System works flawless thus far, and activation took 30 seconds.

Anyone interested in doing this will have no issues getting it to work since the pre-wire in there and painless plug connections...

tk

Post by **elwesso** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:15 pm

good information!

Post by **ninjaserver** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 1:31 pm

May I ask where you got your sat system installed? Does it replace an item in your dash?Are you able to share any pricing details?I like you also want the shark fin antenna on the roof (even if it isn't hooked up, it just looks good in all the pix). Is this something you have priced out?Any info is appreciated greatlyThanks

Post by **tkeskic** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 4:00 pm

Just as an update;unlike the aftermarket kits, the OEM ones dont appear to have not much, if any buffer for the audio stream, Some aftermarkets appear to have 30 minutes of buffer, the infinti oem seems to be a fewq seconds, and very small bridges will block the signal;

I belive that where there install repeaters in certain cities, this will likly not be any issue, but we dont have any of those yet in Canada, some US states do...tk

Post by **tkeskic** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 4:04 pm

Price, not an issue, its list at $450.25 USD purchased from Joe at http://www.infinipartsusa.com

there website has an 800 number, email is [email protected]

I purchased the OEM kit from them, and then had it installed by an aftermarket installer here in Calgary (no point giving you that contact info unless you live here)

The install was $100 CAD.Shipped overnight the parts were $55 USD to Canada overnight

I purchased the lifetime plan for $549 CAD, no activation fee for first 50,00 Canadian users...

The install was painless, Joe @ Infinitipartsusa.com also provided me with the instructions in PDF format, and if you are handy with a screw driver, you could do it yourself, mostly because you dont actually need one to do this install, hardest part was pealing off the sticky tape for the Antenna

I dont have a price for the shark-fin yet... They told be it would be under $100 CAD for the part...tk

Post by **jshattner** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 3:03 am

Thanks for the great information tkeskic. Do you know if Sirius install is identical? Any feeling for their OEM kit buffering? Pricing?

Post by **ninjaserver** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:42 am

thanks for the replyappreciate it.

Post by **tkeskic** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 3:26 pm

jshattner:Thats what I used was Sirius; XM is the exact same, just a different SKU at time of order for the kit; the car is built for either.

ninjaserverYour Welcome!;

Post by **tkeskic** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 3:31 pm

jshattner wrote:Any feeling for their OEM kit buffering? Pricing?

The buffer appears to be about 3 seconds; and seems to be fairly usefull;I'm under the impression that most US cities of any decent size have repeater stations (ground based) that rebroadcast the signal, which means with the OEM kit, which supports both the sat antenna and the ground antenna (both are active) it will use the one with the best coverage.

So in most centers for the US centres will not really need the 30 min buffer etc. In Canada, since they only started service on Dec 1, 2005 - we have no ground based repeaters stations built- so we are more effected by weather, tunnels, bridges and underground structures.

Id say that it doesnt bother me that much right now that I get the occasional dead air for a second or so. if the option was there Id like the buffered system, but its not an option.

tk

Post by **tkeskic** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 3:40 pm

Interesting notes:the stations I've tried thus far seem to be heavy into the treble, and low on base, even after turning up base to 75% it still seems light. You can here the lows really well (drums etc), but its the mid-lower sound range that seems to be almost missing from the audio. Clarity on the system is good, but seems a little "hollow" in sound depth;

I have not tried any config changes to things like centre point etc, (and really dont care to as I like having that on in all other audio streams).

maybe this is just me, but it doesnt sound a little off comapred to CD and other stereo sources - when you compare to DVD-A - well, thats not fair, so I wont compare them!tk

Post by **jka1** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 8:36 pm

Tkeskic:

Where were you able to purchase the shark fin antenna? I'm getting the OEM Sirius kit installed today by my dealer. They told me the shark fin antenna is not available. Thanks!

Post by **jshattner** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 3:05 am

Hi tkeskic

Your previous post implied that the Bose setup is held for all sources. Is this true? on my E500 (and previous MB/Lexus stuff) each source had the ability to hold separate audio settings. Hope that's still the case with my on-order M!

Post by **tkeskic** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 10:36 am

jshattner wrote:Hi tkeskic

Your previous post implied that the Bose setup is held for all sources. Is this true? on my E500 (and previous MB/Lexus stuff) each source had the ability to hold separate audio settings. Hope that's still the case with my on-order M!

no way I could find... I'm 99% certian that this cannot be done, but leave room to be corrected.tkl

Post by **jka1** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 9:12 pm

Hey all. Got my OEM Sirius radio installed this past weekend. Paid $600 plus for equipment and installation by dealer. System is completely integrated into original radio console and controls. Only difference is the black exterior antenna mounted on roof just above rear window instead of the cool looking shark fin. Seamless attachment and dealer did a good job. I'm happy.

Post by **jshattner** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 3:53 am

jka1 (or others), does the small antenna cause any noticeable wind noise at speed?

Post by **tkeskic** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 11:03 am

jshattner wrote:jka1 (or others), does the small antenna cause any noticeable wind noise at speed?

I had mine installed on the trunk deck as I plan on getting (and have ordered) a sharkfin aftermarket kit, it has not come in. I do not however notice any noise from wind that was not there before. I have driven the car as fast as 150km/h. Its amazingly quite allround with and without that peice on the car...tk
Modified by tkeskic at 6:21 PM 1/11/2006

Post by **jka1** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 6:28 pm

My radio antenna is installed on the roof, and there is no wind noise, even at speed.

Post by **ninjaserver** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 1:07 am

Has anyone out there bought just the shark fin antenna?How much is this?I would love to have just the shark fin, no sat is really necessary. It just looks better on a car I would just have it mounted as if it were real, but as a dummyHow much would something like this cost and can it be done that way?

Thanks

Post by **jshattner** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:56 am

Thanks for all the responses. I bought the OEM kit and will probably install it myself on the M. Question for tkeskic: does the trunk mount perform wel or are you noticing many dropouts? (It would be an easier install than routing the cable around the rear window.) I'll probably start out with a package shelf install and see how bad that is with dropouts first, since it's the easiest and won't make any outside changes.

Also, re Sirius reception in Canada, would you expect any ground repeaters (if and when they install them) to also work for US channels (i.e., a USA-based subscription)?

Post by **szh** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 1:40 pm

I love the info and content in this thread! Keep it coming, folks!

And, yes, Joe Tsensky has excellent prices in general on all things Infiniti. He has supported us parts purchasers very well over the years (with excellent prices and shipping), so please do use him as much as you guys can!

Z

Post by **tkeskic** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 4:06 pm

ninjaserver wrote:Has anyone out there bought just the shark fin antenna?How much is this?I would love to have just the shark fin, no sat is really necessary.

I have purchased the on its own, but do not have it yet; you could use it on its own, there is no reason to have SAT radio, you may have to cut the cable off of it, but thats about it.... I plan to update this post as soon as I get the park; and I will one day upload a picture of it; we are in winder and the roads are muddy so I didnt want to post a pict of a dirty care, I've been told this was a family site - so no dirty photo's were to be posted....

tk

Post by **tkeskic** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 4:19 pm

jshattner wrote:I bought the OEM kit and will probably install it myself on the M. Question for tkeskic: does the trunk mount perform wel or are you noticing many dropouts? (It would be an easier install than routing the cable around the rear window.) I'll probably start out with a package shelf install and see how bad that is with dropouts first, since it's the easiest and won't make any outside changes.

Congrats;The OEM kit is a painless install; I wanted to guy do it and it was quick, it took him more time to find the n-bus cable hidden away and tightly wrapped up under the top of the truck; you will need a flashlight...

jshattner wrote:Also, re Sirius reception in Canada, would you expect any ground repeaters (if and when they install them) to also work for US channels (i.e., a USA-based subscription)?

Well; it doesnt make any sense they would not use the ground repeaters to send both US and CANADIAN program streams (unless prohibited by law). The reason is, when our US friends come to visit it would be nice if they could benifit from the millions it will cost to outfit Canada with repeaters.

I dont belive any Canadian city has a repeater as I called ans asked the question;

However I have had very good luck with the system, Mine is mounted on the truck lid and it was WAY easier to do this then run the cable up aroudn the window frame etc; I also did this as I was getting the shark fin anyway, and didnt want to wait the exta 15 min it would have taken to run the OEM to the roof deck;

I notice that in downtown, it performs the worst, but is still really decent; I get notable dropout between buildings on most days, and under the plus 15 system (bridges between buildings approx 15 feet high for those of you not aware of these).

The stragest things happen however, I can get service now 3 or 4 floors down in my parcade, but coul dnot the first 2 days I had it installed. My garage at home, same thing, it would go dead when I pulled in, but now works almost all days. I find the better the weather the better building penatration is.

Today it was snowing a little and foggy, and I still got service 3 floors down. This is also proven leaving the car for 8 hours, and then turning it on, it works within seconds - to remove chance of some sort of buffer system.

I dont think mouting it on the roof has a super large benifit. If you have the time it would be best, but it works very well on the trunk deck.tk

Post by **tkeskic** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 4:25 pm

szhosain:Joe was very cool to deal with, and I also dealt with two other people on his staff, and no issues. They were very helpfull. They even sent me the serial number in advance, install instructions and took the time to let me confirm I could get the system to work here.

I felt the transaction was very professional, and it was low risk for me.I'd buy from Joe again without hesitation... Thanks to NICO for the referal..tk

Post by **jshattner** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 5:17 pm

Thanks again for all the great info. I'm in Montreal but don't spend a ton of time in the downtown area, so I'm hopeful it'll work just fine for me with most any placement. I'll post my experience after it's installed, but won't get my M until end-Feb or so .

As for Joe, I also found him great to deal with. He responded to a question (reasonably quickly considering I asked it over the holidays), after which I was chagrined to see his price for the kit had increased significantly. Then he clarified that the new price included the antenna, which I'd planned to order anyhow, so it worked out almost exactly to original pricing.

I ordered with standard ground shipping to my home in FL. It arrived 2 days after my order, almost before the ship confirmation email came in!

Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done?

Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done?

Re: (xekushnr)

Re: Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done? (tkeskic)

Re: Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done? (tkeskic)

Re: Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done? (tkeskic)

Re: (ninjaserver)

Re: (tkeskic) - Sirius?

Re: (tkeskic) - Sirius? (jshattner)

Re: (tkeskic) - Sirius? (jshattner)

Re: Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done? (tkeskic)

Re: Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done? (tkeskic)

Re: Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done? (tkeskic)

Re: Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done? (jshattner)

Re: Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done? (tkeskic)

Re: Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done? (jka1)

Re: Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done? (jshattner)

Re: Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done? (jshattner)

Re: Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done? (jka1)

Re: Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done? (tkeskic)

Re: Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done? (ninjaserver)

Re: Sat Radio installed for Canada - can it be done? (jshattner)

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