Help mounting satellite antenna

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mattboy_slim

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I purchased a non-OEM Sirius system for my car, and I'm wondering how anybody else has mounted and run the antenna wire. I've run all my speaker wire under the driver-side thresholds, so that is no problem, but my main question is routing from roof/trunk all the way to the receiver.

Thanks in advance,
Matt
 
No problem, I found it when I was going to do mine but the shop that did my remote start said they'd do it for $30. Couldn't pass that up!
 
I just got a sirius radio also. I just ran the antenna back on the rear deck inside the car. I stuck on a piece of velrco to keep it in place but it just sits right in the middle. The unit i have has a menu that shows satellite and terrestrial signal strength and its always has a strong signal. I like hiding the fact that i have a satellite radio, also tends to look tacky outside.
 
I stuck mine centered up on the 3rd brake light on the rear part of the roof. I ran the wire around and down the pass side under the back windshield weather seal and into the trunk. I laid the pass side back seat down and tucked the wire in the crack near the door. Then I ran the wire down the pass side of the car tucking it under the door threshold trim pieces. Once you get up to the front I ran it under the carpet up under the glovebox and worked it toward the center console.

As for the cigarette plug I used the outlet in the center console and the ran the wire under the dark gray trim all the way up to the stereo.

It sounds more complicated than it really is. It's a VERY clean install, no visible wires whatsoever. The mount from Kuda worked out very well also. Check out the link for pictures of the finsihed product.

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=28460
 
Currently, I have mine sitting on the package tray. In my '04, I had it mounted on the roof (like it's supposed to be), and it got better signal there. I haven't mounted the one on my '06 because I intend to color-match it to my car, and I just haven't had the time to do it. IMHO, it looks fine on the roof.
 
you're gonna paint it to match? i never thought about that but its a good idea. you just gonna prime and paint it or do something special?
 
I bought Paintscratch.com's plastic-painting spraycan kit, which includes the prep materials and the primer with the flex additive. The colormatch is guaranteed by Paintscratch, and they came highly recommended by other LS owners who've used their products for this purpose. I'm also looking at using a different, lower-profile antenna, but Visteon has their antenna connector buried in a Molex connector that I haven't felt like disassembling to see if it uses the same connector as my Starmate. (I think it does, I just haven't confirmed it.)
 
I ended up testing the antenna on the rear deck, and I had one less signal bar than the roof-mount, so I mounted it on the center of the rear roof, following the weatherstrip to the trunk, and ran the wire under the thresholds, through the dash, and up near the front defrosters. I bought the Sportster Replay 4, which comes with a windsheild-mount, so I put it on the far left side of the windshield, as low as it would go. A buddy of mine who is familiar with 12-volt systems is going to assist me with hard-wiring the power in, rather than having to use the cigarette lighter, and I ordered the Pioneer AUX adapter so that I could avoid using the FM Modulator.

So far so good, thanks for the help gentlemen.
 
06AtlantaLS said:
you're gonna paint it to match? i never thought about that but its a good idea. you just gonna prime and paint it or do something special?
Click to expand...

I painted my antenna. My LS is Ceramic White (F6), so the black antenna stuck out really bad. However, after painting, it looks much better.

antbefore.jpg


Ant03.jpg
 
when the shop did mine they put it right above the rear window so there is maybe 1/4" of wiring showing. Looks good that way and my ls is black so it doesn't stand out too much anyhow.
 
I have mine mounted on the dash in the center, right next to the blinking red light. I have never lost a signal and it has always sounded good so I plan on leaving it there.
 
One issue with antenna placement is your relative position to a terrestrial repeater.

XM and Sirius have terrestrial (land based) repeaters, so frequently people get great reception with less than optimal antenna placement.......until they take a road trip out of thier home area leaving the terrestrial repeater's range and the reception gets extremely choppy.

I have looked a bit, but still haven't found a good map of terrestrial repeaters.
 
I've mounted every one I've ever put in my cars under the dash...towards the windshield. I cut out a small piece of sheet metal and velcro it to a/c ducting if necessary. You need to mount it to metal. As long as there is no metal above the antenna, you are going to be amazed how well it works...and not one sign of the antenna.
 
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