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UPDATE:  Sirius has announced it's buying XM Radio.  Will the merger go through? 

Why purchase satellite radio? My main reason .. when driving across the country, even into Canda or Mexico or just across the state, you can listen to the same station on your entire trip, in whatever genre you like, static free.  Can even be linked to news, sports, weather, entertainment too, like CNN, The Weather Channel, NPR, Talk shows or NFL football games, NHL Hockey Games or NASCAR.  No more fumbling the dial looking for a radio station that comes in clearly.  Second reason, it's digital radio, 100% clear CD quality audio with no static whatsoever.  Third reason, unlike free radio, satellite radio is not regulated by the FCC so you can choose from a wide variety of unedited programming!

This guide is for my Sirius satellite Car radio.  I have the Starmate Replay model which allows you to pause and rewind live music.  Sort of like the new DVR or TIVO recorders for cable TV.  This is a great feature if you stop at a drive-up window or want to replay a favorite song you just heard.  It stores up to 44 minutes worth of air time.  OR if you walk into a store, pause it, when you return to your car, you can fast forward and skip songs you don't like, since it stored 44 minutes worth of music.

Also has nice features like auto search, you can program up to 30 favorite artists or songs and when they appear on any of the 100+ channels you will be alerted and you can easily switch to the channel and listen.  Also has game alerts when your favorite teams are playing and when any scores change, you will be alerted, very neat feature.  You can also store or preset up to 30 of your favorite channels.

Unlike previous satellite radio models, this model will work with ANY radio.  It has a built in FM modulator which allows you to listen to Sirius programming through your FM radio.  Just select a band on the Starmate, like 88.9FM, turn your radio knob to the same station and voila!  You are listening to satellite radio!  Crisp and clear audio, sounds just like CD's!  With the home docking kit, about another $40 bucks, you can listen in your home through any radio, very nice.

Very easy to set up, really the only thing to set up is the antenna.  Most place it on the outside roof of your car with a powerful magnet, bring the cable in through the rear window or car trunk.  However on my Ford Taurus, I just placed it on the dash with some velcro tape, thought it would be easier than bringing it in through my rear window seal.  I would lose service for a couple of seconds every few days or so due to the fact that it was not in 100% view of the sky.  Probably best if placed on the roof.  Then you plug the receiver(radio) into your cigarette lighter, turn it on, turn your car radio on ... find the station you have the receiver set to and that's it!

This Starmate Replay model is very bright blue, although at night it can be somewhat blinding.  Good thing you can turn down the brightness, can be a pain sometimes though as you have to navigate through the menu to reach the brightness option.  The controls are easy to use, the larger buttons are easy on the fingers too.  Very easy to read scrolling screen or text displays song, artist, channel, game scores and other info such as websites for more info on certain products.

The radio service programming itself is great.  I prefer Sirius over XM due to the programming.  Sirius has great sports like the NBA, NHL, NFL, English Soccer and NASCAR.  Entertainment like Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, NPR, OutQ Gay and Lesbian Radio and Playboy Radio.  Plus music with Eminem and Jimmy Buffet and Bruce Springsteen to name a few.

Monthly fees are low, about $12.95 per month for the first receiver, and only $6.95 for additional receivers.   You get extra free months for paying for an entire year or two in advance.  There are also free specials right now where you can get free radios or rebates with highly discounted radios.

Any questions, feel free to ask.