I am looking for some help/advice from you all again (77 Maverick). I do not want to modify the original dashboard by putting in a modern radio, so I want to install a Delphi XM receiver. It is removable and isn't necessary to mount to anything. There are two ways that these tie in with the car (as far as I know): 1) Cassette Adapter and 2) Cigarette Lighter. I have neither of these in my car. I know that installing a cigarette lighter will be necessary and handy, so I want to ask for any help with that, and as far as the casette adapter goes, I don't have any clue, so help there or solutions/links/mods/ALTERNTIVES would be appreciated! Thanks!
alternatives... How about an FM modulator... All you need is the XM antenna, receiver, and this nifty little device: http://www.xm-radio-satellite.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=301&MMP=1 If your factory radio is AM/FM, this will work... You could also hardwire this little device in under your dash and not have to worry about the cigarette lighter, even though they are handy to have... Good luck! Wes
I indeed have XM installed. I have a separate XM receiver that connects to my Sony head unit, so there was nothing extra to mount to the dash. The cassette adapter is one way to get audio from the XM receiver to the stereo in your car. Although it offers a slightly better sound quality, I wouldn't bother with all the extra wires. The Delphi Roady 2 has a built in FM modulator that works very well. This way, all you have to do is set one of your presets on your existing car stereo to 88.1 (or whatever you set the modulator to) and you can listen to the XM! You don't absolutely need a cigarette ligher. You could hard wire the power adapter to the wiring harness in your car to get power to the XM receiver. You will want to mount the antenna on the roof for best reception. I used one of the old thru-the-glass antennas..I liked the way it looked. The tiny square magnetic mount ones they have now actually work better and are real easy to install..they have about 25 feet of really thin wire attached so you can route it just about anywhere ya need. I absolutely love XM, btw. Lots of entertainment bang for the buck! Here is a shot of the antenna:
First of all, thanks for the help. I think that this is going to be an easier job than I originally thought. wmw99a: So this device that you linked uses a hardwire connection instead of the built in wireless? Have you used it and do you know if it gives any noticable sound quality? MavMark: Thanks for all the info! I think that I am going to go with the Roady2 receiver and use the wireless signal unless wmw99a can confirm that the hardwired option he linked to gives better quality. Follow up questions: 1) I think that I am going to hardwire the power to the device, but I also want to install a cigarette lighter because I smoke. Does anyone know where to get an original one? 2) The factory radio is AM/FM, but AM is the only band that works. I cannot get any station on the FM band, and will need this band working in order to use XM. Any ideas on what might be causing this?
It is not broken off, but I cannot find where the wires are that are underneath the mounting point on the hood. Do you access it from somewhere in the dashboard? This car has been sitting for so long, that I wouln't be suprised if the wires are starting to crack.
I personally haven't used it, but I can tell you that a hardwired connection always gives better quality than wireless, as far as FM goes. And with this deal, it will plug into the back of your radio whether you have an antenna or not because it is basically designed to fit inbetween the antenna and the radio. If your antenna is in "iffy" shape, I would recommend getting the aformentioned product... Wes
The wire is not under the hood at all....it is under the fender. Open the passneger door and look up in the fender and see if you can see the wire.
