Spunko

I'm going to install my XM OEM kit tonight. Has anyone experimented with the antenna placement in any other location than the roof? Although I got the micro antenna, I'm just not sure I want to put it outside the car. While looking for opinions, I asked the car audio installer guy at Circuit City and he said people have mounted them inside their dash, trunk, back deck with zero to minimal reception problems. Is there any truth to this? I'm thinking of mounting on the underside of the trunk.

Anyone have experience with this? Does it have to be installed line-of-sight?

Monotaur

I have installed my XM antenna on the rear deck and rarely do I have reception problems. I ran the wire up around the left part of the seat and used some 1/8th (I think) inch tubing for extra protection. Unfortunately, I didn't think about the final placement too well and my wire is about 1/2" too short (I discovered this after I replaced the truck linig - D'oh!), but it looks pretty good. I'll take pictures tonight and post them.

originalstarlit

Spunko,
I find that comment from CC very hard to believe. If I so much as drive under a train trestle, it will break contact with the satellite and there is a program interruption. Also I noticed that going very close to building aver 4 stories tall on the south side of the street can have a negative break-up effect of my XM signal. With this information in mind, I just cannot imagine my antennae doing its job properly hidden in the trunk or behind the dash. It sounds like an AM reception nightmare. The OEM installation calls for the highest point of the car for the installation, and that mini you got was not available in April when mine was installed should look great. I posted pics on my never visited site. http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/616176/3

daltongc

I had the same question about antenna placement and asked the parts guy at Nissan when I bought the kit. He told me that several people have installed them in the rear deck/package tray with good reception. I decided to mount mine there, but laid it in the rear deck and tested it for a day before mounting. I've had zero problems and get great reception. When you take the trunk lining down to mount the tuner, you'll see a hole in the metal that's exactly in the centerline of the car and towards the front of the shelf. I drilled up through the plastic, then used a medium size phillips screwdriver to open the hole in the plastic just enough to allow the antenna lead through. This ensures that the antenna is centered. I'd sure do some testing with mounting the antenna inside the trunk. Best of luck, you'll love the sound with the Bose!

jackconly

We got XM about a month ago, and had a mini antenna placed on the rear deck. It's very small, about 3 or 4" square, but the reception is excellent. -- No problems -- and it doesn't detract from the lines of the car.

jaydabee

Perhaps it works on the rear deck in Kansas, but I doubt if it would work well enough the in hill country or in a big city. I drove into the southern Ohio hills last week and my roof mounted, big assed antenna started cutting out as soon as we hit even the smallest of hills. I wouldn't expect any other location to fair any better. I don't know about the new mini antenna but wish I had one to test out. Too bad my big Nissan supplied aftermarket antenna was glued on by whoever puts them on down in Tennessee.

What really irks me is that I get information for my navigation unit while I'm in my garage, but not XM reception!

Monotaur

Even with my antenna placed on my rear deck, I can still get reception in my garage... unless the metal door is up, and then I can still get reception if the antenna is under (or near) the window in the door...

EDIT: Oh yeah, I get pretty good reception around here (mid Missouri; slightly hilly), and have had no problems receiving signal on trips to Arkansas, Chicago, etc. The only real problems I have are with large buildings to my south, wide/long bridges, and some densely wooded areas where there are large trees which hang over the road. So really 99.9% of the time I get great signal.

daltongc

This may clarify things a bit. I have Sirius rather than XM. Sirius has their satellites in a higher orbit and therefor doesn't suffer from the tall building blockage as much. Of course I still get the same underpass/tunnel blockage that XM does. I have XM on a new GMC and it's okay too, just had the Sirius susbscription and wanted it in the Maxima.
Either one is light years ahead of FM or CDs.

Sorry for the off-topic

Spunko

Hmmm...

All, good comments and thanks for the input. I guess I'll think about it the rest of the day and do a little testing after install. If I end up mounting it on the roof in the standard spot, I'll post a pic of the finished product with the micro antenna ...