Sirius Plug & Plays

I just found your post... sorry no one has responded yet. I'm assuming from your post that you don't have a 2006 Prius with the aux-input. If you do, ignore the rest of this post and get an aux cord.

I now have a Starmate Replay (gave up on the S50 -- two units developed bad car docks). My sister has a Sportster Replay. Hers is suctioned to the windshield. She gets good reception and only has to change frequencies when driving out of town. Several factors can cause interference, including location of your plug-and-play, signal strength of neighboring FM stations, and general electro-magnetic interference from outside sources.

In case you don't know this, 88.1 is just a default. You can change the frequency -- it should be a Settings menu option. Find a quieter frequency on the car radio, then set the Sportster frequency to match. You can also save several frequencies as FM presets on the unit for quick access, then store the frequencies as presets on your car radio. You'd have to look up the procedure in the manual.

See if your Sportster came with the FM antenna cord (some units don't). It has a small plug for the FM out on the unit, and a thin wire with a small cap on the end. You just drape the wire wherever you can, and it boosts the FM signal to your car radio.

Other options:

• Get a cassette adapter, something like this from Best Buy. I've heard this is slightly better sound quality than the FM signal. You listen to Sirius through the cassette deck, which means no FM interference.
• Get a hardwire FM modulator, like this one at Best Buy. This is even better sound quality, but it involves pulling the car's radio from the dash to access the antenna port. When you turn on the Sportster, it defeats the antenna on the car so there is no interference. When you turn off the Sportster, it lets you pick up terrestrial radio like you normally would.
• A more expensive option is the VAIS Tech auxiliary input adapters. It will give you the best sound quality for a PnP. There are three audio-only options, and two would work for you (the other is for XM). I e-mailed VAIS recently, and they informed me they are working on a Sirius version that will integrate controls and artist/title display thru the MFD -- hopefully available in several months. They are also re-vamping their audio/video products, which will include video inputs for back-up camera and DVD. This is what I'm waiting for.

I hope this helps!!