XM Radio- quandry-

Advertise with us!
Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum

Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
FJR-RemingtonRider

FJR-RemingtonRider

Their Sunset / My Sunrise
Joined
Aug 15, 2009
Messages
1,274
Reaction score
16
Location
Houston, Tx
Okay,

I have the Zumo 550.

I have the Scala Rider Q2 (Oh it is beautiful and I truly love it)

Works great with the Zumo and my phone...oh it's a dreamy set up. Calls are crystal clear. :yahoo:

Folks don't even know I am riding my motorcycle. To be "frank", I have had several bluetooth setups for the ear while in car,

and always got complaints from person on other end. Not so with the Scala Q2. Back to OP.

Quandry, when traveling (abroad) the FM radio signals just are not there.

Not safe/comfortable scanning for new stations in every county. Static is annoying.

Listening to your own music can get boring as well, no matter the count of songs.

You put it there, so obviously you have heard it before and like it.

I don't mind the subscription $$ for XM... but here are my options I think

I have, let me know if I am barking up the wrong tree.

Zumo (Garmin) antenna XM is about $220.00-$280.00 (back order in some cases)

For $100.00 I could get a portable XM-Radio and use the mp3 cord

that came with the scala rider to listen to the radio through the scala's helmet speakers.

Anyone using either of the above set ups, if so how is it working?

Thanks,

ps....and if you want to part with an unused XM Garmin Antenna.....eh em, pm me. :D

 
FJR-RemingtonRider said:
Okay,

I have the Zumo 550.

I have the Scala Rider Q2 (Oh it is beautiful and I truly love it)

Works great with the Zumo and my phone...oh it's a dreamy set up. Calls are crystal clear. :yahoo:

Folks don't even know I am riding my motorcycle. To be "frank", I have had several bluetooth setups for the ear while in car,

and always got complaints from person on other end. Not so with the Scala Q2. Back to OP.

Quandry, when traveling (abroad) the FM radio signals just are not there.

Not safe/comfortable scanning for new stations in every county. Static is annoying.

Listening to your own music can get boring as well, no matter the count of songs.

You put it there, so obviously you have heard it before and like it.

I don't mind the subscription $$ for XM... but here are my options I think

I have, let me know if I am barking up the wrong tree.

Zumo (Garmin) antenna XM is about $220.00-$280.00 (back order in some cases)

For $100.00 I could get a portable XM-Radio and use the mp3 cord

that came with the scala rider to listen to the radio through the scala's helmet speakers.

Anyone using either of the above set ups, if so how is it working?

Thanks,

ps....and if you want to part with an unused XM Garmin Antenna.....eh em, pm me. :D
Click to expand...
This is of interest to me as well. I have a GPS with built-in MP3 player but as mentioned above, its easy to get bored with my own recorded music. I am planning to get a Sena SMH-10 bluetooth headset and it would be great if I could Bluetooth a signal from a satellite radio into the headset. The GPS doesn't have XM capability so I would be looking for a compact stand alone sat radio with A2DP bluetooth output. Anyone know of anything available? I could hardwire the radio to the headset but Bluetooth is just easier.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have the exact set-up you are thinking about, minus the bluetooth. The XM radio works great, although the operation leaves a bit to be desired. If you're using your GPS as a GPS (looking at a map) you have to go through several button pushes to get to the radio.

The BIG downside is that the XM radio output is NOT bluetooth!!!

I use a set of standard wired earbuds and have looked into bluetooth transmitters that plug into the headphone output, but that would be a real pain.

I think the ZUMO 665 does address this, but that a lot of $$ invested.

I also have a Pioneer XMP3, but it's not waterproof and would still have to use the wired headphones.

In either case, you need to mount the antenna where it has a clear view of the sky, you can't hide it under any plastic.

 
I have a setup that I use with my Sirius Satellite Radio. I made the bracket and used a short mag mount antenna. The Stratus radio will output on an any regular FM radio frequency. I just tune to that frequency with my Scala Q2 and listen wirelessly. I can also plug into the mp3 input and listen that way but so far I have not needed to. I shortened the FM transmit antenna and used a couple of black wire ties and secured it to the clutch hose (about 12" long".

fjr2.jpg


 
The setup: Zumo 550, StarCom Advance.

I have a Sirius Stiletto II that I've had for a while and it's great - I can use it in the truck, at my desk, in the boat, where ever. Cool doo-dad.

I bought a vehicle mount kit for it and (in a nutshell) got it wired up for the FJR. Worked well enough - I kept the cradle and the receiver in the cell phone pouch thingy in the tank bag.

I rode all over the damn place with that setup, and it worked quite well. There were a couple of downfalls to this setup, though:

1. That sucker ain't waterproof (and it wasn't cheap, either). I carried a freezer-quality, quart-size zip-loc baggie in the tank bag and if it rained, I'd just pop the zip-loc baggie over it. Luckily, I never had any problems with water and I rode in some significant rain. (Did anyone mention that it rained at SFO '09... And EOM '09...)

2. Changing the channel or volume was basically impossible to do while moving & wearing riding gloves.

When I bought my Harley in '09, I was trying to figure out how to hook the Stiletto into the stereo on that bike. After poking around a bit, and some soul searching, I said screw it and bought the GXM30 XM receiver for the Zumo.

Now I can just pop the receiver back and forth between the bikes, and it's MUCH easier (and, if you ask me, safer) to adjust the volume & channel.

So, bottom line, I think if you go with the $100 unit, make sure you can make adjustments intuitively while wearing riding gloves (sometimes it's nice to be able to quickly turn the volume down) and figure out how to mount it so you can easily get to it.

The GXM antenna is made for the Zumo, and once you get used to how the Zumo controls it, it works well.

If you poke around various forum flea markets, you can pick one up used for a good price. I got mine from a guy over on ADVrider for something like $125 shipped, and it was (literally) like new. If you are patient, a decent deal will come up for you as well.

Questions? Ask away. I'll help ya all I can.

 
I've got a Garmin 2730 with the XM radio puck antenna. Plug a Sony BT 'dongle' into the earphone outlet in the GPS and stick it in my tank bag for weather protection. Listen with the Sena BT headset setup with air buds. Works for me.

 
dsego said:
I have a setup that I use with my Sirius Satellite Radio. I made the bracket and used a short mag mount antenna. The Stratus radio will output on an any regular FM radio frequency. I just tune to that frequency with my Scala Q2 and listen wirelessly. I can also plug into the mp3 input and listen that way but so far I have not needed to. I shortened the FM transmit antenna and used a couple of black wire ties and secured it to the clutch hose (about 12" long".

fjr2.jpg
Click to expand...
Wow! Did not think of the radio tune could be tuned to the scala Q2 bluetooth. And that radio on the Scala Q2 plays loud and clear, I could imagine

a crisp clear satellite signal would be even clearer.

Curious how the XM through the Zumo would play w/zumo puck antenna.

Would the output be a good listen? I discovered today that the tunes played through the zumo MP3 player

sounds a bit thin, not the rich sound as my mp3 player did. (thoughts?) How is that set up sound quality?

 
I would be interested in seeing some photos of mounting options for the XM Antenna. I have the GXM40 Antenna that came with my Garmin 665 and would like to hide the antenna under the plastic but I see differing views on this on Zumoforums.

 
In my reading/research I have read that they need a clear path. Some ST forum riders say that it is

sketchy when thy put it under the plastic, some say they have no issues. My thought is that if a

heavy rain cloud can block a signal, then plastic will distort it as well......a thought.

I read in another ST forum, that someone had the exact same set up as I was thinking of and he

set the bluetooth audio on the zumo to phone only and then use the audio out wire to run to his

Scala Q2, sounds are better he claim.

I just remembered that my Aunt has XM radio in her car, thinking I can use the fm transmitter to capture

sound through the scalaQ2 and check sound quality, just by sitting in the car or standing next to it. w/helmet

on ought to work.

ooops! another thought..you have no way of certainty to know which station the scalaQ2 is tuned in to. hmmm.

Just scan till you hear something I suppose.

 
I am still planning on getting the Sena SMH-10. I don't currently have a satellite receiver and haven't seen one with BT output as an option. With this setup, I guess I could hardwire the sat receiver to the Sena (there is a wired stereo input) or buy a BT "dongle" to plug into the earphone jack of the receiver.

 
yamafitter said:
I would be interested in seeing some photos of mounting options for the XM Antenna. I have the GXM40 Antenna that came with my Garmin 665 and would like to hide the antenna under the plastic but I see differing views on this on Zumoforums.
Click to expand...
I've got a really hi-tech mount on the FJR.

The antenna is screwed onto the mounting plate, and the mounting plate is secured to the front brake reservoir with Dual-Lock.

You can check it out tomorrow.

On the Harley, I've got one of the RAM mounting plate thingies attached to the cradle.

 
Fell in love with satellite radio sometime ago (and have the stock loss to prove it.) Have an original SkyFi mounted on a Ram set-up on the left bar, antenna on the little shelf of the mount. Can't speak about BT as simply routed an extension coming out under the seat where I connect my S-Plugs. As for volume control, have a cheapie Radio Shack in-line thumb wheel hanging loose in front of the mount. Allows me to grab it with gloved thumb and forefinger no problem although find I hardly ever do, usually just off or on. Can offer two suggestions though:

1) Reception was ok using the car-kit dash antenna but faded enough where I moved it around trying to find better. Then came across this and skeptically bought it. Extremely pleased. Attached it on the shelf using the included flat mount. Made a world of difference wherein I don't even think about it anymore. Will still lose signal here or there, e.g. Conn. Rte.7 along the river comes to mind, but I suspect I'd probably lose it in an auto also.

2) Give thought to keeping it on the bike. Mine lasted a couple of years until a ride home last summer. Hit a bump while going slightly over highway speed and watched it in the proverbial slo-mo come out of the cradle, go up over my left shoulder and land between the lanes behind me. Saw about 5 cars avoid it until I lost sight of it in the mirror. Was it a big bump? Maybe. Did I forget to slide the lock? Maybe but part of the routine. Who knows? No biggie as there's plenty of these to be had on eBay for about $30, hardest part being having to deal with customer service for activation, but might be worth throwing a rubberband or something around it.

Again, understand this is low-tech for what is being asked here but thought I'd add it for anyone looking for options.

 
I would love to have music for long trips, but I can never hear the music unless I turn it way up to overcome wind noise. The external helmet speakers I've tried couldn't handle the volume I needed, even if I wanted to turn it up that loud. Earbuds hurt my ears after about an hour. I've always had an HJC so maybe I need to try a different brand of helmet...

How do you guys deal with wind noise? Or are you able to listen to music at a reasonable level without worrying about it?

 
1) Reception was ok using the car-kit dash antenna but faded enough where I moved it around trying to find better. Then came across this and skeptically bought it. Extremely pleased. Attached it on the shelf using the included flat mount. Made a world of difference wherein I don't even think about it anymore. Will still lose signal here or there, e.g. Conn. Rte.7 along the river comes to mind, but I suspect I'd probably lose it in an auto also.

Wow! That's very good antenna for a very reasonable price. Never thought about ebay for a SAT receiver, but will check it out. Thanks!

 
Timely post, it made me laugh to see this on here since I was just checking this receiver out yesterday at the shack. I was thinking about using it through my Scala Q2 headset FM radio function. Anyone using this?

XM receiver

 

Similar threads

D
Best Sirius XM Radio
Replies
9
Views
949
blassoff
blassoff
F
Garmin Zumo 550 / XM Radio Antenna / Tech stem mount & plate
Replies
4
Views
557
Fjr doc
F
cyclemed
Garmin Zumo 665 or 590
Replies
7
Views
1K
cyclemed
cyclemed
S
Electro-Farkling 2016
2 3
Replies
48
Views
5K
wes_van
wes_van
kebo123
Scala G9x
Replies
7
Views
627
kebo123
kebo123

Latest posts

Top