Anybody else have a problem with the factory Sirius radio cutting out when going under overpasses or over head structures?
Mine cuts just about every time...wondering if somethings F'ed up?

 

just a thing called interference or lack of reception.

 

It's satellite. If your antenna does not have a clear view of the signal it cuts out. It's not like radio waves, which go everywhere. Satellite TV is the same way. You get a big storm with big clouds and rain and it goes out. My Sirius does not go out in the rain like my TV did, though.

 

Thanks for pointing out the obvious there fellas ! So theres no lag or delay? Seems like going 50 - 60 mph under an overpass wouldn't be enough time to mess with the reception. Also I can go into what we call the 7th ave tunnle (about a 1/4 give or take) with no problems....ehhhh thanks anyways
Plus my friends with after market Sirius have no problems at all.....

 

I have an aftermarket XACT Visor Sirius unit and the only time I lose reception is when I am stopped under a bridge or overhang at a gas station. I have been in a parking garage and still had enough of a signal to get reception.

I do not lose signal when going under an overpass at highway or even city speeds. It may be the antenna that Ford uses or its location. I have mine by my 3rd brake light on the roof.

 

I noticed this too, and it's just another of the pet peeves with the radio. The other, and I'll admit I haven't tried to fix it yet, is that the information won't scroll through channel, artist, song, like my old xm unit in my gmc. the factory xm in my gmc also had a few second buffer to fix the overpass issue

 

Snaps!, I can scroll through names and songs! I'm gonna see what the dealer syas durings next oil change!
Thanks for all the responses

 

That's what I hate about having a Dish Network satellite TV setup at home. Every time it rains heavy or just gets really cloudy, the service is interrupted.

 

Something I found out on mine, is that the up/down buttons next to the CD player will show you the song and artist but it doesn't just scroll which is annoying.

 

I had a non OE Sirus Streamer GTR in my chevy and I had the same problems with loss of reception in tunnels and overpasses etc. Now I have a OE Sirius unit and it has the same problems.....Just the nature of the beast I guess.

 

how bad it cuts out depends on several factors, including how many land based repeaters are in your area..

I have one underpass that all of my satellite radios lose reception under .. no atter how quick I drive through it.

I get less cut out on talk stations than I do on music stations .. but it still cuts out.

you can scroll up and down through the channel, artis, etc .. but you have to use the TEXT button to scroll right to left.

that is the main reason I install an aftermarket HU . I missed being ablt to see the scores of the football games, and the top 5 when listening to the race.

 

I am in the Phoenix metro area with a aftermarket Kenwood SIR-KEN1 unit hooked up to my Kenwood deck. And I have the same problems with the overpasses. I also have the problem at bank drive thru's. There must be something in certain overpasses that causes the interference, because it does'nt happen on all of them.

 

Satellite radio requires line-of-sight from the transmitter to the recieving antenna. The signals are also very weak as you can imagine due to the distance of the satellites above your location. The signal is digital and tranmitted in a spread spectrum, meaning all the music and info is coded into digital streams that is decoded by your radio. Radios with large buffers cans handle a small interruption in reception and not cut out while radios like the Ford OEM radio have a very small if any buffer (maybe a couple of seconds) so it cuts out when the overhead is blocked. Sometimes the signal can still be recieved under an overpass or tunnel if there is a repeater that focuses the signal into the tunnel or just from multipath, the signal bouncing off surfaces and to your antenna under the overpass.

 

Need to have your dish re-aligned then.. 80% or so is good enough for a signal but you will have these issues.. you should be in the 95%-105% range (goes to 110%) then outside of a major hurricain you will be fine.. If its set up properly your more likely to lose power or cable first.

 

Shane1,

I have the same issue in my 2007 Crew when I go under the I-17/101 stack up north everyday. Never had the problem with my aftermarket XM but the stock Sirius in my F150 and my wifes 2007 Jeep Wrangler X do the same thing. As you pointed out, going through the 7th Ave tunnel doesn't do it. There must be a repeater in there because they knew people would lose the signal. And I'm sure you know how long you can get stuck in there during rush hour.

phxflyboy