NES

He guys! I finally decided to get Sirius after being stuck on the infamous Belt Parkway here in NYC for approximately 3 hours during a trip where it normally should take me anywhere from 35-50 minutes. This is not the only time im stuck in traffic but this time it got me frustrated... Not one radio station had anything decent to listen to. Not even the Spanish channels which usually give me a more upbeat tune (I dont know spanish, but every now and then when nothing is on, it fairs better than the rest). My question is this...

I took delivery of my 2006 530xi end of May.. Sat prep is equipped..


Does an after factory Sirius install slow idrive down considerably?

and...

Does BMW service with a regular service appointment or is it given any sort of priority within the dealership? Any experiences?

Rudy

As far as I know, Sirius doesn't affect the performance of iDrive. It's still slow after the install.

Just schedule the install with the dealer after confirming that they have all the parts in stock and you'll be good to go.

The following thread outlines what many of us paid to have it installed. As you can see, it varies from dealer to dealer so this information should help you avoid getting ripped off...

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=6396

SolarFactory

I love Sirius. Great addition to the car.

MidnightRider

Does Sirius Satellite radio work in Europe? I am taking ED in September. Curious if my sat rad will work worldwide?

Rudy

No, as far as I know, it only works in North America...

cobradav

No, as far as I know, it only works in North America...
[/quote]
Yep, no Europe. And, while it "works" in North America, Canadian friends cannot get subscription as a Canadian resident. Suppose if they can get the units indtalled and use a US address they could get it. But signal does reach across border quite well. I don't think XM and Sirius have designs on WW servic until they get better subscription rates and revenue growth in their home market. Plus I think some locations around the world have better services in the audio and video world, but that is conjecture on my part and not based on anything other than some comments on this board.

subterFUSE

Sirius should have an easier time adding other countries to their service. Their satellites are low-earth orbit. They have several satellites going around the whole earth, but staggered so there are always a couple within the view of the USA. But... you will sometimes notice short pauses in the music while your radio switches over from one satellite to another.

XM uses a geosynchronous orbiting satellite. It stays over the same point all the time. So it would be harder for that one to get signal to the other side of the planet. They would need to launch more satellites.

cobradav

Well, while in the strictest sense the Sirius satellites cover more earth ground track than XM they are not LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellites. Instead, its three SS/L-1300 satellites form an inclined elliptical satellite constellation. Sirius says the elliptical path of its satellite constellation ensures that each satellite spends about 16 hours a day over the continental United States, with at least one satellite over the country at all times. Sirius completed its three-satellite constellation on November 30, 2000. A fourth satellite will remain on the ground, ready to be launched if any of the three active satellites encounter transmission problems.
The Sirius system is similar to that of XM. Programs are beamed to one of the three Sirius satellites, which then transmits the signal to the ground, where your radio receiver picks up one of the channels within the signal. Signals are also be beamed to ground repeaters for listeners in urban areas where the satellite signal can be interrupted. Between the elliptical orbit and the apogee/perigee - 180 km x 35786 km - parameters the satellites draw a rough figure eight track with the narrow turn over North America and the wide turn over the southern Pacific Ocean and South America. The satellites do not cover the entire earth. Also they must be in view of the uplink equipment to in turn relay to ground receivers. Supposedly agreements did exist that prevented the signals from being beamed into Canada and Mexico, but we know that we can receive the signals on US equipped vehicles in Canada. I cannot verify the same for Mexico.

In this drawing the XM sats are about 25,000 km above earth. They rotate at a speed equal to earth rotation and hence appear as a fixed point above earth. You can see that Sirius sats go far below and above the XM sats. Combined with the earth rotation and their inclined path to the equator they stay in the western hemisphere.


Orbital paths at this location:

http://www.tiger-usa.com/sirius-xmorbitanim.gif

allenman

Does anyone know the part number fr the receiver for E60?

Rudy

As always, cobradav is a fountain of knowledge -- especially extra-terrestrial knowledge!

As far as Canada, I think Sirius is slowly working out the legal issues to eventually provide service to Canadian residents:
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=12683