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Fiddler on the Route
Ok, so that’s about an hour of your drive. The rest of the time you’re trying to figure out which CDs you haven’t listened to in their entirety more than once or just trying to fiddle with the radio to make that last, lingering station come in without static. All this in an attempt to thwart the dreaded Road Boredom! Fiddle no more – the next generation of radio has arrived. XM radio, one of two satellite radio services in the United States , has managed to slip in under the wire of awareness for most of the country. We know it’s out there, we’ve heard the rumors, but we haven’t yet embraced it. It’s the thought of paying a monthly subscription for services we usually get for free that holds most of us back. But take a closer look and you quickly realize that you never had ANYTHING like this coming to you over the air waves. Going places – The first and most obvious advantage of XM over FM (or AM for that matter) is that wherever you go, there you are – and so are your music and news channels. XM has a couple of appropriately named satellites on each coast – “Rock” on one side, “Roll” on the other. These provide nationwide coverage as the satellites beam their programming to ground based antennas (called “repeaters”) that spread the signal like peanut butter over every square inch of the nation. The result? It’s tough to find a place where you WON’T get your tunes. The big upside to all of this coverage is that when you travel, you get the same radio feed continuously. See where that might be handy? No more fiddling while driving (who has room for the fiddle anyway?) You can tune in to your favorite station and leave it there. The sound of music – No matter what kind of music you’re into, there’s a station that plays it exclusively on XM. Seriously. Try to stump it and all you’ll come up with are a few dozen channels you won’t be able to live without. Whether you’re into Country, Blues, Jazz, or some sort of obscure world music from a far away land, you’ll find a station dedicated to it on XM. Hundreds of music channels in a variety of categories. And we haven’t even gotten to the best part yet… No commercials! Other than the occasional “station identification” type break or a few words from the channel’s DJ every now and then, you hear continuous music, one song after another. It’s like owning the biggest CD collection in the world – great for long drives. Also great for the small business owner who’d like to have something playing over the overhead speakers that isn’t interrupted by screaming car dealership commercials. Talk is cheap – Music is great, but there are those who fall into the category of “news junkie.” XM has you covered with a supply of feeds from major news organizations like CNN, Fox News, and ABC news. These are usually live broadcasts of the televised feeds, and they make for fascinating listening. Plus, bonus, you know about breaking news as it happens. If you need up to the minute traffic and weather, XM recently introduced city-specific channels that give you 24/7 coverage of the roads and weather conditions. Very handy for planning last minute changes in your route, avoiding fresh accident scenes or helping you navigate in unfamiliar territory. There are also talk radio networks that feature nationally recognized programs. And if you’re into educational listening, there’s Discovery Channel Radio which features rebroadcasts of edited audio clips and sound bytes from the television network. You can also listen to radio dramas and classic radio bits on a couple of specialized channels. If you like comedy, XM has a few comedy-only channels that should keep you giggling and getting strange looks from the guy in the next car over. The inevitable downsides – For many people the notion of paying for a radio service is downright obscene. The cost of getting set up with XM doesn’t make it any easier. Most of the equipment available costs anywhere from $120 to upwards of $600 when you figure in installation and required accessories. For the purpose of this review, we looked at the XM “Roady,” a cheap alternative to the pricier units available. At around $120 you get the unit itself, a magnetic mobile antenna and the power supply and cassette adapter. What’s that? Cassette adapter? Exactly. If you happen to be one of the three people who still own a car with a cassette deck AND wants the latest technology then XM has you covered. But if you’re EVERYONE ELSE you’ll have to buy the combo power supply and FM transmitter that plugs into your cigarette lighter or power receptacle. The alternative is to pay a great deal more for one of the other units and have it installed in your vehicle. There are various ways for this to be done, and there are several units available. One even allows you to remove it from the vehicle and insert it into an optional home adapter kit or optional boom box. No walkman-type unit is available just yet, but it’s sure to be on the drawing board. Of course, these optional units are also somewhat pricey, so be prepared to shell out some bucks. A little advice – Here’s your ViewOnline tip for XM radio. The Roady has a line-level, 8th-inch “headphone style” jack for output. That means that you can literally run it to ANY line-level input (think home stereo, powered computer speakers, etc.) with the right cables, available at any Radio Shack. If you’d rather use your Roady in the home, you can pick up an 1/8-inch to RCA cable for around $3 and plug it into your receiver or home stereo. Place your antenna close to a window (heck, get some double-sided tape and place it ON the window) and you’ve got a working, in-house XM radio for a little over $120. When talking with the various retail outlets, we were told that this was “impossible.” But frankly, isn’t it a given that they’d want to sell you the more expensive model with all of the pricey accessories? XM, by the way, does NOT say this is impossible, but they do gear the Roady to the automotive environment. There’s always the hope, however, that they’ll see this as a chance to create a new market for this unit by building a “home kit” and offering it as a cheaper alternative to the Roady’s big brothers. If you want a sleeker looking device with more features (like a remote control) and greater ease of portability, there are units available. For the price, however, the Roady does the job nicely. Cost –
For the money, it’s more than worth it. Especially if you want a service that goes wherever you go and gives you exactly what you want. For more information, visit the XM Radio website at www.xmradio.com.
J. Kevin Tumlinson is the Editor for ViewOnline Magazine at www.viewonline.com. He is a Houston Baptist University graduate with degrees in English and Communications. You can reach him by e-mail at kevin@viewonline.com.
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Most
people have memories of long road trips with family or friends, or even
the occasional solo-drive. There’s nothing quite like hopping in
the car and taking off, soaking in the scenery, taking note of the small
towns and unusual landmarks along the way. 