i bought a pioneer 8400 head unit. it is a xm ready head unit. i have that installed already, it works great.
my question is with the xm reciever i just bought. i have the reciever and the antenna. how difficult is it to install ? do i have to place the reciever in a certain place? do i have to place the antenna in a certain place also.. i am tring to get the best install possible..
please help thanks
What kind of vehicle do you have? That has a lot to do with where you'll mount the tuner and the antenna and how you'll run the wire.
you can put the reciever anywhere you want with that cable going to the radio and power applied. and with some cars you can place the xm antenna on the back deck but rcoment on the outside of car.
i have a 1993 vw corrado slc... and i dont recall who makes the antenna, but i dont have to drill it into my glass if that matters. i dont know weather to do it myself of just pay someone to do it... i live in cali... near ontario....
Antennas are not all that hard to install but if you've never done it before it's definitely something you want to take your time with. Not doing it correctly could possibly mean a leaky roof. Not to mention many of the cables that are attatched to the antenna are very fragile and one pull the wrong way will cause it to break. Then you'd have to go buy yourself another antenna.
I am referring to the traditional roof mount type antenna, not the glass mount ones. We always use the roof mount ones whenever possible as they tend to provide the best reception. Of course if you have the kind that goes through the glass then you don't really need to worry about leaks and stuff but like I said the reception quality is generally not as good as the traditional kind.
Usually the tuner is mounted under a seat, behind the dash, or somewhere in the trunk. It can be mounted vertically or horizontally, just keep it away from heat and A/C vents.
The tuner needs to get its own constant, +12 volt switched, and ground connections also. The power connections can come from the head unit's wiring harness but the ground has to be connected to the chassis of the vehicle, within one or two feet of wherever you end up mounting the tuner. Also the IP-BUS cable has to go from the head unit to the tuner.
if you can install an amp, you can install xm.