XM Antenna Placement

[shawn744]

Hello everyone. I am mounting my XM antenna on the marauder soon and i need some advice on where to mount it. I really really really want to mount it on the roof so i can get the best reception seeing as i pretty much live in a foresty suburban area. Also i have 5% tint on all windows. Only thing i can think of is the front windsheild but i think it would have a better sight on the roof. What have you guys been doing? Thanks a lot for the help. -Shawn

[BAD MERC]

Depending on the metallic content of your paint - above the grille at the end of the hood will do. Or, if you have a factory spoiler, install the antenna INSIDE it. These locations will keep it invisible. XM and Sirius antennas are satellite visible under anything but metal and flesh.

[shawn744]

hmmm. hood is a good idea. Now suppose i were to put it in the corner or the side of the trunk lid.....how would i get the antenna wire into the trunk from the cabin?

And on a separate note....would you know how to get into the cabin from the engine bay? As i have more and more gadgets and the need for power is greater, im trying to find a way to get into the cabin from the engine bay....is there an easy way?

[Marauder2005]

This is what I did with my sirius ant. (same idea). Mounted radio on

faux carbon fiber dash (pulls right off). Ran ant. wiring down under

plastic door sills to back seat wear I went under back seat to trunk. Then

ran the wiring up trunk and hid the ant. wiring behind the back window

glass molding where I mounted the ant. on the roof. Its easy and have

great reception!

[enzoalo]

I have mine centered behind the third brake light on the trunk lid. The wire runs through the trunk, into the cabin under the carpet, and up the console along the passenger seat. I only loose signal on steep grades and when there are heavily wooded areas along the road. I have hardly used the CD player in 2 years. Enjoy!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
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[Marauder2005]

Depending on the metallic content of your paint - above the grille at the end of the hood will do. Or, if you have a factory spoiler, install the antenna INSIDE it. These locations will keep it invisible. XM and Sirius antennas are satellite visible under anything but metal and flesh.

Hm, I had my Sirius Ant. mounted on the dash for a while, and the reception

was horrible. Once I mounted it on the roof it became 100% better.

[BAD MERC]

Give me your email address. I will send you a picture of the best place to drill through on a Marauder!
hmmm. hood is a good idea. Now suppose i were to put it in the corner or the side of the trunk lid.....how would i get the antenna wire into the trunk from the cabin?

And on a separate note....would you know how to get into the cabin from the engine bay? As i have more and more gadgets and the need for power is greater, im trying to find a way to get into the cabin from the engine bay....is there an easy way?

[Hummina]

hey dude. no im not stalking you:D

as for drilling, isnt there just a grommet you can push some wires through in the firewall somewhere? drilling always scares me:)

[shawn744]

hey dude. no im not stalking you:D

as for drilling, isnt there just a grommet you can push some wires through in the firewall somewhere? drilling always scares me:)

yo you could've just called me dude.....anyway...i dunno its kinda hard to punch through that grommet....i think.....

anyone know how to punch through to the cabin?

[AzMarauder]

Hello everyone. I am mounting my XM antenna on the marauder soon and i need some advice on where to mount it. I really really really want to mount it on the roof so i can get the best reception seeing as i pretty much live in a foresty suburban area. Also i have 5% tint on all windows. Only thing i can think of is the front windsheild but i think it would have a better sight on the roof. What have you guys been doing? Thanks a lot for the help. -Shawn

Shawn,

I use an older (early model) 2 wire antenna that looks like a small frying pan. I have a dash mat, and it sits right on the front dash. (the wires run under the dash mat). Works just fine there. Run the XM that way in 4 vehicles and no problems. Of course I'm not in a heavily forested area (SE Arizona).

[fastblackmerc]

hey dude. no im not stalking you:D

as for drilling, isnt there just a grommet you can push some wires through in the firewall somewhere? drilling always scares me:)

Hint: Look under the dash where the emergency brake goes thru the firewall.

I mounted my GPS antenna next to the rear high mounted brake light. Works good.

[Sully008]

I have the Sirius antenna on the top of my 3rd brake light as shown here. I've since added the Nav. antenna beside it. No major problems with reception on either system. More pics of my stereo in the gallery.
http://www.mercurymarauder.net/showcase/files/2/9/6/0/SiriusAnt.JPG

[Marauder]

My sirius antenna is right next to my 3rd brake light. No one notices it until I point it out. I have 20% tint.

I've never had any issues with signal quality.

[2003_MM_FYRE49]

On my Marauder I mounted the XM antenna to the right of the 3rd stop lamp. On my Mountaineer I have it mounted on the center of the dash where the dash meets the windshield. I painted the antenna to match the color of the dash and you can't even tell that it is there.

When I mounted it in the Marauder I removed the rear seat cushion and seat back. Next I disconnected the 3rd lamp and removed it. You now have access to the rear package tray. I placed velcro hooks on the bottom of the antenna and placed it between the right edge of the 3rd lamp and the left edge of the child seat anchor at the rear edge of the package tray so that it is at the rear glass. I then ran the antenna lead under the tray to the right side of the car. I removed door trim sill plates and continued running the wire towards the front of the MM. The XM module is mounted under the dash to the right of my console. This install makes for a very clean installation.

[JonW]

Sully008, that'a a great idea. I had mine mounted on the trunk of my CV, but it's going on top of the brake light on the Marauder :)

[shawn744]

Yes i liked that idea....however i have tint....and although i doubt that would affect it a lot, i have always wanted a roof mount for better reception....its really woodsy here...

[N40GL]

I am mounting my XM antenna on the marauder soon and i need some advice on where to mount it.


Shawn ,

I'm trying to locate a permanent mount Sirius antenna. Ford makes one for the 2007 Mustang that Ford mounts on the trunk lid. I'm not certain of the connectors are compatible with the Sirius receiver, however. If they are, I plan top put it on the roof, drilling the hole after removing the two rear seat map lights.

If this doesn't work, then Shakespeare Marine makes a permanent mount that definitely will work (it has an SMB connector), but the darn thing's white. If I can find a black plastic non-metallic paint, I could paint it, but I'd have a white rubber gasket between it and the roof. Since the receivers abandoned the square plug for the antenna, they go to the commercially-available SMB antenna plug.

XM is less than 2 MHz from Sirius, so you can use the same antenna. If you want to search for options, look for an "SDARS antenna," or one that is an S-Band patch antenna. Sometimes they are called "ISARS."

As I get mine resolved, I'll post pictures.

Mark

[Sully008]

Yes i liked that idea....however i have tint....and although i doubt that would affect it a lot, i have always wanted a roof mount for better reception....its really woodsy here...

Shawn,

I have tint on the car as well and I don't have problems. Even in downtown with a lot of tall buildings I rarely have a problem.

[MENINBLK]

All of these radio technologies, XM, Sirius, and HD
should be able to use the antenna in the rear window.

In major cities, the signals for these are rebroadcasted from local sources anyway.
The antenna in your car should work just fine.
Find an adapter and plug it into the back of your radio.

[shawn744]

yeah in the city it works fine but my escalade has the XM also and it loses reception sometimes in the woodsy area that i live in....that's why i want a roof mount....its always fine in the city.

[DWSTANG67]

i just installed a sirius radio in my marauder i tried to install ant on top of 3rd brake light did not get a good signal i do have tinted windows so i put it on trunk lid at the base of the back widow center wire runs into trunk to the right side there is a access hole between trunk and seats along the side interior pannels about shoulder height if you sit in back seat. Then ran witre under rubber seal to the front the head unit is mounted on top of compass got the idea from donny carsons pics it looks more like a factory instalation then just hanging off the dash . Also ran power wire to center console and used that power output so you dont see the plug

[SMOKE]

The top 'o the 3rd brake lamp antenna install shown earlier in this thread (Sully008) has worked as good as any interior install I've done.

My wife's Frontier NISMO worked best when I put the antenna on the front dash.

Lot's of woodsy trees around me, and yes...even an overpass will tend to interrupt my signal. But, it's brief and it beats putting a magnet on my paint jobs. I don't have full western exposure, say if I was out in the mid-west.....for the reception so I take the good with the bad.

My '97 Wrangler has it's antenna mounted on top of the sound bar (speaker bar mounted between the roll bars up over your head). Apparently sat waves can go right through the soft top.

Here's a picture (clicky: mega/large/oversized/DUW/digital camera out of control (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/showcase/showimage.php?i=1219&c=3&userid=4490)) of my Sirius Replay stuffed in one of the cup holders in the center console. Right off my fingertips and out of my line of site (this model receiver doesn't really dim down that much).

That windshield-mount suction-cup has worked in the 2 or 3 vehicles I transfer my personal receiver through (got a couple, but I like mine best).

All wiring (and "FM Direct Adapter (http://shop.sirius.com/edealinv/servlet/ExecMacro?nurl=control/StoreItem.vm&ctl_nbr=2640&siId=1998401&catParentID=7872&scId=7872&oldParentID=7872)" as they call it now) is buried and snaked and WELL worth the piece of mind in regards to a job well done...

...sorry, I know this started as a XM thread, but in the spirit of cooperation and Marauderhood I figured I'd throw my hat in...:rolleyes:

JWM

[larryo340]

Hey,
anyone who has Sirius satellite can use this very cool inside windshield antenna, and guess what " I found IT on ebay"
http://http://cgi.ebay.com/SIRIUS-SIGMA-ANTENNA-MOUNTS-INSIDE-YOUR-WINDSHIELD_W0QQitemZ2300774366 61QQihZ013QQcategoryZ60205QQss PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewI tem

[larryo340]

Sorry, try this link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SIRIUS-SIGMA-ANTENNA-MOUNTS-INSIDE-YOUR-WINDSHIELD_W0QQitemZ2300776973 86QQihZ013QQcategoryZ60205QQss PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewI tem

[SMOKE]

Be advised the unit mentioned looks to be only a housing for a stock Sirius antenna...not a seperate solution????:confused:
EDIT: Seller states it is a seperate unit, stock antenna in picture only for reference purposes...

Here's a couple links:

Link 1 (http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CP&Product_Code=999U9-SGMA1)

Link 2 (http://www.siriusbackstage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55210)

...looks like a winner nontheless according to my google on this...it really seems only to be what it takes...as opposed to mounting a magnet to your car...thanks larryo340...this seems to build on any possible interior "stock" location I would prefer...

But, if you click the first link this could run close to $80...(could be dealer markup? I know I put Sirius in my wife's '06 NISMO Frontier MUCH cheaper on my own...dealer sell around $500 for the "module/antenna"...let alone this antenna solution..even the dealer couldn't sell that to me with a conscience...lucky me) so the eBay seller's auction start price of $0.99 seems weird. And, the 2nd link forwards to a forum post started in 2004...

But the seller seems to sell a lot of plug-in solutions and remotes???

Anyway...

JWM

[larryo340]

If you read the complete auction page you will find near the bottom:

"Here is one pictured below side by side next to the outside conventional antenna to give you an idea of the size. I have place 2 here to show you the mounting side with heavy duty sealing tape and the other side."

and also this is near the top of auction:

"Up for sale is a Sirius Sigma satellite antenna for attachment inside you cars windshield. This item comes with the standard round antenna plug that fits in most all receivers out there."

I used to work for Lincoln/Mercury in service for 15 years, but last year I had to switch for sorry to say TOYOTA service:cry: , and the dealer installed Siruis system uses this antenna. It is sealed shut and not serviceable. I cannot get it without buying the whole satellite kit. So I did buy one from this seller yesterday for $52.65 including shipping, hoping it is the same as I am familiar with.

[shawn744]

Two quick questions...i took apart my rear seats last night....and i couldn't figure out how to remove the rear deck shelf...I will have to remove the third brake light as well because the shelf wraps around it. Just wanted to confirm that...

And how do you guys get your XM/sirus antennas to reach the rear of the car? Do they all come with really long wires (25ft) like that? Or are you using some sort of extension....mine is not going to reach. Anything i can do to get it to go to the back of the car? Thanks. -shawn