# XM Radio installed



## skyehill (Feb 19, 2003)

OK, my research into XM headunits,tuners etc etc for the 2003 330i is over. Finally pulled the trigger today. The one thing I was wary of was adding a new headunit and losing a chunk of my HK upgrade(hey, it was free with the 330i, but I think it sounds great). Well, with the solution I went with, no change in headunit was required, and I didn't have to settle for the FM XM Radio solution (where you tune to an unused FM station to hear XM channels). I did a side-by-side comparison at Circuit City and there is a very noticeable difference between hard-wiring in XM and using FM...very very noticeable.

In all the threads I've read about XM on bimmerfest only one person mentioned this solution, so I assume it's just not popular with most people but it worked out great for me:

- At Circuit City I bought the Pioneer Tuner(it comes with a control unit too, that I don't need), a terk antenna, which I had them mount behind the middle-rear passenger seat, and an adapter to plug the tuner into the HKs cd-changer pre-wire (same as the Blitzsafe adapter, but made by a different company IVE). With this setup, the mode button on my BMW headunit now controls the FM and AM radio, the in-dash cd player, and now XM radio. Granted without a XM display you don't see song name or channel name, just the channel number that you're on (no big deal. I tuned to the channel, I know what it is), the upside being aesthically, nothing has been changed inside the car except for the small antenna on the rear shelf(I had them remove the middle restraint clip and put the antenna through there). The tuner itself went in the cd-changer compartment. We pulled the bottom shelf and installed it there. The whole thing took about a half hour, and then 5 minutes later I was listening to ETHEL on my way back to work.

So if you're like me and you want XM, but you don't want to change the look of your car or lose your subs etc etc, this is a pretty darn good solution.


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2003)

Ethel?! You can hear that crap on free radio.

Stay with XMU or Fred. XMU- Great new music. Fred- Great old music.


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## skyehill (Feb 19, 2003)

If I wanted to hear music by dead guys, I'd pop in a cd. Granted, I haven't played around a lot with the stations, but FRED, ETHEL, Deep Cuts, and a bunch of others sound promising. A big plus for me is having ESPN Radio, which no station around here carries. The News stations are pretty nice to have as well.


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## wildpanda86 (Feb 18, 2003)

How long did you have to wait to get the adapter?

I have been waiting for an adapter so i can plug in my iPod since January. They keep telling me that the one by Soundgate is on backorder... so i told them to get me the Blitsafe one... but i still havent heard from the installer.


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## skyehill (Feb 19, 2003)

I walked into Circuit City and bought one. They have them at the car stereo installation part of the store.


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## tgravo2 (Dec 7, 2002)

Thats cool, so everything looks stock and you have XM :thumbup: could you post pics of your antenna if you get a chance thanks, I always thought everyone put them on the roof.


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## skyehill (Feb 19, 2003)

Sure, I'll do it when I get home tonight. The signal from the back of the car(inside the car) is great. No need to attach it to the outside of the car.


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## JST (Dec 19, 2001)

skyehill said:


> *OK, my research into XM headunits,tuners etc etc for the 2003 330i is over. Finally pulled the trigger today. The one thing I was wary of was adding a new headunit and losing a chunk of my HK upgrade(hey, it was free with the 330i, but I think it sounds great). Well, with the solution I went with, no change in headunit was required, and I didn't have to settle for the FM XM Radio solution (where you tune to an unused FM station to hear XM channels). I did a side-by-side comparison at Circuit City and there is a very noticeable difference between hard-wiring in XM and using FM...very very noticeable.
> 
> In all the threads I've read about XM on bimmerfest only one person mentioned this solution, so I assume it's just not popular with most people but it worked out great for me:
> 
> ...


Love XM. Love it.

Plus, Pioneer is running a promotion on their tuners now; the tuner is just $99 (though a separate antenna is still required).

http://www.xmradio.com/get_xm/fm_modulators.html

Total cost, including the adapter, the tuner, and the antenna should be a bit more than $200.

Anyone thinking about it should do it. I can't tell you what torture it is to drive my wife's non-XM car.


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## skyehill (Feb 19, 2003)

I paid:

47.99 for Terk XM antenna
29.98 for the adapter to add the tuner to my pre-wire.

And 99 bucks for the tuner. 180 bucks, plus the 9 dollars to activate it. Not bad at all.


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## tgravo2 (Dec 7, 2002)

skyehill said:


> *I paid:
> 
> 47.99 for Terk XM antenna
> 29.98 for the adapter to add the tuner to my pre-wire.
> ...


You installed it yourself or circuit city did this?


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## skyehill (Feb 19, 2003)

The CC I went to offered a free install if I bought the stuff today. It often pays to act like you're shopping around. It worked, and the install didn't take them hardly any time.


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## tgravo2 (Dec 7, 2002)

skyehill said:


> *The CC I went to offered a free install if I bought the stuff today. It often pays to act like you're shopping around. It worked, and the install didn't take them hardly any time. *


wow free install, that's nice, I went to a car audio place and got it priced out to install, get head unit, tuner, antenna, everything and it came out to around $700 :yikes: so I put a new cd player capable of XM and I am adding subs, so I will probably do XM later on, but you got a great deal. :thumbup:


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## skyehill (Feb 19, 2003)

Yep, the thing that kept me from adding XM almost immediately last week was the steep initial cost and the threat of losing part of my HK setup. Thankfully I found a way around both and when work is over I can get back in the car and check XM out.


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## OBS3SSION (Oct 1, 2002)

skyehill,

I can certainly agree that XM is well worth it. I had the same Pioneer unit in my Passat. I had an aftermarket HU with an AUX-IN, and I used a Blitzsafe adapter that converted the Pioneer P-Bus to RCA... and I loved it. Night and day difference over FM modulator.

Now, I plan to put my XM tuner in my 330i as well, but I've been waiting for BMW to release the adapter that hooks into the back of the HU for the AUX-IN. I was planning on putting my control panel in the ashtray... it should fit nicely with a little bit of dremel work (and only the ashtray insert is modified... cheap and easy to replace.) This way, I can close the ashtray cover and be completely stealth, but also open the cover and control my stations and see the song titles.

Now, my question to you is this: You say you can change the channels without using your control panel? How, with the CD changer track or CD number selector? I didn't know that was possible. Heck, if the adapter you bought at Circuit City was only $30, I may run out and get it just so I don't have to listen to the crap on the radio anymore. Then, when BMW's AUX IN adapter is available, I can upgrade. (Maybe I won't even need to.)

I'm also wondering how the install was done. Is your control panel not even connected? Are you just hooking up power (I'm guessing from adapter you bought) and the output (also to the adapter)? And of course the antenna. I agree that the antenna doesn't need to be on the roof. I had it in the back window of my Passat... just loose and sliding around, and it still worked perfectly fine.

Thanks for the info. I just might be running to CC tonight! :thumbup:


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## skyehill (Feb 19, 2003)

OK, to answer your questions:

The numbers that normally change the CD (1-6) don't have a function with the XM tuner...at least not that I can tell. What works is up and down on the steering wheel or on the HU itself. Basically you go up and down the stations that the Tuner receives. Again, this is limited in that you can't save a station to one of the numbered buttons like you can with the FM and AM tuner, and of course you dont see song title etc. All that is fine with me, but it will be a personal preference for everyone else.

So yes, the control unit is still in the box the tuner came in, unused. And yes to your install questions. Really simple install too. Here's the pics I promised earlier.

The first two shots are showing the small antenna seated in the back of the car where the middle strap/restraint used to be. We just unscrewed it and used the hole for the antenna. The last picture shows where I put the tuner and then covered with some plastic to make it aesthetically more pleasing.


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## tgravo2 (Dec 7, 2002)

wow, the antenna looks well done, I really like it :thumbup:


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## OBS3SSION (Oct 1, 2002)

skyehill,

Well, I really want my XM again. I called my local CC and asked about an adapter for the Pioneer tuner and BMW cd changer, and he had no clue what I was talking about. He told me if I could get the info (part no., desc., etc.) that is listed on your receipt, he'd be able to get it. Especially since you got yours at a CC.

His excuse was some CC's get stuff faster than others.

Thanks.


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## skyehill (Feb 19, 2003)

My receipt only says the following:
SL 2 IVE RSPARTS RETAIL PRICE GUI 29.98


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## OBS3SSION (Oct 1, 2002)

Okay, what I thought would be a quick purchase is turning into much more than that. According to that line on your receipt, (and what the guy I talked to said) that is a "blanket part" and not something they normally carry. He thinks they may have actually gotten it from another local shop or ordered it, and just charged you what they paid and listed it under a generic SKU.

He thinks that somewhere further down on the receipt there should be some comments as to what the adapter is. Also, is it possible to see the adapter, and perhaps a brand name and/or part number on it?

Sorry to be such a pain about this. But you got me all excited... and I really, really miss my XM.


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## skyehill (Feb 19, 2003)

This wasn't a special order. They had it on the wall with other car audio parts. Have them call their Circuit City in Cary, North Carolina and ask one of the installers there what we used. There's nothing more on my receipt and we tossed the little box for it. When I went in, I asked for the Pioneer unit that does XM via FM, which they were about to do until the guy that did the install came over and said that I didn't have to use FM because they had an adapter which would connect the tuner right into the BMW cd-changer wiring, therefore getting better sound. He showed me the part, which clearly wasn't Blitzsafe, so I asked, "Is that anything like the Blitzsafe part", wo which he responded with something like, "All these parts are sold from the same place to different manufacturers. They're identical."

But again, have your CC call the CC in Cary, NC and ask what part they would use to do the install I described. Like I said, I was just a walk-in today. They ordered nothing special to do this installation.


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