2001 Forester and Satellite Radio

I'm thinking about having satellite radio (would prefer Sirius over XM) installed in my 2001 Forester. I went to Circuit City to check out installation options, and there don't seem to be any good ones. All of the satellite radio receivers seem to require the installation of a bracket (meaning drilling into/mounting onto the passenger side of the center console). There doesn't seem to be any unit that fits neatly into the Forester with a "clean" (ie - no brackets; no wires exposed; etc) install.

Does anyone have satellite radio installed in their Forester? If so, what model receiver did you have installed, where was it physically installed on the vehicle, and who did the install for you?

Thanks!

Reply to
BRH
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I installed an Alpine that has the XM tuner built into it. The XM receiver is under the drivers seat and the antenna I ran through the firewall and have it on the hood (only the size of a zippo lighter so it doesn't look bad at all).

"BRH @comcast.net>"

Reply to
A7N8X-X

I think that's the key - go for a head unit that's contains the tuner (or can use an external under seat-tuner), rather than a plug and play unit. I believe the head units that contain the tuner are just on the market, or will be imminently so, but will probably have a $$$ premium.

I have Sirius in my 03 Legacy - have a Sirius-ready Kenwood head unit, with an external tuner that's under the passenger seat. No drilling needed, just replacement of the OEM CD/Radio and routing of cables. Plus you can upgrade to a unit that does things like play MP3 CDs.

Of course, the only trouble is that you're then commited to that service - if you decide you want to switch from Sirius to XM or vice versa, you're more kind of stuck than you would be if you had a plug and play unit. I initially bought a Sirius system since at the time XM music was not commercial free and Sirius had NPR; now the content gap is closing (although Sirius has more sport), and Sirius's one major issue (way too much repetition of songs) has begun to irritate me.

Reply to
Alan Pollard

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