This might be a dumb question, but... oh well. I recently had Sirius replace my defunct S50 recently. 9 months and 3 warranty claims later, they finally sent me a new one. I guess they felt bad because they also sent me an FM direct adapter and a prepaid "install card" to have it professionally done. Unfortunately I'm going out of town and don't have time for one of the "install card's" retailers to install it before I leave, so I was just going to do it myself as a temporary fix (it's the way i've always done it anyway, haha).

SO, Sirius sent me this thing. Do I need an aux input for this? I have the HK stereo, and according to the diagram this thing just plugs into the back of the radio. My boyfriend has a Jeep Wrangler, and he said it wouldn't work on his car. I was really hoping I'd get to use this thing, so please help! If it will work, do I have to pull the whole head unit out to get to that plug? (maybe i should just wait and have it done professionally)

thanks!

 

Why not just get an XM Direct unit and plug it into your cd-changer input. Then you'll have station, title and track info all on the head unit.

 

Krut, stop trying to convert. She's a SIRIUS customer, and hasn't expressed an interest in changing to XM. The question had nothing to do with which service she should be using.

heater, the thing that SIRIUS sent you appears to be a wired antenna function... meaning that your head unit still processes it as a radio station, but instead of travelling through the air, you effectively connect the SIRIUS receiver to the radio antenna connector. The box in the middle is a pass-through allows you to keep your regular antenna for other radio stations.

It is not the ideal solution. I am not familiar with the options on the S50, but if it has a line-out jack, all you would need then is the Aux Input, which would provide the best quality signal (better than the radio antenna thing).

Even if the S50 does not have a line-out jack, the headphone jack connected to the Aux input would still be a better alternative to the radio antenna option, IMO.

 

I have the S50 and just installed the AUX input to connect my S50. It's not hard to do and I didn't drill any holes or remove the headunit to do it. The S50 does have a line out, so I just used a 1/8" to 1/8" audio cable to connect the S50 to the AUX input.

 

Awesome!

There you have it heater... the OEM Aux input will be a better solution than the radio antenna cable you have now. Better quality sound, easier to deal with...

Installing the Aux input is very easy to do. It can be done without removing the head unit, although I do recommend you remove it anyway (not hard, even for first timers) so that you can see where you are plugging things in on the back.

There's plenty of help here if you still need it.

 

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the help! (As far as I know) My car doesn't have the Aux input. I bought it used, and I sure havn't installed it yet. That is my grand plan of course, but I'm going on a 12 hour road trip on Thursday, and what Sirius already sent me is my quick (free) fix. I'm just trying to figure out how to install the one I have . Yikes!

Oh, and I have plenty of allegiance to Sirius.

P.S. My current set-up is just the S50 doing it's little wireless FM transmission without the adapter thingy. So really, either the adapter or the Aux input would be an improvement.

 

The OEM Aux input can be had quite cheap... I don't know if EAS (the sponsor of this forum) sells it, but it can be bought from your dealer... another option is from OutMotoring, where the price is $40 (link).

Trust me, it's worth it to get the Aux input instead of the radio antenna method - much better sound!

 

Hi Krut, where do you get this XM Direct? For Christmas I was given NEXUS XM but it only work with the FM module. I would love to have it hard wired like my Ipod.
Thanks
Mario

 

No harm meant to the people that have Sirius - they're both good services - XM direct can be purchased from myradiostore.com

 

I want to return the NEXUS that was bought for me for the one you are talking about "XM Direct". Does Best Buy sell them?
Mario

 

mario - PM me and i'll give you details -some Best Buy franchises sell it - others don't.

 

By the way...if you do happen to have to remove the headunit, don't fear, as it is a very easy task. PM me for instructions .

 

We do - just not on the site yet. Orders can be placed via phone if needed (same as BMW kit).

 

We have the XM direct kit, in stock and ready to ship:

XM Direct Satellite Radio Package for BMW & Mini
http://www.europeanautosource.com/pr...roducts_id=267

 

One quick note about the AUX input and the S50.... like I said, I just installed my AUX input yesterday and this morning was the first time I actually drove it and listened to the radio. I heard the high-pitched variable whine when I was driving so I need to install the ground loop isolator. You may want to do that as well just to avoid the hassle of doing it later.

 

Help! I too have installed a plug-n-play Sirius radio to my HK unit via the aux port. However after playing the Sirius in the HK's Aux mode, after about 30 seconds the HK radio reverts back to FM mode and will not let me go back to Aux mode without first unplugging my Sirius radio and starting over; and it then again reverts back to FM after about 30 seconds. Anyone else experienced this problem? Any ideas? Sirus and Best Buy do not know what the problem could be.

 

Sounds like a ground loop problem. If you search, there are some threads about common problems caused by not having a ground loop isolator. Intermittent recognition of the AUX is one of the common problems.

 

Hey I just wanted to give a HUGE thank you to you guys!!!!!! Wednesday I got my new S50 installed and working. It turned out I needed more adapters for the FM direct adapter to get it all plugged in. After finally removing my downtubes and the head unit, I had to drive around all over town looking for said adapters. After I got the, and had it all plugged in, everthing worked beautifully! I still want to get the aux input later, but for now this works pretty well.

As for others with an S50, I have mine mounted on the pillar by the windshield, so it can rest on the dash.

Thanks for all the help guys!!!!!

 

MarioKart if you get the xm direct unit from bestbuy you still need to get the converter/reader thingie.. blitzsafe makes one that hooks straight up to your wiring in the boot (near the hk amp) on the right side. Easy install.