When you say your installer, do you mean MINI? My dealer wont touch XM because they do business with Sirius.

If you go blitzsafe with XMDIRECT, the antenna will look something like this (w/MiniMania stubby)

 

Kenwood Sirius PnP with Terk mini antenna mounted on dash.

 

It's an aftermarket installer. I have an alpine IVA9001 hu, and need the XMDirect1000 (it's the same your using?), with the XMDALP100.

 

Basically, yes. The xmdirect box is the tuner. It comes with that little antenna. If you had the MINI radio, you would need the Blitzsafe adapter to connect to the HU. Im not sure if you need the adapter ... see here https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=33054

 

I have the XM Direct System from Blitzsafe. Works great and I love those steering wheel controls!

 

Purchased the Blitzsafe adapter, XMDirect from Classic MINI of Ohio, $195. I installed it myself in an 05 MCSC with HK headunit...took about 15 minutes. I paid $600 to have the dealer install XM in my 05 JB/JB MCS. Many posts here give installation instructions.

 

I have a great installer, he probably will charge me about $50-$100, XM is only a part of the whole work done. :smile:

 

I installed OEM Sirius this weekend and it is great. I love the factory integration. I am not a fan of anything extra in or on my MCS. With the system installed there is no way you can tell i even have sat radio. I have an 05 and had a little trouble with the antenna but with a soldering iron i fixed it and its been GREAT. So many channels... plus my NFL and Howard soon enough.

 

I have had XM with a Roady for several years now and LOVE it. Is blitsafe XMdirect worth it for the integration? XM Roady and Skifi people - opinion? With XMDirect is there a remote to use? I like being able to quickly select my channel. (I have my favs) I plan on mounting the ant. on the roof in back as well.

new mini with the AUX port (installed on Sun), but need to install the ground loop fix. Also I was planning on maybe putting another port in the shelf to use it to power the roady - or the port in the back and mount the AUX port on the opposite side of the shelf.

So it is the close to $200 worth it if I am already running a 'system'?

 

If your question is; "is XM Direct worth the money since you already have the roady?"

IMHO, no

Direct doesn't have the remote, you can't go directly to a channel either preset or not with any ease. You have to hold the up or down buttons and let the unit scroll until you get close then let go. If you're lucky you'll land on the channel you wanted, if not you have to use the headunit to advance. You can't use the MFSW, if you do it will revert back to the preset one up from where you were before you started the whole process.

Also the Direct w/Blitz does not provide the same amount of artist/song info as the Roady. You can find the info by pressing the INF button on the HU, but it won't scroll. The display always reverts back to the channel number.

Here is a link on how I installed my extra 12volt outlet and the fuse location I tapped. This is on an 02, so they might have changed the switched/unswitched fuse, but I doubt it.

http://forums1.roadfly.com/mini/foru...4757550&page=1

Good luck

 

The preset buttons work with the XM Direct in my '03.
Thus, with the three button banks, I have 18 presets.

 

This is a general question. How good are the micro antennas? worth the extra $$?

 

There is no such animal. The only official MINI sat radio antenna is Sirius only.

The dealers that are doing XM installs are not using MINI OEM parts, but rather aftermarket stuff (i.e. blitzsafe etc....).

As for the micro antennas, I don't think there is a performance difference

 

I said easy, not that it can't be done :smile: They work on the wife's 05 also, but at time seem to have a mind of their own. When we're on a channel that is in bank 1, preset 5 and want to go to a channel that is on bank 3; sometimes it will let you go backwards to bank 3 yet other times it won't and we have to go through bank 2 first. Then there is the mystery channel 255 that pops up sometimes when changing the channel.

On your 03 do you have the 2 spoke or 3 spoke wheel. On our 2 spoke wheel in the 02 I could access different genres by holding in the middle button on the left side for a few seconds, which was very nice.

The ability to directly enter a station number like 155 on the Roady is very nice, can't do that on the Direct. Or at least I haven't figured it out, we have to use the < and > buttons on the HU.

 

I had a SkyFi in my previous car. (now it is in my wife's Jeep) and the sidplay on that thing is nice since you can see everythign at one time. However, there was just no great place to install the thing that did not interfere with the look of the dash, the airbags or the passenger leg area to mount the thing and have it still be visible so I went the XM Direct route. I've been very happy with it but the channel changing is a little bit of a pain, but it is not that hard to reach over to teh head unit to change if I want to listen to somethign that is not on one of the presets.

 

i've got the xm direct, and as others posted already, install took about 10-15 minutes, and about 10 minutes of driving around before it synced up...works great and the sound is very clean...

 

Standard Mini configuration with Sirius.....

I also have XM in another vehicle (permanently mounted with aftermarket Sony setup)

 

If your in bank 1, just press the bank button for bank 3. Yes its 2 steps.

Doesnt the roady require a separate box? That means more clutter in the cockpit. XMDIRECT is clean. I would't base a buying decision "solely" on the ability to directly enter a channel. The car is small enuff as it is to add more clutter (if its another box). Just my opinion

 

I have dealer installed oem Sirius on my 05 MCS, I like it lots

 

We have the XM in our 05 mini, we have the same channel 255 appear randomly when changing stations from the steering column

 

my xm direct works fine in my 05 MCS with a HK HU. You may want to place a call to Blitzsafe - they have very good tech support and may be able to help you with your problem. Also, if you're having problems with the XM Direct and the HU - did you read the BMW/MINI XM Direct PDF - you may be missing some important features.

And personally - Sirius sucks. Period. Crappy hoo hoo howie (he's not even a player anymore - other than a tired old radio jock when compared to Opie and Anthony or Ron and Fez). Have you seen Sirius's own hardware - it's like comparing Audiovox vs. Alpine - it's that markedly different.

So before you plunk down $600 bucks for a Sirius "integration" from the dealer - you should really give XM Direct a shot it's a lot less expensive and you can install it yourself. Heck if you're in the DC area - I'll install it for you! :-)

 

You are correct on both accounts. Yes you can reach over to the HU and switch banks, but I was addressing station changing form the MFSW.

And yes the Roady is an extra box, but so is the Direct. The difference is that the Roady can't be hidden as much as the Direct. Sagworks was asking about whether the "value" of the Direct was worth purchasing one when he already had a Roady w/remote system.

I've have both systems and have been using both for about 1.5 years. I got the Roady first and used it for about 8 months before I got the Direct system and installed it in my 02. Very easy and clean install. When my wife got her 05 and wanted XM, I gave up the Direct and went back to my Roady.

Don't get me wrong both systems are great, it's just that I prefer the Roady for the reasons I've mention. A combination of reasons not just one:
Display - more artist info, although a lot of info is cut off
Scroll feature - Seeing what's playing before switching channel
Direct entry of channel numbers

Ok, I'll let others offer up their opinion now and take a xm break :smile:

 

Darn, seems there are always trade offs. Can't really lose either way. I can remember a time there were no choices. I remember when there was just radio. Didn't call it AM until FM came along. Actually, radios came out with both before FM was ready to broadcast. I know...I know...I am old as dirt

 

From reading the discussion, I think I will stick with the Roady. I like having direct entry and having all the info there. Thanks.

Though now I have to figure out how to mount it. Now, any opinions on the Kuda mount? The one that mounts on the side? How does that work to mount the Roady (or Roady 2 or Small sirius') Just seeing how to do all this.

This is what I was thinking of: Going to add a power outlet onto the shelf, and I guess keep my AUX power there - though taking reccomendations. (I can't stand the though of having to drill holes in a new mini). I think the Kuda mount (the idea at least) and puts the XM in a good line of sight. the only other mount I have kinda liked so far is the gooseneck one (like the one with power) Hell, I had the XM 'mounted' in my Honda by using a tunedoc - but looking for a better solution.

 

Panavise has all kinds of mounts made specifically for the mini. You should check them out.