Portable Sirius/XM radio. Anyone using these?

[EWAYota]

I've been hemming and hawing for quite some time now over whether I want to go with XM or Sirius. Then I had to decide if I wanted to get one of their display units for possible in car to in home listening or if I wanted to just run it through my SAT. ready head unit.

Now, I'm trying to decide if what I would really benefit from is one of they're portable units. I've been eyeing Sirius's Stiletto SL100 , and their Stiletto 2

On the XM side, been looking at the Helix.

My question is, anyone using these? I'd like to have them set up in the truck, possibly with a FM Transmitter as well for local channels, but am curious to know how well the reception is, via WiFi and satellite. I haven't really been able to find a whole lot about the Stiletto 2, but what I have, not that great of praise with the reception. I'd be using it in the truck, and at the gym probably, so I'm more concerned with the sat. reception then WiFi.

Anyone have any input?

[Seanz0rz]

2 years ago i got sirius for my car and 1 year sub. i ditched it after 9 months, just didnt like the stuff on it.

as for the diff players, i like the new stelleto 2, check cnet though.

[SacRunner]

I have a mobile unit with a car kit, and a second antenna for in the house and an AC->cigarette lighter (12V DC) converter. I would not use the built-in receiver of the car's head unit.
Things I have done with my portable unit that cannot be done with an in-dash head unit:

• listen to it in your house. Yes, you can stream just about every station over the internet, but you pay an extra $2.99 (or $3.99) a month for the premium quality (which really isn't *that* great).
• take it on road trips in other vehicles
• loan it to friends while they are out on a road trip
  

as for those pocket sized ones, I don't really know too much about them, but I am starting to look into a new one too.

[EWAYota]

I've checked CNET but they don't offer much for reviews since the Stiletto 2 is fairly new still.

SacRunner, the reasons why you have a mobile and not a indash are the same reasons why I wouldn't want to use the head unit, but the inside of my cab is small enough as it is, one more thing to find a spot for would be a pain. But the benefit of being able to move the unit inside is what makes me look for either a mobile or the portable type.

I've just read what little reviews I could find stating that using the WiFi can be a pain if the WiFi setup requires you to approve or authorize the use of the network, and that people were only getting 1-2 bars via satellite.

Sac- When you loan yours to friends for road trips, do you have to take the antenna and install it in the other car? Or is there another way to go about it?

[oly884]

A coworker has a portable XM receiver. He loves it, his allows recording, so when he doesn't have reception he listens to the recordings. He'll leave it on his favorite channel overnight while it's plugged in to get several hours of music.

I don't have a portable XM receiver, just the car one. I love it! I've had XM for about 2 years now and it gets a ton of use esp while camping.

[SacRunner]

I've checked CNET but they don't offer much for reviews since the Stiletto 2 is fairly new still.

SacRunner, the reasons why you have a mobile and not a indash are the same reasons why I wouldn't want to use the head unit, but the inside of my cab is small enough as it is, one more thing to find a spot for would be a pain. But the benefit of being able to move the unit inside is what makes me look for either a mobile or the portable type.

I've just read what little reviews I could find stating that using the WiFi can be a pain if the WiFi setup requires you to approve or authorize the use of the network, and that people were only getting 1-2 bars via satellite.

Sac- When you loan yours to friends for road trips, do you have to take the antenna and install it in the other car? Or is there another way to go about it?

The unit I have is an older Kenwood and I don't have it 'mounted' anywhere, but it sits in the pocket between the shifters and the arm rest of the center console. It just happens to be the right size to sit over (just enough of the back sits in the pocket that it doesn't slide around) that pocket and not take up any space above the dash.

instead of buying a "home kit" for my unit, $50, I bought a second car antenna, $35...big savings I know, that I normally have sitting on the roof outside my room, but for road trips I'll take that second antenna and bring it with me. That way between the unit itself, the cigarette power adapter, and the second antenna, I have everything I'll need to go from one car to another.