are there any satelite radio car units that can be self-installed

[pstokely]

in a 97 Corolla

[ET Awful]

1. Most of the "plug and play" models

have FM modulators that simply broadcast on an FM frequency and don't require any real installation other than plugging them into a cigarette lighter.

[pstokely]

2. which ones

don't you have to be an antenna?

[ET Awful]

5. Yes, but the antenna has a very slim wire that can go under the seat

and out the window (or through fold down rear seats) then magnetically attach to the roof or trunk.

http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=Gateway&cid=1066857398016

The car kits for almost all of those have suction cup mount that has a built in modulator with no real installation required. :)

[bbernardini]

3. Check crutchfield.com.

They'll tell you all of the radios you can put in that car. There are some that have XM or Sirius installed in the unit, or you can get one that has some kind of input, and hook the separate satellite unit up that way (which is what I do).

[Thegonagle]

4. I know the XM Roady2 is a "no installation needed"

type of deal. It has a built in wireless FM modulator.

But here's the one you want--It's from Sirius. http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=ProductAsset&cid=1093551683444

It's also a "no installation needed" model, with built in wireless FM modulator.

I would recommend Sirius sat service. They've got a dedicated AAR channel (24 hours a day, straight from New York WLIB), plus a "Sirius Left" channel which carries other programs such as Ed Schultz. Sirius also has two NPR channels plus PRI.

XM is somewhat lame. They only have one "left" channel--they only carry 2 hours of Ed Schultz, only 1 hour (I think) of Randi Rhodes, and worst of all, they carry Alan Colmes instead of Mike Malloy. They also have only one "public radio" channel.

EDIT: They all require an external antenna because the satellite signals are very weak compared to ground-based signals. Sat radio antennas are generally small mag-mount puck-like things with a nice long, thin cable. All you need to do is run the cable from the front seat to the trunk under the trim where the car's carpeting meets the interior walls. Then just stick the antenna on your trunk lid (or roof if it's van, wagon, hatchback, or SUV) and you're ready to go.

[ET Awful]

6. I like the newer models better ;)

same price, but smaller. I'm going to be upgrading to one of these soon:

http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=ProductAsset&cid=1093551683484

It's about the size of a cell phone.

[Thegonagle]

7. Oooh! Very nice! I haven't seen that one yet.

It's been a little while since I shopped around--I'm on XM with semi-annual billing right now. I was going to wait for my billing period to end before I switch to Sirius for the better news and talk selections. The music on XM is nice (yes, it's been commercial free for about a year now), but I find myself listening to more news and talk; when I want music, I'm more likely to listen to my CDs than sat.

[ET Awful]

8. The newest JVC unit is similar size and build too.

Nice stuff :)