tferdaise Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Ok peeps, I have a 2010 Fusion SE with the Sync system. The Sirius radio reception is good UNTIL I get into a tunnel or shelter. I had a 2008 Altima with XM and never had a problem. I drive the same route in both cars and only have this problem in the Ford. So has anyone had this problem? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
commishbob Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 My Sirius reception cuts out momentarily when I go thru an underpass. Having never had a Sirius system before I figured that was routine given the nature of satellite signals, antenna reception, etc. Interesting that your XM'd Altima played through tunnels. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocsoofficer Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Ok peeps, I have a 2010 Fusion SE with the Sync system. The Sirius radio reception is good UNTIL I get into a tunnel or shelter. I had a 2008 Altima with XM and never had a problem. I drive the same route in both cars and only have this problem in the Ford. So has anyone had this problem? I've had the same experience in reception with Sirius and XM. It seems XM has a better coverage or signal strength than Sirius, 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocPFFP Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I had XM before I bought this car for 10 years. NEVER ha drop-outs like I have now. I'd LOVE to get a boosted antenna somehow. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo7hs2 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) Satellite radios buffer a portion of the signal, and I'm going to guess the other vehicles had radios with a larger buffer, long enough to cover the time spend without a signal. In other words, both cars lost the signal...but the car with the big buffer radio had stored enough of the song that you never noticed. Whether that is a peculiarity of Sirius vs XM, or a peculiarity of the receiver, it is almost certainly not an antenna issue. Considering the angles involved, you probably *should* lose signal in a tunnel (XM's terrestrial booster system notwithstanding in some urban areas)...whether you notice it is a function of the buffer. Big buffer, less likely to notice. Based on my own radio, I'm guessing the buffer in these units is VERY small...mine cuts out at highway speeds under overpasses that are more than about four lanes wide or larger. An alternative explanation is that the original XM network uses an extensive terrestrial booster system in some urban and suburban areas, to supplement their satellite signals in places they expect poor satellite reception. I'm not sure how the original Sirius network worked, or the current setup. If Sirius signals are not boosted in your area, or if you've moved, or if the Ford antenna is poor at terrestrial reception, that could be an issue too. But I strongly suspect a buffer size difference...unless the old car could play continuously in a location where the Ford cannot. Edited July 19, 2012 by Jo7hs2 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbf2530 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Moved to the "Audio, Navigation & SYNC" sub-forum. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocPFFP Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I'd buy the buffering problem since it locks back on instantly when the sky's clear again. Do you happen to know if this is a SYNC software thing or a hardware limitation? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo7hs2 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 (edited) If it is a buffer issue, it is unrelated to Sync for two reasons...first, Sync is just an integration system, the radio still runs on its own firmware...and second because I don't have sync and my buffer is just as short. The buffer is either limited by how much memory installed in the radio (a hardware limiation), or by how much of that memory is allocated to the buffer (partially a firmware limitation, but also due to limited memory). My guess is that the radios in the other cars were premium radio models where more memory was available for the buffer. Since the Sirius radio is included free of charge in our Fusions by SiriusXM promotion, my guess is they used th heapest hardware possible. Or, XM recommended a larger buffer in their older units than SiriusXM currently recommends. Edited July 20, 2012 by Jo7hs2 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
con_fusion Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Used to have a Pioneer Airware XM radio with a car kit and it never had drop out problems locally when going under overpasses etc. but as someone pointed out there was a lot of terrestrial brodcast also. In fact, on the Pioneer you could get to a menu where it showed the signal strength for sat and terrestrial. It would work in my garage. Now with my Fusion and Sirius, i do get momentary drop outs like others. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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