Delphi SA10035 Roady XM Satellite Radio Receiver

get em while theyre hot....o&a come back oct 4th and you need XM to hear em

My wife bought the Roady for me for my birthday in anticipation of a three-week motorcycle tour through the West.
I had it installed by Sean Franklin of Cyclegadgets.com, using a Hoon mounting bracket that secures the Roady to the top of the brake fluid reservoir on the right side of the handlebars of my '03 BMW K1200GT. The mount has a little platform where the magnetic-based antenna sits and the power source is hard-wired into the bike's accessory plug.
I use custom molded in-ear monitors made for me by an audiologist, so they deliver stereo sound while acting as earplugs to block much of the external wind noise.
Sean initially thought I would need to run the Roady signal through a radio or a Boostaroo amplifier. However, when I plugged my in-ear monitors into the Roady I was surprised to discover the signal was actually a bit too loud. As a consequence, I'm running an in-line volume control between the Roady and the monitors to back the volume off a bit. You can also use the "menu" button to access an output volume control.
I'm writing this from a friend's home in Alma, Colo., some 10,680 feet above sea level, having spent two days on the road from my home in Indiana.
I've made this ride many times, but this was the most pleasant ever, thanks to the Roady and XM satellite radio. The best way I can think of to describe the sound quality is "ear candy." The traffic/weather channel for St. Louis helped me avoid delays and the incredibly diverse music and talk offerings kept me from being bored at any point during the 1,300-mile journey.
The Weather Channel forecasts were especially nice to have, since weather is a major issue for long-haul motorcycle touring.
At my age (59 next week), I need reading glasses for close-in small reading, but I found the Roady display was quite easy to read without my glasses. Likewise, the controls are easy to work with a gloved hand.
(The unit comes with three sets of decorative trim - red, blue and silver faceplates and edging. I found the edging wouldn't stay put and interfered with my operation of the channel selector knob in the upper right corner of the unit, so I removed the edging.)
Cyclegadgets.com also has a rain cover for the Roady. Also, the unit is easy to unplug and stow in a tank bag, saddlebag or pocket if you're worried about rain or theft while you're away from the bike.
I expected to lose the satellite signal coming up U.S. 24 through the canyons from Colorado Springs, but it never faltered. About the only time I dropped the signal was under a gas station awning.
During the few pre-trip days that I had the Roady, I used it in the car and my wife immediately became an XM convert, so I expect there's another Roady in our future once I return home. Fortunately, XM has a family plan that lets you add units to your account for an additional $6.99/unit instead of the base monthly rate of $9.99.
The Roady is more compact than the Delphi SkyFi and way smaller than the Sirius receiver I watched a mechanic install on a Gold Wing.
Prior to the Roady, I'd used a Sony MiniDisc player with several hours of MP3 music I recorded from my collection. I ended up carring the player and maybe 20 discs, which took up a lot of space in my tank bag. I left that all behind on this trip.
XM gives me access to a nearly infinite variety of music, including a lot of new stuff I would never hear otherwise.
So, if you're a touring motorcyclist looking for a way to ease the tedium of hours on the superslab, the Roady may be the answer for you too.
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July 27, 2004:
I just returned from my 6,000-mile motorcycle ride through the West and have some observations to add.
I got caught in a rainstorm in southern Idaho and couldn't pull over before the Roady got a little wet. The moisture caused the buttons to stop working. The good news is that once I got beyond the rain into hot, dry desert air, it dried out quickly and returned to normal functioning with no apparent ill effects.
Loss of signal was very rare - sometimes when a large semitrailer truck was close enough to block the line-of-sight angle to the satellite and when in a deep canyon or a tunnel. (I missed a couple of minutes of the long version of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida while going through Glenwood Canyon and its tunnel system on I-70.)
Among the details I found useful was the "tune select" feature: When you hear a song you think you'd like to hear again, you can select it by pressing the little wheel in the upper right corner. That puts it into memory and the next time it's played on any of the music channels, the unit will beep and ask if you want to switch to that channel. You can ignore it, or press the wheel to go hear your song.
If you hear a new song that you'd like to know more about later, press the "memory" button and it will memorize the artist and title - a handy feature since it's kinda dangerous to be scribbling notes on a motorcycle at 70 mph.
The original Roady is being blown out at discount prices now, since the Roady2 is coming out. The units are physically identical - the only difference I can discern from the promotional material is:
1. The Roady2 has an built-in FM modulator that puts out a signal your car radio can receive, eliminating the need for a separate modulator. Even so, hardwiring or the cassette adaptor deliver better results, and
2. The Roady2 has a personalized stock ticker that will display up to 20 stock quotes.
Those features are pretty much irrelevant to the way I use the Roady, but you might find one or both worth waiting for the Roady2.

My title says it all. The only complaints I have are the following:
Lack of accessories. Would be nice to have a boombox it can plug into.
The stupid external decorating accessories is just that, stupid. I stuck on the blue cover, and the blue rubber band. A few months later the blue rubber band was pulling on the corner button that it helped aid in changing my settings. It's safe to say I took that off.

But I have to give the unit a five for as the unit itself, it's great. So if you buy this I highly recommend get the remote with it, and if you want to hear it in the garage, bedroom, or whatever, get the home kit too.

Enjoy!

Small size, but what great entertainment! If you are considering satellite radio - this is the one to get! Despite the smaller size, it has no problem matching the bigger ones - performance is excellent. In the vehicle, it performs as well as a built-in on a rental car. As I wrote this, I was listening to it in my office - with a false ceiling, metal trusses and a wood roof overhead! (Update: turns out I was listening to a terrestrial [earth] repeater. But after almost a year the Roady is going strong and I am still loving it. (and an XMPCR went into the office and the Roady is either in the car or portable))

A neat feature is its portability - the best of both worlds. It can be readily moved between car and home or wherever. When it's out of the car, you just need an antenna, power (get a cigarette lighter adapter, and you can use the included cord)and either headphones or some amplified speakers. The home kit (optional) can help here. (For somewhat permanent installations in the car, using the Sky-Fi's wired FM modulator gives a great improvement over the cigarette lighter FM gadget. It's pricey, but was totally worth it - it eliminates competition with FM stations)

As far as reception goes - you have to have expectations in line with how the signal gets to you. In the case of XM, the satellites are in a fixed position over 22,000 miles above the earth. Just as with broadcast FM, if something gets between you and the broadcast antenna, the signal will fade or disappear. Unlike FM, digital signals don't "fade" and allow scratchy, weak reception, they just drop out when not enough information is reaching the receiver. The sound is either there in quality or it's not at all. So, set your expectations knowing that you may not be able to receive the satellite(s) when something significant is between you and it. Having said that - I have very few dropouts, only tunnels, mountains/cliffs that are close, and snow-filled fir trees seem to interfere at all. And those are somewhat temporary (in the car).

The biggest consideration is antenna placement. Some homes won't allow reception inside or certain areas. This is why long cords are available to get the antenna nearer to a "view" of the satellite's signal. Note that vehicle antennas need at least 6 inches of metal around the antenna. Follow the rules, and you will be very happy with it! There's nothing like it - so many choices. About $10-$12 a month to eliminate commercials is completely worth it!

The entire package comes for less than 120 dollars. Along with a quick online service sign-up, you are set to go (including installation) in your car within 30 minutes of purchase. Their customer service is also EXCELLENT if you have questions and want to talk to a real person. The choice of channels is top rate, especially being able to hear CNN and other news casts live. This proves invaluable during an emergency where you are connected to a global viewpoint rather than your local stations periodically breaking into the commercials and songs. It is small, professional looking, and easy to operate with a customized background color- you choose it. I was extremely impressed with the price for all that you get. I thought satellite radio was far too expensive, but it is now affordable. You cannot go wrong with this product. Highest recommendation.

OK so here I was walking around discount store, and lo and behold, the roady popped into my hand. I surely did not like the 159 price as marked, so with a little help from the worlds largest marketplace, I found one for about half of that. I did not buy from amazon, due to no free stuff as the fm modulator-

Now I have been thinking about this for about a year, and now after buying it, my backside is sore. 1st, from sitting in my car and becoming totally engulfed by the programming, and second for not buying this before I moved from MD to WA. Oh what a terrific ride that would have made.

Setup took me a whopping 5 minutes of my life that shall never be replaced, however worth every second. I subscribed online, no problems, took about half an hour to program all of the stations, but within 10 minutes, I was listening to a great station anyways.

If this goes out, perhaps it will be my fault, perhaps not. It has a warranty! Why people complain about things breaking when they are under warranty is beyond my comprehension.

As far as people complaining about clear channel-get a grip-so you don't like taco bell but you eat at pizza hut? SAME COMPANY get over it-Illuminatti rules the world anyways, so just enjoy the radio.

I have had mine exactly one day, and now, I have two problems with it. 1st, is what in the world am I going to do with all of my now unused cd's>>?? Second problem, is I am going to have to buy about 10 more of these units to give a christmas gifts!!

YEP it works in my powered computer speakers great sound--

The Roady gets two stars because when the signal is good, the sound is clear and fantastic. However, since half the time I listen to XM in my home, the Roady loses three stars. The home kit (which I paid for because I purchased my unit 8 days before the promotion began)consists of three cheaply made pieces. It includes an antenna that does not fit properly into the unit. The signal is lost at the slightest movement. This means not being able to change stations without excess aggravation. I waited two days too late to contact XM about this and my only option for another antenna is to purchase another home kit ($28).

In addition, I suggest that anyone considering XM radio take a close look at the channel lineup. Like cable tv, because everyone has preferences, it's likely that at least half the stations will not appeal to you. After using the unit for a little over a month, I find myself unplugging the thing and listening to FM when I want to listen to music. Also, there are several channels that are just audio from stations you're paying for on your cable bill (E!, CNN, etc).

I inherited the Roady after purchasing the SkiFi with a boombox for my mother(expensive at over $190). The antenna does not fall out of that unit and it's portable and just better for her to listen to talk radio around the house. (AM reception is terrible in our area and, as mentioned before, XM is clear and perfect.) However, if I hadn't already invested so much money in the Roady ($119 for the unit, 28 for the home kit, 20 for setup and a month's service)I'd cancel my subscription immediately. I anticipate being totally disinterested in XM by the end of next month.

Also, a heads up. If you order a second XM subscription, as of the end of June when I ordered mine, you cannot get the second one for $6.99, as advertised, online. You must either pay $9.99 as you will for the first and also pay $9.99 for setup or you can call on the phone and get the subscription for $6.99 a month but they'll try to charge you $14.99 for setup. I suggest you make a fuss and don't pay that extra $5!

Well, let me start out by saying that Dennis (the first reviewer) is an IDIOT!!! He is worried about who owns XM stock rather than the product quality? Get a life you loser, who cares if Clear Channel has 8 million shared out of 4.95 billion shares of stock? Wake up and smell the coffee. You suppose to leave a review not issue a stock alert!

Now to the meat of things. I have had my XM for 12 hours, and so far I love it! I had problems signing up online. After three attemtps I called, I cussed and they fixed me up and didn't charge me the one time set up fee. So I saved $10.

Now I agree with another review, who said beware. Amazon does not offer the freebies. I had been looking at satellite radio for 2 days, and I happened to stop in at Best Buy and they had the roady for $120 and tax. BUT it includes an instant free fm modulator AND they gave me a rebate form to get the HOME KIT for free as well!!! So it is worth the extra $6 and sales tax to go to the retail outlet to pick this up. You dont even have to pay shipping to get the home kit, so Delphi is taking care of business. Hey, Dennis, did you bother to see how many shares of stock Clear Channel owns of Delphi? After all you bought their product, you IDIOT!

If my unit went out ever 6 or 9 months, it would not bother me. Long as it is in warranty, what the heck? You get a new unit and a new 1 yr warranty and all you have to do is drive to the store? Sounds like a bargin to me.

UPDATE:

I have now had my unit for 3 days and I am upgrading it form 4 stars to 5. This thing is flat out awesome. And I learned why you get so many freebies in thew stores, the Roady 2 will be coming out sometime in the next two months. So you might wait and get a thinner, lighter unit that runs stock tickers. So far that is the best I can find on the new features, other than a new lower price. But that can change. Also worthy of note, a little known fact about about the roady you can use headphones. At least I have not found any information that says it will power them, but it does. I tried it out myself. The saleman told me it would not power speakers, you have to have battery operated speakers to work, I am still working on that one.

XM is the best thing to happen to radio ever. It's like TV after cable or Satellite. Once you have experienced all the selection, you can't imagine being stuck without it ever again. My problem is with the quality of the Delphi Roady. I have just had to make arrangements for replacing my second defective unit in only 3 months. The first had output jack connection issues after 5 weeks. The second's display died after 6 weeks. I rarely move it from the car. I will give it one last try with a third unit. Buyer beware!

The radio is pretty slick - albeit I had to swap it once due to the first unit being defective.

However - beware. The free wireless adapter that XM.com advertises is not honored by amazon.com. You're supposed to get it "instantly" with a purchase at most retailers (both brick and mortar and online). Amazon doesn't ship it and there's no form to fill out on the site to get it by mail-in. SO, while the price is attractive at amazon, you need to weigh the fact that you're not getting the $30 freebie that you can get by going somewhere else. The savings don't make up for the omission.