Product Description

The SKYFi2 XM Satellite Radio is The most advanced plug-n-play receiver around. Using leading edge technology, you'll get the very best in radio programming, with clear sound and easy-to-use special features. For example, the exclusive Replay/Pause feature saves the last 30 minutes of programming - including programming from multiple channels. It connects easily to any existing car or home stereo, with a variety of optional adaptor kits. Displays up to 5 lines of text on a white screen, showing channel, song, artist and title information Backward compatible with original SKYFi accessory kits Remote control included Comes with SA10101/SA10102 Car Kit

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14372 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Delphi Products
• Model: SA10162
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 4.10 pounds

Features

• Large display shows channel number, channel name, artist name, song title, and channel category
• Plug-and-play connectivity works great with home kit, car kit, and boombox options
• Catch missed programs with the 30-minute pause and replay feature
• Delivers more than 150 high-quality, XM satellite radio stations
• Measures 4.7 x 2.9 x 1.3 inches (W x H x D)

Amazon.com Product Description
The Delphi SKYFi2 XM Satellite Radio Receiver and Car Kit includes the SkyFi2 XM satellite radio receiver and the Delphi SA10102 Vehicle Kit, for a ready-to-go, XM satellite radio automobile package. Delphi's XM SkyFi2 Radio Receiver offers convenient plug-and-play XM Satellite Radio reception for the car, home, or office, including the first-ever pause and replay functions for satellite radio. Now you can pause or replay up to 30 minutes of live XM programming, and the SkyFi2 continuously and automatically saves the last 30 minutes of programming, including programming from multiple XM channels. The unit also offers a stock ticker, a sports-scores ticker, and a built-in wireless FM modulator, and a clock, among other features.

Additional SkyFi2 features include a large scroll wheel and a convenient wireless remote control. You can navigate through direct-channel entry from both the receiver and the remote, and you can program up to 30 channel presets (10 more than the original SkyFi's 20) for one-button tuning to your station of choice. Also, the SkyFi2 adds something the original was missing: a stereo analog minijack (.125-inch) audio output for ready hookup with headphones or other audio equipment.

SkyFi2's display is even easier to read than that of its predecessor. The channel guide lets you view 5 channels at a time while scrolling through the channels by channel name, number, artist name, or song title. You can also skip or add channels while scrolling. In addition, a "favorites" mode lets you preview the artist name and song title currently playing on your favorite channels before you select one.

SkyFi2 adapter kits for the home and vehicle let you enjoy uninterrupted XM radio service in any vehicle, at home, or at the office. The SkyFi2 vehicle adapter kit works in any existing car stereo system (with mounting options), and the SkyFi2 home adapter kit is adaptable to most home or workplace audio systems and multimedia speakers.

This package comes equipped with the XM SkyFi Vehicle Kit. This vehicle adapter kit is just the thing to complete your Delphi SkyFi2 radio system. To install your SkyFi2 in a car, you need this kit, which contains a vehicle cradle, a cassette adapter, an antenna, and a 12-volt power adapter.

The vehicle cradle holds your SkyFi2 receiver and provides connections for audio, power, and antenna cables. The 12-volt power adapter plugs into your cigarette lighter and powers SkyFi2 through the vehicle cradle. The cassette adapter, meanwhile, lets you listen to XM right through your car stereo's cassette deck.

XM's digital programming lineup features 67 commercial-free music channels, from hip hop to opera, classical to country, bluegrass to blues; 63 channels of sports, talk, children's programming, and entertainment, and 21 channels of weather and traffic.

What's in the Box
Receiver, remote control, remote battery, vehicle cradle, a small magnet-mounted vehicle antenna, a cassette adapter, a power adapter, a user's manual, and warranty information.

Customer Reviews

I am enjoying this receiver!
After much research, I finally decided that this was the receiver for me! So far, so good.

I am primarily using this in the car, so I grabbed this version that included the car kit. If you only want one receiver but want to use it in two cars, you will need an extra car kit. It's too annoying to try to move the antenna between cars. I had looked at a few portable units, but I chose this one since it was designed primarily for those in the car, and I wanted the a unit that was going to be easy to use when I'm in the car.

Installation was very easy. I did it myself, and my antenna is on top of my roof near the front. The antenna cord is about 24 feet long, so there is plenty of extra cord if you are in a sedan like me. I ran my cord right under the weatherstripping on the front windsheild as was suggested at cruchfield.com, then through the door and around the door jam. The kit also includes one of those little tubes that you can fit around your cords, as you will have three: antenna, power and the cassette. All cords plug into the base.

I used the air vent base installation instructions (the kit also comes with dashboard mount and a swivel mount, but both can damage your car when you're ready to remove the mounts). The only thing is that I wish it were a little more steady from side to side when I am pushing the buttons. It takes some playing around with to get just right.

The receiver itself has been pretty easy to use. I definitely recommend actually reading the instructions on how to use all of the different buttons. There are 30 memory buttons available. There is also a neat feature that will alert you to when your favorite artist or song is playing, and the alert will allow you to go straight to that channel if you so desire.

One downside is that only the buttons have a backlight. The labels above them do not have these lights. So, until I get to remember exactly where the "jump," "memory" and "menu" buttons are, it's going to be to difficult to use them in the dark.

There is also a 30 minute record/replay function on this receiver. However, anything you save is erased when the unit is turned off.

I tracked this item for a few weeks before I bought it, as I noticed that the price occasionally would change from day to day. Amazon's price when I bought this three days ago was $93.99, and today it is listed about $3 less. Some third party merchants have dropped the price below the Amazon price from time to time, but generally, the Amazon price has been the lowest.

If you buy this item before the end of April 2006, there is also a $30 rebate available from XM.

Although I have not actually been a Sirius subscriber, I took advantage of the online trials with Sirius and XM. I also read some reviews of both and examined their channel guide. Their offerings are very similar. If you are interested in sports, XM has great college ACC/Pac 10/Big 10 channels (I am a UNC grad, so I have to have my ACC sports!), NASCAR and MLB. Sirius offerings are more towards NFL/MLH fans. One review I read said that the music on Sirius tended to be what he phrased as "riskier," which the reviewer defined as playing more deep cuts, etc. I have been very, very pleased with the XM offerings, playlist, variety, talk, etc. No complaints with XM here!

Quality receiver with quality service
I've owned this XM receiver with car kit for several months now and I can tell you that it has met or exceeded my expectations in every category.

INSTALLATION
The receiver mounts easily enough in one of my air vents in the front dash. From there I run a direct stereo line out into my AUX input jack on the front of my car CD player. The antenna has a strong magnet and is easy to get on the top of your car. The installation took me about 10-15 minutes total, with no tape or tools and it is completely reversible.

FEATURES
The receiver itself is great. The large jog-dial, in conjunction with the Menu button and XM button, controls most of the selections you'll have to make. You can set 3 sets of 10 presents. You can display song info on the screen in two different ways. There is also a feature to run a real-time stock ticker or sports ticker with your selected stocks or teams at the bottom of the screen. All things and other receivers being equal, this feature sold me over other receivers and Sirius.

The last main feature in the SkyFi2 is TuneSelect. You have 20 slots to store artist and song info. Say you're listening to Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." You just hold down the XM button for 2 seconds while its on and it's stored into memory. You can then set TuneSelect to either "artist" or "song." If it's on song, whenever Smells Like Teen Spirit begins to play on any of the 150+ channels, the receiver will beep and you can hit the XM button to jump to the channel that's playing it to catch the song from the beginning. If TuneSelect is on "artist," anytime ANY Nirvana song is being played on any of the 150+ channels, the receiver beeps and tells you which Nirvana song just started. You can once again hit the XM button and jump to that channel. You can store 20 songs or artists this way.

SERVICE
The XM service has been phenomenal, and better than I expected. I live around downtown Chicago, and I always get XM signal--even on lower Wacker Drive. This is because XM has set up terresterial signal emitters on the ground in metropolitan areas that are in the shadow of skyscrapers and tunnels. I have also taken it on 300 mile highway trips and always get XM signal. The service is great. After you have it, it's like cable TV, you can never go back to just broadcast TV. Commerical radio is horrendous compared to XM.

The one caveat of signal quality is how you get the signal from your XM receiver to play over your car stereo. If you use a direct line-in like i do, your signal will always be perfect. If you use the FM modulator (set your car radio to 88.5 FM and the XM receiver to broadcast on that channel) you're in for a crapshoot. In downtown Chicago, there is so much interference that FM modulators for anything, satellite radio, iPods, anything--will not work. In fact, when most people complain that the XM or Sirius signal is lost, the receiver doesn't lose the signal; the car radio can't pick up the FM modulation signal. So if you can only use the FM modulator to get the signal from the XM receiver into your car radio, I would tell you to pass on getting satellite radio if you live in a dense metro area (NY, LA, Boston, Chicago, etc). Otherwise, I fully endorse this product, it is outstanding.

Great Receiver, East to Install
I've had a SkyFi receiver in my home for over two years now, and am addicted to Satellite Radio -- it's all I listen to now. When we leased a Lexus RX 330 that did not have Satellite radio pre-installed, we purchased this receiver and car kit for it. Initially, I was concerned about trying to install the antenna on the roof of the car (the instructions that come with the kit are necessarily vague concerning how to install the antenna on the car roof, because each car is different). I did not know if I could do it myself, or if I would have to pay a professional to install it. Well, I decided to try putting the antenna inside the car, on the dashboard, rather than trying the more complicated roof-top installation, to see if it worked. I placed the antenna on the dash as far forward as possible, and stuck it in place with a little museum wax. I hid the antenna wire easily in the seam between the dash and the side of the car, and then strung the wire below the driver's side floor mat. It works great! Every now and then, the signal drops off when you make a turn or go under a bridge, but it's only momentary and no different than the drop off I got on regular radio. Indeed, it does not seem to happen any more frequently than in my other car, that had XM pre-installed with a roof antenna. The receiver plays through the tape deck in the car, and the reception is strong and crystal clear digital. (One of the other reviewers complains of poor reception when played over the FM radio -- that is only necessary if you don't have a tape deck, and I haven't tried the FM broadcast signal myself.) All in all, we're very pleased by this receiver and car kit, and wouldn't know what we'd do without it.