sirius radio in tractors/combines/etc

[gump341]

not sure where to put this, new here

i want to get sirius for when driving tractors/combines/etc, anything on the field, someone easy to move from tractor to tractor, i only have am and tape player in tractors but have a tape adaptor, will that work perfect?

my concern is the skipping, will it work on a rough field in tractors

 

[Ductape]

I used to subscribe to Sirius, and had one of their portable recievers I could use in any vehicle, as well as at home. Mine had a built-in FM modulator, and you would tune the radio to a particular frequency to listen to Sirius. I felt it worked pretty well, and never had any problems with 'skipping'....... though it would hiccup a little when driving under an overpass, etc.

 

[gump341]

how do the portable receivers work, can i just go to tractor to car and easy set up and connect, dont i need a antenna, and what about in a rough field with lots of up and down rough rides

 

[Duffster]

how do the portable receivers work, can i just go to tractor to car and easy set up and connect, dont i need a antenna, and what about in a rough field with lots of up and down rough rides

I don't know how it was wired but have been in a couple of tractors with it and had no problems

Sure makes the long hours go bye faster

 

[nmu98]

how do the portable receivers work, can i just go to tractor to car and easy set up and connect, dont i need a antenna, and what about in a rough field with lots of up and down rough rides

Most protable sat radios have a docking station they plug into. That will supply them with power, and a wired antenna. I have yet to find one that does not need an antenna when used. Most will also use a FM modulator as others have posted, but you might get better sound quality out of the tape connection. In my area, almost all radio stations provided some type of feedback once and a while.

 

[rtimgray]

how do the portable receivers work, can i just go to tractor to car and easy set up and connect, dont i need a antenna, and what about in a rough field with lots of up and down rough rides

I got a Sirius portable setup (I think it is a Stilleto of somekind). It came with built in antenna headphones and I bought the docking station for it as well. I was going to install it on my tractor, but discovered that I could just put the radio in my pocket and wear the headphones and I was able to put the "permanent" docking station in a different vehicle.

Some people find the headphones to be uncomfortable, but I think they're fine (except they're kind of stupid-looking). If you want, you can plug the headphones in and hang them on the ROPS as an attena (or out the window if it's a cab tractor) and plug in another set of earbuds at the same time. That's what I had to do on my dozer, because it has a steel roof and I guess that blocked the signal (but the fiberglass canopy on my tractor doesn't - go figure).

I really enjoy listening to mine on the tractor - now I just hope that they stay in business - at least til my one year subscription expires!

Take care and good luck

 

[Ductape]

Gump, on mine the reciever sat in a docking station. I had one in my truck, and a second at home. The one for my vehicle has a suction cup mount, but it could also be permanently mounted if you wanted. I'm confident you could purchase extra docking stations and permanently mount one in / on each vehicle if you chose. It was powered by a cigarete lighter plug, but again there is no reason you couldn't hard wire it if you wanted. The antenna was jus a small magnetic thing...... about the size of a junebug. Stick it to any metal surface that is open to the sky. I never used mine with a set of hearing protection w/ built-in radio.....but no reason I can see that it couldn't be done if you wanted. I was always satisfied with how it sounded through the FM modulator. The new recievers are easily half the size mine was. Should be easy enough to find a spot for one.

 

[rtimgray]

Sorry - I also don't have any problems with rough fields, hills, etc. - but if I go into the woods or even too close to them, it can sometimes block the signal. But I also wear mine when I go for a run, push mow the yard, etc. and it doesn't lose signal - so long as you have clear view of the sky.

The only downside is that when listening to satellite radio, battery life on mine is only about 3 1/2 to 4 hours for the big battery and 1 1/2 to 2 for the small one. On Sunday afternoons in the fall, I like to bushhog and listen to NFL games. I would usually run out of battery time by the middle of the second game - if I had installed the docking station on the tractor, it wouldn't be a problem. I ended up usually listening to one game on terrestrial radio for my local team (Titans) and listening to the other game on Sirius.

Take care and good luck.

 

[gump341]

im very new to this, thank u for your responses but still confused with how it all works

so i new a docking station(not sure what this is)for my home, then i need to set up a antenna in each tractor/car/truck?

can i just set up the docking station at home, then take the little antenna and radio with me and set it up whichever im driving that day
ie-im driving my car in the morning, take a couple of minutes to set it up in car for 4 hours of listening, then move to the tractor and do the same thing?

 

[gump341]

also what about the bouncing around, will it harm the radio at all if in a bumpy tractor

 

[gump341]

also most tractors have only AM radio, no fm or tapes, just standard basic am, if i buy a portable sirius does it come with speakers and how good are they, and how long do they last, hopefully 12 hours min?

 

[rtimgray]

also most tractors have only AM radio, no fm or tapes, just standard basic am, if i buy a portable sirius does it come with speakers and how good are they, and how long do they last, hopefully 12 hours min?

If you were intent on using a Sirius and you have a tractor that has an AM deck, you can buy the Sirius in-dash radio for about $40 or $50 (I think). You could mount it in place of the original radio. You could also have a portable for other vehicles, but you have to buy a 2nd subscription (although at a discounted price) for your 2nd receiver.

If you didn't want to go that way, you could replace the AM only deck with a cheap AM/FM cassette player. I have an adapter that runs from the Stilleto to the tape input of the deck and it works fine.

Again, if you wanted 12 hours of radio time, you will have to get a docking station and install it on the tractor. I don't remember how much the docking kits are, but I don't think they are prohibitively expensive (cheaper in the long run that double subscriptions).

I also don't have any experience with the unit mounted on the tractor in regards to bumpy fields. I know the bumpy fields don't seem to affect my normal radio, and I've always had the Sirius in my pocket.

Good luck and take care.

 

[gump341]

so you have a walkman type sirius radio, can u buy speakers with that so you dont have to listen with it with earphones all day, i hate earphones, also can u get up to 12 hours on the battery, how does it work

 

[rtimgray]

I just looked on the Sirius site, and I think that I have the Stiletto 100. I bought mine refurbished (cause I'm cheap). The disadvantage of it, as far as I know, is that you HAVE to use the antenna/headphones with it while you are wearing it because there isn't another antenna for it (if you are using it as a portable). Again, you can wear the antenna headphones around your neck and also use some earbuds (which some folks find more comfortable).

Now, if you're not wearing it as a portable, you can use the docking station for the vehiclees or you can get the docking station with built-in speakers and external antenna. I bought one of those for use in the barn and ended up buying another antenna for the house. So now, I have one antenna mounted at the barn (with the plug in hanging where I set the Executive speaker set-up) and one antenna mounted at the house so I can just move the speakers to whichever location I am at. I think it has pretty good sound, but I'm really not that much of an audiophile.

I liked the Stiletto better than the other offerings mostly because you can wear it as a portable, use it in a docking station for a vehicle, or put in in a docking station with a remote antenna for in-home use. That pretty well keeps me covered.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck and take care.

 

[rtimgray]

I just looked on eBay and it looks like you can pick up a refurbished Stiletto 100 for $125-$150, a vehicle docking kit for $50, and an refurbished Executive speaker set for $50 (these are the quick and dirty search - "buy it now" prices"). I may have missed some small print that has $100 S & H, so my apologies if I am misleading.

That is essentially the set-up that I have that lets me listen to it pretty much anywhere. There are some different options on the in-home stuff - it looks like you can get a docking station with an external antenna that will give you an output to your existing sound system - again, I'm a dummy when it comes that stuff, so I just bought the speaker system.

Good luck and take care.

 

[gump341]

i want it so i can take it tractor to tractor and not take long to set it up, 5 min max, and i dont want headphones

 

[gump341]

checked ebay. seems i can get one that has a already built in fm tuner, just plug into cigar thing in tractor/truck and thats it, its just the earphones bug me, i hate them
anything i can get thats better than earphones, any other device i can use to plug into it so i can listen to speakers like normal radio

 

[gump341]

rtrimgray i have a few questions for you forget all the other stuff

-how does the portable work, what is the docking station and how does it work, i thought you bought the radio itself and it came with a antenna that is put on the roof and thats it?
-how many hours does the portable walkman last for, and does it use batterys
-i only have am radio, is this a problem
-can i get portable speakers that plug into it instead of earphones so i can listen to it normally

i want something that i can bring with me to the combines/tractors/etc that i can listen to clearly via live sirius radio all day and all night if i have to without earphones and i can setup easily and wont take long to switch it from tractor to tractor

i know nothing about this stuff, talk to me like im 7

 

[tommu56]

an excavator I had doing work for me had the satelite radio in his truck and wore work tunes radio head set to cut noise and it picked up the fm signal from the satellite tuner modulator he said it woud work over 1000 ft or so from the truck

tom

 

[Nuru]

I installed Sirius SAT Radio in my tractor as follows:

Installed a AM/FM/CD Head Unit (Radio), speakers, with an auxiliary input ($90 bucks)
Velcro'ed my old circa 2005, externally mounted (magnetized) Auto Satellite antenna on top of my cab.
Ran the Antenna wire into my cab
took my portable Sirius Sportster (circa early 2005 model) from inside my house.
got a mini plug cable (Male plug on both ends)
Plugged one end of the mini plug into the Sportster
plugged the other end of the mini plug into the Aux input of the AM/FM/CD Radio
Plugged the car power cable into my power plug in the tractor
plugged the SAT antenna cable into the back of my Sportster.
Selected the Aux input

Works like a charm - I use it while i am cutting my yard and my neighbors yard.

I still bring the Sportster in the house and plug it up to my audio equipment.

good reuse effort for me as I don't need this unit in my cars anymore.

the bouncing does not seem to bother the reciever yet, but it is one designed for a car.


I hope this helps