Terrestrial Eavesdropping: FM Transmitter Equals Free Satellite Radio
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Here’s a little technical phenomenon I found by accident. I fired up my new Sirius SD-50 satellite radio today and it turned out the antenna that came with it is HORRIBLE. I had been using the unit in my other car where I had previously installed a cheaper Starmate (the antenna jack is the same) and the new radio worked fine with the old antenna. Tried the new radio in my other car this morning with the new antenna that came with it and it was a mess.
But here’s what I discovered. If you drive behind someone who is using the Sirius SD-50 with the FM transmitter set to 88.1 FM (in my case) you can drive along listening to an almost crystal clear signal for as long as you stay with the car beaming the signal.
[tags]alice hill,sirius,howard stern,satellie radio,sd-50,fm transmitter[/tags]
3 Comments
Bubba
January 7th, 2007
at 1:46pm
Yeah, and if your run along next to someone who is spilling their beer in a bar, ya can get drunk!
HonK
December 6th, 2007
at 1:17pm
Good for road trip convoys. Or when your surrounded by vehicles that want some serious er sirus sound. Like the beach or camping. :)
Tom Webb
February 5th, 2008
at 11:41am
If the Satellite Radio user (Sirius or XM) is using a Whole House FM Transmitter to broadcast their show you could listen and not be so far away from the car which would be great for convoys that “Honk” suggested. It also works in a building/ home near by since it can go about 150 feet in all directions.
A lot of ticked off Sirius and XM customers went to the Whole House FM Transmitter once the FCC made them “tune down” the built in FM Transmitter.
For those who are interested the Whole House FM Transmitter website is http://www.wholehousefmtransmitter.com