You know personally I think when Sirius and XM launch in Canada the grey market will increase. You know why? If my friends are interested in Satellite radio, I'll just tell them:
"Yeah go buy one at the local store, but whatever you do, don't register it. Call me instead on the phone and give me the ESN number on the radio. I'll register it under my name on my American account as another receiver. You'll get the full service, not the watered down Canadian version and I can give it to you for a discount."



I don't think that will happen. I have three reasons.

First, I think most Canadians will look at the price. They will prefer to pay C$12.95/month rather than US$12.95/month.

Second, they will look at the non-music lineup and not see value. I can't see many Canadians paying extra for 10 US traffic stations, three US weather stations, three NPR stations, numerous US political discussions, three Spanish stations, plus what I view as the "clutter" of Court TV on Radio, Catholic news, Martha Stewart and others. And I don't think that most Canadians have enough interest in bodily secretions to pay for Howard Stern.

Third, I think the ability for Canadians to subscribe to Sirius will be restricted once CSS becomes operational. Currently, Canadians can provide any US address, real or ficticious, and a credit card number with a Canadian billing address. I bet that when CSS begins operation, Sirius and CSS will not permit "cross border shopping".

I suspect there are Americans who would prefer to pay US $10.65 for the CSS lineup than pay an additional US$2.30 to get the talk streams. Sirius will want to keep them.

Similarly, there will be Canadians who prefer the Sirius lineup. But I bet if they are billing to a Canadian address that they will no longer be able to get the US Sirius service.

The number of Canadians who could do what you propose (become subsidiary subscribers) is limited. They would need to know someone who has a US subscription, then be one of only three subsidiary subscriptions to that primary subscriptions. I don't think there will be many people who will meet those criteria. Especially when current Canadian subscribers with Canadian address credit cards start being switched to the CSS streams.

hmm what would a repeater look like and anyone have an example of where they might put one?

is this above ground, underground, on top of a tall building??

Thanks

trellaine

Here is a great link explaining how to ID an XM repeater site:

http://www.telebeans.org/telco/towers/notes/xm_radio.html

The Ottawa based repeater was back on again for a few hours today. Guess they are still testing (or doing some "show & tell)

Hmm how do you know?? Did you see it? :D

i wanna see one in vancouver??

I did see a truck beside me with a Sportster plug n play unit like mine and he was from BC. :p

I can't see the actual repeater but I sure can see it on my Myfi signal sub menu. The real treat is driving downtown and ZERO drop outs :cool:

Lucky duck!! Although I did drive from Richmond to Stanley Park last nite and not ONE single drop out!! About a 20-30min drive to downtown Van from where I am. Yipppeeee!!

My home connect is another story. Still working on it.

Gonna try putting the antenna in a pie plate and see if I get a better signal. This was suggested from a very nice gentleman in the "Sirius Backstage Forums'.

I will try everything to get a mroe stable signal.

:p

Ottawa repeaters were on again last night. Drove downtown with no signal loss in areas where it usually cuts out. I even had a full signal in my covered parking garage in the south end of the city.

You can probably try putting your antenna in the trunk or glovebox and it should still work with the repeater on.

The Ottawa repeater has been on for almost a week. I have been able to use my Myfi XM2go in shopping centers, Home Depot, Tim Hortons, walking with it in my pocket with only the built-in antenna. The signal is very strong even in rural Ottawa :cool:

Lucky guy, I was in Ottawa a week ago with my MyFi but nothing from the repeater during my stay.

The repeater is still up and running....fingers are crossed for CSR this week with the cabinet :eek:

alas, no repeater this morning so I lost XM for two minutes while I went in the Tim Hortons drive thru :(

The Ottawa repeater has been on for almost a week. I have been able to use my Myfi XM2go in shopping centers, Home Depot, Tim Hortons, walking with it in my pocket with only the built-in antenna. The signal is very strong even in rural Ottawa :cool:

Xm2go worth it and what is the cost.

The Myfi is my third XM radio and by far the best for my lifestyle. I can use it in the car, home, walking and traveling.
I am sure it will be available when CSR-XM rolls out it's Canadian operation so will not comment on the price.

Hey staff at CSR...I know you read stuff from this board :D

Now that you have your full approval, why not turn that repeater back on in Ottawa??

Instead of a whole new thread, just wondering people's experience with reception in Calgary right now?

Ideally after research, i'd have an Xm2Go unit to use on the commute, use at the office, and have at home.

Home: Have a window thats facing south but being a split level house, its low..like ground level. Will antenna work being at ground level like that?

Commute: I assume that I should be driving around town with an antenna, and not experince too much loss?

Work:Window office with no tall buildings south of me to obstruct (I'm on 9th Ave), facing ESE. Would likely use an antenna too.

Thanks for any experiences you have in Calgary.

Reception is good in Calgary, I have the Roady 2 that I use in car and at home. The home antenna faces SE from a ground level window, elevation angle is around 30 degrees. I do get signal drop-outs on Glenmore at Mcleod Tr, but just a few seconds worth. Get the home kit to use at your office and there should be good signal. When the repeater comes online (I believe on the Palliser building downtown), I would expect no more drop-outs.

I'm sure repeater installation will a very high priority for the major cities over the next few months.

The Ottawa XM repeater is back on the air today. It has a much lower bit error rate from my office so maybe it is their new 24/7 repeater ?