# Please explain why my XM goes out for several seconds



## X-Spec

I have XM in my 2008 Impala and I have notice on a few occasions while driving that I loose the channel I am listening to and get white noise for a few seconds.
This will usually repeat a few times then all will be OK for some time.
I don't know if this happens to all channels as I only listen to Watercolors.
It is my understanding that XM has land based repeaters to take care of a interruption of the satellite signal. Could it be a issue with the receiver in my Impala or is this to be expected?
Thanks


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## paulman182

The land based repeaters don't begin to cover every region.
The dropouts are to be expected.


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## djlong

Anything form overpasses to trees will do it - and will do it more reliably when there's bad weather as rain clods weaken the XM signal by the time it reaches the ground.


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## Salad Is Slaughter

Take a look at your antenna placement. I had nothing but trouble with my Prius factory install; they put the antenna on the dashboard and I'd get signal loss under open sky when driving in certain directions. I had them move the antenna to the roof and got rid of 99 percent of my problems.


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## xzi

djlong said:


> Anything form overpasses to trees will do it - and will do it more reliably when there's bad weather as rain clods weaken the XM signal by the time it reaches the ground.


SIRIUS and XM both broadcast in the S-band. It not susceptible to weather-fade like K/Ka/Ku sat signals.


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## ThomasM

I have a 2006 Impala with factory-installed XM and it rarely fades out.

What does the display on your radio say when it "fades out"? Does it say "no XM signal"? If not, the radio could be rebooting which mine does every once in awhile. So do my "XM Roady" and "SKYFI" home receivers.

Occasionally, XM changes the bitrate on various channels or makes some sort of change to their channel lineup which causes the receivers to reboot. The audio suddenly disappears and reappears in about 10 seconds. This is not a "fade out" or "signal loss" but the radio rebooting. This happens very rarely, perhaps once a day. How often are you experiencing your issue?


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## djlong

xzi: I beg to differ. As I run the same route to work every day, I know where the "sunny" blackouts are - even to the point of knowing how fast I have to be going down the highway in order to avoid the dropout. (And how those dropoouts that are due to trees don't happen in the winter when there aren't any leaves on the trees)

Now, if you had said that S-band is far LESS susceptible to rain fade, I would believe you. But the fact that I get spottier reception and longer blackout stretches on the same route when we have thunderstorms coming through tells me that there are some effects.

By the same token, I can say that I have *almost* never had a dropout in clear terrain when rain could be the only explanation. Since 2002 when I got XM, I think I've had less than a half dozen dropouts that I couldn't explain and only a couple of those were when there was heavy rain.


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## hersheytx

Here in Addison, Tx coming south on the Dallas Tollway I would hit a 1/2 mile stretch that would render my XM radio completely dead. No rain, trees or other obstacles caused the problem. In fact I tried two different cars and a friends to test that it was not my radio. All of them had the exact problem.

This went on for about six months before I read in the local paper about calibration of wifi hotspots in the Addison area. Now for the life of me I never stopped in a Starbucks and had my XM drop, but this internet thing was suppose to be city wide. 

Whatever finally happened I am not sure. Someone tweeked it or just moved an antena base unit. But after the story in the paper (about 2 weeks) the problem went away. 

I have had XM from the beginning. I am used to drops from bridges and such. Whether this is your problem I do not know, but I am guessing that something in that area is causing the signal to be cancelled out.


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## jimmyv2000

djlong said:


> Anything form overpasses to trees will do it - and will do it more reliably when there's bad weather as rain clods weaken the XM signal by the time it reaches the ground.


you must love the dead zone on 93 by the Manchester/Londonderry line and the 1/2 mile dead Zone by exit 4
2 seperate vehicles 2 different radios same DEAD zones In NH


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## davemayo

I have an issue with my factory XM radio in my 2008 Accord. About once a month, when I turn on the car, I get a stuttering effect on the XM. It sounds like when you are listening to someone talk on a phone then you pull the phone away from your ear for a second, then put it back, then take it away, etc. Then after about 15 seconds it goes silent on all channels. If I tune to channel 1, I can still get the stuttering effect but all the other channels are silent. 

XM says it's Honda's problem, Honda says it's XM's problem. Nice.

I've tried sending refresh signals, but that doesn't work. Usually it comes back after I've been parked in the garage at work, or overnight at home, then the next time I turn on the car it is back.

Anyone ever experienced this?

Thanks.


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