On a lighter note all....

Anyone install satellite radio yet? Was wondering if I could get a look at some pics for install ideas. Both for the head unit and the antenna for the outside of the truck.

I got the XM.. obviously... Rody. Seems reasonable and I can change colors - hehehe.

I would like to set it up tomorrow and was wondering what others have done - if at all.


Thanks

 

O.K. I had a hard time waiting.

The antenna is in. Ford has left us a nice hole in the firewall - easily accessible and nothing is taking it up. It is located on the driver's side at the base of the floorboard. It even has a cut out in the foam padding on the interior side!!

I ran the antenna along windshield of the driver's side and then along the top to a perfect center of the windshield (under the stripping of course). I am getting tired now so I will finish the install in the morning. I will however, let ya know how things turn out and the quality of the sound on an Audiophile setup.

So far so good.

 

1FittyJer,

Fanman2 has a couple photos of his XM installation posted in his gallery at the following link:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...5&albumid=9035

I am sure he will be happy to discuss his installation and performance issues if any.

 

1FittyJer.....

I have the Audiophile system in my 2004 F-150 Supercrew Lariat, and have installed a TERK "Commander" XM Satrellite Radio in my truck.

I have posted several pictures of my XM radio installation in my FTE album....and would be very happy to discuss the overall radio and antenna installation, radio performance, etc with you.

Please let me know if you are interested....

Fred

 

Thanks for the info. So far so good. I am off to get some coffee this morning and I will be back to do the damage.

I really like the install you have fanman2. I have the Roady so install will be somewhat different. I am trying to narrow down where this thing is going to go and if double sided sticky tape will have any affect on the silver finish in my truck.

Initially I am not worried about the finish - just what will happen if I decide to remove the tape. The dash is modular however, and if it gets jacked up I guess I can just replace it.(?)

 

fanman2..
Does the ash tray close with the unit there? Also i looked at your pictures, is your antenna on the right rear of the roof? Did you do all this yourself, and how hard/expensive was it all?

 

LSUFX4.....

Yes, the ashtray closes with the XM radio in place. When it is closed, NOBODY except you will even know that you have an XM radio in your truck.


The NEW, MINIATURE magnetic mount antenna is located at the rear, center of the roof, about 1/4" in front of the high mount brake light lens.

To install the antenna.....I removed the two lens screws, and passed the very thin antenna wire between the lens and the rubber lens seal....down into the cavity between the headliner and outside roof panel. (NOTE:It REALLY helps if you have a helper INSIDE the truck to help feed the wire correctly!!!)

Then I fed the wire across to the passenger side of the truck.....and down into and behind the "C" pillar trim in FRONT of the seat belt anchor bolt (you have to remove the bolt to get the wire to pass in front of the bolt).....and on down to the bottom and out the front side of the "C" pillar trim.

I then removed the rear passenger side rocker panel scuff plate (it just snaps in place).....and fed the wire towards the front of the truck in the wire channel that is already there (taping it securely to existing wires).....then out of the wire channel, and underneath the bottom of the "B" pillar trim.

I then removed the front passenger door rocker panel scuff plate (it just snaps in place).....and fed the wire towards the front of the truck in the wire channnel that is already there (again, taping it securely to existing wires).....the out of the wire channel, and carefully tucked the wire underneath and behind the front passenger side footwell kick panel trim piece.

Then at the very front edge of the kick panel trim piece, where the carpet ends, I fed the wire underneath the carpet and towards the transmission tunnel.

Then I removed the passenger side lower console trim piece (it too just snaps in place).....and carefully pulled the wire under the remaining carpet and up into the bottom of the center console cavity, wherer I coiled the excess antenna wire, securing it with small wire ties, and plugged into the antenna fitting on the "brain box" of the XM radio, which I had previously mounted inside the center console cavity.

Yes, I am proud to say that I did the entire installation myself....and it was not hard at all. I am very meticulous about EVERYTHING I do, and am a FIRM BELIEVER in DOING THINGS CORRECTLY, the FIRST TIME. I read and re-read the instructions that cAme with the radio, and took my time installing the system.....resulting, in a FACTORY INSTALLED LOOK, and an XM radio system that performs flawlessly, and EXACTLY as designed.

I set the audio output level of the XM radio at "8", and set the RF modulator FM input signal at 88.1 MHz.....then called XM and had the radio activated. Now, I simply tune my audiophile FM tuner to 88.1 FM, turn on the XM radio....and voila.....listen to satellite radio to the power of "X".....

The total cost of my installation was $160.00 for the TERK "Commander" XM Radio System.....which comes COMPLETE with everything you need to install the system.....plus about $5.00 for some small nylon cable ties and self adhesive, velco fastener strips for mounting the "controller" in the ashtray receiver.

I hope this information is helpful. Please let me know if you need any additional information.

Good luck!!

 

So the XM radio transmites to the car radio, or did i miss the part where you hooked it up to the car radio. Also can you make it work on the AUX button on the radio?

 

also i have looked at the face unit, did you attach it to the removable ash tray or did you put something else in there to make the face sit up that high. Will the remote work when the tray is closed? Sorry so many questions but it looks like i will be putting this in either this weekend or next, have to get approval from CINC House first.

 

What RF Modulater did you use? If it is the one that came with the Commander I am assuming it is the one that connects to the back of your head unit? If so, how did you get to it?

I have wireless RF modulator that plugs into the 12V outlet but I am not too impressed with the sound. I am thinking about upgrading to direct - ability to just use the AUX button.

I am going to have to read more about that option. I know someone posted in here about it and I will have to look for it. Dealing with what I have now, I definately want better sound. To do this I NEED that direct connection to the AUX - just not sure how to access and then hook it up.

 

You can't directly conmnect an XM component ot the Aux input on the head unit. Rambunctious is the resident expert on this (search for his posts), but he has connected his XM component through his DVD which has RCA jacks which will allow you to use the AUX function on the head unit. As it is now, there is a special interface requried to plug directly into the head unit. Something called CAN BUS which I have no idea what exactly it is.

 

Thanks vtn98. I guess I may just have to get the RF modulator for the antenna vs. the wireless. My guess is that would at least sound better - Since I am sure I am ways from getting the DVD... lol.

By the way, I am done with my install. I will try and post some pics in the near future. I think the whole thing is pretty kewl but I am definately going to see what I can do to upgrade the sound.

 

LSUFX4, 1FittyJer, and others.....

A) Yes.....the XM radio transmits to the truck radio via the truck radio antenna input jack. The XM radio comes with with an "antenna input selector/RF MODULATOR" that works as follows. You disconnect the truck radio antenna from the back of the radio head. You plug the truck radio antenna into the XM radio antenna input selector/RF MODULATOR (which comes with the TERK XM Radio "Commander" System).....and then you plug the antenna input selector/RF MODULATOR into the truck radio antenna input jack on the back of the truck radio. When you power up the XM radio, it DE-SELECTS the TRUCK'S antenna input signal, and SELECTS the RF MODULATOR output signal, which I have set to 88.1 on my unit. Then when you want to listen to AM, FM, or CD's, you simply power down the XM radio.....select AM, FM, or CD, and enjoy!! When you power down the XM radio, it DE-SELECTS the RF MODULATOR output signal, and SELECTS the TRUCK'S antenna input signal.

B) NO.....there is NO WAY to hook-up any XM radio to work on/with the AUX button on the Audiophile sound system. Sorry!!

C) Here is how I mounted the controller in the ashtray RECEIVER..........

1. Remove the ashtray from the receiver, and put it somewhere safe for future re-use......like when you trade/sell your truck.

2. Remove the plastic trim that surrounds the radio and climate controls. It is snapped in place with 3 or 4 snaps on each side. Start at the right or left bottom outside corner of the plastic trim, and CAREFULLY pull out on the trim until it is free; the climate controls will remain atached to the trim, so CAREFULLY position the trim piece out of your way.

3. Remove the radio head from the dash. It is held in place with (4) hex head screws. Remove all the cable connectors from the back of the radio head, including the antenna wire (which you will use later as described previously). Set radio head aside for re-installtion later on.

4. Remove the ashtray receiver assembly from the dash. It is held in place with (2) hex head screws.

5. Drill a 1" hole through the bottom of the plastic ashtray receiver, as close as possible to the right rear corner of the receiver.

6. Cut a 4" long piece of 1" x 2" wood, and attach self adhesive VELCRO to BOTH 4" long, NARROW sides of this piece of wood.

7. Remove the self-adhesive backing from the VELCRO on one side of this piece.....AND.....feed the the plug end of the controller cable thru the 1" hole that you drilled in the bottom of the ashtray receiver.

8. Center the piece of wood inside the ashtray receiver, and press firmly into place.

9. Now remove the self-adhesive backing from the top (exposed) piece of VELCRO.....AND.....center the TERK XM Radio "Commander" control unit over the exposed adhesive backing.....AND.....firmly press the controller down onto the exposed adhesive side of the VELCRO.

10. Coil up the excess controller wire inside the dash cavity, LEAVING SOME SLACK for the ashtray receiver to open/close freely.....secure it with a nylon wire tie or two, and plug it in to the "Commander" XM Radio "Brain Box" which is also mounted inside the dash cavity behind the radio, etc., etc.

I hope this information is helpful. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Good Luck with your install.......

 

I got the Kenwood aftermarket unit that mounts on top of the IP. Looks a little out of place, but I put the antenna to the front most part of the IP near the windshield (inside the vehicle) and it works great. I didnt need to mount the antenna outside the vehicle at all. BTW...Love sat radio....you get what you pay for

 

Fanman2...
Just thought i would let you know, i went and bought the "commander" at Best buy, and for grins i took it to the back to see what it would cost to have it installed in the truck. Let me tell you they were amazed at how you put yours in. They had computer accesses there and i brought up all your posts and your gallery, and they could stop talking about it. they have just been attaching the face to places in the cab that people want it and didn't really like the results, they thought your idea was great. They liked it so much they are going to install it for me for 10 dollars instead of the 70 that is standard. Perhaps you should copyright your way of install or send it to ford, you might make some money on it.


EDIT :

Thought i let you know, Best Buy did the install, looks great. Bought my 4" piece of 1x2 and added the velcro, and all is well with the world. I was upset at first 8 wasn't loud enough, but i soon figured out that when you take out the radio head, it resets the units speed volume back to 0, fixed that and sound is really good. i think that i have to choose a different station other than 88.1, it has a staion there and i think that is what is causing some of the background noise when i listen to it.