Delphi MyFi Personal XM Satellite Radio

In the 5 months that I have owned this unit, I hav ...

Posted Apr 15, 2005 - In the 5 months that I have owned this unit, I have used it in many places finding very little signal resistance. I was overcome by the quality and amount of accessories that were included. I only have one qualm and that is with the vehicle mounting station. This "docking" station is designed to fit into the slats in the AC vent on the dash. I feel this is very well thought out as this would also help to cool the unit if the AC were on. However, the "arms", that are used to hold it to the vent, are not very sturdy. I have not found they will break, but my wife has bumped the empty station and knocked it off the vent. This is a very minor complaint though. The software used is extremely user friendly. If you are like me and don't like to read "destructions", you may find it a little difficult to understand how to actually select a feature. However, once it is understood there are no further delays. There are many options and preferences and everyone will have the ones that matter most to them. One of features I found to be very useful is the FM Modulator. This is not a feature you will use everyday and this would probably only be used either in the car or at home. The main reason for this feature, that I can determine, is for external speaker use. This is how it works - using a normal radio and the preset FM stations on the MyFi, determine which has the least interference - once determined, set the FM station on the MyFi to match the station found on the radio. What this does is allows you to receive the XM signal with your MyFi and have it delivered through the speakers of your normal radio. I work in a mail order pharmacy and have carried my MyFi throughout the entire building. Please, keep in mind that this is a very big building made from concrete and metal. In our dispensing area, we have many computers and robots that cause tremendous interference. However, this unit has never wavered a single time. I have also used the unit in the car, both with and without the antenna, outside and in my home. This is a tremendous unit and well worth the money.

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After spending a month with the MyFi radio, I feel ...

Posted Jan 14, 2005 - After spending a month with the MyFi radio, I feel qualified to provide you with a review. This is the first review that I've ever done. I've found these so helpful in the past in making a buy-or-not-to-buy decision, so I hope that my review will assist someone with their purchase... When I first received the MyFi and opened the box I couldn't believe how much was included. One of the things that had prevented me from purchasing an XM radio before this was all of the "extras" that you had to buy. Car kit, home kit, etc. Well, the MyFi includes everything you need to get started! I'll break this review into 4 sections - Home, Car, Office and Portable HOME. The home cradle has 3 connections - antennae, audio out, power. I hooked-up the radio to my home theater setup. As soon as I plugged-in the home antennae I had a crystal clear signal. Not only did I not place the antennae in a south-facing window (per the instructions), but I didn't need to place the antennae in a window at all! The remote that comes with the MyFi isn't a cheap little remote control (like the kind you get with a camcorder). It's a home audio component-quality remote. I've had no problems using the unit at home, and enjoy the ability to hear so much music now. CAR. The car cradle also has 3 connections. Antennae, audio out, power. It comes with 3 different mounts that you can use in a car - a vent mount, a dash mount, and a dash mount that swivels. I didn't have a choice with my car - the only one that would work for me was the swivel mount. The end of the antennae is a tiny black box, about one inch by one inch. The antennae cable is extremely thin - think fishing line or dental floss. I attached the antennae to the top of my car (I drive a Honda Element) and ran it along the top of my doors and down inside my vehicle through the passenger doorwell. It's a complete stealth install - the antennae isn't visible. The audio out goes straight into the "Aux in" connection that was already part of my Honda Element's stereo. For consumers without an auxilary jack on your car stereo, there are other options. If you have a tapedeck, the MyFi comes with a cassette adaptor. If you don't have a cassette adaptor and don't have an auxiliary jack, you can still use the built-in FM modulator. The MyFi also comes with a power cord that plugs into your cigarette-lighter power jack. OFFICE. The MyFi includes a large plastic beltclip that also doubles as a stand. (Sort of like a picture frame stand that you would place on a desk or dresser.) It also comes with a portable antennae. I brought the portable antennae and the beltclip/stand to work and set-up the MyFi. To my surprise, I have near-perfect reception inside my office building! (I can't get an FM or AM signal in my cubicle, but I can receive XM fine.) While in the office, my MyFi runs on its internal battery. I normally get about 6 hours out of it. I'll probably buy an additional power cord so I can listen to it for the entire day. PORTABLE. If you want to listen to some of the material that you've already recorded, the MyFi is very portable. It's about the size and weight of a small portable cassette tape deck. (A little larger than a typical cellphone.) It includes earbud-style earphones, or you can plug-in any headphones that use the mini-sized (1/8")plug. As for people with "active lifestyles" that they advertise to - I am a marathon runner and put-in a lot of mileage each week. I personally would not find it comfortable to carry it with me on my runs. It's just a little too bulky and heavy, and the little controls weren't really designed for runners to use while running. Additionally, the internal antennae typically generates a decent amount of static. The portable antennae (the one I use in my office) isn't really that portable. Plus, that would give you two wires running to the unit instead of just the headphone wire. ADDITIONAL FEATURES. I enjoy the ability to record. I like a lot of talk radio. Typically I'll record Bruce Williams from 7 to 10 pm each night, then record a couple hours of the political talk shows. (XM, for those of you who don't know, includes in their programming audio feeds of CNN, Fox News, CNN Headline News, MSNBC, CNBC, BBC, etc.) Although the MyFi advertises 5 hours of memory, it can hold a lot more when recording the talk channels because they're compressed more than the music channels. I can usually record about 8 hours worth of talk radio, to replace at my leisure the next day. CONS: Although all of the music channels have CD-quality sound (unless your an audiophile, which I'm not) the talk stations all have signals that are compressed - comparable to FM stations. SUMMATION:Is it worth the $350? Absolutely. This is one of those life-style-changing items like Tivo or cellphone service. You can live without it, but once you have it you think "wow - how did I survive without this?!?!"

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love this unit-have used it pretty much non stop. ...

Posted Jun 20, 2005 - love this unit-have used it pretty much non stop. easy transfer from car to home and back. car mounting a bit tricky if small dash. great to be able to play thru fm radio. love the five hr record feature. best to do that when planning on a walk. don't have to deal with antennae then. external portable antennae is iffy,sometimes internal works just as well. record your 5 hrs while sleeping-great for a walk then!! pretty much flawless car reception. home reception is great too. you may have to search for a location to put antennae, but well worth it!! comes with everything you need-a huge improvement over the original xm unit i owned. much more portable and convenient. highly recommended. only complaint is i wish they come up with a non wired antennae-too much cable to deal with-especially in car. but definately worth having.

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Overall this is a great new XM radio tuner. I w ...

Posted Dec 24, 2004 - Overall this is a great new XM radio tuner. I would highly recommend it for anyone that is in the car for long periods of time or outside. I had no problem with reception and I live in a very woody area. I was fortunate though to have my stereo system next to southern window to get clear signal. However, moving around inside you need to use the 5 hours of recorded music. There was barely a signal and it really just crackled up. I was disappointed with this feature because I most likely can't use it in the gym or at work. I did not try to use the external antennae clip that is supplied as I think it looks silly clipping to your shoulder in addition with more wires to get tangled with the headphones. It took just one button to record a station to play later. However, when you record items and want to delete a song it clears everything. Also, when five hours is used up it goes to the beginning on disk and deletes the songs. I did enjoy the backlight at night. You could see very clearly the title and band very well. Holding the MYFI was no problem...It fits comfortable in my hand and also has a good sturdy clip. I would highly recommend this product. You just need to adjust to the limitations of the Myfi concerning satellite reception because the Myfi is really a good start to portable satellite radio then having multiple receivers for home, and car.

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The MyFi is small, portable, and stylish with acce ...

Posted Dec 9, 2004 - The MyFi is small, portable, and stylish with access to a lot of great entertainment without ripping CDs, downloading or creating play lists. (The unit automatically creates a play list on save broadcasts.) Contrary to other reviews, this is not a replacement for MP3 players but is complimentary to them. I have a "MP3" player and will use it when I want to here my song list but it can not help me when I want to here live ESPN sports radio or any other live digital broadcast. What is real great about the MyFi is the ability to "time-shift", i.e. to listen to my favorite broadcast programs and custom radio programming when I want to, at time that fits my schedule by saving the broadcast (up to five hours)and playing it back when I want to hear it. The fact that the battery only last five hours or that you it can only save five hours of broadcast is not a problem because. Again this is my "portable satellite radio", which means I take if from home, to my car, on the train, to work, and back home again. Since my travel time or my time that I away from my car, office, or my home is less than 5 hours, the battery life and storage size is not a problem. (And on my next long drive, when I want to listen to something other than my own "MP3's", it will be very nice to know that no matter where I am in the USA, I will be able to get the news, sports, or music I want, when I want it.) It is also nice that the unit come with its own rechargeable battery and all the accessories for home or office, and car.

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Liberate yourself from your stale MP3 collection! ...

Posted May 17, 2005 - Liberate yourself from your stale MP3 collection! I must say that I am blown away by the myfi after a weekend of use. It was really great to take it on a roadtrip and listen to new music and talk shows in excellent sound quality the whole time. Sure beats the same old cd collection that never seems to leave the car. Its also nice that you can just pop it out of the car cradle and plug it into the home cradle when you get home. Since the myfi is going to do double duty in both my truck and my wife's car, I need to buy another car antenna in the long run, but in the meantime Im going "ghetto" with the antenna laying on the front dash - which works just fine. My only beef with the system is really my Explorer's fault. My tape player keeps trying to flip the cassette adapter via its auto reverse function so Im having to use the wireless FM transmitter. Its not bad sounding at all, but I understand going through the tape adapter will sound a little better. I have read that certain brands of cassette adapters will work for receivers like mine, I just have to buy several different units and see which one works for me and then return the others. Also, dont worry about having to have a south facing window in order to get home reception. My antenna is pointed towards a west facing window and it works great. I havent had much luck with indoor reception with or without the portable antennae. I havent tried it in portable mode outside yet. In summary, for around $200 bucks this is an awesome purchase. I waited to buy this until more info came out about the new XM portable units, which dont have any new functionality and will probably have a much higher price than this. I was also waiting for info on the new Sirius portable unit, but the more I heard the more I didnt like it (price, accesories were extra, size). BTW, sign up for XM through a family member and your monthly fees are only $6.99.

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This is a very compact unit that works portably, a ...

Posted Apr 21, 2005 - This is a very compact unit that works portably, at home and in the car. The kit comes with everything you could possibly need: remote; case; belt clip; 3 satellite antenna; auto and home charger and cassette adapter. It receives both satellite signal, and in areas with terrestrial XM broadcast those as well. Sound quality is excellent, and the ability to time shift (albeit only two programs) makes it usable in areas without reception. Strongly consider this if you like your music without commercial interruption, and have deeper taste than what is currently on the radio.

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Many great features on this unit. Well worth the m ...

Posted Feb 18, 2005 - Many great features on this unit. Well worth the money to buy. Would have liked to purchase additional accessories, but they just are not available. I will wait anxiously for production to meet the demand. Hope to see computer compatability so I can skip the Ipod and add even more enhancement to my satellite radio.

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The device itself is good, if you are an XM junky ...

Posted May 23, 2005 - The device itself is good, if you are an XM junky like me, you understand that you need the good view of the sky except in some urban areas where there are terrestrial antennae. The record feature is great for allowing you to take your programming on the go and the battery life and length of recording is great. However, if what your listening to NEEDS TO BE LIVE (i.e. Yankee Baseball), getting reception when not plugged in to the home or car adapter is a pain. I try to listen when on my lawn tractor and end up looking ridiculous holding the MyFi toward the clear sky. But if you are in a metro area the good news is the terrestrial antennae. I got decent reception in LGA and really good reception in FLL (where I listened to an entire Yankee game sitting in a plane on a 3 hour delay). The unit is heavy and the belt clip leaves something to be desired, the MyFi is in no way wonderful. BUT if you like XM and don't want to pay for 3 subs (main subscription + home adapter +2nd car) which can add up fast ($13+7+7=$27 a month) the MyFi works for you. You can outfit all your cars with an adapter, your home and have it 'to go' for 1 subscription. You don't necessarily have to love the unit, but the XM service is SO GOOD its almost necessary. I insist that everyone try XM regardless of the adapter. If you are a Baseball fan its a must, if you love music, ESPECIALLY MUSIC THAT HAS NO ANNOYING COMMERCIALS AND OBNOXIOUS DJ'S YOU MUST GET XM!

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Great product, highly recommend. Lots of accessori ...

Posted Mar 16, 2005 - Great product, highly recommend. Lots of accessories for auto, home and portable use. Extremely easy to install and activate. Bought for a total of $248 and received less than 3 business days. That is cheaper than buy a regular satellite receiver and having to buy car and home attachments.

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Activation tool about an hour after XM has been ca ...

Posted Mar 9, 2005 - Activation tool about an hour after XM has been called; fair price for the variety of the content offered without commercials; the only commercial you can hear is occasional commercial for the station you are currently listening; unit came with a whole bunch of accessories including:belt clip/stand, remote control, headphones, rechargeable lithium ion battery, wearable antenna with two clip options, protective case, vechile cradle, vechile antenna, cassette adapter, home stand, vechile power adapter, home power adapter, home antenna, swivel mount (with extra adhesive pad), flush mount, audio cable, vent mount, cleaning kit... For $247 from ibuy plasma it is a great deal!

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I am on my 5th unit and each unit has failed in th ...

Posted Feb 6, 2005 - I am on my 5th unit and each unit has failed in the exact same place, the head phone jack. It's a great system, but it is a real pain to go and get a replacement unit over and over and over again. I REALLY makes the experience very painful.. If you do decide on getting the unit BE SURE to buy an extended warrantee as the head phone jack will fail. I've purchased two different headphone ends just to make sure it's not my headphone pieces making the My FI stop working. Best of luck...

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All in all I was pleasantly surprised 10 days ago ...

Posted Feb 27, 2005 - All in all I was pleasantly surprised 10 days ago after receiving the unit.I live near a repeater station which amplifies the signal.In my area Sunny Isles Beach,Florida a outside antenna is not required.But these repeaters which is called terrestial mode on the Myfi are being build in different locations in North America.Without that boost the reception becomes more iffy.I tried in different locations in South Florida and New York City.The signal can fade depending where u are.So it is like Real Estate Location... Location...Location. As a new Technology I am very impressed but realize this is not am fm radio.That reliablity will take time.However,the Myfi is alot like love when it works it is wonderful.But like the pitfalls of love it can also give u heart ache. Concluding,I love the Myfi and Hope it is the start of a beautiful relationship.

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Overall, this unit has more pro's then con's. Give ...

Posted Jan 4, 2005 - Overall, this unit has more pro's then con's. Give them 1-2 yrs. Color display and more features is my guess. No more bla bla bla on the radio. Digital sound with over 100+ channels to pick from. Take a look at XM's web site for special dates and recordings. Try to find that on ANY radio station's. Not !. Buy it, you wont regret it ...

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In a word, the XM2Go is AWESOME! I never thought I ...

Posted Feb 24, 2005 - In a word, the XM2Go is AWESOME! I never thought I'd have a reason to ditch my I-Pod but now I do. Over the years I've gotten a bit tired of my MP3 collection and with XM Radio I have an entire new outlet to discover new artists. The XM2Go comes with every accessory that you could want. A longer lasting battery would be nice, but I get a solid 6 hours out of the supplied battery. The sound quality is excellent but an upgrade to better headphones might be in order for audiophiles with a desire to kick up the bass a bit. I run a recording studio and hooked up a pair of my studio monitor headphones and the sound was fantastic. The only complaint I have is with indoor reception. The supplied home antenna works very well but the mobile and portable antenna's had a difficult time getting a good signal unless you were next to a south facing window. All in all you can't go wrong with this unit especially if you spend a lot of time in your car or outside. A solid 8.5 out of 10.

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