Sirius SDSP5V1 Sportster 5 Dock and Play Radio with PowerConnect

• Revolutionary SIRIUS|XM PowerConnect FM Transmitter works through the vehicle's radio with easy Do-It-Yourself installation
• Easily view artist, song and channel information.
• Pause, rewind and replay up to 60 minutes of live radio.
• Ability to browse programs, artists and songs playing on other channels without having to change the channel.
• Easily lock and unlock channels with mature content.

Good radio, easy to install. The Pros: can change colors for display, however, display picture is the same (with Howard Stern looming in the background). Comes with remote, which can be handy, depending on where you install the radio. Easy to see display during the day and at night, even with polarized glasses (some reviewers stated that this is not so). For reference, The Xact one I had before this had a blue display which was close to impossible to see during the day, in particular with polarized sunglasses. The Cons: the FM transmitter is a lot weaker than the one from my previous radio (Xact). Activation: The legendary bad SIRIUS customer service sure was confirmed trying to activate this radio. I bought this as the replacement for my old radio which stopped working correctly. All I needed SIRIUS to do was deactivate my old radio and activate this one. It took about 1.5 hours to get this fairly straightforward task accomplished, mostly because I was put on hold several times for what felt forever. Best tip I can give: IF YOU BUY A NEW RADIO AND WANT TO REPLACE YOUR OLD ONE WITH IT, CHOOSE 'CANCEL SERVICE' WHEN YOU CALL SIRIUS. Otherwise, you will experience the same odyssey I went through (I chose "CHANGE SERVICE"): You first get transferred to Bangalore (I assume) where you are told that they CANNOT swap your two radios (i.e. cancel one, activate the other). They WILL tell you that you need to first activate your new one, which (of course) they are very happy to help you with. They will try to upsell you (no surprise) and tell you that you have to pay an activation fee. And since I had two radios, I got a discount(lasting for how long it takes to cancel the other radio). I explained in the beginning what I wanted to do, but of course they just go through their script. After the activation I requested to connect me to the 'department' to cancel my other radio. Of course I was put at the end of the waiting queue, after a few minutes my connection was lost, so I called again and chose the "CANCEL SERVICE" option. After about another 20 min of waiting, I was connected to the US service site and told the person that I needed to cancel service on a radio. After logging in to my account the person noticed that I had two radios, so I explained what I wanted to do. The good news is that the person got upset about how this was handled and talked to her supervisor (again I was put on hold). She then told my that my activation fee for the other radio would get reimbursed and that my old radio was cancelled. I hope that this radio will last a few years so I don't have to deal with their customer service any time soon...

UPDATE: as of today (12 Nov 2010) I still have not received my promised refund for the activation.

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When I received the Sportster 5 I had already watched the install video from Sirius, read all the reviews on Amazon, so I was set to go. Turns out they were all right. The install was easier than I had feared. Sliding the wire behind the molding on the rear window of my Chrysler Sebring was quite easy, and the routing through the trunk was a breeze. However like one reviewer wrote, another five feet of wire would not break them. The Sebring is a mid size car, I could of easily used the extra wire so I didn't have to pull up the carpet, angle the wire and cut ahole in the carpet just so I could reach the receiver. I installed mine on my passenger vent in the center of the car, very easy to do. As someone else had brought up, at my viewing angle wearing my polarized sunglasses does distort the LCD screen. Now as far as the power connect goes,everyone hit that nail on the head, you will not be happy with this install. After going through the procedure of finding all my FM stations that were not being used I put my best five into the programming. One day it would come in clear, the next I would be looking for another preset, Very Annoying! I'm not all that good with cars, but I did have a manual on my car and found out how to remove the bezel around my radio so I could pull out the radio enough to access the antenna. I bought the FM adapter for $20 and was ready to install it when I realized the ends on this did not match my Chrysler radio. Off to a auto,stereo,mag wheel,customizing shop and $30 later I had the correct adapters. Now life is good. Sound and reception are great, love the music without the commercials, and its great having my favorite bands pop up on the display whenever they are being played, not to mention my sports ticker updates running on the bottom of the display. As long as the radio lasts, I couldn't be happier

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Great radio, get it from Amazon, watch your bill from Sirus they have some billing issues, but the programming is great

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Have been a satelitte radio owner since its inception. Currently use the sportster. Am a truck driver and not having to change channels every little while is great. The sportster is a nice dock style radio. Allows for multiple uses with optional docking kits. Highly recommended if you are looking for a satelite radio you can move from your house to car to deck or anywhere you have a docking station.

I've been a Sirius subscriber for about eight years. Got it initially for the NFL feed, but got hooked on the music and news stations. I only use it at home in a boombox system. Recently, my original unit (Orbiter version) died. Came to find that it had been discontinued. So time to upgrade...

So far, so good for the Sportster 5 I got this version because I could add the Best of XM package (O & A in the AM). I like the improved displays and the ability to change colors. Allows for a Sports Ticker within the display so scores can scroll (you control the teams). Remote is much less bulky than what I had (about 1" x 3") and, finally, allows you to control volume. This version also gives ability to save and rewind/replay about 60 minutes worth of programming.

Based on other reviews I've read, I'm concerned about the life expectancy of the receiver. People report issues after a year, so I'll reserve judgement. I've no intention of installing in my car, so not qualified to offer an opinion on that portion. Instructions to install are straight forward though.