Sirius SPR1 Sportster Satellite Radio Receiver

• Enjoy more than 120 digital-quality channels of music, news, sports, and entertainment from coast to coast
• Enhanced sports features include personalized team logo startup and shutdown screen, game alert to let you know when your team is playing
• Select channels, browse categories, change display settings with remote control
• Home and car docking kits (must be purchased separately) enable use in office, home, car, boat, and more
• Measures 4.4 x 2.8x 1.1inches(W x D x H)

I've owned a Sportster for about 3 months now. I am happy with the unit and its features, and even happier with Sirius programming.

This unit is smaller than past portable units and features the latest chipset that offers many new features. You also have the ability to switch the unit between green and amber illumination (you can even mix the two). And an RF modulator is built into the Sportster so that you can easily listen to it on car or other FM radios.

The unit offers the ability to select your favorite NFL team and be reminded whenever your team is playing a game--thus the name "Sportster"(all NFL games are broadcast on Sirius). This unit was a great choice even though I don't like listening to sports games.

This unit offers 30 presets spread over three "bands." Having this many presets is important when you have a service offering 65 completely commercial-free music channels and over 50 talk, news, sports and entertainment channels.

You can also use the 10 preset buttons to directly enter a channel number if you first press the jog/dial button. Navigating channels is further simplified by a "Category" button that allows you to scroll through the different categories of programming (Pop, Rock, Country, News, Talk/Entertainment, etc.).

It also features a new "jump" button. With this button you can jump back and forth from whatever channel you are listening to to the traffic and weather channel for your area. Sirius currently offers 10 channels of continually-updated traffic and weather that cover 20 of the largest metropolitan areas. When I press the jump button for San Diego traffic, this unit automatically waits to switch me to the S.D./L.A. traffic channel until it begins San Diego information (the channel switches between San Diego and L.A. information every 4 minutes). If your city is not covered, you can assign another channel (like CNN) to the jump button.

If you are listening to your favorite song, or a program you really enjoy (like "Car Talk" on the NPR channels), you can just press the "Memo" button and if your Sportster is on, a beep and on-screen message will tell you whenever your song or program is playing. You can store 20 songs and/or programs this way.

There are some technical issues with the Sportster. I've spoken to several tech reps, and it seems some of these problems were due to the early car cradles for this unit (car cradles allow installation of the Sportster in your car and feature a "line out" jack for direct connection with head units offering auxillary inputs). I had to swap mine out a few times to get one that would work.

One problem that hasn't been solved seems to be common to all Sirius receivers using the new chipset. Sometimes the unit will play at a slower speed (like a 45 record played at 33 speed) when you turn it on. This is always resolved by turning the unit off and on again, and it happens very infrequently.

I chose to buy a 4-year, over-the-counter-swap service agreement with my Sportster, and I highly recommend a service contract to anybody who buys a Sportster (or any other portable satellite receiver).

I do experience signal loss while driving around town. I lose the satellite signal (which is line-of-sight) about every sixth time I drive under a bridge or overpass. The addition of more ground repeaters, which amplify the signal on the ground, will solve this problem over time.

Sirius is currently only officially available in the continental U.S. due to licensing issues. But I have driven over 1,000 miles south from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas (at the tip of the Baja Peninsuala in Mexico) with excellent reception throughout both trips.

A home kit, boombox and additional car kits are available so that you can listen to your Sportster virtually anywhere. Of course, with either you will need an unobstructed location for the antenna. The most difficult part of setting up your Sportster is running the antenna cable to the unit. Though the cable is very small, you do have to find a path for it, and this can be particularly difficult in a car where the antenna must be outside and the radio inside (some people do locate the antenna on the dash, but results seem mixed--external mounting is much preferred). The car antenna included with the Sportster car kit is magnetic (the magnet is very strong).

Sirius satellite radio is as valuable as cable TV. Once you have it, you won't want to do without it. And this Sportster unit allows you to take full advantage of the vast programming Sirius offers. I would have given 5 stars if it weren't for the ongoing (infrequent) technical issue. But with the service contract, I know I'll always be able to switch to any redesigned unit.

Buy Sirius SPR1 Sportster Satellite Radio Receiver Now

A couple of quick hits on the equipment:

1) Unit is considerably bigger than the Roady2, but the display is bigger and the buttons are easier to use.

2) Jump button is an excellent idea, it switches to traffic right when the report is due to start.

3) Home and Car reception has been excellent in the NYC area, with some dropouts in Manhattan. I use the FM transmitter cable, and have had no problems with it, no small feat in NYC.

4) Had no problem installing into my 2005 Altima. Slapped the antenna onto the roof, ran the wire through the rear door molding, under the passenger seat to the unit. For the home, put the antenna on my windowsill and reception is fine.

5) Three bands of presets. I use seperate bands for music, sports and news.

And on the service:

1) Much stronger music programming than XM, based on the 3-day internet trials I took on both services. I find myself listening to the Spectrum and Sirius Disorder the most. Plenty of offerings for my wife, and a channel for the kid's music. The Jazz and Classical offerings are solid.

2) The news and entertainment offerings are basically the same for Sirius and XM.

3) Sirius has a stronger sports package, with the NFL, NCAA, NBA and NHL.

4) XM has an additional fee for premium channels, while Sirius does not.

5) XM charges for internet streams, Sirius does not. It must be noted that Sirius currently only streams its music channels.

Read Best Reviews of Sirius SPR1 Sportster Satellite Radio Receiver Here

I really have enjoyed this radio.Being a ham operator,i have for many years listened to stations from around the world such as the BBC and Radio Netherlands.But many have stopped shortwave broadcasts to the USA.Now i can listen to all of them here 24 hours a day!!The news content is the main reason i purchased the radio.Cable t.v. costs way too much and i cannot use a satellite dish as my apartment faces the north.$12.00 is so cheap in comparison.I have hooked mine up to a computer sub-woofer stereo system in my bedroom.Sound is incredible with no interference or FM drift .Occasionally though the satellites change their orbit just a bit(even though they are supposed to be geo-stationary)and the signal disappears.So i have positioned the antenna around the room to discern where my options are for reception.If you place the antenna outside facing east or close to that,the signal will be excellent.Since Sirius uses 3 satellites,the odds of not receiving a signal are nil.The radio is very user friendly that an 8 year old can use it with no manual.The music assortment is splendid offering anything one desires.I listen to classical and even though there are only 3 classical channels,it is nice to hear what they choose to play.(although they do play a lot of the warhorses:Beethoven,Mozart,etc.).I have 3000 cd's of classical so this really does not concern me but others will really enjoy the "no commercials" aspect of the music channels.My wife likes the Classic radio programs channel and i look forward to the NHL broadcasts.

Sirius offers a better lineup in my opinion(for me)and even though it is a little more expensive per month,three satellites as opposed to one give me a little more confidence in continued service.I drove to Seattle from Portland with the car kit in place and never had a dead spot!!Listened to anything i wanted without having to change the channel when the signal faded as with FM.

I have the car kit,home docking kit,and plan on buying the boombox when it is available.Buy this radio and you will enjoy it!!BTW,when the radio gets warm,it is normal.The heat sink inside is distributing the heat well and with the display always on it is a good thing that it does not use batteries as it would eat them fast.

Want Sirius SPR1 Sportster Satellite Radio Receiver Discount?

This generation of Sirius plug and plays is the first that is competitive with XM's equipment. The Sportster is a nearly the same size as the SkyFi. It does run quite a bit warmer than the SkyFi, but in my 3 months of using the Sporster, the heat hasn't been a problem.

For me, reception is excellent in Kansas. It doesn't drop out under trees or overpasses, as some have reported. At home, I had to stick the antenna outside of a north-facing window to get a signal, but that was fairly easy, and now I don't get any dropouts at home either.

My only complaint about the Sporster is the small remote. The buttons are way too small, and it's impossible to use in the dark, since most of the buttons feel the same.

In terms of programming, the main selling point of Sirius is their sports programming. With every game (with each teams feeds) of the NFL, selected games of the NBA and NHL (when they finally play), and football and men's basketball from 26 NCAA teams, including the Longhorns, Cowboys, Sooners, Cornhuskers, and Jayhawks. The have also added every game of the NCAA tournament, as well as live English Primer Soccer.

It can show the scores for all sports on the screen, which is a big plus, with the Sportster's GameZone, which sorts play-by-play by league, and displays the scores from each broadcast at the same time. The sections are: "NFL Zone", "NBA Zone", and "Other Sports", which is used for the college broadcasts.

Their music channels and talk offerings are also strong, with two stations of NPR programming, the entire schedule of Air America, and several original comedy shows on their two comedy stations, including one hosted by Jim Brewer.

The Sporster is a great unit, no matter if you're replacing an old receiver or experiencing Sirius for the first time, you will love it!

I would rate this 5-stars except for the antenna.

Quick hits on the radio and Sirius programming package both are great. My concern is with the antenna that came with the unit. I used to have an XM Roady2 and switched to Sirius for the college and NFL packages. Also the music choices on Sirius are a ton better.

My big problem is the signal, or lack of, I get far too often with the Sportster. The signal strength I got from XM is far better than I am getting from the Sportster. If I am under any obstacle, even small ones like leafless tress, my Sirius signal drops, if not altogether goes out. Even in broad clear areas, my antenna seems to need to have it's front pointed to the SSW, or else it will lose signal if pointed elsewhere. Needless to say, when driving this is an issue. This was not the case with the XM Roady2, which gave me a strong signal no matter where I was, and using it in the same exact way I am using the Sportster.

I have purchased the SIR-MINI antenna, in hopes that this will fix it (I read good reviews on how people's signals improved with it). If not, I will have to be calling Sirius to figure this out.