Sirius antenna as big as my head?

[zen garage]

I just installed an RB1 in my 03 SRT and was planning on installing a sirius radio until I noticed the antenna is as big as my head. I installed one of these in my Ram SRT and put the antenna on the roof. I cringed at first when I put the hole saw to my shiney paint but since it was the truck I didnt really care. However, I do not want to chunk a hole out of the decklid on my viper. Where has anyone put the monsterous antenna included with the kit.

 

[INSOMNIAC]

I just installed an RB1 in my 03 SRT and was planning on installing a sirius radio until I noticed the antenna is as big as my head.

How big is your head?

 

[milt]

I have a friend who's in the automotive after market business that has "XM" antennas that are barely noticeable...Give me a call and I'll give his number..It can't hurt to call..(443) 235 4771

Milton
"05 SRT/10

 

[Viper Wizard]

Hey Ron,
I put the antenna just forward of the radio in the dash. All that is above it is plastic and glass. They work fine there!

 

[plumcrazy]

thats why XM is always gonna be better. they have better hardware and technology.

 

[Mike Dolan]

What was involved in installing the RB1 & Sirius? I am contemplating the same for my '05 Vert. Did it just plug in, or did you need to do any modifications? Is there a special kit for either unit? My local dealer (not an expert apparently) indicated the RB1 and Sirius are not available for the Viper, though I have seen notes from people like yourself who have installed them.

Regards,

Mike Dolan

 

[twinturbo3150]

everything you need to install the RB1 is included with the kit, the gps antenna is small enough to just stick to the top of the RB1 houseing with the provided sticky back tape. As far as the xm dont know about that 1.

 

[Viper Specialty]

I have sold and done TONS of these installs. If anyone has any specific questions, let me know.

 

[rleminv]

Terk makes a mini-antenna, I believe the p/n is sir-mini and also makes a y-connection to convert a two wire to single wire antenna. In order to fit the Y-connection to the Chrysler Sirius box, take out a small tab or two on the connector with a Dremel tool. I recall I only did it to one of the two.

The mini-antenna is semi-gloss black and has a magnetic base. It's about 2"X3"X 3/4". You can install it on your dash under the windshield according to others but when I did, my signal strength was not as good as I thought it should be. I have mine installed temporarily on my console box door and it works ok even with the top up. Circuit City, Crutchfield, Amazon, etc. will have the Terk parts and they were fairly inexpensive if I recall($50-$75? for both). I did not use a Chrysler mounting kit at all, the Sirius kit was for the PT Cruiser, it's what they had.

My only complaint is I ended up having to stuff a bunch of thick, sticky cable that was provided for the PT and not needed for the Viper. There is probably a better Sirius kit with a shorter cable, but the guys at the local Dodge dealership only had this one in stock to let me try then buy. Please note, do not attempt to shorten/splice any cables to get the length correct. I called quite a few techs and was always told the same thing, signal loss.

I just did the Polk Audio speaker upgrade. The whole RB-1, Sirius, Polk works great. Good luck with yours.

 

[VIPER D]

Dan the man with the rb1

he helped meout with mine.

vd..

 

[zen garage]

Bought my RB1 off ebay for $638.00, came with everything except the antenna which is smaller than my head and avail from your local dodge dealer. It was literally plug and play, a 20 minute job at the most. The sirius kit is avail from dodge and is also plug and play. The level of difficulty depends on how you wire it. On my ram, I popped a hole in the roof, pulled wire all the way up front and hooked it up to the receiver.
As the wizard suggested, I am going to try to attach the antenna forward of the radio, under the dash pad for a stealth look. Hopefully it doesnt affect reception.
I really miss my Buffet lunch on Margaritaville radio so hopefully the sirius will be up and running soon.

 

[Viper Specialty]

RB1 off ebay= pullout
RB1 off ebay with no antenna= stolen

 

[zen garage]

Yes an RB1 off ebay is a pull out. And since it was from LKQ who is probably the largest recycler of autoparts in the country I would guess it is not stolen. Additionally, it came with the nav cd and instruction book. Works like a charm and 1/2 the price of new. It was manufactured in march 05 so I dont know how much newer I could get. I am in the car business and have been my entire life. I own a relatively large fleet and handle everything from buying, selling, fixing and paying for those cars. There is nothing wrong with recycled parts. The remanufactured, recycled parts buisness is a very large piece of the auto industry.
My cost for a new RB1 was a little over 1200 if I recall, call me cheap but I like getting a deal and love ebay.

 

[Viper Specialty]

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with it, but it is what it is. Where you got it does not necessarily matter, there are people (some of whom work over ebay) who buy stolen units, add new DVD's, antennas, manuals, etc, then sell them themselves or back to larger recyclers such as the one you purchased from. Hell, I have even seen them end up back at dealerships. Again, not saying there is anything wrong with it, but I personally would not buy something I dont know the history of, especially when it comes to items that are so frequently aquired using the 5 finger discount.

 

[Jim Z]

I cringed at first when I put the hole saw to my shiney paint but since it was the truck I didnt really care. However, I do not want to chunk a hole out of the decklid on my viper. Where has anyone put the monsterous antenna included with the kit.

just use the Terk mini-antenna and the y-splitter. it works fine with teh Mopar tuner. I put one each in my parents' cars and they work great. They're magnetic so no drilling needed. You need the Terk SIRMINI antenna and the SIRSP splitter.

 

[zen garage]

So about twenty screws later and my dash is apart. Where on earth did you guys hide the gigantic antenna inside the dash?

 

[Midwest Muscle]

I must be shopping at different places. I've had three different Sirius attennas, and neither of them were bigger than the smallest Post It pads that I have here in my office.

Mike M

 

[ViperGMC]

go get a Sirius antenn, they have ones that are about half the size of a business card. It has only one wire connection to the tunner, works the same as the one you have, but much smaller.

 

[zen garage]

The sirius antenna that comes with the dodge kit is about the size and shape of a very large avocodo. It is much larger than any post it note. The terk mini looks like the way to go. Thanks for the replies.