Well in little over a month I'm taking my family back to IL and I was looking at getting a GPS for my truck and also satellite radio.

Now I'm looking for a gps that is not just stuck in one car I don't know alot  about the car gps so an advice will do with that.

Now satellite radio i see there are two different company's XM and Sirius I don't know a thing about any of them. What is the difference between them and also how does the satellite radio work? Would you buy it again? Thanks for the help.

The GPS is easy, IF you have a notebook comp.
Get Delorme. INSANE route directions, I use it in a big rig everyday. Comes with a cool little reciever.
Bluetooth OR USB. Best part less than 150 bux. You can Load the software on any computer and just switch the Rcvr.

XM or Sirius Depends on what you like to listen to. Go look at thire programming online.
I have Sirus in my rig too, I like listening to Stern .
You can get add on kits for your P/u or the wifies car, less than 100 bux.  

A few truck stops have a sale on them for around 50 bux right now. Sirius.
Petro, T/A. not to sure on Flying J ( it sux so I dont stop there)
Pilot has a sale too I think.

Link - GPS  

Thanks for the GPS info a few of thouse GPS lok nice. I'm also looking up a lot more on the satellite radio thing.

The ones I saw for XM looked like they all took a tape deck or you had to installe a new radio for it. The one I saw from Sirius  had a player that looking like a radiar detectior and it just linked up with your FM radio.

Sirius, because they have NRA radio, channel 144 I believe

Quoted: how does the satellite radio work?

Well, first, the XM or Sirius frequency division multiplexes (FDM's) the audio channels into one large or many smaller supergroups, the supergroups get sent into one or many Modulators.  Immediately prior to modulation, the signal is sent through a trunk encryption devide. Then, the modulators heterodyne the audio frequencies onto an intermediate frequency (IF).  That IF is then sent to an Up Converter.  

That upconverter mixes that IF with a local oscillator frequency (LO) to produce the final transmit frequency in the S-Band of satellite frequencies (~2.3Ghz).  That S-Band frequency is sent to a High Powered Amplifier (HPA) that is sent via waveguide to a large-aperature antenna.  That signal is sent 22,369 miles above the Earth's surface to a pair of satellites (XM- Rock and Roll positioned above the west and east coast of the US respectively) or a mini constellation of satellites (Sirius- consists of 3 satellites in a slightly inclined orbit continually covering the continental US).  Those satellites then translate and rebroadcast the encrypted data to the continental US receivers.  

The signal is then broadcast down to the subscribers.  The signals of that satellite get recieved by the antenna of the satellite receivers.  That signal travels down the antenna cable to the down converter in the receiver.  The downconverter then mixes that signal with an LO to recreate the IF. The IF is then sent to the Demodulator and the data is stripped off of the carrier.  

If the chipset is authorized, after the demodulation the audio signal is decrypted.  The decrypted signal is sent through a FDM demux that is then sent to the microprocessor in the receiver.  The LCD then displays the decrypted channel options for your listening pleasure.


That in a nutshell is how Satellite Radio works.

Quoted: Quoted: how does the satellite radio work? Well, first, the XM or Sirius frequency division multiplexes (FDM's) the audio channels into one large or many smaller supergroups, the supergroups get sent into one or many Modulators.  Immediately prior to modulation, the signal is sent through a trunk encryption devide. Then, the modulators heterodyne the audio frequencies onto an intermediate frequency (IF).  That IF is then sent to an Up Converter.   That upconverter mixes that IF with a local oscillator frequency (LO) to produce the final transmit frequency in the S-Band of satellite frequencies (~2.3Ghz).  That S-Band frequency is sent to a High Powered Amplifier (HPA) that is sent via waveguide to a large-aperature antenna.  That signal is sent 22,369 miles above the Earth's surface to a pair of satellites (XM- Rock and Roll positioned above the west and east coast of the US respectively) or a mini constellation of satellites (Sirius- consists of 3 satellites in a slightly inclined orbit continually covering the continental US).  Those satellites then translate and rebroadcast the encrypted data to the continental US receivers.   The signal is then broadcast down to the subscribers.  The signals of that satellite get recieved by the antenna of the satellite receivers.  That signal travels down the antenna cable to the down converter in the receiver.  The downconverter then mixes that signal with an LO to recreate the IF. The IF is then sent to the Demodulator and the data is stripped off of the carrier.   If the chipset is authorized, after the demodulation the audio signal is decrypted.  The decrypted signal is sent through a FDM demux that is then sent to the microprocessor in the receiver.  The LCD then displays the decrypted channel options for your listening pleasure. That in a nutshell is how Satellite Radio works.

For those of us who only speak English, you install it in your car and it works very well with content that is far, far superior to the crap you're used hearing on the radio.  I've got Sirius and am very happy with it.  Take a close look at the channel line-up and see which suits you best.  For the music, I think both of them offer a free preview at their websites so you can hear what the music is like.  

ZERO learning curve gps.. GARMIN C330, also check out the I5, it is smaller without touchscreen, but runs on 2 AA batts instead of plugging into your lighter like the c330, but they are both stand alone units.

sirius radio.. ive listened to both, i like sirius, I will say this tho.. any sat radio that uses FM broadcast to play over your radio will have a tinny sound to it.

Everyone I know got rid of the sat radio after 1 or 2 months. I tried the free trial for XM and was very disapointed with the music, the channels were not "exact" enough for me. I would hear 1 good song then 3 or 4 songs i had never heard of or didn't want to hear because they were not a similar type of music.

Quoted: Sirius, because they have NRA radio, channel 144 I believe

Correct 144, cam & co.
Plus sirius has way  way better music stations, I know fo r a fact.

FOX news comes back on march 14th

Quoted: Everyone I know got rid of the sat radio after 1 or 2 months. I tried the free trial for XM and was very disapointed with the music, the channels were not "exact" enough for me. I would hear 1 good song then 3 or 4 songs i had never heard of or didn't want to hear because they were not a similar type of music.

My point exactly, XM sucks
Sirius has great music

Quoted: .... Now I'm looking for a gps that is not just stuck in one car I don't know alot  about the car gps so an advice will do with that.....

Look for a basic GPS, a Magellan 310/315 can be had for under 100 bucks link it to your laptop using a GPS mapping software like Oziexplorer and a data cable(used to be free..), plus scan/make your own maps, etc. Alternatively and for your convenience, a GPS with the added "extra features" is good as well, the only downside is that you need to buy their "updated mapping software" when you can actually make/scan your own.....

As far as satellite radios, I have Sirius, it was a free subscription..... but will replace it with XM radio so suit my needs.....

Quoted: Quoted: Everyone I know got rid of the sat radio after 1 or 2 months. I tried the free trial for XM and was very disapointed with the music, the channels were not "exact" enough for me. I would hear 1 good song then 3 or 4 songs i had never heard of or didn't want to hear because they were not a similar type of music. My point exactly, XM sucks Sirius has great music

After doing the three day trial with both of them after the first day I know what one I'm going to get and that is the Sirius it has way more music I like. Now just have to pick out the player for it.

If you have an PDA go for Tom Tom:

http://www.tomtom.com/products/product.php?ID=145&Language=4

For pure car use, Magellan Roadmate 300 refurbed, $300 on Ebay with a free $50 preloaded SD card

If you are going to put a GPS in the car, why not go all out?  my vehicular GPS position beacon- - - near real-time positioning on the internet