TSS-Radio Blog

The boyfriend’s dad is a Pharmaceutical Rep.  On paper, it sounds like an amazing job…  Getting to drive around the country seeing The World’s Biggest Ball of Yarn, the Ripley’s Believe it or Not Aquarium, trying Chili Cheese Fries in all time zones, you know… Awesome, right?! Ryan’s dad says that misses two things: his bed and his television. While I can do little to advise Ryan on a Father’s Day gift on how to ship his dad’s bed around the country, I can recommend the Slingbox.

The chief complaint of Dan, Ryan’s dad,  is that he constantly misses his shows.  At dinner last week, Dan was complaining about how he had to cover his ears every time he entered  a room in case people were talking about the LOST finale. Apparently, Dan had the last four episodes on his DVR at home and had yet to watch them.  The Slingbox will allow Dan to watch his DVR’ed shows and his television anywhere in the country from his laptop! And, while I love the thought of Dan running down corporate hallways with his fingers jammed in his ears, I think the Slingbox would be a great Father’s Day gift so the doctors offices on his route can not think he’s insane.

TSS-Radio just dropped their price on it by a whopping $30 and there’s always Free Shipping on Slingbox orders so Ryan can even wait til the last minute, as he did last year with the Obama Chia Pet Head,  and still get it in just a few days. The best part of it, though, is that there is no monthly fee! The Slingbox is a one-time purchase!!

karen [at] tss-radio.com

When I heard that Rosie O’Donnell would be adding a Sirius XM talk show to her repertoire, I couldn’t wait.

She had been so friendly and kind on her television show but we never really heard much about her personal life.  After her show ended we got to see a different, more vocal, Rosie O’Donnell.  She came out as a huge advocate for the gay community and, of course, made waves for a while on The View.

I can’t say that I caught many episodes of The View but I always caught the, er, highlights on The Soup each weekend; especially when she flipped her hair over and impersonated Donald Trump. I knew that, on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, she could do and say anything she wanted so I was definitely intrigued to find out about the real Rosie.

I’ve been recording her shows daily with my XMP3 and after hearing her for the last few months, I’ve been blown away almost every show.  Her guests have included not only other Sirius XM hosts like Howard Stern and Covino and Rich, but also award winning authors, child advocates, comediennes like Kathy Griffin, Broadway stars, and even women she met at the grocery store. She crafts, she sings, she discusses her divorce, her kids, her new relationship, her struggles with weight, her political views, her childhood, her love of her new squirrel friend, Shady (whom she named after rapper Eminem – who knew?!), and, well, the daily doings of Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Rosie is, hilariously and unapologetically, who she is.

In addition to her Sirius XM duties, rumor has it that Rosie will be starting up a new tv show in the coming months. I, for one, am looking forward. I imagine it’ll be similar to Oprah’s After Show or Howard Stern’s Wrap Up Show, in that, Rosie will interview her guest and then take to the radio to give her real thoughts and opinions on that day’s program.

You won’t want to miss the Real Rosie! You can hear her on Sirius channel 108, XM channel 155 from 10-Noon Eastern.

karen [at] tss-radio.com

My White Zinfandel-swigging, poker-playing, 1940s music-loving, lead-foot-driving grandma recently turned 86. It’s hard to imagine. So, what do you get an 86 year old for their birthday? When I called her, I asked her. Our conversation went a little something like this:

Karen: “Hi, Nana! You’re having a birthday soon, huh? What would you like for a gift?

Nana: “Great-grandkids.”

Karen: “Oh, Nana… Don’t I need to nail down that husband first?”

Nana: “Not really, sweetie. I’ve been watching that Maury show and none of them have husbands!”

Karen: “I was thinking something along the lines of a Sirius XM Satellite Radio so you can listen to your 1940s music all the time!”

Nana: “Honey, my fingers don’t work as well as they used to because of this damned Arthritis. I appreciate it but I don’t think it’s something I can really set-up. I do love the music though.”

At this point in the conversation I could have given up and sent her something unremarkable.  Of course, I didn’t want to do that and I was convinced that, like me, once she experienced satellite radio, she would instantly love it.  My only dilemma was figuring which product would be best for her.

Luckily, this is something I get to do every day.  I talk to a wide variety of customers that have a wide variety of needs and it’s always fun to be able to figure out the best product for each specific situation.

In my grandma’s case I knew she’d want to listen at home, the radio had to be easy to set up and easy to operate.  I instantly thought of the Tivoli:

http://www.tss-radio.com/refurbished-tivoli-audio-model-satellite-radio-p-7039.html

The Tivoli is a great looking Sirius XM Satellite Radio. It is simple to set-up, but my 86 year old grandma wasn’t very tech savvy, so I wanted to be sure she’d be able to do it. I figured, if I could set it up with minimal effort and not have to bust out any screwdrivers or other tools, she’d be in.

I took a few pics just to show how easy it is.

The Box!

The components out of the box.

The three plugs in the back.

Success! Granddaughter approved!

E-mail me and let me know what your thoughts are: karen [at] tss-radio.com

Recently, we have had people calling in and telling us that they have engine noise when they are listening to their plug and play satellite radio inside their car. Every time they accelerate they can hear an engine noise or a “wine” through their speakers. Well, we have found a solution. Here’s the scenario:

• Listener is using a stock aux input located on their vehicles radio or dash.
• Listener is also using a standard car kit (ex: SUPV1, SLV2, etc)
• Listener has the car kit hooked up to their vehicles radio through the aux input via 1/8th inch aux cable.
• Listener does not have the power hardwired. They are using the cigarette lighter adapter.

Problem: When the listener accelerates down the road they can hear an increase in engine noise through their speakers.

Solution: We discussed this with a professional installer that used the PIE in-line 12 amp noise filter and it solved their problem. What they did was go behind the cigarette lighter and put the power filter on the live wire running to the cigarette lighter. This solved the issue immediately.

One way to prove this theory to is to plug in a regular MP3 player into the auxiliary jack on the radio and drive around. Even better, if you have a stiletto you can listen to recorded content through the aux input as well. You should hear no engine wine noise at all. If you do, then this is a completely separate issue. Most engine noise issues come from the fact that the unit is drawing off of the vehicles power through the cigarette lighter, or in rare cases, from a vehicle power hardwire kit. Both scenarios can be solved by using this PIE noise filter.

This review is courtesy of MichiganMade “MM” from his DigitalRadioCentral thread. You may find the original post HERE.

Ever since my wife got her 2008 Nissan Altima I have been trying to figure out a way to get Sirius and her iPod connected in a way that wasn’t obtrusive or gaudy looking. I wanted a clean look.

At that time there was nothing available. So I just connected her Sportster 4 to an FM modulator and hid it in the compartment below the radio. She just used an stereo cable to use her iPod through her car stereo’s front Aux input.

Then a few months ago Taylor said a solution was coming. Then two weeks ago my iSimple Kit from TSS Radio finally arrived.

After I opened the package, I was a little overwhelmed at first. It seemed like a lot of work. I was wrong. After opening everything and piecing the whole kit together, I knew the install would not take too long.

Before I took the dash apart, I followed the “quick install” directions from TSS and updated the firmware to the Media Gateway. This is a very important step. I simply had to go to a website and download the firmware. You need a micro USB cable to do so.

I was excited to just get the unit connected so I could see how it worked. After a few minutes of disconnecting the harness to the car radio, installing the new harness, connecting back the car stereo harness, plugging in the iPod cable, and the Sirius…I was ready to go.

This is where you have to follow the “quick install” directions. You turn the car to accessory and wait three minutes. This allows all the peripherals to talk to each other. After the three minutes, you turn the car off and back on to accessory. Then I pressed the “RADIO” button on the car stereo. I then hit “TUNE” immediately and I scrolled through IPOD, AUX 1, and SIRIUS. I will explain how these work later.

I unhooked everything and had to decide where I would mount everything. This, for me, took the longest. You have to find a place where the Media Gateway and the SCC1 Sirius Tuner can be secure and not move.

Close up of the iSimple iPod Connector.

After I got everything secure and plugged in to the correct spots, I tried the system out once more before I put the dash back together. All was well. Installation is complete!

Your iPod will look like this (of course I have Modest Mouse on there).

Your car stereo will look like this.

I cannot express how impressed I am with this system. This what so many people have been looking for. It’s what I have been looking for. I finally get my clean install. The sound quality is second to none. Sirius sounds so crystal clear, much better than before with the FMDA and better than in my car using Sirius with an Aux Input.

If you are looking for a clean setup, look no further than the iSimple solution at TSS Radio.

This review is courtesy of MichiganMade “MM” from his DigitalRadioCentral thread. You may find the original post HERE.

Have you ever bought a SIRIUS Radio with car kit and only wanted to use it your home?

Since most of the radios come with a car kit, the question is, How to make a car kit- that comes with your radio, work in the home? You will need a few parts to get that car kit working in your home.

You will need:

Home AC Power adapter

audio cable

metal antenna stand

Here’s the location of the items:

1.) Find the Model number of your SIRIUS Radio. Usually located on the back of the receiver or near the barcode on the box.
2.) Log on to www.tss-radio.com
3.) In the center of the page you will see a box labeled “Click Here to Find Accessories“.
4.) Find and select your radio’s model number from the drop down menu or Scroll down and select your receivers picture.
5.) After selecting your radio, scroll down and look for “Home Kit Power Adapter”-add that to your cart.

For Audio cables simply click on “SIRIUS Accessories” on the left hand column, select “Home Installation Parts“, and scroll down and find the appropriate audio cables for your application.

To find the Metal Antenna stand, just click on this link: Metal Vehicle Antenna Stand. This stand allows for your magnetic antenna to sit upright and face any direction you desire, for optimal signal reception.

Of course to expedite all this-just give us a call 773-772-4340 and we can set you up with a great solution!

We found this solution out after some of our customers, who were either given a radio or purchased one from a store and wanted to use it in their home. A lot of our tricks and tips really come from our own customers providing us feedback. We love satellite radio and we know you do too!

Our Staff knows SIRIUSXM Radios and accessories inside and out and we can create a setup that is perfect for you. Have a question? Just give us a call! or Send us an Email(sales@tss-radio.com).

TSS-Radio has a large selection of In-Dash SIRIUS Kits, but we had added even more kits to our inventory! Covering more vehicles and more years than ever before.

We are always adding kits and interfaces to supplement our inventory. If you do not see your vehicle listed please feel free to comment below and I can help either-find a solution or give you a development status on the conversion kit you desire.

Having In-Dash SIRIUS is great, however some vehicles cannot have SIRIUS integrated into their radio. In these cases there is several different solutions TSS-Radio offers to help.

For Cars not listed or not compatible:

The New Universal SiriusConnect Controller System is a great way to put semi-integrated SIRIUS Radio into your vehicle. The small display unit can be tucked away or put in a semi-hidden area of the dash so that you do not have a Dock and Play radio on the dash, but still retain many of the Dock and Play features.  This is a great way to achieve a OEM look and still have SIRIUS.

Dock and Play SIRIUS Radios

These units can be mounted in several different places on your vehicle’s dash and have a large selection of various features depending on model. A great solution if you plan on bringing SIRIUS into your home, just add a compatible SIRIUS Boombox.

Here is a brief list of all the vehicle makes we now have SIRIUS In-Dash Kits for:

Select your Make vehicle below:
In-Dash SIRIUS for Acura Vehicles

In-Dash SIRIUS for Audi Vehicles

In-Dash SIRIUS for BMW

In-Dash SIRIUS for Buick

In-Dash SIRIUS for Cadillac

In-Dash SIRIUS for Chevrolet

In-Dash SIRIUS for Chrysler

In-Dash SIRIUS for Dodge

In-Dash SIRIUS for Ford

In-Dash SIRIUS for GMC

In-Dash SIRIUS for Honda

In-Dash SIRIUS for Hummer

In-Dash SIRIUS for Hyundai

In-Dash SIRIUS for Isuzu

In-Dash SIRIUS for Jaguar

In-Dash SIRIUS for Jeep

In-Dash SIRIUS for Land Rover

In-Dash SIRIUS for Lexus

In-Dash SIRIUS for Lincoln

In-Dash SIRIUS for Mazda

In-Dash SIRIUS for Mercury

In-Dash SIRIUS for Mini Cooper

NEW—In-Dash SIRIUS for Nissan

In-Dash SIRIUS for Oldsmobile

In-Dash SIRIUS for Pontiac

In-Dash SIRIUS for Scion

In-Dash SIRIUS for Saab

In-Dash SIRIUS for Saturn

In-Dash SIRIUS for Suzuki

In-Dash SIRIUS for Toyota

In-Dash SIRIUS for Volkswagen