I was thinking about getting Sirius/XM Radio on the 2575 RCW that I have on order. All that I see for options is the "Satellite Upgrade". Does anyone know what that option gets you? The price seems kind of high if it is just a satellite ready radio.
Satellite Upgrade
- Thread starter MrFreeze
- Start date
JasonLepore
Well-Known Member
Try using Pandora if you have a smart phone and get that App ,,, it's free and hooks right into the Aux jack from the radio to your phone ...
That is a great idea! The radio on this boat is not on the dash it is in a storage compartment under the helm. There is a remote on the dash and a USB jack on the dash. I assume that the phone will work with the USB jack.
JasonLepore
Well-Known Member
I think the iPhone needs a S cable,,, it's what I plan on using and keeping the cell charged with the charger port
JasonLepore
Well-Known Member
I think the iPhone needs a S cable,,, it's what I plan on using and keeping the cell charged with the charger port
Hmmm, not sure what an S cable is. Is that a cable that goes from the phone to the USB port on the boat?
Fasttr
Well-Known Member
I use a bluetooth gateway to stream Pandora and Spotify directly from my iPhone to the aux port on the radio. That way you can keep your iPhone in a sealed waterproof (and floating!) enclosure while playing your music...
Blackberry bluetooth stereo gateway
Then use this to hardwire to your auxiliary switched power source. It comes with a mini-USB cord which is what the Blackberry device requires.
Arkon direct wire USB power
Whole installation takes less than 30 minutes and minimal skills. I have one of these in each of my vehicles and the Bennington. Should pair and work with any bluetooth enabled A2DP phone. That includes the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S and most newer Android devices.
Of course this won't keep your iPhone charged but I've never run out of battery on a typical lake day. But if you think that's an issue then you can add this to the list (or just take your iPhone out of the sealed bag and charge normally via a standard 12V socket USB charger).
Mophie Juice Pack Case
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What is the reason for the Arkon direct wire USB? Is that just to keep your phone charged? It seems like the Gateway and phone would work without it.
This seem like another great Idea! Thank you for the help.
Fasttr
Well-Known Member
The gateway needs it's own power supplied into it's mini-USB port to operate. The Arkon converts the 12 VDC to conditioned standard USB power with the mini-USB plug included. Typically you would use the gateway with a standard cigarette lighter USB adapter, which you could do here also but it's much cleaner to mount the gateway and the power adapter inside the console and out of sight.
ericscher
Well-Known Member
I'm trying to find a new radio for my boat that already has Satellite built in. No "Satellite Ready" mind you... Satellite built IN, with no need for additional hardware.
So far, no joy.
So far, no joy.
When I say "satellite ready" I mean it can communicate with satellite radio, all that you need is and XM account. I assume that is the Satellite Upgrade that Bennington offers but at $600 that seems a bit much. That is why I asked the question. I could be wrong about this but I think that you can get a Sirius/XM add-on to a radio that cost about $50 then you pay a monthly fee of about $10 to Sirius/XM.
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Ah! I did not realize that the gateway need a power source. Makes sense. Thanks.
Fasttr
Well-Known Member
Spotify premium (mobile use) is $10/month and you can search by genre, artist, etc. or subscribe to public playlists or Facebook friends playlists. Streaming is just about instantaneous. It's great on the boat when someone says I want to listen to... and all you do is search and start playing songs by the artist. Spotify premium also allows you to download your songs to your mobile device so that you can listen without incurring additional data charges. I always have about 400 songs already downloaded and then stream new songs or artists on request.
And of course Pandora is free but you can't directly pick your songs. You can search by artist and then get songs by the artist and similar to that artist.
I am not familiar with Spotify but it sounds pretty good! Now, just so I am clear on this. Is it true that I could just plug my phone into the USB jack and play Pandora and Spotify? Is the Gateway needed just if you want it to be wireless? :blink:
Fasttr
Well-Known Member
The gateway is ONLY used for bluetooth wireless streaming. You can always plug a 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cord from your headphone jack to the auxiliary in jack on the radio and not require any additional hardware. Alternatively, the Bluetooth stereo gateway has a 3.5mm output jack that plugs into the radio auxiliary jack and your mobile device sends audio to the gateway which in turn pumps it into the radio via the aux in jack.
Wired
iPhone--->3.5mm audio cable--->aux-in jack--->radio plays music OR
Wireless
iPhone~~~~~>A2DP Bluetooth over the air~~~~~>stereo gateway--->3.5mm cable-->aux-in jack--->radio plays music
Got it! On my boat, the radio is under the helm and I have a USB connection on the dash that I can plug into and play from an Ipod. I was hoping that I could use a Mini USB to USB patch cord and plug my Blackberry into the the dash USB port but the Mini USB on my blackberry probably does not have audio out from that connection.
Fasttr
Well-Known Member
I did a quick search and it appears that your BB will not output audio via USB. It will however possibly mount your BB as a USB drive and if you have music on your BB it may play those songs over USB. In this mode though it is acting the same as if you stuck a thumb drive into the USB port and will not allow you access to your applications.
Fasttr
Well-Known Member
I suspect you have an aux-in connection available if you have a USB port available. It might be on the back of the unit with RCA jacks but you can convert those to a 3.5mm jack and use the stereo gateway as an option.
Yes, it's just that the USB is on the dash so it is convenient to connect to. The Aux-In is on the radio and as I mentioned the radio is mounted under the helm. The Gateway sounds like a convenient way to go.
rnt
Member
If you already have a Sirius/XM account you dont need a Satelite radio, just download the Sirius app on your Iphone/smart phone and you can stream and plug it directly into your USB or AUX jack. That way you dont have to pay for another radio subscription.