ScottH-Cab

I have wanted to put in XM radio for some time. My major concern was how to do it with out having the ugly roof mounted antenna and make the whole thing look as factory as possible. I took ideas that I found on the A4,A6 and Audio forums. I did the control unit and antenna myself and had Audio King do everything else.

I chose the Alpine unit both for the small size of the control unit and its reputation for offering the best sound. It is currently set up using the FM adaptor but I will be switching to the Blitzsafe direct connection to the CD changer. Even with the FM adaptor this sounds and works fantastic !!!!!!

So - here is what the control unit looks like mounted:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/14321/xm4.jpg">

It looks great and works perfectly mounted here. This is the view I have of it driving, looking down through the left opening in the steering wheel:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/14321/xm5.jpg">





If you want to do this - here is how I did it:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/14321/xm3.jpg">


The next problem was how to get away from using the standard antenna that mounts on the roof with the 6 inch long black tail that runs back to the rear window trim. Several other people on this forum had no problems with mounting the antenna inside on the rear shelf. This is the route I wanted to take. I decided to mount the antenna on top of the center plastic plug for the child seat anchor. I figured if I got too many "cut offs" that I could move it back farther - more like where the brake light starts to slope up.

So far - this position works great !!! It has cut out a few times going up steep hills to the south but there are so few of these in the Twin Cites that it is really not a problem. If you live in an area with major hills - you way have to put it back further on the deck. If you can get away with this location - the only hole you need to drill is in the plastic plug and its only a 3 dollar part....
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/14321/xm2.jpg">


This was a little more complicated, but here are the basic's of how I did it. I will be honest - I runied the 1st antenna trying to do this but it helped me figure out how to do it right. So it was a $39 learing exercise!!!!!!!!!

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/14321/xm1.jpg">



Bottom line: It looks great and works perfect !!!

After no Jazz stations I now have 5 !!!!!!!!

Adam325i

I considered that location for the display, but ended up using the plastic visor immediately aft of the rear view mirror. Looks great, and everyone can check out the show.

I particularly like your antenna solution. The antenna I went with looks a lot like the Audi GPS antenna, and is mounted on the trunk. I don't like it as much as my previous XM antenna (yours, but mounted on the roof of my bmw), but I don't mind it. I'm curious about your reception - I'm not sure the cut-offs are due to the placement of the antenna. In hilly areas, there can be brief dead spots even with ideal antenna placement. You should note that with the antenna on the hat deck, you should avoid tinting the rear window.

Anyway, it looks great!

DWP

Very cool! Worth including in Stoney's links IMHO. Stoney?

2.7tDallas

oustanding!

Stoney

Done and done. Also should submit as tech article.

Dan_L

Where is the center rear headrest, or do no 4.2s have them?

Stoney

Thank goodness we don't. Or at least in 2000-2001.

duodallas

Will that work with metallic tint on the back window?

StoneMan

Very nice! Been wanting to do the same thing. Do you lose the CD changer going w/Blitzsafe?