I have the Garmin XM antenna and have what I consider poor reception too. I had my antenna mounted under the fairing also. It comes in most of the time, but will occasionally fade in and out, it does this in open areas where there are no visible obstructions.

 

Can the Pandora be controlled by the HD IPOD interface?
Thanks

 

Try your stock antenna outside your fairing. If that doesn't help I'd say you have a connection problem or a bad unit.

I bought the HD XM module for my 2008 Street Glide, it worked great with the antenna inside the fairing.
I transfered it when I traded for a 2009 Street Glide, it worked great with the antenna inside the fairing.
I then transfered it to a 2012 CVO Street Glide and the reception sucked so bad it was useless. Same unit, same atenna location couldn't use it.

I then moved the stock XM antenna to oustside the fairing and it is working better than ever.

It fits perfect between my windshield bags and can hardly be seen unless you just have your nose where it doesn't belong. lol




http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t...201280x960.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t...191280x960.jpg

 

I can get channels in my garage too. But driving north my reception is awful, depends on which way I am turning too. have zero issues with my Sirius reception in either truck with the roof mount magnetic antenna. Maybe it is an XM issue. Ticks me off though.

 

You have either a bad antenna lead or bad receiver sensitivity or both. RF travels through plastic, so having the antenna under the faring cap should not be an issue as long as there are no metallic items (wires or brackets) between the antenna and the plastic of the faring.

I had XM for years in my Yukon. Never a reception problem anywhere. I hate XM radio these days...it's over priced, full of commercials, and now they have damn DJs. I'll never subscribe again, especially since I carry about 6000 mp3s along for the ride in my Zumo!! Too much free stuff out there as well with Pandora, etc. Goodbye forever XM! (and God help you if you ever try to close your account with them)

 

(this is cut and paste from my blog, sorry) my early impression on our new motorcycle, the Ultra Limited, the XM Satellite radio reception was bad at best. It was so bad that I was considering having it removed and asking for my money back (not really sure how that would have worked out).


After reading different takes about the radio on HD Forums and other sites, I decided to try it with the antenna moved out of the fairing and onto the “dash”. In this case to the right of the Project Rushmore air vent. The appearance of the antenna in this location is, and you can see for yourself, not bad. When I have the vent closed the antenna even looks like it is meant to be there.
View from the front

But this was not about aesthetics or appearance it was about reception. Prior to moving the antenna I would get reception a grade of 40% out of 100. The drops and lost reception was more than inconvenient, it was I want to return it bad. After moving the antenna I will grade out reception as 80% out of 100. Now the only time I lose reception is when there is a mountain or heavy foliage blocking the southern sky.


I still think Harley Davidson should install a buffer in the radio to allow for those short drops when they occur. I don’t think a 4-10 second buffer would increase the price of the radio beyond what people are willing to pay.
If you are considering purchasing an XM radio module for your motorcycle do not waste your time and add stress levels by allowing them (or yourself) to install the antenna in the default location. Install the antenna on the dash from the start; it will work a whole lot better and you will be happier with the reception you receive

 

Mounted on the tourpak for many years- great reception unless riding through heavily wooded areas- overhanging trees





however when i sold the '95 and bought the 09 I didn;t bother swapping it over to the new bike.
programming and sound quality have declined ( the later due to reduced bandwidth for each channel...they added a bunch more channels and bandwidth is shared).

I use my iphone or ipod to play podcasts for the most part


mike

 

I've been with XM before they hooked up with Sirius. Placed my antenna on a perch on handlebars and with the exception of tree canopies, reception is not a problem. Just never was satisfied with antenna under the fairing. Used 1/4" spiral conduit and ran the wire through it to attach to the bars. Agree with others, not what it use to be, but #'s 25, 26, 27 are my favorites.

 

I've had XM since they started broadcasting and I remember in the beginning that one of the drawbacks of their system was that over time the signal would deteriorate and get weaker. The reception difference from the beginning to now is very obvious. Now I have to ease my truck back and forth in the driveway or lose signal. In the beginning, a canopy of trees was no match for the signal coming down.