Sirius Ready Radio

[hawk10eye]

I recently purchased a 2012 Berkshire 36-FWS. It has a Jensen VR209TP radio which states it is Sirius ready. I have been told two different stories on how ready the radio is. One dealer tells me the radio is equipped to receive Sirius, but needs an antenna. I have had Sirius radio in the past, and my previous coach had a small square antenna for Sirius reception which was different from the regular radio antenna. Another tells me it is ready to go, and the antenna that is on the roof for the radio will receive and accept the Sirius signal. Does anybody know which is correct? Appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

[bclemens]

"Sirius ready" typically means you need to add a "Tuner and little square antenna". Berkshire may include those items in their build, but I don't know for sure. Try turning the radio to XM/Sirius. If you can get the preview channel, it probably has the tuner and antenna. If not, or it says "check tuner" you'll need those parts. Amazon has them at pretty good prices.

[tmmar]

I was able to receive XM by adding an XM tuner and antenna (mine said sirius ready also). My Jensen is from 2008 and may be slightly different but I was able to plug the output of the XM to the aux input of the radio. I just put the antenna on the bottom of the dash where it meets the widshield. Worked fairly well that way.

[wnytaxman]

Same story with my rig. It said that it was Sirius ready and we could find nothing that indicated any Sirius application. We just bought an inexpensive Sirius tuner and antenna and then hooked the unit up to the AUX input on the radio. We just put the antenna on the dash and away we go.

As a heads up comment, if you go the route of Sirius make sure you have them mail you a bill rather than the automatic credit card charge. They have brutal customer service and we found that they were billing us for units we no longer owned and just a whole rash of mistakes. Now we get a paper bill mailed to us. No more automatic billing from Sirius. You can get real tired of talking to someone in India who promises to take care of your problem and then does nothing.

[hawk10eye]

Thanks for the replies. After I posted the thread, I decided to call the tech rep at Forest River. He confirms that I need to install a antenna for Sirius reception. He advised to remove the access panel on the top of the dash above the radio. I did, and under there, there are several marked leads coming from the radio. One is marked Sirius Antenna. It is grey in color. Looks like I will need to buy an antenna. Thanks again for your replies.

[JENSENRVDirect]

I represent ASA Electronics, the producer of the JENSEN brand of televisions, stereos, and speakers, Voyager brand of observation monitors and cameras and the Advent brand of appliances. At ASA, we strive to provide excellent customer service and product satisfaction and would like to offer some assistance in this matter.

“SIRIUS Ready” is the term used to describe a radio that has the capability of controlling a dedicated, direct connect SIRIUS tuner. This means that the radio will be able to handle all SIRIUS functions and channel/artist/song data on the display, in addition to presets, alerts, etc. These tuners are often referred to as a “black box” as they are small and hidden once installed. A dedicated SIRIUS antenna is also required, which connects to the tuner which is connected to the radio’s “TO SIRIUS” port on the rear (the grey cable). All radios require an outboard SIRIUS tuner as none are built into the radio (just as home satellite TV service requires the provider’s set top tuner and antenna).

If nothing is connected to the grey cable on the rear of your stereo, this indicates you need to add the compatible tuner (SCC1) and a suitable antenna, such as the Shakespeare SRA25. Depending on your coach build, these items can be included or left as dealer options.

Please let me know if you need any further assistance. You can also reach our Technical Services department directly at 877-845-8750 M-F 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM EDT.