Details on new FCC-compliant satellite radio FM transmitters
The good folks at Orbitcast have the rundown on what the FCC's crackdown leaky FM modulators means for you and your next satellite radio; in short: more wires. The complete details on XM's and Sirius' answers to the FCC's demands have emerged in (what else?) FCC certification filings, with each company coming to similar solutions. Sirius' FM Extender, seen above, requires you to affix a wire inside the vehicle as close to the external FM antenna as possible which, in most cases, means a wire on your front or rear windshield. XM's FM coupler takes things one step further,with a coupling clip that attaches directly to the external antenna or sticks to an on-glass antenna. Not exactly an ideal solution in either case, though we tend to agree with Orbitcast's assessment that professional installers have got to be digging it. Too bad, too, we were kind of digging on the short-range pirate radio stations we'd been broadcasting in traffic these last few years.
