Practical Sailor's gear and boat reviews take the guesswork out of your buying decisions.

Volume 29
Number 11
June 2003

Static-Free Satellite Radio: XM and Sirius

Digital Satellite Audio Radio promises near-CD quality digital sound, but it hasn't taken off as expected. Is there good reason to buy a receiver for your boat and subscribe to either of the two competing companies?

The Delphi SKYFi for XM is the first portable digital satellite radio. Price all up is $229.98.

Last year, a reader asked when we were going to take a look at digital satellite audio radio… DS what? Seems there's an acronym for darn near everything these days. The reader had plunked down his hard-earned money for a satellite radio on his boat and said he was pleased. "You ought to look into it," he said.

Right off the bat, we could see advantages: static-free reception and continuous coverage. No fade-out as you leave your favorite station's signal coverage area. A quick study reveals another plus: the two main providers of DSAR in North America offer 100+ channels, most commercial-free. In addition to your favorite brand of music—classical, country,…

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