Sirius XM Antenna Relocation/Upgrade

[TheHops]

For quite some time now, I've been dealing with degraded signal due to my over-the-cab roof rack interfering with the stock sirius xm antenna. I finally got around to doing something about it, and I didn't really have any luck tracking down guidance online, so I figured I'd share my solution. This is specific to my set-up, which obviously has some aftermarket components involved, but the overall setup/routing should work for anyone else interested in doing this.

What I used:

Antenna: Tram 7754 Satellite Radio Antenna
Mount: Rago Fabrication Ditch Bracket Extension
Adapter: Fakra-SMB Adapter

I didn't want a tall antenna full-time on top of my rack, but I had to get it out in the open, so I decided on a mount near the hood. The issue is I had two pods on both ditch brackets already, so after a little research I came across these awesome little mounts by Rago Fabrication. They worked perfectly for my application, and I'll likely be using another one on the other side when I eventually incorporate a HAM setup. But, that's a post for another time...

After mounting the extension bracket beneath my ditch light bracket on the far left, I routed the cable in through the cowl, and up along the driver's side windshield trim, making sure that it wasn't pinched anywhere. From there, I popped the driver's side overhead trim around the roll bar (held in place with pop clips and 4 small torx screws), the trim along the left side of the sound bar just above the driver's head rest, and dropped the sound bar trim (not the actual sound bar itself--not necessary for this) by popping out the clips and removing the three torx screws. The sound bar trim takes some convincing to get down. Just apply steady force and it will eventually come down.

Once you get behind the sound bar trim, this is the plug that you're looking for:

The antenna includes 21' of cable, which is more than enough for this routing. I had to secure at least 8'-10' in the sound bar trim. Once you reach this plug, simply plug the aftermarket antenna cable into the adapter. Here's what the adapter looks like:

Plug the adapter into the stock harness (male end goes to new antenna, female end to stock harness), secure the excess, and replace the trim. Once I found the plug and the optimal routing to it, the rest was very simple. No more obstructed antenna! Reception is crystal clear. Here's the finished product from the outside:

I get that the look may not be for everyone, but this was done primarily for function. Having said that though...I kind of dig the look!

Hope the writeup helps someone! Feel free to post up any questions.

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[PJZ]

Very nice! I never fixed this issue when I had my JK. With a rhino rack platform it was always cutting out. Good solution and looks cool to boot.

 

[TheHops]

Very nice! I never fixed this issue when I had my JK. With a rhino rack platform it was always cutting out. Good solution and looks cool to boot.

Thanks! The issue is definitely bearable, but it was a fairly cheap and easy fix once I figured out the best way, and I had already been accomplishing some other projects that involved running cables, so I figured it was finally time.

 

[Hootbro]

Great, another mod I did not know I need and now have to get.

Any buffeting wind noise at speed?

 

[TheHops]

Great, another mod I did not know I need and now have to get.

Any buffeting wind noise at speed?

Sorry about that, haha.

To be honest, with bigger A/T tires, roof racks, and a camper shell, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference in sound even if there was one. I can't imagine it would add much noise though.

An issue that I have noticed though: Apparently the Sirius and GPS antennae are the same thing. I was under the impression they were two different systems. I have lost onboard GPS since doing this mod. Having said that, I never really used the built-in GPS so it's a minor inconvenience for me overall. The much improved Sirius reception far outweighs that for me.

I may try to find an antenna that can do both, or try to reroute the OEM antenna to the same relocated spot since it's waterproof. But for now, I'm keep the setup as-is.

 

[JuneBug]

For quite some time now, I've been dealing with degraded signal due to my over-the-cab roof rack interfering with the stock sirius xm antenna. I finally got around to doing something about it, and I didn't really have any luck tracking down guidance online, so I figured I'd share my solution. This is specific to my set-up, which obviously has some aftermarket components involved, but the overall setup/routing should work for anyone else interested in doing this.

What I used:

Antenna: Tram 7754 Satellite Radio Antenna
Mount: Rago Fabrication Ditch Bracket Extension
Adapter: Fakra-SMB Adapter

I didn't want a tall antenna full-time on top of my rack, but I had to get it out in the open, so I decided on a mount near the hood. The issue is I had two pods on both ditch brackets already, so after a little research I came across these awesome little mounts by Rago Fabrication. They worked perfectly for my application, and I'll likely be using another one on the other side when I eventually incorporate a HAM setup. But, that's a post for another time...

After mounting the extension bracket beneath my ditch light bracket on the far left, I routed the cable in through the cowl, and up along the driver's side windshield trim, making sure that it wasn't pinched anywhere. From there, I popped the driver's side overhead trim around the roll bar (held in place with pop clips and 4 small torx screws), the trim along the left side of the sound bar just above the driver's head rest, and dropped the sound bar trim (not the actual sound bar itself--not necessary for this) by popping out the clips and removing the three torx screws. The sound bar trim takes some convincing to get down. Just apply steady force and it will eventually come down.

Once you get behind the sound bar trim, this is the plug that you're looking for:

The antenna includes 21' of cable, which is more than enough for this routing. I had to secure at least 8'-10' in the sound bar trim. Once you reach this plug, simply plug the aftermarket antenna cable into the adapter. Here's what the adapter looks like:

Plug the adapter into the stock harness (male end goes to new antenna, female end to stock harness), secure the excess, and replace the trim. Once I found the plug and the optimal routing to it, the rest was very simple. No more obstructed antenna! Reception is crystal clear. Here's the finished product from the outside:

I get that the look may not be for everyone, but this was done primarily for function. Having said that though...I kind of dig the look!

Hope the writeup helps someone! Feel free to post up any questions.

So I have a few questions. I actually have a 2 door JK, but same idea goes here. I just chose this post, because this is EXACTLY what I'm thinking about doing.

I was thinking about leaving the original antenna in place and just buying an antenna splitter so I could hook up both antennas. this would not only leave the original in place and working, but would(hopefully) give me a better signal. They make these for things like yachts, apparently, so they have an antenna at either end.

In this case, do I need that adapter, or do the Sirius antennas already just have the same connection.

And in everyone's opinion, what if I did this twice and DIDN'T use the original Sirius antenna? Put one of these on the back, opposite corner? If I'm already putting in one, a second isn't that much extra work. It's less than $100 for a bracket and another antenna, so there's that possibility, too.

 

[ng1111]

So I have a few questions. I actually have a 2 door JK, but same idea goes here. I just chose this post, because this is EXACTLY what I'm thinking about doing.

I was thinking about leaving the original antenna in place and just buying an antenna splitter so I could hook up both antennas. this would not only leave the original in place and working, but would(hopefully) give me a better signal. They make these for things like yachts, apparently, so they have an antenna at either end.

In this case, do I need that adapter, or do the Sirius antennas already just have the same connection.

And in everyone's opinion, what if I did this twice and DIDN'T use the original Sirius antenna? Put one of these on the back, opposite corner? If I'm already putting in one, a second isn't that much extra work. It's less than $100 for a bracket and another antenna, so there's that possibility, too.

Junebug so what did you end up doing?

 

[Radio Guy]

There are two operational Sirius/XM satellites and from Nashville the look angle to one is about 37deg up at a magnetic compass heading of 227 deg and the other is about 47deg up at 193 deg magnetic. With your antenna on the new mount below roof level I would expect some blockage to the satellites when you are traveling roughly north to north east as the antenna tries to see to the south/south west through the metal roof rack. If it were my truck I might raise the base of the antenna at least level to the floor of the metal roof rack. Or put it on a bracket on the front of the roof rack.

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