[Doombringer]

Hello all,

It's been a while since I've posted. Yes, I still have my MO. Amazingly, at 30k, it is still fantastic. It runs great (even better after the 30k service) and I haven't had anything fail on me yet. Nothing. It needs a bath, but other than that it is still a great conveyance...

I'm posting to see how the old timers are doing, with the '03 and '04 MOs without that snazzy rear view camera and door handles I'd also like to hear any new Sat Radio stories. I still haven't gone to Sat Radio, but I still have the most important part! The cable for the radio to the sat receiver! Yes, it's the Infiniti part that was the "holy grail" back in the day. I want to put this thing to good use. I want to get... Sat Radio!

What's the best route to fit an '03 with sat radio? I'm talking about who should I go to, to get the receiver and do the install? Where have you guys had the most luck? Custom shops that do radio installs? Nissan dealerships? Infiniti dealerships?

Back in the day, I couldn't convince my Nissan or Infiniti dealership that the 03 could take Sat Radio, no matter how hard I tried. Has this changed? Have they come around?

I need to get that receiver, first and foremost... best bet to go with Nissan or Infiniti? Buy from a dealer, online, or...? Then the install, and that's something else entirely...

Your thoughts?

 

[jaak]

Doom baby, I miss ya! Yeah, could you believe two years could be "old gang"???

You know my opinion, do it yourself.

I'd say, search the web for the best price, and now the receiver and antenna are ordered separately, instead of bundled (makes it look cheaper, but it isn't), put the antenna in the back door under the plastic, 'cause everyone who's done it is happy with it. It ships with a single wire antenna now, and a splitter, so that's changed a bit. If you can't decide between XM and Sirius, remember Sirius has better text support on the display.

Other than that, same stuff as always...

Grubbs is still reasonable, but maybe this is an opportunity to ask, Where did you by your sat receiver and how much did it cost?

Infiniti, Nissan, doesn't matter, as long as it's the OEM receiver, they're all the same one. Er, two, I mean. (XM or Sirius)

And the question that's been on my mind... Anyone seen a used one for sale?

 

[hfelknor]

Hey Doom!

I'vebeen getting ready to put a SAT radio in.

I've been getting ready for almost two years now.
Still not quite ready.

:2: :2:

Glad to hear that you are still doing good.




Homer

 

[zofsuvs]

The Doom Returneth! (In this case, that's a GOOD thing!)

 

[Doombringer]

Yes, the doom is back

Jaak, you're just too handy.. see, I would probably put a hole in something, or rip part of the interior or whatever.. and I'd wind up kicking myself for the rest of my MOwnership because I had to "do it myself" :2: I'm about as handy as Tim the Toolman.

Sirius is probably the way to go for me. I think their lineup is better, and Stern is going there (oh JOY! )

So the cable from the receiver to the radio hasn't changed, right?

 

[jaak]

Last I checked, there were three possible solutions. The OEM nissan cable, that's also the same one for the early G35, the OEM cable set that gives you two cables, for the G35, one for the sat and one for the external changer, that plugs into the normally empty connector on the sat, and the USA-SPEC CD changer cable, which also works with the SAT.

I've got as many part numbers as I could find, on my website. First part I'd look for is the B8377-5Y710 harness. If not, look for the B8377-5Y700 which is the two cable set. Last I recall, that was at infinitipa.zoovy.com/product/B8377-5Y700 for $85. Grubbs lists the single harness for $77.

 

[Gonzo]

Hey Doom, I've got an 03 that I might take the plunge in June to install it myself. I have not purchases any hardware yet but plan to soon.

If you find anything new please post.

 

[MO Dale]

Bluz Broz. carries it the CDLNS changer cable for $27.78.

This cable works just fine!

 

[jaak]

Yup, that's the USA-SPEC cable, which was the cable I used to prove it worked in the first place. You don't want to know what I paid for it....

 

[grfg8r]

Can you add a CD changer AND/OR a Sat to a Standard OEM Mo stereo?

 

[jaak]

There's a daughter board in the radio that the sat connector is mounted to. It carries the parts that allow a second N-Bus device to function, along with other parts on the main board and the firmware in the radio.

The firmware looks like it supports it, but the Murano's missing parts, so it won't. I stuffed them in mine, but I haven't had the time to really look at it and see if it's functional. (Still too chilly outside to be out there with the logic analyser.)

 

[lnichols]

Don't get the XM Tuner, get external and PAC

OK I can't speak for the Sirius tuner and I understand that it has better support than the XM, but if I had to do it over again, I would buy a PAC adapter and a SkyFi or Roady. One reason is the text support on the Nissan XM Tuner is pathetic at only 10 characters. Another reason is that even though I now have an upgraded tuner that "fixed" the Loading issue, it still goes out for about 10 to 15 seconds every couple of days because of the "fix" to stop the loading issue.

I don't know that integration with the head unit is all that great without good text support. Sure the preset work, and are nice, but other than that an external solution would be better IMHO. I may look into selling my tuner and going with a Aux Adapter that can support two inputs (if available) and go with a Skyfi2 or Roady2, or maybe even one of the newer XM2Go units, so that I can take it into the house during the weekends and listen. This would also allow me to connect my Treo 650 up and play MP3's from it.

I think the real problem with Nissan and XM is the source of the Tuners. Clarion supplies them now and they are major Sirius backers, and other than Nissan, I don't think have any XM equipment, and the Nissan stuff isn't that good.

 

[jaak]

You bring up many good points and it's one of those discussions that will go on for ever.

Each person has to weigh what's most important to them.

Built-in OEM XM Advantages:
- Convenience of controls (steering wheel, presets, channel, group, etc.)
- Invisible
- Integrated into Murano display, but not as complete
- better audio path, Clarion engineered and controlled balanced audio outputs matched to Clarion designed head unit.

Aftermarket XM Advantages:
- Might be cheaper, but take into account cost of Pac adapter and audio level conversion.
- Portable, take your XM with you
- Better text support

So you have to weigh what's most important to you.

Some, just want to hear it, and change channels with ease with enough text support to see what's playing, with nothing stuck on or mounted outside of the smooth lines of the interior.

Others want the detailed information possible with a non-OEM display and the ability to take it with them.

So we're blessed with the freedom of choice.

As far as other inputs, that won't be a problem for OEM XM, shortly.

 

[lnichols]

I guess the text support just really bugs me. It sucks that I have an LCD display that can display a map and long CD track name, but I can only get 10 characters out of that POS clarion tuner and the loading issue that is really not fixed, just worked around. My wifes blazer with a crappy display can a least show 16 characters. I would be willing to buy a third receiver for the home, but the poor quality of the Nissan Clarion unit is making me want to find a different solution for the car.

I wish that Blitzsafe would make an XMDirect adapter for Nissan. I need to check with them to see if one is in the works. The clarion tuner is just overpriced garbage that works with the MO, although not perfectly.

If Nissan wants to offer XM, then they should really get away from Clarion as they are Sirius Nazis that don't want to support XM, or source the XM receivers to someone else.

 

[jaak]

Yeah, I'd be frustrated if mine wasn't working... I don't blame you!

I was thinking about this, and realised, I normally ignore the text, except to see what channel I'm on, as I normally just have the channel name up. If I want to know the artist and track, then I'll tap the knob to get the other data. That's the one thing bad about the nav screen, only one line of data.

 

[Gonzo]

Can someone clarify... what is the issue with the XM receiver? I was going to install a receiver for XM and connect to the Bose. Is there an issue with a reciever obtained from Grubbs or else where to support an XM OEM installation? Is there a particular firmware that helps any issues?

 

[jaak]

Right from the beginning, some, not most, but some people were experiencing a situation where the receiver would seem to lock up.

Now I have seen situations where I thought mine did, but it was actually updating from the satellite and took a couple of minutes to do it. And a few other times where it truly did lock up, but I've not seen that in at least 8 months. In total, I've had it happen 3 times in almost two years.

Nissan was replacing them, and also has implemented a watchdog timer to make sure that the unit resets, if it does hang. I've never checked on version numbers, but it's possible.

Would there be interest in a thread that tells you how to get your version number so everyone could post it?

If so, I'll do it.

 

[lnichols]

Mine goes in the Loading, or lock-up, at least a couple of times a week. I listen to XM in the car about 2 hours per day. The "fix", like Jaak stated just has the tuner reset itself when it goes into this condition, so I don't really consider it a fix, but more a poor work around. You basically lose XM for 10 to 15 seconds. My guess is that this is why SAT was never officially released by Nissan for the 03's since my guess is the only true fix would be upgrading the firmware on the radio, and not the tuner.

 

[Gonzo]

So does this mean that this lock up is mostly visible in 03 models?

If I were to get an XM receiver now (from Grubbs) do you think this issue would still be present?

 

[lnichols]

Apparenetly the 04 FX's have the problem with the XM tuner too. Here is a link: InfinitiFX.org XM Thread