XM Radio

As you may know, today I drove back to Charlottesville from Cincinnati today. That's about an 8 hour drive. A majority of the trip is spent in areas with little or no AM/FM reception. As a matter of fact, my cell phone doesn't even work for most of the trip.

I was facing the trip with a dead iPod battery was dead and I didn't know what to do. With departure imminent, I happened upon an ad for a satellite radio receiver from Best Buy. At $49, how could I not try it?

I have had some chance to listen to XM radio in the past and really enjoyed it. Of particular interest are their news services. They offer CNN, Fox News, BBC, MSNBC, CNBC, ESPNRadio, ESPNews, Air America and more. Since today was supposed to be the return to flight of the shuttle, I had a particular interest in staying abreast of the news while in the car. So, I decided to go with XM instead of Sirius.

Again, for the price of a tank of gas, I found a way to dip my toes into the water of satellite radio. For me, XM radio turned out to be one of those things that you stumble upon and wonder how you ever did without. With XM radio, my 8 hours in the car almost flew by. I was able to hear the coverage of the shuttle "scrub" as well as commentary and updates on the Karl Rove situation.

I was without coverage for a total of 1 or 2 minutes during the entire 8 hours. Of course, the signal would always fade right when I was listening to a good story or a catchy tune. Even with these slight imperfections in coverage, the car ride today has made me a huge XM fan.

If you want to try XM on the cheap, I definitely recommnend the Roady2 receiver. Like I mentioned earlier, it is available from Best Buy for about $49. Of course, to listen to XM there is a monthly fee. The price per month varies depending on how far in advance you commit to the service. I am going "month-to-month" and paying extra for that lack of commitment -- about $13 per month.

XM will not entirely change what I listen to in the car. I still plan to download Bob and Tom to my iPod every morning and listen to that whenever possible. But, for road trips where my iPod is not available or when there are no new Bob and Tom shows available, XM radio is my goto technology!