The Delphi XM Roady was originally introduced as a car-only SKYFI-like receiver but with the addition of a home kit it seems to be morphing into a full service solution. It is only compatible with the FM modulator for the SKYFi so there is very little crossover between it and the SKYFi line. In addition to being able to use the SKYFi FM modulator, there is a Roady-specific FM modulator that replaces the cigarette power adapter that ships with the Roady. The receiver is smaller than the Delphi SKYFi XM receiver and it looks better too. The kit includes all the necessary components to install your Delphi XM Roady in your car. This kit also includes the new micro XM antenna. For users lacking a cassette player on their car stereo or those simply looking for a cleaner installation, the Delphi SKYFi FM Modulator may be installed for FM broadcast of XM Satellite Radio signals. The Delphi XM Roady installation is simple enough for anyone to do with some basic tools. The addition of the Delphi SKYFi FM Modulator complicates things a bit and users may benefit from professional installation services. Adding the Roady FM modulator/power adapter adds no complexity to the installation but the installation that results will not be as clean as the one using the Delphi FM modulator. Of course, the installation of the Roady-specific FM modulator is darn simple. It simply replaces the Roady cigarette lighter power adapter.

Price: $119.95
Use: Car/Home (with home cradle)
System: XM Satellite Radio

Features

* Seven color display plus three faceplates for the ultimate in personalization
* Browse by category, channel, or presets
* Receiver stores up to 30 channel presets
* TuneSelect? allows notification when any of 10 saved songs is playing
* Smallest XM Satellite Radio available - even smaller the the Delphi SKYFi receiver!
* Micro Antenna - the smallest XM Satellite Radio antenna available
* Save as many as 15 songs information so you won’t forget what to buy later

In the Box

Receiver, micro antenna, cigarette lighter power adapter, three faceplates, cassette adapter, universal mounting bracket, and manual.

Overview

The Delphi XM Roady is in direct competition with the Terk XM Commander, the Delphi SKYFi system, and other car tuner/XM-ready car stereo combinations. It is slightly less expensive than the Terk XM Commander and the Delphi SKYFi but significantly less expensive than tuner/XM-ready car stereo combinations assuming you purchase a tuner, antenna, and XM-ready car stereo. With the addition of the Delphi FM modulator however, the Terk XM Commander becomes a few dollars cheaper but the Delphi XM Roady is still cheaper than the equivalent SKYFi components.

The receiver is small. In fact, it is the smallest XM receiver you will find on the market today. Its’ size combined with the nice display make this a compelling car offering. The display supports seven display colors (red, green, sky blue, orange, night blue, purple, and pink) and Delphi throws in three colored faceplates to allow you to further customize your receivers look. If only I could use this with my Delphi home kits… The display is not quite the wonder that is the Delphi SKYFi receiver’s as it is slightly smaller and offers information in a different configuration. But the colors! In any case, the display is one of the better car displays available at this price point. It certainly beats the Terk XM Commander display, hands down.

The receiver offers several controls including power, display for toggling between several display modes, memory for saving song titles and artists, menu for accessing various configuration screens, category keys for channel selection by category, a numeric keypad for choosing channel presets and direct channel entry, a direct/preset button for choosing direct channel entry or one of the preset channel banks for storing your favorite channels, and a tuner knob. The tuner knob is on the right top corner of the receiver. Scrolling the knob allows you to scroll through available channels in total or within the current category and also allows you to move through various option screens.
The Delphi XM Roady offers TuneSelect?. TuneSelect?, by saving as many as 15 songs using the save feature, tells the radio to notify you when one of your saved songs is playing. Pretty neat.

Overall, a wonderful receiver that allows you to quickly and painlessly add XM Satellite Radio to your car. The price can’t be beat and it is one of the newest XM Satellite Radios on the market.

Available Accessories

Home Kit (Roady) - the Roady home kit is currently being offered by mail-in rebate only. No retail availability has been announced and retail pricing is unknown. The kit ships with a base, antenna, power adapter, and mini-stereo to RCA output cable.

Power/FM Modulator (Roady) - the FM modulator provides rebroadcast of satellite radio signals on either 88.1, 88.3, 88.5, 88.7, 107.1, 107.3, 107.5, or 107.7 MHz and will be available in mid-December 2003. The price has not been announced yet. Its’ benefit is that it removes the need to use the cassette adapter and replaces the standard cigarette lighter power source. It is important that you insure that one of the frequencies listed is not in local use. While weaker stations on these frequencies will be easily overpowered, strong stations broadcasting on all three frequencies will preclude the use of this option.

FM Modulator (SKYFi) - the FM modulator provides rebroadcast of satellite radio signals on either 87.9, 88.1, 88.5 MHz and is priced at $49.99. Its’ benefit is that it removes the need to use the cassette adapter. It is important that you insure that one of the frequencies listed is not in local use. While weaker stations on these frequencies will be easily overpowered, strong stations broadcasting on all three frequencies will preclude the use of this option.

Mini-Stereo to dual RCA Cable - The Delphi XM Roady allows for connection to your car stereo CD input assuming you don’t have a CD player but they decided not to include the cable. An annoying oversight. You can pick this cable up from Radio Shack and the like for a couple of dollars.

This is Part 5 in a continuing series where I look at the current state of satellite radio technology, satellite radio services, and satellite radio hardware.