20 Most Recent Sirius Starmate ST2 Satellite Radio Receiver Questions & Answers

Unfortunately some models of the Starmate Replay will not receive the latest updates. I have seen this with XTR8, which is essentially the same radio. If it is one of these outdated receivers, it will not receive the update, and there is not much you can do. You used to be able to let them sit for about 24 hours and it would eventually take. That does not appear to be the case anymore. This isn't the case with ALL of the ST2s if you wanted to hunt down a replacement. www.tss-radio.com can help

it more likely to be the connection plug, the connector plugs weaken over time with the bumps , just needs reseating the connections on the pins.

&R=11812445&C=17577363&K=NBy0 Your SIRIUS radio contains an FM transmitter that allows it to operate wirelessly through your car FM radio. We have determined that the output of this transmitter exceeds the limits established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). As a result, the unit may interfere with the performance of radios operating in areas adjacent to your radio. There are no health or safety concerns associated with this issue.

• If you listen to your SIRIUS radio wirelessly through your vehicle's FM radio, then please review the solutions listed below and select the one that works best for you. SIRIUS will provide you the best solution at no cost.

• If you use your SIRIUS radio only when docked in a boombox, or directly connected to your car radio or home stereo using audio cables or a cassette tape adapter, then no interference can occur and no further action is required, provided you have turned off your FM transmitter. To turn off the FM transmitter, first press the MENU button. Use the channel up/down buttons to highlight “FM Transmitter” and push the SELECT button. Use the channel up/down buttons to highlight the "FM On/Off" menu item and then press the SELECT button. Use the up/down buttons to highlight "FM Off" and press the SELECT button. To exit the "FM On/Off" menu, press the MENU button. Use the same procedure to turn off the FM transmitter if you use Solution 1 or Solution 2 below..

Solution 1 - Direct Wired Audio Connection: If your vehicle radio has a “LINE IN” or “AUX IN” jack, you can use a stereo cable to connect directly to your SIRIUS radio. This solution is the easiest to install and provides the best audio performance. Many newer vehicles provide the required audio input jack. It will normally be found on or near the front faceplate of your vehicle’s radio.





Solution 2 - Cassette Tape Adapter: If your vehicle has a cassette tape player, you can use a cassette adapter that allows you to play your SIRIUS radio through the cassette portion of your vehicle radio. The adapter slips into your vehicle radio as easily as a cassette tape and provides better performance than a wireless connection.


Solution 3 - FM Extender Cable Kit: An FM extender cable will provide a special transmitter antenna that allows you to obtain the best audio performance through your vehicle’s FM radio. This solution is easy to self-install, but does require that an easy-to-hide wire be run in your vehicle so the transmitter antenna can be placed in close proximity to your vehicle’s radio antenna. Using this FM Extender Cable Kit, you will continue to use your SIRIUS radio exactly the same way as you do currently.



Solution 4 - FM Direct Adapter with Professional Installation: An FM Direct Adapter provides a wired connection between your SIRIUS radio and your vehicle’s radio. You will continue to listen to your SIRIUS radio through the FM tuner of your car radio, but the FM Direct Adapter eliminates the outside static and interference you sometimes experience when using a wireless FM connection. This solution usually requires professional installation. We will provide a certificate redeemable for installation at an installation center in your area.

Please go to www.sirius.com/optimize and select the solution that works best for you. If you have any questions, please call 1-(877) 635-5130. Detailed instructions will be included with your solution.
You will improve the performance of your SIRIUS radio and reduce the potential for interfering with adjacent radios if you properly tune your FM transmitter. Please see the FM Transmitter Set-Up Tips below for more information.
We are sorry for this inconvenience. We are confident these solutions will allow you to continue to enjoy the great music, news, sports and entertainment that only SIRIUS Satellite Radio can offer with no impact on your radio’s performance.
Sincerely,

SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO


FM Transmitter Set-Up Tips
To tune your FM transmitter turn off your SIRIUS radio and tune through the FM channels on your vehicle’s radio to locate an FM channel (except 87.7/87.9) that is not broadcasting in your area. If you use an FM channel that is being used by a local broadcaster, it will interfere with the performance of your SIRIUS radio. Once you have located an FM channel that is not being used for broadcasting in your area, save it as a preset on your vehicle radio. This will become your SIRIUS preset. If you’re not sure which FM channels are not being used in your home or travel cities, you can go to www.sirius.com/fmchannel and search for an FM channel based on zip code.
Turn on your SIRIUS radio. In the SETTINGS or MENU on your SIRIUS radio, locate the “FM Frequency” adjustments. Set the channel number on your SIRIUS radio to match the SIRIUS preset on your vehicle radio. Refer to your user guide for detailed instructions on how to do this. The FM transmitter in your SIRIUS radio is automatically set to FM channel 88.1. This may not be the best channel in your area.



&R=11812445&C=17577363&K=NBy0

I have had this problem also. While I haven't completely fixed it I have figured out the root of the issue. Within this unit there are two circuit boards. Between the two boards is a white connection. It appears this connection becomes loose or is susceptable to the heat that is generated from the unit. I've tried teasing out the pins within the connection to see if they can get a better fit together. This will work for a little while but then the static returns. I'll post back if I come up with a final solution to this problem.

replace the jack or the circuit card with parts off ebay. see the two cards pictured in my solution at this link. My ST2 just died Still picks up all the channels fine but just doesn...

This could be because of an amp, or it could just be a bad solder joint. Unfortunately, it's impossible to find an amp to replace it because sirius does not release a schematic. So, most likely it's irreparable.

If you would like to see if it's a bad solder, just leave it near a heater and plug it in. If it works, that should tell you that you should reflow your radio. Reflowing is easy, just remove the circuit board from the plastics and heat it up to 800-1000 degrees F with a heat gun. Let it cool and reassemble.

usually the male jack is bad before female on audio plugs but here may be just broken joint from jar or jerk but you could try fresh male first tuners eat power and are tuned warm if its being intermittent may try fresh power happened to my first xm unit the unit will last for a decade on all the time the power adapter will last a few seasons at best will come apart .....back of quality exacto blade snap the two halves apart slowly desolder the copper wire fm antenna lead on black side frees the mobo its just wedged in there on the PCB with a little solder now you can see the joints on the female jack could of cracked from pad just touch em up with some solder but remember itl be your pad next time he ha lovely surface mount solderpaste can break at times not necessarily design flaw don\'t get surface mount pads to hot know how to solder get the iron fully up before hitting it 1 1000 2 1000 done put it this way if you can see the unit has been too disturbed youll need more diasecting and a parts to repair you can find parts of similar size but unlikely to find correct orientation for mobo without Mouser or parts manufacturer you have to nichrome wire it and get to more of PCB to handle the traces not hardly room without desolder more parts to see whats up if your undecided send it in .... hell the whole industry is there in the palm of your hand he ha

I got in!!!! i first removed all 4 screws. I then used my pen knife (or the like...i.e. a very thin blade) and inserted it on the right side (rounded end). Insert in an upward direction so that the blade ends up under the gray (top side) plastic. I then very slowly worked it toward the bottom of the unit using a slight prying motion. It popped open a little for me - just enough so that i could more easily work the blade in the other direction and pop more open. eventually i was able to get the whole gray part off. Be carefull because as you begin taking it apart, the rubber buttons may fall out - no big deal because they are just in there via pressure anyway. (for me, very little damage was caused by using the blade - barely noticable)

Once the top is separated from the bottom, be careful...the actual circuit board is no longer attached to the black placstic backing, but it will not come apart due to an internal copper wire (it may be the fm transmitter antenna). It is secured to the black plastic via plastic tabs that appear to be folded over on the wire - and if you pull it out, it looks like you may not get the wire back the way it should be.

anyway, for my purposes, i did not need to remove the copper wire.....i positioned the circiut board far enough away from the black plastic in order to get a soldering iron in there to re-attach one of the "legs" of the 12V plug. I just got a drop of solder on the iron and placed in on the leg. I have not tried it out yet, but it seems to have re-attached securely


Hope this helps.

Audio jack probably needs to be repaired.Not sure where to get it done I have one that needs to be fixed

Try reset to factory default settings:-- the features of the Receiver to the factory defaults, do the following: 1. Use the channel up and down buttons to highlight “Factory Default”, and press the select button. 2. Use the channel up and down buttons to select “Yes” to restore all settings to the settings from the factory, or select “No” to leave them as-is and return to the Menu Options menu. Restore Settings? Yes No 3. If “Yes” is chosen, a confirmation is displayed. Use the channel up and down buttons to select “Yes” to restore all settings to the settings from the factory, or select “No” to leave them as-is and return to the Menu Options menu. Are You Sure? Yes No 4. If Yes is chosen, the Receiver will revert to the original factory settings. 5. When the Factory Default is complete, the Receiver will place you in Channel 184 the SIRIUS preview channel and display, “Call 1-888-539- SIRIUS to Subscribe”. The Receiver is still subscribed to the SIRIUS service. After this procedure is done.Then check out. Check out.keep updated.Thanks.

The antenna that needs to be replace!

http://satelliteradiofix.com

Any store that carries Sirius radios should have replacement antennas available. If the connector in the radio is bad, you should get a replacement radio. Sirius customer service is good about replacing them for free in most cases.