Overall rating: 
Pros
Large, well-lit display screen with lots of user options; adapters for all occasions!
Cons
Not the best receiver for your car
The Bottom Line
Better designed for home and portable entertainment. Consider an XM Commander system as an alternative for your car.
Introduction
There’s a saying that every cloud has a silver lining, and that’s exactly how I feel about my SKYFi2 XM Radio Receiver with car adapter kit.
My wife and I bought the receiver for road trips and to say goodbye to commercials, which seem to comprise 90 percent of radio chatter. Because we got an excellent deal on the equipment through an acquaintance who works for XM–about 50 percent of the suggested retail price, which is currently $119–our introductory price was hard to beat. The car adapter was thrown in as part of the package incentive, but would have cost about $49.99. When considering the SKYFi2, we were impressed with many of the features, but were sold on the built-in wireless FM moderator, which proved to be the one crucial feature that disappointed us most.
Assembly
The kit arrived in the mail, as promised, within a fairly short time after we placed our order. Setting up the equipment, however, proved to be a bit of a challenge. Now, I’m not an auto-mechanic and am average when it comes to manipulating gadgets and assembling things from boxes. With that in mind, I had a hard time figuring out just how the magnetic hood antenna was supposed to make its way from the receiver to the hood of the car without running the antenna wire through a cracked window or the door seal. I soon found myself in a tangle of black wires, and realized that the SKYFi2 needs to be mounted to one of the air vents on the dashboard console. In my particular car, this proves an annoying distraction that prohibits full access to the temperature controls. The power cable adapter running into the cigarette lighter also protrudes over the passenger side cup holder, thwarting coffee and soda drinkers alike. While these problems may be peculiar to my car, consumers considering the SKYFi2 should pause and consider their dash configuration vis-a-vis the dimensions of the SKYFi2. For some, an XM Commander or an XM Direct system may be more suitable and less cumbersome. Both are sleeker receivers designed specifically for installation in automobiles. For cars built before the advent of satellite radio, some retrofitting may be required by a professional. When factoring in the price of this installation, the car adapter kit and the SKYFi2 unit itself, the XM Commander (retail $139) may also prove a less costly alternative.
Activation & Reception
Activation was relatively simple, but in the process I discovered that the feature which allows users to tune in to the XM broadcast through an FM station was inoperable. All transmission, in my case, has to be achieved using the magnetic hood antenna and corresponding skein of wires. That said, I have enjoyed excellent reception through the hood antenna, with the exception of a few instances where I’ve been in rural Virginia or surrounded by mountains.
Product Features
Since I’ve characterized the SKYFi2 as a space hog, it’s only fair I provide readers with a common point of reference so they can judge whether the unit is too unwieldy for their own use. The dimensions are 4.65″W x 2.91″H x 1.26″D, something you can easily hold in one hand. At just a tad over 5 ounces, the receiver is very light, but fragile. The casing dents easily. Readers should be reminded that these dimensions don’t include the receiver cradle and corresponding wires, which add weight and bulk to the XM unit.
Size does yield certain advantages. The rectangular receiver face accommodates a relatively large, backlit LED display screen with enough room for the song title, artist name, channel, time, and a display of streaming stock quotes or sports scores. This latter feature is one of the special attributes of the SKYFi2. The bright, white backlit LED display is especially useful for driving at night. The time display numbers are tiny, however, so the clock function is impractical for anyone save the passenger.
Nine programmable buttons enables users to directly enter their favorite channels or preset up to 30 channels. The buttons are small (smaller than an eraser head), but there are some impressive options that include a jump button (for switching between the last two channels), a memory button for storing artist and song information, and a search button that allows users to scan or search by music category. A set of replay buttons are included as well, giving listeners the option of pausing and replaying up to 30 minutes of broadcast should they get stuck under a tunnel in the middle of their favorite Ricky Martin single.
Otherwise, users turn the scroll wheel to select channels. I’ve found that the scroll is very sensitive, set like a hair trigger, which is fine for the patient passenger but a potential distraction for a driver trying to scroll through the list of channels for a particular station. I’ve also found there to be a bit of give to the unit when it is mounted to console cradle. In this case, the preset buttons become less of a luxury and more of a safety necessity, as manually adjusting and tuning the receiver requires both hands and a certain amount of concentration.
Final Thoughts
Criticisms aside, the SKYFi2’s real value lies in its versatility. Each receiver comes with a remote control and can interface with a portable audio speaker set ($99.99) or home adapter kit ($49.99) to suit a wide range of lifestyles and user needs. For those who are certain they want satellite radio, but unsure where they want to use it may find SKYFi2 an agreeable choice.
Recommended:
Yes
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