BMW4Me
Well-known member
Notice occasional dropouts in reception. Not something I experienced very often in my other BMWs. Live in the greater DC Metro area. Any others with similar reception problems?
BMW4Me said:Notice occasional dropouts in reception. Not something I experienced very often in my other BMWs. Live in the greater DC Metro area. Any others with similar reception problems?
I've experienced them in all my cars that have had Sirius, which is why I'm not a subscriber. I found it maddening to go under an overpass, under some trees, etc. etc and have the sound drop out.jadnashuanh said:I've noticed it since the first day I bought the thing...I don't normally listen to things not available locally, and since I don't drive the thing long distances, I won't renew the subscription once the free trial runs out in a year. Heavy tree coverage and even a short underpass will cause a dropout. Probably worse in an urban canyon, but I don't get into those very often, and haven't yet with the i3.
A metal roof can at as a ground plane to enhance the reception of an antenna like those used for satellite receivers. However, these antennas should not need the help.bxb40 said:Except the roof is plastic so it does not act as a "dish" for the XM antenna, as it does on metal body cars.
jadnashuanh said:There are lots of ways to design an antenna - they do not require a metal ground plane to work well.
BMW4Me said:Notice occasional dropouts in reception. Not something I experienced very often in my other BMWs. Live in the greater DC Metro area. Any others with similar reception problems?
Antennae for carbon fiber shell aircraft actually need a very thin ~ 1 sq. ft. aluminum ground plane for decent transmission and reception for all of their comm and nav radios. The i3 roof would be no different. If BMW skipped it, that might explain the iffy satellite radio reception. It would reduce the capability to that of a hand-held, which is pretty bad.i3Alan said:bxb40 said:A metal roof can at as a ground plane to enhance the reception of an antenna like those used for satellite receivers. However, these antennas should not need the help.
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