XM radio home station on the cheap
 

view the XM PC dock project here

I went to a large electronics retailer here on the east coast to get another docking station for my other car. Well the unit I paid $40.00 marked down from $79.99 last week was on sale for $16.95 this week. Needless to say I bought the last 2 on the shelf at that price.

So now I was left with 2 extra XM radio units and 1 car docking unit. I figure the other 2 units will get used if the wife wants a dedicated unit in her car and the other is in case one unit burns out or gets lost. I wanted an XM unit in the house so I figured why not try to use the last docking station in the house.

I cut the cigarette lighter plug off the power cord and put the leads into my web server. One in the black molex and 1 in the red(5v). The adapter says 12vdc to 6bdc so I figured what the hell, it either boots up or not. Then I put the antenna out the window laying flat on an old plant hanger bracket made of metal. All seems fine as I plug a headset in when I am at the PC direct the the docking unit or use the bulit in FM signal to play through the house radio. My particular model is the XCS9 from Audiovox. If your lucky Circuit city has them on clearance for $16-17 in your area.