Early model "XM Roady" and GPS interference.

by John O'Grady

If you own a Delphi XM-Roady and use it on a motorcycle you already know what a great entertainment convenience it is. There is however, a small problem with, what seems to be EMI leakage on the early production models.

So what is EMI? and will it make me glow in the dark, you ask?? Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is an occurrence that happens with an Atomic/Nuclear Bomb BLAST!

On a somewhat smaller scale, electronic equipment routinely produces the same phenomena. Given the amount that’s probably produced by the 6VDC powered “early” Roady version it would likely take several hundred years of steady exposure to do any sort harm to a person. But!! When using those same “early” Roadys in the close proximity of a portable GPS (in my case a Roady received as a Christmas present and a Garmin Streetpilot III) the undue EMI leakage, effecting the very sensitive incoming satellite broadcast signals, will definitely confuze it at times.

Great News!!! The folks at Delphi/XM recognize the situation and by calling the help desk @ (877) 463-3574 and explaining your particular situation they will take action as necessary. From the conversation I had with the Tech folks, I’m guessing the production effected is February 2004 and earlier. I was asked to ship the Roady receiver to a specific address and the shielded replacement was in-hand in less than a week (along with the attached memo).

For those who might be wondering why it took me so long to respond to this problem: For one thing I had an operating XM-SkyFi and never activated the Roady until just before a planned trip to Daytona/Key West in late February. I initially thought the GPS screen hang-up was because of my placement of the Roady antenna. I moved it to the other side of the handlebars and it seemed to fix the problem. However, once on the road south, I noticed it would occasionally act up as before. Shutting down the radio would allow the GPS resurrect itself in short order. Following the trip, I sent an email through TVNav to Garmin Tech assist about the situation and they sent me back an answer, briefly explaining what they thought and pointed me back to Delphi/XM.

Regarding XM Radio installion, parts etc,
Two Wheel radio Online http://www.twowheelradio.com/ .
GL1800 , and http://www.gl1800.org/
websites also can provide additional info, as well as the following:
http://www.xmfan.com/
http://store.myradiostore.com/index.html http://www.xmfanstore.com/

Hi Phil.
Thanks for posting the Roady article. I tried to write it so folks knew that if they had an early receiver it was good to go other than working with a portable GPS. It was kinda interesting when I was asking tech’s about the problem.. In hindsight the GARMIN people apparently knew about the problem/cause but were careful not to bash the Delphi XM folks. The XM guy antied up right away when I explained the symptoms. He gave me an address and claim number in order to ship only the receiver after he’d gotten my name, address and other particulars. I assumed they would replace the guts and send it back but to my surprise they sent a complete NEW retail packaged kit (spare antenna, connectors, etc.), which more than made up for the cost of shipping the receiver.

Meantime while all that was going on Dave (Ultra Dave) DuPuis was working on an (Roady) installation for his and a couple of other GL1800 Goldwings. It turned out that his (and my Valkyrie) installation had feedback noise problem he was diligently working on. His prusing of the web revealed that the Roady/GPS situation was a topic of discussion as well as the feedback noise situation. Ron, of Two Wheel Radio freely gave us the benefit of his experience thus the plug (also a Virginia business). Other sites were just good search/info places. BTW, a ground loop isolator from Electrical Connections (adapted for the GL1800) cured Dave’s noise problem.

OK here’s a couple of email address’ that don’t show up very well on the memo. Both of these were listed as “If you have any other questions or concerns feel free to email us at: Jsimcak@Specmo.com or Yvonne.bonnici@Delphi.com “ SPECMO in Madison Heights, MI is where I sent the receiver and apparently the manufacturer. I had listed TVNav with their website because they were helpful in this matter and in the past I bought both my GPS’s and accessories here because of best prices and excellent services, They also have a maillist any one can sign-up to. And they live in the shadow of the manufacturer (Olathe KS) and seem to get many good remanufacture deals they post on the list http://www.tvnav.com/ .

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