XM weather; Sirius XM radio

[gmeans]

All, While awaiting the arrival of my new R-29 I am considering some add-ons to the Garmin 5215 with auto pilot, etc. What electrical device do I need to add in order to be able to recieve XM weather? I assume weather is a subscription service just like radio.
Is the 5215 depth finding feature also a fish finder?
What electrical device do I need to add in order to recieve Sirius XM radio-love 50' R & R. I know it is a subscription service. With regards to the weather and radio do they make you subscribe for a full year or seasonally? Thanks, Gary

 

[HRowland]

Gary,
You can connect a Garmin GXM51 to get XM Weather and XM Radio. It connects to the 5215 over the NMEA 2000 network. An audio cable connects to your Fusion stereo for the XM radio side. You can read about it on the Garmin web site. I believe you can get a seasonal suspension of the WX service. I used XM WX when I had an airplane, the NEXRAD was nice while flying in poor visibility. Access to winds aloft data, surface weather conditions at airports, lightning strike data etc. was also nice.
Garmin also has a GDL40 that is cellular based for weather, you pay $4.99 for a 24 hour weather pass only when needed. This works within coverage of the AT&T cellular data network. However, no music. It also appears the NEXRAD update interval is 15 minutes, with XM WX it is 5 minutes. The actual NEXRAD data is actually a little older, the service compiles data from the multiple NEXRAD sites, massages it, then sends it over the XM system. I was always assumed that that the data I was seeing in the airplane cockpit could actually be 10 minutes old. A thunderstorm can move a considerable distance in 10 minutes. The 15 minute update of the cellular based service is pretty long.
An alternative is to use an iPad or laptop with a 3G or 4G service to get weather and use an inexpensive automotive XM radio for the music. You can connect the XM radio to the Aux input on your Fusion stereo.
I decided to get an iPod classic for our R27. I have ripped my entire CD collection and use the iPod dock in the Fusion stereo. With a playlist you could get your 50s music with no monthly charge. You control the iPod using the Fusion display and buttons.
Howard

 

[knotflying]

Good report Howard. I also used the XM Radar in my plane where I felt the information while flying instrument was critical. I canceled the service for my boating needs because I feel that with all of the data out there that is free I can interpolate it for my needs especially with the type of cruising we do, we are always in sight of land and can always seek shelter if necessary. The Ipod for music in the docking station is a great way to go we even canceled our XM music for the car because of our ability to play it through our car audio system. However, if everyone thought the same as I did then XM would be out of business. After looking at their stock price they may be some day!

 

[South lake]

I used to have XM weather in a Garmin unit on my earlier boats but now I'm comfortable with Weatherbug radar for my iPhone. I have a USB thumb drive with all my music library plugged into the entertainment system on my R25 and an XM car kit that I move my XM receiver to when I take the boat out. This all works well for me. The only thing I'm considering for my Garmin display is a video camera to see what's behind me.

 

[sportner]

Our Garmin is XM weather ready and we tried it for a few weeks while we cruised up the east coast last year. We found that we could get as good or better information online and discontinued the service. However I can see where it could be an advantage at times and may try it again when we go to Alaska next month.