Categories: Satellite TV

Hertz Ain’t Sirius

For the second time in recent months, Hertz provided me with a complimentary convertible upgrade – including Sirius satellite radio. I don’t know which direction the marketing dollars flow, but these installs serve neither company well. The basic unit is tacked on and while it’s hard-wired (dangling) for both power and antenna, they chose to stop there. The first 15 miles with this receiver, I assumed it was broken, as repeatedly pressing the auxiliary satellite radio buttons on the head unit did nothing. Eventually, I realized Sirius was transmitting over FM to 88.5. Maybe the Sirius brochure indicates that, but I wasn’t provided one on my first trip. And if folks have to read a manual to operate the device, forget it – they won’t bother with an after-market Sirius car install after a rental. And now that I have the brochure with channel lineup, I can spend days pressing the up/down keys until I land on the good stations. Here’s a tip: When offering a couple hundred options, you must also offer a numeric keypad. Sure, there’s a Shift button there that does something – but again, I’m not interested in reading a manual. Maybe I’m looking a gift horse in the mouth, but I rented the car for transportation and this is Siriusly too much work.

Published by
Dave Zatz