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Sirius Sportster: The Portable Solution By: Chris Amos 4.22.05 When cellular phones first debuted, your ride was the only place you could really enjoy them. The cumbersome bricks, often housed in bags, were difficult to use anywhere else. Like cell phones, many portable consumer electronics got their start in vehicles, were popularized there, and then gained widespread acceptance outside of the vehicle. Such is now the case with satellite radio and the Sportster is Sirius Satellite Radio's latest entry in this arena. As the name expressly implies, the Sirius Sportster was developed to capture one of radio's largest audiences - the sports fan. Just $100 gets you the unit and a $12.95 monthly subscription is required. The unit is a little larger than a deck of cards and allows the user to select a favorite NFL team, then receive alerts whenever that team is broadcast. And just so everyone knows where your loyalty lies, when the unit is turned on off, your favorite team logo appears on the screen. Of course, you can also listen to other sports; or music, talk or comedy over Sirius' 120 channels. The Sportster's screen is large and easy to read, even from a distance, with a bright orange background and bold black lettering. Controls are simple and easy to use. Ten numbered buttons hold favorite stations which, for those with varied music interests, might be insufficient. An R&B and Hip-Hop junkie could occupy all of the buttons covering stations that broadcast those genres alone, not to mention any news, talk, sports or comedy stations you might like. A rotary dial facilitates direct tuning from channel to channel and a "category” button allows toggling between genres like R&B, sports, jazz and rock. Unit setup and special features are controlled by the remaining four buttons on the unit. After several weeks of using the Sportster, I became very familiar with its programming content and was very impressed. Potential buyers should know, however, that commercial-free radio is not playlist-free radio. Yes, the "Rewind” channel will play Kurtis Blow's "Basketball” at least twice during any 24-hour period. But with the abundance of channels and quality of programming on each, there is always something on that will satisfy you. It's like premium cable for your radio. As a fan of urban radio, I was pleased with Sirius' programming, which offered everything from old school rap and 70s funk to neo-soul and current chart-topping R&B. I also enjoyed the favorite song function, which allows you to program 20 favorite songs and artists, then alerts you when they are being broadcast. You can then jump directly to that station with the push of a button. Where portable music players are ultimately judged is functionality and in that category, the Sporster fell a bit short, specifically when used in the car. The Sportster comes with your choice of a home or car kit. The car kit includes a docking station, 12-volt charger/power source and a magnetized antenna. I typically placed the antenna on top of the car and ran the cord through the sunroof. The unit and docking station were then placed wherever I had space, although for safety reasons it should be hard-mounted to the dash on center console. You then have the choice of listening to the Sportster via an unused local FM station (FM modulation) or with a cassette adaptor. Unfortunately, using the FM modulation mode was an exercise in futility. While reception for the unit itself was usually strong (3 bars or more), static was the order of the day, and I'm not referring to the late 80s song by James Brown and Full Force. Then, when FM modulation chose to function, I would lose signal reception. When using the cassette adaptor, transmission was excellent but required an additional wire to snake around your gearshift and coffee cup. All of this becomes tiring and after falling for the programming, make the user desire a unit that functions more reliably. Home use was simple and performance was best there. Through the home docking station's line-out jack I connected the unit to my stereo receiver and sat the small collapsible antenna on top of the cabinet. Reception was almost always clear and transmission was solid. Overall, I was impressed with the Sportster and even more impressed with Sirius' programming. With such a strong programming lineup, look for Sirius to make gains on leader XM Satellite Radio's subscriber base.