This is my second vehicle with OnStar which has the potential of being a pretty worthwhile accessory however it is not necessarily available when you may need it most. I get out pretty remote from the interstates fairly often and have tested the system to see if it is of any value out in the boonies and can tell you its absolutely worthless. If you are not in a area where there is a nearby cell phone tower the system will not work and this is where you may need it most. If you breakdown or something like that on a major hwy it isn't long before a highway patrol guy is by and can assist so OnStar really isn't necessary. But, this is where it will generally be functional. If you get off the well traveled road it won't function, you might have a forestry truck by in a week or so and maybe nobody else. When and where you may really need the system to work you discover it is a turd. At least, you can listen to the XM radio while you are hoping someone gets back in your way or you decide to hike out.

You must remember that OnStar is Cellular based. It uses the same cell towers that you hand held .3 watt phone uses. The signal out of your truck is 3 watts, much more but still relys on the same cell towers. The farther you are out of the area the less it will work. It will work farther out in the middle of no where than a hand held, but it is still land based. Your X-M is a satellite reciever, where as your OnStar is not a satellite based system, it's land based.


Thaught you might like to know.





Pilot

Right, GM advised you need cellular to make contact and then there is a satellite connection made (????) I doubt it. Certainly not what it is touted to be. It is great if you're hanging in the city but offers nothing to us good ol' coutry boys. But by golly, we sure got our XM to help pass any down time.

My experience in the boonies was trying to call my wife. No signal, call did not go through. That was trying to use the phone feature. Pushed the onstar button, told the guy my issue and he put me through to my wife. I could be wrong, but he indicated that the onstar button is a satelite connection, the phone button is cell based. ?????????

WOW, I thought Onstar was satalite based.

Learn somthin new everyday!http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Clap.gif

On-star is both Satellite and cell phone based. It uses the GPS for positioning etc, but all communications are done through cellular.

Yeah, but only the computer in the truck knows where it is unless it's "talking" via analog cellular. The only reason it does better than a regular phone in some places is the more powerful antenna. On-Star is a total scam IMO...

Ox

Just returned from a month-long trip from NY to SD, WY and MT and back. Throughout the trip, most of the calls I made on my tri-mode cell through Verizon's nationwide service plan came up "no service". There was rarely a location when I tried the same call at the same time with On-Star and it didn't go through. Now, getting the stinking thing to understand the numbers I was asking it to call is a different matter! http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Disapprove.gif

On-Star is useless! They don't call it Blonde-Star for nothin!

One thing I do like about on-star is that when I am in my truck people can always get a hold of me even if i've forgot my cell phone at home etc. Also I use it when I travel to the US because it is a lot cheaper then getting charged roaming charges on my cell phone.


I know a guy who had a his truck stole (keys left in it) and the police worked with on start to find him. He got his truck back. I don't know if that is good or bad.


If you ever lock you keys in the truck, on-star would be a great help.


It's not all bad in my opinion. It's free for a year, after that I wouldn't pay for it. I know you pay for it upfront so it's not free.

Enjoyed reading the above comments. The On-Star system is pretty much sold as a satellite based system, not as a morphydite between cellular and satellite. GM should have their feet held to the fire to go all satellite or disclose with more definition how the system really works (and doesn't) at the point of sale. It would be an OK system if you could choose your point of crunch.

The problem with satellite phones is that, like the GPS system, they require line of sight to the satellite. They won't work in a parking garage, dense foliage (trees), and can be affected by storms more than cellular is. Check your GPS in a garage. After 5 minutes it will start hollering that it has "poor satellite coverage". It just can't see the sky. Try a Nextel when you aren't on an interstate or in town. Nada.


Everything in this area is a compromise of limitations. Satellite for GPS and Cellular for communication is about as good as it can get.


I do have to agree that they should be shot for selling it as a "satellite system". My biggest beef is the 4x4 commercials they show with the guy running off-road. The warranties state specifically that driving off-road will void the warranty. Sorry, off topic.

Whew, Glad I used mine before I started reading the buzz about the Onstar. 'Cuz I love it.


I have used it in the back country of ID and AZ, down in some low areas and in the high areas. Elk Hunting last year in ID I was able to use the "phone" service for 3 days in a row in the same spot (surrounded by mountains and trees) on the 4th day the phone service stopped. Pushed the Onstar button and talked to the operator. I asked if he could pinpoint my location "yes sir, you look to be about 23 air miles South of Highway 34 and 26 air miles East of Highway 89. You look to be in downtown Caribou City, Idaho. How big is Caribou City?" Population 0, not even a ghost town, one old roofless, one room log cabin is all there is. He told me to move around some and see if the phone connection would work. I did and it did. Moved about 30 feet. Next day I returned to the original spot and the phone connection worked again.


Later I started buying time, not much, 100 minutes at a time. Lasts for months. Cheaper than the roaming time costs. Me, I like it.

Its cool until you try to dial a phone number through voice command. It did not recognize a #2 So when I got aggitated, and hollared F%^&, it said 7! WTF!http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Nuke.gif

My 04 is a lot better with voice recognition them 03 was. I am actually impressed with how well it does work. Perhaps some of you aren'y speaking clearly enough. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Embarrased.gif

Never lose the XM in the most remote areas. Loose it in a enclosed parking garage. Lose the On-Star in remote areas. Don't need it in a parking garage. Think a pure satellite system would work 99.9% of the time. Satellite phone systems are expensive to operate but how many millions of On-Stars are running around at $19.00 per month. I think GM can afford to do better with not a whole lot of effect on the bottom line.

I thought that the signal going out of the truck on the On-Star system was 5 watt like the old bag phone technology, which actually worked when you needed it to and you would have a signal anywhere. I know I have used mine several times when I was on the road and out in the boonies per say, and have never had any issues. Hmmmm...

Sat phones work nothing like xm. Sat phones also have to transmit back up to the satellite where xm only receives. It is a lot hard to transmit back up to the satellite then it is to receive from it. If on-star did use satellite phone service I guarantee you would be here complaining about more then you are now. Sat phones have their place, this is not one of them. Edited by: Max Power

I thought that the signal going out of the truck on the On-Star system was 5 watt like the old bag phone technology, which actually worked when you needed it to and you would have a signal anywhere. I know I have used mine several times when I was on the road and out in the boonies per say, and have never had any issues. Hmmmm...


Bag phones were/are only 3 watt not 5. I am pretty sure (never confirmed) that on-star is now digital. I think up until 02 they used to be analog (3 Watt Motorola analog transceiver). More and more new cell towers are being put up as digital only. Over time a lot of analog towers will be converted over to completly digital. Every analog cell they convert over to digital gives them 8 times (IIRC) the capacity. If it is now digital as I assume, it will only be .6 watts max. The advantage you see will be due to the external antenna.


The other reason some might see it work better then their cell phones is because it could be using a different provider. I am pretty sure on star is CDMA and lots of providers are TDMA or GSM. So on-star might work where your cell phone doesn't or visa-versa.

Never lose the XM in the most remote areas. Loose it in a enclosed parking garage. Lose the On-Star in remote areas. Don't need it in a parking garage. Think a pure satellite system would work 99.9% of the time. Satellite phone systems are expensive to operate but how many millions of On-Stars are running around at $19.00 per month. I think GM can afford to do better with not a whole lot of effect on the bottom line.


Big differences between XM, a receive only system, and a Sat phone, xmit and receive system. I can't stand the look of the XM antennas, think what the roof would look like with a six inch mixing bowl (Sat antenna) up there. There is a sat system under development that will work without line of sight but it might be 3 to 5 years before consumers see it.


In a parking garage is probably where most of those locked doors get unlocked by On-star. They won't be able to get a current GPS fix on the car but they could get the last reading when they went into the garage.


I still think its a compromise of limitations.


Technically the old bag cel phones were capable of up to 3 watts but to eliminate bleed over from adjacent frequencies a part of the command channel would usually turn the power output down. The hand held phones are restricted to up to 0.67 watts, analog or digital. They also can have their power turned down by the cel tower. The advantage of digital, either CDMA, TDMA or GSM, is they can put multiple calls on the same freq without making it a party line. Edited by: GKing

Can you hear me? Knock Knock! I speak just fine! HEHEHEHE Read my lips. HEHEHEHEhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Evil Smile.gif