Entertainment Center: TVs, Stereos, VCRs and DVDs - any way to "slow down" a signal

I have 2 separate receivers, pairs of speakers. one receiver is in the house and powers a pair of Bose inground speakers next to our patio outside.
The other receiver is in a pool shed about 150 feet from the house; it powers 2 speakers mounted on the side of the shed. In each location (house and pool shed), we also have an XM satellite receiver (each with its own separate antenna).
When we listen to the regular broadcast (FM) radio, the speakers all sound fine.
However, when we listen to our XM radio (satellite), the pool house receiver seems to be getting the signal a split second before the house receiver, so there is almost an echo effect when you're in the yard.
Is there any device I can attach to the receiver in the pool shed so i can try to match the signals to get rid of the echo effect?

Are both of these XM receivers the same make and model.

Different units have different time lags for decoding the signal. These units also buffer the signal so that minor signal drops are not noticed.

Since FM works fine, it is certainly a XM receiver problem, not something in the rest of the set-up.

yes. both are SkyFi receivers

can you swap receivers and tell if the delay follows the receiver or stays put? that would help point you toward the receiver or (I'm not familiar with XM but I'm assuming there is an antenna) the antenna.

Also, wouldn't it make more sense to take a receiver that can power 4 speakers and 150 feet of speaker cable and run both pairs of speakers from one location?

I had already tried hooking the speakers to the amplifier in the house (150 watts per channel). I then ran heavy gauge speaker wire to the speakers, and they sounded horrendous. They kept breaking up. That would have been the easiest solution though. The wire I used was 14 gauge. I had thought of trying 12 gauge, but the 14 sounded so bad that I didn't want to go to the expense of buying the 12 gauge and having the same problem. Any ideas/tips for long runs like that?

Any ideas/tips for long runs like that?
Use line level and not speaker level (unamplified, IOW) signals and run them to another head unit where your speakers are.

Basically, you just want to get the line signal from one receiver and take it to another receiver which actually drives the speakers.

For line level, you could use Cat5 which would reduce the noise levels from outside sources.

Good luck!

Brandon,
That could be the answer (running Cat5 from the line outputs to the other amp)!!!
We have Cat5 that runs from the stereo area to the pool shed. So for that kind of run 150-200 feet, there shouldn't be a degradartion of the signal?
Would I run it from the tape out/monitor connection on the amp in the house?
How would i connect the Cat5 to the line outs? I guess I'd have to buy the RCA jacks from radio Shack?

Well, all of your questions depend on the type of receiver you have - the connection type, the output you connect to, etc. Most receivers have a line out of some sort - whether it's Tape 2 or just a line level out.

With a line output, you won't have as much problem with signal degradation - you don't have to worry about power loss. The Cat5 will help reduce line noise and induction though.

Good luck!

I looked on my house receiver, and there is a set of outputs called "line out", which use RCA connectors.
I am going to Radio Shack today to buy the Rca connectors. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Thanks again.
Dave

Sorry, one other question.....can the grounds of each connector (right and left) be shared in the line level outputs on their way to the other receiver? I only have 3 conductors still available in the conduit, so that would be a left +, right+, and common ground. Will that work?

Since you're using line level, you'll be ok. When you have speaker level, you typically don't want to do that, unless you absolutely have to.

Good luck!

Devices called delay lines are often used to delay/phase shift electrical signals. It is commonly used on video circuits. I suspect you should be able to get one for audio. It is likely to be quite large (due to the wavelength of audio) and may not be available in regular stores. Try distributors like Arrow although I'm not sure they sell to the general public.

I tried running the line level outputs via the Cat5 wire to the inputs on the outside stereo, but all we got was a hum.
I then went and bought a new SkyFi receiver from Walmart for our pool shed (as I found out that the other one I owned was a slightly earlier model--last year's, and the processing/software was slightly different even though both units looked identical).
The new version has the same processing speed as the one we use in the house, and there is now no more echo effect.