To play your plug-and-play or portable satellite radio over your home stereo system, you'll need to make sure you have a home kit (most portables come with home kits). The accessories in a home kit include:

Home kits let you play your plug-and-play or portable satellite radio over your home stereo.

• A desktop cradle. Also called a docking station, the radio sits in the cradle on a table top, or on your component rack. You make all the power and signal connections here.
• An AC power adapter. The power adapter plugs into the cradle at one end, and into a wall outlet at the other.
• An antenna. The antenna receives the satellite signal, and plugs into the cradle. You'll want to place the antenna in a spot where it receives the strongest possible satellite signal. Plug-and-play radios usually have signal strength meters and an antenna aiming feature that can help you put it in just the right spot.
• An audio cable. The audio cable, usually a minijack-to-RCA patch cable, runs from the back of the cradle to your stereo system (receiver or shelf system, which should have an RCA input that's not in use).