Page 177 of 408

Setting the Time
Press and hold the HR button until the correct hour
appears on the display. Press and hold the MN button
until the correct minute appears on the display. The time
may be set with the ignition on or off.
To synchronize the time with an FM station broadcasting
Radio Data System (RDS) information, press and
hold the hour and minute buttons at the same time until
RDS TIME appears on the display. To accept this
time, press and hold the hour and minute buttons, at the
same time, for another 2 seconds. If the time is not
available from the station, NO UPDAT will appear on the
display instead.
RDS time is broadcast once a minute. Once you have
tuned to an RDS broadcast station, it may take a
few minutes for your time to update.
Radio with Cassette and CD
Radio Data System (RDS)
Your audio system is equipped with a Radio Data
System (RDS). RDS features are available for use only
on FM stations that broadcast RDS information.
•Seek to stations broadcasting the selected type of
programming,
•receive announcements concerning local and
national emergencies,
•display messages from radio stations, and
•seek to stations with traffic announcements.
3-57
2003 - Sierra Denali
Page 178 of 408

This system relies upon receiving specific information
from these stations and will only work when the
information is available. In rare cases, a radio station
may broadcast incorrect information that will cause
the radio features to work improperly. If this happens,
contact the radio station.
While you are tuned to an RDS station, the station name
or the call letters will appear on the display instead of the
frequency. RDS stations may also provide the time of
day, a program type (PTY) for current programming and
the name of the program being broadcast.
XM™Radio Satellite Service
(USA Only)
XM™is a continental U.S. based satellite radio service
that offers 100 coast to coast channels including
music, news, sports, talk and children’s programming.
XM™provides digital quality audio and text information,
including song title and artist name. A service fee is
required in order to receive the XM™service. For more
information, contact XM™at www.xmradio.com or
call 1-800-852-XMXM (9696).
Playing the Radio
PWR (Power):Press this knob to turn the system on
and off.
VOL (Volume):Turn this knob to increase or to
decrease volume.AUTO VOL (Automatic Volume):Your vehicle is
equipped with Bose AudioPilot
®noise compensation
technology. AudioPilot monitors the level of noise in the
vehicle and automatically increases or decreases the
level of the audio to keep your audio above the noise.
To use this feature press the AUTO VOL button
until AVOL ON appears on the display. This feature
works best at lower volume settings where background
noise may be louder than the audio. At high volume
settings, where the audio is much louder than the
background noise, there will be no change in the audio
level. To turn automatic volume off, press this button
until AVOL OFF appears on the display.
DISP (Display):Push this knob to switch the display
between radio station frequency and time. Time display
is available with the ignition turned off.
For RDS, push this knob to change what appears on
the display while using RDS. The display options
are station name, RDS station frequency, PTY and the
name of the program (if available).
For XM™(USA only, if your radio is equipped with
XM™Satellite Radio Service), push this knob while in
XM mode to retrieve various pieces of information
related to the current song or channel. By pressing and
releasing this knob, you may retrieve four different
categories of information: Artist, Song Title, Category or
PTY, Channel Number/Channel Name.
3-58
2003 - Sierra Denali
Page 179 of 408

To change the default on the display, push this knob
until you see the display you want, then hold the knob
for two seconds. The radio will produce one beep
and selected display will now be the default.
Finding a Station
BAND:Press this button to switch between AM, FM1,
FM2, or XM1, XM2 (USA only, if your radio is
equipped with XM™Satellite Radio Service).
The display will show your selection.
TUNE:Turn this knob to choose radio stations.
qSEEKr:Press the right or the left arrow to seek
to the next or to the previous station and stay there.
The radio will seek only to stations that are in the
selected band and only to those with a strong signal.
qSCANr:Press and hold one of the arrows
for more than two seconds. The radio will produce one
beep. The radio will scan to a station, play for a few
seconds, then go on to the next station. SCAN will be
displayed. Press one of the arrows again to stop
scanning.
The radio will scan only to stations that are in the
selected band and only to those with a strong signal.
To scan preset stations, press and hold one of the
arrows for more than four seconds. The radio willproduce two beeps. The radio will scan to thefirst
preset station, play for a few seconds, then go on to the
next preset station. PSCN will be displayed. Press
one of the arrows again or one of the pushbuttons to
stop scanning.
The radio will scan only to preset stations that are in the
selected band and only to those with a strong signal.
Setting Preset Stations
The six numbered pushbuttons let you return to your
favorite stations. You can set up to 30 stations (six AM,
six FM1 and six FM2, six XM1 and six XM2 (USA
only, if your radio is equipped with the XM Satellite
Radio Service), by performing the following steps:
1. Turn the radio on.
2. Press BAND to select AM, FM1, FM2, or XM1,
or XM2.
3. Tune in the desired station.
4. Press AUTO EQ to select the equalization that best
suits the type of station you are listening to.
5. Press and hold one of the six numbered
pushbuttons. The radio will produce one beep.
Whenever you press that numbered pushbutton, the
station you set will return and the bass and treble
equalization that you selected will also be
automatically selected for that pushbutton.
6. Repeat the steps for each pushbutton.
3-59
2003 - Sierra Denali
Page 180 of 408

Setting the Tone (Bass/Treble)
AUDIO:Press and release the AUDIO knob until BASS
or TREB appears on the display. Turn the knob to
increase or to decrease. The display will show the bass
or treble level. If a station is weak or noisy, you may
want to decrease the treble.
To adjust the bass and treble to the middle position,
push and hold the AUDIO knob. The radio will produce
one beep and adjust the display level to the middle
position.
To adjust all tone and speaker controls to the middle
position, push and hold the AUDIO knob when no tone
or speaker control is displayed. The radio will produce
one beep and display ALL with the level display in
the middle position.
AUTO EQ (Automatic Equalization):Press this button
to enhance the audio performance for different
passengers in the vehicle.
The setting last chosen will appear on the display when
youfirst press AUTO EQ. Each time you press this
button, another setting will appear on the display and
AUTO EQ will switch to one of the preset settings listed.
Your audio system allows you to choose from four
different equalization settings: normal, driver, rear and
spacious. These settings can be used while listening to
the radio, cassette or the CD player.NORMAL:This setting provides the best overall vehicle
sound quality for all seating locations.
DRIVER:This setting gives the driver the best sound
quality.
REAR:This setting gives the rear seat passengers the
best sound quality.
SPACIOUS:This setting makes the listening space
seem larger.
The radio can save separate AUTO EQ settings for
each preset and source.
Adjusting the Speakers (Balance/Fade)
AUDIO:To adjust the balance to the right and the
left speakers, push and release the AUDIO knob until
BAL appears on the display. Turn the knob to move the
sound toward the right or the left speakers.
To adjust the fade to the front and the rear speakers,
push and release the AUDIO knob until FADE appears
on the display. Turn the knob to move the sound
toward the front or the rear speakers.
To adjust the balance and fade to the middle position,
push the AUDIO knob then push it again and hold it until
the radio produces one beep. The balance and fade
will be adjusted to the middle position and the display
will show the speaker balance.
3-60
2003 - Sierra Denali
Page 181 of 408

To adjust all tone and speaker controls to the middle
position, push and hold the AUDIO knob when no tone
or speaker control is displayed. The radio will produce
one beep and display ALL with the level display in
the middle position.
Finding a PTY Station (RDS and XM™)
To select andfind a desired PTY perform the following:
1. Turn the P-TYPE LIST knob. TYPE and a PTY
will appear on the display.
2. Select a category by turning the P-TYPE
LIST knob.
3. Once the desired category is displayed, press the
SEEK TYPE button or one of the SEEK arrows to
take you to the category’sfirst station.
4. If you want to go to another station within that
category and the category is displayed, press
the SEEK TYPE button once. If the category is not
displayed, press the SEEK TYPE button twice
to display the category and then to go to another
station.
If the radio cannotfind the desired program type, NONE
will appear on the display and the radio will return to
the last station you were listening to.SCAN:You can also scan through the channels within
a category by performing the following:
1. Turn the P-TYPE LIST knob. TYPE and a PTY will
appear on the display.
2. Select a category by turning the P-TYPE
LIST knob.
3. Once the desired category is displayed, press either
SCAN arrow, and the radio will begin scanning
within your chosen category.
4. Press wither SCAN arrow again to stop scanning.
BAND (Alternate Frequency):Alternate frequency
allows the radio to switch to a stronger station with the
same program type. Press and hold BAND for two
seconds to turn alternate frequency on. AF ON
will appear on the display. The radio may switch to
stronger stations. Press and hold BAND again for two
seconds to turn alternate frequency off. AF OFF
will appear on the display. The radio will not switch to
other stations.
This function does not apply for XM™.
3-61
2003 - Sierra Denali
Page 182 of 408

Setting Preset PTYs (RDS Only)
The six numbered pushbuttons let you return to your
favorite PTYs. These buttons have factory PTY presets.
You can set up to 12 PTYs (six FM1 and six FM2) by
performing the following steps:
1. Press BAND to select FM1 or FM2.
2. Turn the P-TYPE LIST knob. TYPE and a PTY will
appear on the display.
3. Turn the P-TYPE LIST knob to select a PTY.
4. Press and hold one of the six numbered
pushbuttons until you hear a beep. Whenever you
press that numbered pushbutton, the PTY you
set will return.
5. Repeat the steps for each pushbutton.
RDS Messages
ALERT!:Alert warns of local or national emergencies.
When an alert announcement comes on the current
radio station, ALERT! will appear on the display. You will
hear the announcement, even if the volume is muted
or a cassette tape or compact disc is playing. If the
cassette tape or compact disc player is playing, play will
stop during the announcement. You will not be able
to turn off alert announcements.
ALERT! will not be affected by tests of the emergency
broadcast system. This feature is not supported by
all RDS stations.INFO (Information):If the current station has a
message, the information symbol will appear on the
display. Press this button to see the message. The
message may display the artist and song title, call in
phone numbers, etc.
If the whole message is not displayed, parts of it will
appear every three seconds. To scroll through the
message at your own speed, press the INFO button
repeatedly. A new group of words will appear on
the display with each press. Once the complete
message has been displayed, the information symbol
will disappear from the display until another new
message is received. The old message can be displayed
by pressing the INFO button until a new message is
received or a different station is tuned to.
When a message is not available from a station, NO
INFO will be displayed.
TRAF (Traffic):If TRAF appears on the display, the
tuned station broadcasts traffic announcements
and when a traffic announcement comes on the tuned
radio station you will hear it.
If the current tuned station does not broadcast traffic
announcements, press this button and the radio
will seek to a station that does. When the radiofinds a
station that broadcasts traffic announcements, it will
stop and TRAF will be displayed. When a traffic
announcement comes on the tuned radio station you
will hear it. If no station is found, NO TRAFFIC will
appear on the display.
3-62
2003 - Sierra Denali
Page 183 of 408

If TRAF is on the display you can press the TRAF
button to turn off the traffic announcements.
Your radio will play the traffic announcement even if the
volume is muted or interrupt the play of a cassette
tape or a CD if the last tuned station broadcasts traffic
announcements.
This function does not apply to XM™Satellite Radio
Service.Radio Messages
CAL ERR (Calibration Error):This message is
displayed when the radio has not been calibrated
properly for the vehicle. You must return to the
dealership for service.
LOCKED:This message is displayed when the
THEFTLOCK
®system has locked up. You must return
to the dealership for service.
XM™Radio Messages
Radio Display
MessageCondition Action Required
XL (Explicit Language
Channels)XL on the radio display,
after the channel name,
indicates content with
explicit language.These channels, or any others, can be blocked at a
customer’s request, by calling 1-800-852-XMXM (9696).
Updating Updating encryption
codeThe encryption code in your receiver is being updated, and
no action is required. This process should take no longer
than 30 seconds.
No Signal Loss of signal Your system is functioning correctly, but you are in a
location that is blocking the XM signal. When you move
into an open area, the signal should return.
3-63
2003 - Sierra Denali
Page 184 of 408

XM™Radio Messages (cont’d)
Radio Display
MessageCondition Action Required
Loading XM Acquiring channel audio
(after 4 second delay)Your radio system is acquiring and processing audio and
text data. No action is needed. This message should
disappear shortly.
CH Off Air Channel not in service This channel is not currently in service. Tune to another
channel.
CH Unavail Channel no longer
availableThis previously assigned channel is no longer assigned.
Tune to another station. If this station was one of your
presets, you may need to choose another station for that
preset button.
No Info Artist Name/Feature not
availableNo artist information is available at this time on this
channel. Your system is working properly.
No Info Song/Program Title not
availableNo song title information is available at this time on this
channel. Your system is working properly.
No Info Category Name not
availableNo category information is available at this time on this
channel. Your system is working properly.
No Info No Text/Informational
message availableNo text or informational messages are available at this
time on this channel. Your system is working properly.
Not Found No channel available for
the chosen categoryThere are no channels available for the category you
selected. Your system is working properly.
3-64
2003 - Sierra Denali