Starlink

[ponytug]

Perhaps it is just me, but when I look at other Musk companies (Tesla automotive, Tesla solar, Tesla Powerwalls), none of them seem to have customer service departments that have a recent history of being responsive.

Much as I look forward to Starlink, I expect to receive customer service in line with the other companies. Reason #249 to keep a backup service going.

All the best,

Peter

 

[dmccarty]

Perhaps it is just me, but when I look at other Musk companies (Tesla automotive, Tesla solar, Tesla Powerwalls), none of them seem to have customer service departments that have a recent history of being responsive.

Much as I look forward to Starlink, I expect to receive customer service in line with the other companies. Reason #249 to keep a backup service going.

All the best,

Peter

Customer service is lacking these days... I really don't see StarLink being any different.

We have been running two Internet services to have backup for the inevitable outages. It is going to happen and it will take a while to fix.

Now, with Starlink, we will drop DSL, which will almost pay for Starlink, or to put it another way, drop two 1.5 mbps lines to get, worst case, 40 mbps, for a bit more money per month. We will keep the Verizon Internet since it is only costing us a $10-20 per month on our cell package. Much cheaper than what we were paying for DSL and UbiFi.

Later,
Dan

 

[LouNY]

This is the long eave mount that I used;

This is looking in a westerly direction which shows a bit of interference, one day I'll move it 5-10 ft further North,

 

[dstig1]

Lou - change out those white zip ties for black ones, or the UV from the sun will destroy them in a year or two at most. Unless you found outdoor rated white ones, then nevermind....

 

[LouNY]

No those are cheap ties that were easy to reach, I'll have to get some of my good ones when I think of it and am in the shop

 

[bdhsfz6]

Elon Musk must have read my last post and decided to throw me a bone. I received an email this morning stating my Starlink equipment was being processed for shipment!

Now begins the task of deciding the best place to put the dish. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

The Google Earth image below shows 3 possibilities:

Location #3

You can see the tree line along the top which causes problems. The corner of the deck would be the ideal location since it provides easy access to the dish for clearing snow & ice. I don't know if this is a problem with the Starlink dish or not but it is with my satellite TV dish. It needs to be cleaned of sleet or heavy wet snow. The Starlink app indicates a lot of obstructions in this location however, which would considerably limit performance.

Location #1

This spot is quite a bit better but there are still minor obstructions. Cleaning the dish would also be a problem since roof access is required.

Location #2

The dish could easily be mounted on an existing tripod base once used for an old antenna but cleaning the dish would be a big problem.

There are no obstructions here and this spot provides the best signal according to the Starlink app. The main problem is, it would require an aerial span of 52". I'm not sure if the cable provided by Starlink would support it's own weight plus any added by ice build up. I would also prefer not to have an overhead wire if it can be avoided.

I have A/C power to the garage so the router could be placed there providing it will withstand the -10F temps we often get. I don't know if it will reach all the devices I use though, some of which are over 100' away. I also have 42 connected devices and I don't know how many the Starlink router will support.

Using a wireless WiFi system to connect Starlink with my existing router in the house is a possibility but I know there can be a considerable loss of speed doing this. There is also the low temperature factor to consider for a garage mounted WiFi transmitter.

I could install a heated electronics enclosure in the garage but I would prefer to avoid the installation hassle & expense.

Another possibility, which would provide the best performance, is Location #4.

It's a pedestal on top of the mountain used to house my weather instruments. It's 410' line of sight to the house with no obstructions. It has a near perfect 360 degree view of the horizon.

It also has A/C power with easy ground level dish access. A heated weather enclosure could be installed if necessary to house the Starlink router & wireless WiFi transmitter.

I considered a ground mount for the dish but getting an underground conduit to the house would be very difficult due to concrete walkways surrounding the building.

I know this is a lot of information to consider but any thoughts you can provide would be a big help.

 

[ponytug]

What does the obstruction scan on the Starlink app say? (At locations, #1, 2, 3, at the actual height where you plan to put the antenna?)

The app matches the device for obstructions. The app is very helpful, and really the only way to determine if a location works.

Given your location, I doubt that you would ever need to clean the "dish" which is more of a cookie tray.

From using the app, I can tell you that the app was very helpful to figuring out what might work for me. Some "obviously" great spots turned out to have obstructions that I had not thought of. Did I mention it is very helpful?

Unless #1 is obstructed, it has my vote, but check it with the app. I doubt that #4 will work due to the power poles. Maybe #5, on the outbuilding on the hill, if you can not find something on your house that works.

All the best,

Peter

 

[LouNY]

Also the antenna has it's own built in deicing heater, clearing snow or freezing rain is not an issue.
That is also why using the provided cabling is required.

 

[LittleBill21]

location 4 is my vote.

buy this

https://www.ispsupplies.com/MikroTik-RouterBOARD-RBwAPG-60adkit

plug one side into a wired port on the star link (buy the adapter if need be)

put one on the other side. and buy a regular access point (not a router) and plug it into that side. the mikrotik stuff is plug and play and requires 0 configuration. these are rated to be outside.

starlinks have ice melters in them .

this allows you to have wireless at location 4, and at a seperate network in the house.

using the mikrotik will have 0 performance loss. they are rated at 1gbit each way.

 

[JethroB]

As StarLink suggests and based on my month of experience, I would go with temporary setups initially. This way you can test out various locations for obstructions and test the equipment for bugs. The rectangular flat-faced dish and its four legged stand are quite stout and heavy. Mine is just sitting on the ground with the cable run through a window. Good thing as I will be swapping everything out (cable too) when the replacement arrives. And keep your old ISP for a while as a backup.