Starlink

[kcflhrc]

Ordered on Jan 20, 2021. At the time of the order, I was told that it could take 2-4 weeks before the equipment would ship. I received an email today that it had shipped. Fed Ex tracking shows that it should arrive Wednesday, Feb 3. So it shipped one week from ordering, and Fed Ex is saying 1 week to get to VT from CA.

Coverage in my area is at 85.9% of the day. This is calculated on the assumption that my dish will be able to see the sky down to a minimum of 35˚ up from the ground. If I change that view to a 25˚ minimum, the coverage shown is "approximately 100%" of the day. (NOTE: This is not Starlink's information. Someone else calculated from known satellite orbit data. It does not include coverage from their latest satellite launch.)

You need to video the installation and post if possible. I think it's pretty cool how during the power up those little dishes start searching all on their own for the satellites.

 

[PILOON]

"Trees are an issue; several beta testers have commented on it. More important is a good view of the northern sky."

Being lakeside in hilly terrain in middle of a forest ,that would pose a problem, especially on the north side.
Making matters worse our city demands we re plant a tree to replace those cut, all with permits ($$), naturally.

 

[John_Mc]

"Trees are an issue; several beta testers have commented on it. More important is a good view of the northern sky."

Being lakeside in hilly terrain in middle of a forest ,that would pose a problem, especially on the north side.
Making matters worse our city demands we re plant a tree to replace those cut, all with permits ($$), naturally.

Almost all of our land is heavily forested. However, we do have a mostly cleared area near the house. Initially, I'm going to put the antenna on its tripod mount out in the yard. Getting a view of the sky 35˚ up from the horizon and above should not be too difficult. I will probably eventually mount it on the roof of either our house or garage. They are both 2 stories high and one or the other of them would easily get me a view from 25˚ up. For measurements taken back when I was designing our solar system, I know that to the East, South and West, most obstructions are below 10˚ up from the horizon. I never measured to the north, where some trees could be an issue from the garage. The big goal of the installation is to get about a 110˚ cone view of the sky. As I understand it, with the current satellites in orbit, the view to the north is somewhat favored, at least at my latitude, because the current satellite orbits converge there, so coverage is the best there (which is why the Beta test is available in the northern US and Canada at the moment). That also will change as more satellites are launched.

I'm also told that as they launch more satellites, the view of the sky required to get good coverage will get smaller.

 

[ernemats]

Thanks for the information. I am wondering is there any warranty with the equipment as it seems like there are a lot of moving parts in the antenna and how long it is projected to last.?

 

[rekees4300]

Thanks for the information. I am wondering is there any warranty with the equipment as it seems like there are a lot of moving parts in the antenna and how long it is projected to last.?

There's a 30 day money back warranty for beta users. What the warranty will be after normal operations begin is currently unknown. :confused3: The antenna follows satellites electronically so moving parts shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Citydude]

Here is a 4 week review of a Starlink user. Very favorable.

ELON MUSK Sent Me A Box - YouTube

 

[ponytug]

Thanks for the information. I am wondering is there any warranty with the equipment as it seems like there are a lot of moving parts in the antenna and how long it is projected to last.?

As with anything new, I definitely hear your concerns. I do think that the design team seems to be above average, reducing the chances for stupid failures, e.g. my Fellowes shredder that was designed originally with a plastic final drive gear that broke within a few months. Seriously? Who thought that one up? The replacement steel gears have been going great for over a decade now.

There are a couple of tear down reports and here out there; the design looks quite robust to me. They have two stepper motors with robust looking transmissions. To my eye, they have lots of little details that demonstrate that they understand the importance of weatherproofing, RF design, and just generally good industrial design.

While everything mechanical wears out, I suspect that won't be the weak link on these systems. Personally, I worry more about bandwidth as more users come on line. I have seen estimates that the total US customer base is on the order of three million due to bandwidth limits on the satellites. Granted that with an expected five year satellite lifetime that could change.

As with everything the proof is in pudding... and I, for one, am looking forward to trying it.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ernemats]

As with anything new, I definitely hear your concerns. I do think that the design team seems to be above average, reducing the chances for stupid failures, e.g. my Fellowes shredder that was designed originally with a plastic final drive gear that broke within a few months. Seriously? Who thought that one up? The replacement steel gears have been going great for over a decade now.

There are a couple of tear down reports and here out there; the design looks quite robust to me. They have two stepper motors with robust looking transmissions. To my eye, they have lots of little details that demonstrate that they understand the importance of weatherproofing, RF design, and just generally good industrial design.

While everything mechanical wears out, I suspect that won't be the weak link on these systems. Personally, I worry more about bandwidth as more users come on line. I have seen estimates that the total US customer base is on the order of three million due to bandwidth limits on the satellites. Granted that with an expected five year satellite lifetime that could change.

As with everything the proof is in pudding... and I, for one, am looking forward to trying it.

All the best,

Peter

Me too.

 

[John_Mc]

The antenna does move, but it does not physically move to track satellites across the sky. Once the system is fired up with the dish pointed more or less up, it acquires a satellite, figures out where it is, and tilts to the best position for satellite reception. So you won't see it constantly tracking back and forth to follow a satellite.

As others have noted, everyting I've seen about the design and construction of the dish seems favorable

 

[/pine]

Just curious...Is there any indication of the power consumption for the antenna ?...transmitting to a satellite is going to require a certain amount of power do the specs list a required power source...

FWIW...When the power is off here I can run my (DSL) modem/router for a couple of days off my UPS (battery)...just wondering about the power consumption of the Starlink system...

 

[LittleBill21]

Just curious...Is there any indication of the power consumption for the antenna ?...transmitting to a satellite is going to require a certain amount of power do the specs list a required power source...

FWIW...When the power is off here I can run my (DSL) modem/router for a couple of days off my UPS (battery)...just wondering about the power consumption of the Starlink system...

i've read its around 100-150 watts depending on if the snow Melter element is on. this would need a serious battery for offline use.

 

[cqaigy2]

One guy did show one of those portable solar panels people will take hiking and said it powered his unit, in peak sun.

 

[dmccarty]

i've read its around 100-150 watts depending on if the snow Melter element is on. this would need a serious battery for offline use.

That is what I have read too. People traveling/living in boats are REALLY interested in StarLink since getting data away from cell phone range, which surprisingly can go pretty far out to sea, is limited and expensive. There are a couple of issues with StarLink and boats, power usage as mentioned here and does the dish need to be gimbled for use at sea. The current power usage is pretty high for boats with limited power production. But given most boats are not used where there is snow, this seems to be something that should be easy to resolve.

Later,
Dan

 

[/pine]

That is what I have read too. People traveling/living in boats are REALLY interested in StarLink since getting data away from cell phone range, which surprisingly can go pretty far out to sea, is limited and expensive. There are a couple of issues with StarLink and boats, power usage as mentioned here and does the dish need to be gimbled for use at sea. The current power usage is pretty high for boats with limited power production. But given most boats are not used where there is snow, this seems to be something that should be easy to resolve.

Later,
Dan

One thing to consider about sea going vessels (boats)...it's fine if you have a generator to keep batteries charged but as soon as a battery gets below about 12.3 volts a marine radio is only good for monitoring...it needs nearly full capacity to transmit a VHF signal greater than one watt...

 

[LittleBill21]

That is what I have read too. People traveling/living in boats are REALLY interested in StarLink since getting data away from cell phone range, which surprisingly can go pretty far out to sea, is limited and expensive. There are a couple of issues with StarLink and boats, power usage as mentioned here and does the dish need to be gimbled for use at sea. The current power usage is pretty high for boats with limited power production. But given most boats are not used where there is snow, this seems to be something that should be easy to resolve.

Later,
Dan

well so far starlink is not ready for mobile movement, due to the ground units. apparently there is testing for military plane usage, but its not designed to be mobile yet.

 

[dmccarty]

well so far starlink is not ready for mobile movement, due to the ground units. apparently there is testing for military plane usage, but its not designed to be mobile yet.

Correct. The ground stations are needed but that is why they are planning on use laser communication between satellites to get to a ground station.

Later,
Dan

 

[/pine]

Correct. The ground stations are needed but that is why they are planning on use laser communication between satellites to get to a ground station.

Later,
Dan

The technology to use lasers through the atmosphere (stabilized) is brand new...it's hardly perfected and a long ways from being in production for commercial applications...could be years before it is available and economically feasible...

 

[dmccarty]

One thing to consider about sea going vessels (boats)...it's fine if you have a generator to keep batteries charged but as soon as a battery gets below about 12.3 volts a marine radio is only good for monitoring...it needs nearly full capacity to transmit a VHF signal greater than one watt...

Solar and LiFePo batteries do wonders at keeping voltage at usable levels, especially compared to lead batteries. Using SSB seems to be dying out on boats due to satellite communications, which is a shame, because SSB with DSC can be a life saver.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

The technology to use lasers through the atmosphere (stabilized) is brand new...it's hardly perfected and a long ways from being in production for commercial applications...could be years before it is available and economically feasible...

StarLink is not using lasers to go through the atmosphere but satellite to satellite. They just launched some satellites that use lasers for satellite to satellite communications. These will be used in a polar orbit to provide coverage in AK and to eliminate the need for ground station(s) in the area. Sounds like this is also a beta test for the technology since next year, all StarLink satellites will have laser communication capability.

Later,
Dan

 

[Gale Hawkins]

StarLink is not using lasers to go through the atmosphere but satellite to satellite. They just launched some satellites that use lasers for satellite to satellite communications. These will be used in a polar orbit to provide coverage in AK and to eliminate the need for ground station(s) in the area. Sounds like this is also a beta test for the technology since next year, all StarLink satellites will have laser communication capability.

Later,
Dan

Thanks for clearing up that technical miss understanding.