Starlink

[lincmercguy]

An TBNers StarLink RV customers out west around MT, ID, WY areas? Interested in coverage and speeds.....please tell all. Thanks!

My brother lives in the Nebraska panhandle. Coverage and speeds are good, but his is just a home setup. In low-traffic areas, you'll do pretty well.

 

[plowhog]

Is SL now throttling speeds based on short term usage? I read a while ago about not exceeding 1TB per month, but I had a recent experience that seemed different?

I usually download a 1.5G file each morning, but got behind and had to make up. So I downloaded 3 files, each about 1.5G. The first two went at "typical" speed.

After a while, my wife said: "wow the internet sure is slow today." (All she does is email and web browsing, so little data impact.) So I went to check the status of my 3rd download and it had slowed to a crawl. Eventually it finished but it took a l-o-n-g time. btw the transmission was from one residential SL system (CA) to another residential SL system (NV.)

A while later, or maybe the next day, everything was back up to normal speed.

This article talked about the monthly limit, but this seemed like a short term limit?

Starlink to throttle users who use too much data

Full throttle.

mashable.com

 

[ponytug]

Is SL now throttling speeds based on short term usage? I read a while ago about not exceeding 1TB per month, but I had a recent experience that seemed different?

I usually download a 1.5G file each morning, but got behind and had to make up. So I downloaded 3 files, each about 1.5G. The first two went at "typical" speed.

After a while, my wife said: "wow the internet sure is slow today." (All she does is email and web browsing, so little data impact.) So I went to check the status of my 3rd download and it had slowed to a crawl. Eventually it finished but it took a l-o-n-g time. btw the transmission was from one residential SL system (CA) to another residential SL system (NV.)

A while later, or maybe the next day, everything was back up to normal speed.

This article talked about the monthly limit, but this seemed like a short term limit?

Starlink to throttle users who use too much data

Full throttle.

mashable.com

The monthly limit was talked about, but not officially put in place last time that I looked.

Throttling will also happen through other factors; notably, the isp from whence you are pulling the data may have limits on their end. However, I suspect that for you that isn't the case.

There are also rules within network devices (switches, and switchgear generally, e.g. servers) generally that favor small transactions over larger ones. They have to. This is done to expedite the majority of the transactions as fast as possible. The underlying logic is that large downloads are not as time sensitive as smaller ones that may contain things like name resolution, time, etc., and favoring the small ones helps the network function better. If the switch gear favors large transactions, the network appears to die for most users, and can be effectively dead for the duration. BTDT.

On a practical level, a series of large files put through servers is a big impact on the system and network loads, and if a process begins to take too many resources, it will get deprioritized. Again, this is a natural result of trying to make robust networks.

So, I suspect that your 4.5Gb of downloads just got pushed slowly down the priority list by multiple devices between you and the origin, rather than anything nefarious.

All the best,

Peter

 

[gsganzer]

I'm looking into switching to Starlink. My AT&T cube is barely making the cut. How long does it typically take to get your equipment after signing up?

 

[metalheart]

I have the Gen 2 Starlink dish and I just ordered the Gen 3 Roof Ridge Mount that works with the Gen 3 dish. I just assumed that the Gen 2 dish would work with the Gen 3 Ridge Mount or is that not correct?

 

[LittleBill21]

I have the Gen 2 Starlink dish and I just ordered the Gen 3 Roof Ridge Mount that works with the Gen 3 dish. I just assumed that the Gen 2 dish would work with the Gen 3 Ridge Mount or is that not correct?

they are different mountings.

 

[ernemats]

I'm looking into switching to Starlink. My AT&T cube is barely making the cut. How long does it typically take to get your equipment after signing up?

Last year when I ordered mine it was only about 1 week

 

[metalheart]

they are different mountings.

Crap..... so, Starlink is selling a roof ride mount that is not backward compatible? That seems odd. And, the description of compatibility on their website is not intuitive, which indicates it is compatible with the self-self-acuated disk, but is that gen 1, Gen 2, or only Gen 3? I sent a trouble ticket to support to ask about this.

Maybe this is just confusion about the SL website. I had trouble getting to the orders page but after I finally did I may have missed the "Is this Your Dish" box and I made an assumption I was ordering the gen 3 mount because that is all that was listed for the ride mount. But, when I look at the "orders" page now it seems I am presented with only those products compatible with my dish. At least that is what I am thinking has happened. The problem with getting to the orders page put some confusion into the process. I'll know tomorrow when the mount arrives.

 

[Sigarms]

Have had starling for about a year now. Overall, more than happy with it. We ditched Dish network to book. Every once in a blue moon with the occasional thunder storm and heavy rain, some issues, but that is to be expected, and perhaps no more times than the fingers on right hand.

Ironically enough, 1 year after buying starlink, what do you know, they are actually running fiber connection to our house this week. It's pretty much free and will only help increase the value of the home down the road in our opinion.

 

[JRH02]

Y'all have to read this article. You think worldwide internet travels by satellite? This is a story, a long, detailed and well written story about the companies that fix underwater cables across the world. Satellite internet is NOT the heavy hauler of data that keeps everything going. I should Capitalize EVERYTHING. Maybe one day things will change over to satellite but not anytime soon. Undersea cables are still the mainstay.

As many think Mr Elon is a jerk, he is/was definitely forward looking. Again. Read the article:

The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat

How one crew risked radiation, storms, and currents to save Japan from digital isolation.

www.theverge.com

 

[ponytug]

Y'all have to read this article. You think worldwide internet travels by satellite? This is a story, a long, detailed and well written story about the companies that fix underwater cables across the world. Satellite internet is NOT the heavy hauler of data that keeps everything going. I should Capitalize EVERYTHING. Maybe one day things will change over to satellite but not anytime soon. Undersea cables are still the mainstay.

As many think Mr Elon is a jerk, he is/was definitely forward looking. Again. Read the article:

The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat

How one crew risked radiation, storms, and currents to save Japan from digital isolation.

www.theverge.com

You are right about the global importance of fiber for data. The lag time on satellites make it unlikely, especially for geosynchronous communication satellites, as does the cost. Latency, i.e. ping times, is important for many applications and uses.

The light in the fibers need to be amplified every couple of miles, so there are amplifiers underwater along the length of the fiber. Subsea fiber cables, and amplifiers are a fascinating bit of technology and engineering, largely made possible by a small number of people who created solid state laser that could be put in amplifiers that could be dropped to the bottom of the ocean. It is an unseen world.

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/us-china-tech-subcom/

You have to coil the whole run of fiber, hundreds to thousands of miles, in the ship; the three tanks in blue above.

Much of the backbone fiber in the US runs along railways; low impact, and continuous right of ways made it easy.

All the best,

Peter

 

[tradosaurus]

Y'all have to read this article. You think worldwide internet travels by satellite? This is a story, a long, detailed and well written story about the companies that fix underwater cables across the world. Satellite internet is NOT the heavy hauler of data that keeps everything going. I should Capitalize EVERYTHING. Maybe one day things will change over to satellite but not anytime soon. Undersea cables are still the mainstay.

As many think Mr Elon is a jerk, he is/was definitely forward looking. Again. Read the article:

The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat

How one crew risked radiation, storms, and currents to save Japan from digital isolation.

www.theverge.com

NASA is the biggest user of helium.
Wonder what the supposed 10,000 satellites in orbit are doing?

 

[WM75Guy]

NASA is the biggest user of helium.

Wonder what the supposed 10,000 satellites in orbit are doing?

NASA launches lots of large helium balloons for research. The NASA Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility is located near *********, Texas. We occasionally see the very large research balloons, 400' in diameter, flying over Athens heading for higher altitudes.

NASA - CSBF

 

[K5lwq]

NASA launches lots of large helium balloons for research. The NASA Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility is located near *********, Texas. We occasionally see the very large research balloons, 400' in diameter, flying over Athens heading for higher altitudes.

NASA - CSBF

My Dad and I took a motorcycle ride one day to this facility. Unannounced I asked the guard at the gate if we could get a tour. The Flight Director drove down to the gate and picked us up in his truck.

He spent about 3 hours showing us around and explained a lot of what they do. I was allowed to climb up on the launch vehicle and check it out. Quite impressive.

I asked if I could come back one day and fly model planes off the launch pad. He said absolutely just call and schedule it and he would be glad for us to come. That pad is a huge concrete circle that would be a blast to fly off of. I never took him up on that and really wish I had.

Very nice folks there.

 

[WM75Guy]

It is fair sized.

 

[ponytug]

I think watching a launch of a high altitude balloon, with its microscopically thin film is just amazing to watch. The team is incredibly careful, and great at what they do. A snag or a tear, means starting over...

All the best,

Peter

 

[tradosaurus]

NASA launches lots of large helium balloons for research. The NASA Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility is located near *********, Texas. We occasionally see the very large research balloons, 400' in diameter, flying over Athens heading for higher altitudes.

NASA - CSBF

Why do they need research balloons if there are plenty of satellites? What are they researching?

 

[WM75Guy]

Why do they need research balloons if there are plenty of satellites? What are they researching?

Some types of research for which balloons are used are:​

• Cosmic Ray studies
• Gamma Ray and X-Ray Astronomy
• Optical and Ultra-Violet Astronomy
• Infrared Astronomy
• Atmospheric Sciences
• Magnetospherics
• Micrometeorite Particles
• Cosmic Microwave Background Studies

 

[tradosaurus]

Some types of research for which balloons are used are:​

• Cosmic Ray studies
• Gamma Ray and X-Ray Astronomy
• Optical and Ultra-Violet Astronomy
• Infrared Astronomy
• Atmospheric Sciences
• Magnetospherics
• Micrometeorite Particles
• Cosmic Microwave Background Studies

 

[NoTrespassing]

Is SL now throttling speeds based on short term usage? I read a while ago about not exceeding 1TB per month, but I had a recent experience that seemed different?

I usually download a 1.5G file each morning, but got behind and had to make up. So I downloaded 3 files, each about 1.5G. The first two went at "typical" speed.

After a while, my wife said: "wow the internet sure is slow today." (All she does is email and web browsing, so little data impact.) So I went to check the status of my 3rd download and it had slowed to a crawl. Eventually it finished but it took a l-o-n-g time. btw the transmission was from one residential SL system (CA) to another residential SL system (NV.)

A while later, or maybe the next day, everything was back up to normal speed.

This article talked about the monthly limit, but this seemed like a short term limit?

Starlink to throttle users who use too much data

Full throttle.

mashable.com

We just updated 3 Xbox consoles overnight, 15 gig each with no problems. We love Starlink even at $120 per month.