Starlink yea or nay?

[DVanVorous]

This has not been the case for me. I don’t know if it’s getting worse, but definitely not getting better.

Can't say as how it's gotten worse but it's still a whole lot better than the DSL I was on previously. For folks saying go this or that internet service...they aren't an option for folks in the backwoods of BFE. Only one that is is Dish/DirectTV/or equivalent and the cost/reliability leaves something to be desired.

 

[TOMS97ZJ]

assuming your is the standard house SL.

The "portable" system is backpack sized, runs $2500 and $500 for global roaming.

The standard systems will not work in countries not served by SL, but the portable systems will.

Musk will not entertain the idea that any Starlink Company in South Africa has to be majority owned. And I fully support that.

The portable system is even smaller than the rectangular RV version. Target market is folks who are going to be way off the grid. Way off.

My problem mid February is I will be in the middle of an ancient collapsed volcano / caldera, so while there may be excellent cell service and high speed connection just 10 miles away, we get none of that in the bush camp.

Gonna need a thread on that. Sounds badass.
What are you doing there?

 

[XtremeJ]

Gonna need a thread on that. Sounds badass.
What are you doing there?

Hopefully not a damn thing.

We are in one of the nicer bush camps in the Pilansberg National Park, totally secluded

Tshukudu bush lodge

With a private lodge at Bukubung to start and finish that part of our trip.

A week on the Sabie river next to the Kruger Park at the end of February to complete the 5 weeks away. Game drive, play some golf, drink some beer, game drive, burn some meat. Drink some beer

Repeat

 

[RusM]

Installed a mesh wifi system today and this is what I'm getting now with the 5g T-Mobile. Fuck you comcrap!

 

[AKnate]

I've had mine 8 months or so now. When I first got it I was fairly consistent in the 40-50mbps range, now I'm consistently over 100. T-mo and at&t 5g aren't available where I'm at yet. When they are, I'll try them and see if I can save some dough, but I'm happy with what I have.

I had to use a Seattle, WA address to beat their "system"
T Mobile didn't work, but ATT&T does.
Shitty thing is they charge WA tax though.

 

[XtremeJ]

Damn, not going to complain about starlink rates for a while.

Team owner decided he has to be in contact with me 24/7. Bought me a sat phone, right around iphone costs, but the rate per minute is as bad as it was in the islands in the early 90's. $2/min of talk time. At least all incoming data is free, so now he thinks it is awesome I will be able to work while I am on vacation

I don't like this idea at all. He was offering to pay for the portable SL IF we could get one in time.

 

[Lil'John]

I'm posting here since this thread has newest reply. I'm giving serious thoughts to converting over because I will save a SIGNIFICANT amount of money going this route. I'm in Sierra foothills(Georgetown) so I get to fight trees and snow.

Is one able to mount the 'dish' to the house? This should keep it out of the snow and prevent snow accumulation. But when I tried the Starlink app, I couldn't get 100% scan out of window. It does have a potential single tree issue that I'm not above cutting in half.

I've got another spot I might consider but it may open up another can of worms since it will be about 15-20 foot lower. It is also ~100 feet away. The problem tree becomes 'extreme' west issue if it is at all.

 

[Ksand]

I'm posting here since this thread has newest reply. I'm giving serious thoughts to converting over because I will save a SIGNIFICANT amount of money going this route. I'm in Sierra foothills(Georgetown) so I get to fight trees and snow.

Is one able to mount the 'dish' to the house? This should keep it out of the snow and prevent snow accumulation. But when I tried the Starlink app, I couldn't get 100% scan out of window. It does have a potential single tree issue that I'm not above cutting in half.

I've got another spot I might consider but it may open up another can of worms since it will be about 15-20 foot lower. It is also ~100 feet away. The problem tree becomes 'extreme' west issue if it is at all.

As long as you can see the northern sky

 

[east_beast]

Yeah, you can mount it to the house. There's an adapter that you can use that'll make any pole mount work. I just reused the old DirecTV mount that was already on the house.

You need a clear view of the northern sky. And I mean CLEAR. Any obstructions will lead to interruptions. The app is really easy to use and will show you if you have instructions and where.

 

[Lil'John]

Yeah, you can mount it to the house. There's an adapter that you can use that'll make any pole mount work. I just reused the old DirecTV mount that was already on the house.

You need a clear view of the northern sky. And I mean CLEAR. Any obstructions will lead to interruptions. The app is really easy to use and will show you if you have instructions and where.

The problem with the app and house mount is it wanted me to go more than vertical so I could never complete the process. I'm not 100% certain how vertical the line of sight has to be. The tallest tree in the background is maybe 25-30 degrees from horizontal.

Here is a view directly north about 10 feet left of where I'd mount it:

The red line is a tree I could cut completely or preferable in half It is partially privacy for property downhill. It is directly west of the front of the Tacoma.

The two orange lines point to trees about 50 feet behind that could come down completely if needed. The trees much further back may not be on my property... but that property is undeveloped and not owner used.

The green box is an access box that has a "network" conduit to it. But as you might imagine, that area under normal winters gets about 3-4' of accumulated snow. I could dig up the conduit somewhere in the middle at the edge of the concrete near the Tacoma and stub up a new location.

 

[east_beast]

The problem with the app and house mount is it wanted me to go more than vertical so I could never complete the process. I'm not 100% certain how vertical the line of sight has to be. The tallest tree in the background is maybe 25-30 degrees from horizontal.

Here is a view directly north about 10 feet left of where I'd mount it:

The red line is a tree I could cut completely or preferable in half It is partially privacy for property downhill. It is directly west of the front of the Tacoma.

The two orange lines point to trees about 50 feet behind that could come down completely if needed. The trees much further back may not be on my property... but that property is undeveloped and not owner used.

The green box is an access box that has a "network" conduit to it. But as you might imagine, that area under normal winters gets about 3-4' of accumulated snow. I could dig up the conduit somewhere in the middle at the edge of the concrete near the Tacoma and stub up a new location.

It's pretty vertical in orientation. We're getting a rain shower right now but I'll snap a pic when it's over.

 

[east_beast]

 

[Lil'John]

Follow up questions as I'm trying to figure out location.

Can one 'cleanly' and easily bolt the ground base to a wall rather than buy another mount? From watching one install video, it sounds like the dish snaps onto the mount so it should be solid from that stand point.

Can one ditch the starlink router and direct use a pfSense router? A quick search shows this was possible on the older versions but it doesn't look like it will on the newer style. Or is it possible to turn darn near everything off in the Starlink router(wifi, etc)? I have no desire or need for another wifi option over my current solution.

 

[Void_of_Light]

Follow up questions as I'm trying to figure out location.

Can one 'cleanly' and easily bolt the ground base to a wall rather than buy another mount? From watching one install video, it sounds like the dish snaps onto the mount so it should be solid from that stand point.

Can one ditch the starlink router and direct use a pfSense router? A quick search shows this was possible on the older versions but it doesn't look like it will on the newer style. Or is it possible to turn darn near everything off in the Starlink router(wifi, etc)? I have no desire or need for another wifi option over my current solution.

You can but it’s super easy to just bypass it and use your own. If you eliminate it you have to figure out another way to power the dish.

 

[YZRider]

Still liking mine. Streaming Incdycar right now. It was kinda spotty at first, partly my fault with all the trees, but since they got more satellites up its been almost 100%. Might look into Verizon now that it's available.

 

[Lil'John]

You can but it’s super easy to just bypass it and use your own. If you eliminate it you have to figure out another way to power the dish.

I'm still nursing coffee so I want to make sure I understand what you are saying.

Their router does have an ethernet(LAN) port handy and I can shut down their WIFI fully along with any 'advanced' router functionality to treat it more like a 'modem'. At which point, it is as simple as plugging it into my pfSense box.

Currently, I have fiber coming into my house from the pole to a fiber modem. I then have a direct ethernet to my pfSense box.

 

[Void_of_Light]

I'm still nursing coffee so I want to make sure I understand what you are saying.

Their router does have an ethernet(LAN) port handy and I can shut down their WIFI fully along with any 'advanced' router functionality to treat it more like a 'modem'. At which point, it is as simple as plugging it into my pfSense box.

Currently, I have fiber coming into my house from the pole to a fiber modem. I then have a direct ethernet to my pfSense box.

Mine does not have Ethernet built in but they have an adapter, I think the new ones come with Ethernet though. The adapter is $25 so not costly.

You set it up using their router, once it’s online there is a big bypass router button you push on the app, and it removes all router functions from Starlink letting you use your own. Their router is just there to power the dish.

I’m running all unifi stuff with 4 access points around my property.

To reset the Starlink router you have to power cycle it 6 times. If the power blinks rapidly and it’s not on an ups, you may find that it’s reset and using the built in wifi again, you just have to login and push bypass again. Best to put it on a ups for obvious reasons.

 

[Lil'John]

Hopefully last round of questions for Starlink.

How much above or side to side clearance should be around the dish? For above clearance, I'm lightly concerned about wall mount with two foot eves. Do I need to have the dish extend well beyond two feet from the wall?

For side to side clearance, I am concerned about trees ~90 degrees.

Here is a bad MS Paint example of my house and potential mounting zones(not shown is on the ground mounts... I really don't want to buy the extra long cable.

The house is 44' long with network closet on 2nd floor at the far south of the house. The house is 22' wide.

The three green dots are extra tall trees that easily top the roofline by a lot. The green with red outline is one I'm willing to cut in half to keep it under roof line.

Red dot is an old antenna post I'm considering. This would put the dish up to ten feet above the roofline(two story house) Would the tree directly east(down in the picture) cause any problems? How bad of an issue is the next eastern tree going to be?

Blue dot is a weird split roof line eave. The wall is ~2 foot under the eave. Will leaving the dish half under the eave cause a problem? In order to keep it out of snow on the roof, I would guess the dish would be maybe three feet from the eave.

Purple dot is end of the house but I can push the dish further downward from the eave. If I am feeling froggy, I could get it about six feet from the eave.

 

[Ransil]

The gen 2 & 3 have a 110 degree of view, mine points northish....supposed to be a software update so the dish can be set to flat,have not looked yet.

Throw it up there and wait 12 hours for the app to update the shit in the way ,then go from there.


There is a mini fish coming out in a few months

 

[AgitatedPancake]

Red is the best answer imo. Blocking its view of half the sky by putting it under an eve would most likely impact service quality the most because it wouldn't be able to see half the satellites up there.

Here's an example of its snow melting capabilities, watch the next like 30 seconds from the time stamp

 

[XtremeJ]

Anyone else get the offer for the Mini?

$599 and $30 per month mobile

 

[Lil'John]

Red is the best answer imo. Blocking its view of half the sky by putting it under an eve would most likely impact service quality the most because it wouldn't be able to see half the satellites up there.
<snip>

So in your opinion, how far should I have the dish out from under the eave?

The problem with putting it on the old antenna mast is the back side of the roof is 45 degree that would give me a three story fall So I would have to rent a boom of some sort to be safe.

 

[AgitatedPancake]

So in your opinion, how far should I have the dish out from under the eave?

The problem with putting it on the old antenna mast is the back side of the roof is 45 degree that would give me a three story fall So I would have to rent a boom of some sort to be safe.

I don't have a specific answer for you unfortunately. The question is how much are you willing to risk service dropouts by having some avoidable obstruction of the sky? Because if you have any decent chunk of the sky blocked by the house feet away, the likelihood of dropouts increases. It can deal with a few trees, but to have a wall nearby could become significant.

Anyone else get the offer for the Mini?

$599 and $30 per month mobile

I've heard about it, man that is tempting once it officially realeases for the portability aspect. A bit less speed, but would be great for camping

 

[maveric]

I've heard about it, man that is tempting once it officially realeases for the portability aspect. A bit less speed, but would be great for camping

This would have been a handy option a few months ago. I have a converted gen2 for mobile. Works great, but would have been easier to mount the mini on the truck, and keep the full size for the house.

 

[maveric]

The gen 2 & 3 have a 110 degree of view, mine points northish....supposed to be a software update so the dish can be set to flat,have not looked yet.

Throw it up there and wait 12 hours for the app to update the shit in the way ,then go from there.


There is a mini fish coming out in a few months

My gen 2 is mounted flat on the roof of my truck, no issues so far. It does drop connection if I am parked under a lot of trees.

 

[Lil'John]

Here is an old picture of the house that I have handy:

Blue dot is side of the middle of the house. 'Easiest' to install.

Purple is end of the house. A bit harder to install and cable from dish to router may be short. Add in piles of wasps in the eaves would make it fun

Red is still on antenna mast but one can't see the top. The back half of it isn't flat like the front half. It is the steep pitch shown up front.

 

[Wheelerfreak]

I used the long wall mount and mounted it near the peak of the roof so that the dish is 10-12" above the roof line to be free of obstructions. Is that an option for you? I just went to their website and they also have a Ridgeline mount, maybe something to consider.

ETA, just looked at your picture and it seems like you could try either of my suggestions and then just run the cable through your attic vent and then down into the house.

 

[JeffsJeep04]

Just did a JRTC rotation and our S6 used the .mil version “star shield“. We had the highest uptime in the brigade. Set that sucker on top of a pelican case, hooked into the stack, and ran fire missions. Pretty slick for a bunch of nasty girls from WI.

 

[Lil'John]

I used the long wall mount and mounted it near the peak of the roof so that the dish is 10-12" above the roof line to be free of obstructions. Is that an option for you? I just went to their website and they also have a Ridgeline mount, maybe something to consider.
<snip picture>

ETA, just looked at your picture and it seems like you could try either of my suggestions and then just run the cable through your attic vent and then down into the house.

I can't quite trust not having the dish solid mounted to something so the ridgeline mount isn't something I'm considering. We get occasional high speed gusts that worry me.

 

[Wendle]

Here is an old picture of the house that I have handy:

Blue dot is side of the middle of the house. 'Easiest' to install.

Purple is end of the house. A bit harder to install and cable from dish to router may be short. Add in piles of wasps in the eaves would make it fun

Red is still on antenna mast but one can't see the top. The back half of it isn't flat like the front half. It is the steep pitch shown up front.

Lay a long extension ladder down flat on the roof pitch with a rope over the ridge tied off to a car or something on the other side? I feel like 90% of the people on this board would do way sketchier shit fairly regularly.
At 45° a long enough ladder may even reach from the ridge to the ground in your pic?

Red dot is by far your best option. One of my neighbours had something similar to your blue dot and it was woeful.