General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Mano on October 27, 2020, 03:06:31 PM
Title: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Mano on October 27, 2020, 03:06:31 PM
:salute
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: SIM on October 27, 2020, 06:07:42 PM
So, 1200 a year plus 500 for the hardware. 1700 for the first year........Nope, not worth it.
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: guncrasher on October 27, 2020, 06:10:39 PM
i pay 83 bucks for tv and internet, includes hbo.
semp
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: SIM on October 27, 2020, 06:12:43 PM
I don't drink and drive.................
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: BoilerDown on October 27, 2020, 06:42:45 PM
If you want to live out in the country and want to have semi-decent internet, you probably need this, whatever the cost. Obviously if you live in the burbs you probably have better options.
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: CptTrips on October 28, 2020, 09:16:47 AM
If you want to live out in the country and want to have semi-decent internet, you probably need this, whatever the cost. Obviously if you live in the burbs you probably have better options.
Exactly.
Totally worth it for me.
I have some rural property out in the boonies that has poor connectivity. That limits my ability to stay out there long periods of time because it is harder to work remotely. One of the main issues that will prevent me moving out there permanently someday.
Having reliable broadband out there would be very much worth $100/month to me.
Elon, shutup and take my money!
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: DaddyAce on October 28, 2020, 08:57:38 PM
If you want to live out in the country and want to have semi-decent internet, you probably need this, ....
That's me too. I'm taking a hard look, and I suspect it'll be a lot better than weak and over-sold Verizon broadband, which until now, has been my best option.
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: CptTrips on October 28, 2020, 11:51:05 PM
That's me too. I'm taking a hard look, and I suspect it'll be a lot better than weak and over-sold Verizon broadband, which until now, has been my best option.
You're further up north so you will get it before I will. If you do, give us a report. ;)
:salute
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: DaddyAce on October 29, 2020, 09:16:43 AM
You're further up north so you will get it before I will. If you do, give us a report. ;)
:salute
Oh yes Trips, I got an email offer a couple days ago. I mostly would like to be clear on what I need to do to install it, and properly locate it, how to expect it'll do with snow & ice, etc before I send them $550, but apparently they don't give me that info until I send them the $, although they do give you 30 days to return the equipment for a refund if you figure out it won't work at your site. :salute
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Shuffler on October 29, 2020, 10:24:55 AM
Oh yes Trips, I got an email offer a couple days ago. I mostly would like to be clear on what I need to do to install it, and properly locate it, how to expect it'll do with snow & ice, etc before I send them $550, but apparently they don't give me that info until I send them the $, although they do give you 30 days to return the equipment for a refund if you figure out it won't work at your site. :salute
Kind of suspicious. I would be leary of a company that has no idea how their equipment works.... or will not say.
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Eagler on October 29, 2020, 10:59:00 AM
Will rain/ clouds affect signal strength like it does sat tv?
Eagler
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Shuffler on October 29, 2020, 11:34:26 AM
Will rain/ clouds affect signal strength like it does sat tv?
Eagler
:aok
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Vulcan on October 29, 2020, 03:50:21 PM
Ku band is susceptible to rain fade, it's well documented. Snow and ice on the dish alters its focal point and degrades performance. (starlink uses Ku band and Ka band which is even worse).
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Mano on October 30, 2020, 01:16:16 PM
StarLink is never going to work. Rural Iinternet Users will be so unhappy with download and upload speeds because do not measure up to what they currently have with ViaSat or HughesNet.
The lag and latency will not be as good as their current Satellite internet providers and their service will be way over priced. The initial costs of the equipment is way too expensive and it should be free.
Elon Musk is investing billions into something that is not going to work, period. He really is stupid and cannot be trusted. You can forget internet gaming. That is not going to happen. Creating an internet backbone up in space is complete nonsense.
You will not be able to watch YouTube or any other video streaming nor participate on Zoom. StarLink is completely worthless. ViaSat and HughesNet are going to immediately remove their monthly data allotments and go to unlimited downloads. The people in Alaska will not subscribe to StarLink. It is all a waste of time and money and will never work. I am totally against innovation because technological break-throughs cause other companies to go out of business. I really miss Blockbuster Video. I really enjoyed paying those late fees when I put the dvd in the box outside instead of going inside and standing in line to return it.......and Rondar misses his corncobs.
:salute
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Eagler on October 30, 2020, 01:55:28 PM
Will they remove the blinking satellites if no one subscribes?
Eagler
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Shuffler on October 30, 2020, 02:10:08 PM
StarLink is never going to work. Rural Iinternet Users will be so unhappy with download and upload speeds because do not measure up to what they currently have with ViaSat or HughesNet.
Outside of their seattle testing (actually and in some seattle tests) the numbers are starting to get interesting. On speedtests to a starlink hosted site they are getting anywhere from 18-100ms latency. That's pretty much first hop performance. Equally their download speed bounces around from 15mbps to 105mbps.
It will be interesting to see how well it performs outside of the beta, where congestion and handoff performance will start to have an impact.
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Rondar on October 30, 2020, 08:25:44 PM
How is this affecting you in any way, shape, or form?
Look up at the sky. It affects everyone on earth.
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Rondar on October 30, 2020, 11:07:46 PM
I seriously doubt you are out looking at the sky all night. I was outside last night with my telescope and wasn't bothered at all. What did you observe in your telescope last night?
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: saggs on October 31, 2020, 02:09:13 AM
I'm excited for Starlink as it would have to try pretty hard to be a worse deal than what I have now. $100 a month is actually a competitive price for the rural internet market.
They stated the public beta would begin in "northern lattitudes" I thought 'great' seeing as I live at 65°N. However they never contacted me.
So... :frown:
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Shuffler on October 31, 2020, 06:02:50 AM
I seriously doubt you are out looking at the sky all night. I was outside last night with my telescope and wasn't bothered at all. What did you observe in your telescope last night?
You will figure it out over time. If you observe through your telescope long enough.
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Rondar on October 31, 2020, 09:40:03 AM
Saggs, as I live pretty rural albeit in Kansas, I also applied very early for beta testing. Never contacted either. I had read where in the beginning phases they wanted to keep the beta testers close to the Seattle area so if there were glitches or problems it would be close to where the engineers could have a fairly quick look.
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: DaddyAce on October 31, 2020, 09:54:14 AM
You're further up north so you will get it before I will. If you do, give us a report. ;) .
Well after spending some time trying to figure out what it would take to set up Starlink here etc, I tried to go for it this AM, but the link on my email invite no longer works....so I think I've been uninvited to try their Beta. I did call and leave a message, and also re-registered as interested, but, at least for now, I don't expect to be in a position to report soon.....
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: DaddyAce on November 03, 2020, 07:26:17 PM
Starlink just sent me another email invite, good until 9 November. Based on what I can find it looks so much better in terms of download and ping, I'm going to go for it.
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: AKKuya on November 04, 2020, 05:55:14 AM
Just out of curiosity, how will solar flares, solar wind, the Van Allen belts, micro meteors, and other cosmic oddities NOT interfere with this satellite system?
And, the physical distance from the orbital satellites and the ground creates a lot of room for disruption.
For those who are knowledgeable, please give the short version. :D
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: mikeWe9a on November 04, 2020, 04:06:52 PM
Just out of curiosity, how will solar flares, solar wind, the Van Allen belts, micro meteors, and other cosmic oddities NOT interfere with this satellite system?
And, the physical distance from the orbital satellites and the ground creates a lot of room for disruption.
For those who are knowledgeable, please give the short version. :D
The Van Allen belts extend from about 1,000 to 8,000 miles above the surface of the Earth. The Starlink orbits are below 400 miles above the surface, so they will not be affected by the Van Allen belts. As such, the satellites enjoy at least some protection by the Earth's magnetic field (which is responsible for the Van Allen belts) from solar wind and flares. While an orbit of a few hundred miles "leaves a lot of room for disruption," that space is pretty empty of anything able to cause disruption. Any disruption is likely to occur within the atmosphere itself - I had DirecTV satellite television for a few years, which operates on the same band, and it was subject to signal drop due to heavy rain and thunderstorms. DirecTV for example has its satellites in geostationary orbit at just over 22000 miles above the surface, so it enjoys less protection by the Earth's magnetic field.
Mike
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: DaddyAce on November 08, 2020, 09:08:39 AM
Well, ordered Starlink Friday AM. They shipped same day, it's supposed to be here tomorrow (Monday). Downloaded the app, and as expected, it looks like the best location to set it up will be on our roof, so I ordered the roof mount for $24 yesterday....apparently that will take 2 weeks to as month to get here.
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: DaddyAce on November 10, 2020, 04:04:14 PM
Update, just received the basic Starlink equipment today. Unlike some my kit did not include the carrying pack and cable fasteners, not a big deal. Simple setup. I have snow on the roof, so my temporary setup is in the bed of my pickup, where I've elevated the tripod a bit on a couple of wheels. I have some obstructions (trees). So here are my initial results as compared to my Verizon 4G LTE:
Ping Download Upload
VZW 154 3.69 2.96
StarLink 24 170.03 12.01 :x
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Mano on November 10, 2020, 04:16:51 PM
Quote
Ping Download Upload
VZW 154 3.69 2.96
StarLink 24 170.03 12.01
pretty good numbers. Is there a way to keep that puppy defrosted? :D
Next, see how AH plays. :cool:
:salute
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: CptTrips on November 10, 2020, 05:05:20 PM
Update, just received the basic Starlink equipment today. Unlike some my kit did not include the carrying pack and cable fasteners, not a big deal. Simple setup. I have snow on the roof, so my temporary setup is in the bed of my pickup, where I've elevated the tripod a bit on a couple of wheels. I have some obstructions (trees). So here are my initial results as compared to my Verizon 4G LTE:
Ping Download Upload
VZW 154 3.69 2.96
StarLink 24 170.03 12.01 :x
Woot!
Need more sats! I need this in the boonies of Tejas!
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Vulcan on November 10, 2020, 05:39:34 PM
Update, just received the basic Starlink equipment today. Unlike some my kit did not include the carrying pack and cable fasteners, not a big deal. Simple setup. I have snow on the roof, so my temporary setup is in the bed of my pickup, where I've elevated the tripod a bit on a couple of wheels. I have some obstructions (trees). So here are my initial results as compared to my Verizon 4G LTE:
Ping Download Upload
VZW 154 3.69 2.96
StarLink 24 170.03 12.01 :x
Ahhh that's not 4G dude :) , it's more like a 3G speed. Even crappy 4G should be in the realm of 50Mbps-120Mbps with a 20-30ms ping.
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: DaddyAce on November 10, 2020, 06:30:54 PM
pretty good numbers. Is there a way to keep that puppy defrosted? :D
Next, see how AH plays. :cool: :salute
From what I've read on Reddit it has enough heat to at least help defrost it, and that ice & snow can degrade it some, but the degraded signal still seems superior to my verizon signal.
Will have to try it on AH soon, hopefully real soon.... :airplane: :salute
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: DaddyAce on November 10, 2020, 06:34:25 PM
[.... Ahhh that's not 4G dude :) , it's more like a 3G speed. Even crappy 4G should be in the realm of 50Mbps-120Mbps with a 20-30ms ping. [/quote]
Ahhh but the so called 3 G I had before was not nearly as good as my current "4G". I think it is very much oversubscribed here, not to mention to even get a weak 4G signal I need an outside antenna on my roof with a signal booster. Sometimes my 4G is better, but also sometimes it's much worse too. :cheers:
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: DaddyAce on November 11, 2020, 03:24:07 PM
Update, based on my temporary pickup bed install. Flew about 4 sorites in AH last night, had about 4 or so discoes....
With the Starlink included router I now have strong wifi in the entire house & garage of our 2400 sq ft home. Did a bunch of speedtests on Oookla:
Ping Download Upload
Worst 103 33 10 Best 23 183 21.5
Things should improve when I get it on the roof, and as they continue to develop the system. I'm very happy with it compared to anything else I've had at home. Will try streaming some movies. Am disappointed in the discoes, suspect that will improve, but if there is a consistent disco pattern that does not improve I can still use Verizon for AH.
In the past I've dreaded updating my GPS maps and try to save that for when I visit family with good internet. Last night it was quick and easy on Starlink.
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Mano on November 11, 2020, 09:49:21 PM
Some mounting suggestions if you are still thinking about how you will secure the dish.
:salute
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: DaddyAce on November 12, 2020, 09:34:32 AM
Some mounting suggestions if you are still thinking about how you will secure the dish.
Thank you for another helpful video Mano. :salute
My volcano mount should arrive today. My roof was clear of snow when I ordered my Starlink, so was able to install their app and explore my best mounting options. In my case that appears to be on our roof, and I think the volcano mount will work well. Unfortunately my set did not come with the carry case, but I'll figure something out. I've packed a lot of big game animals out of the mountains over the years, getting the disk up on a one story roof shouldn't be much of a challenge. My chosen mounting location is what I think is the best combination of minimal obstructions and hopefully enough protection from occasional violent winds. Despite being an old guy :old: I'm comfortable working on my roof; about 5 years ago I reroofed this house with one of my sons. Once I have the mount in hand, and see what actually comes in that package I'll determine what else I may need, work out the details of cable routing, and wait for the snow to clear off our roof and favorable weather to get it done. :cheers:
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: DaddyAce on November 12, 2020, 11:52:35 AM
Update, Fedex delivered my "volcano" roof mount this AM, much sooner than the Starlink web site suggested. The dish carry pack and cable fasteners were included with the mount; now just waiting for favorable conditions to get it on the roof.
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Mano on November 14, 2020, 11:25:13 AM
Snow storms will decrease d/l speeds and increase latency numbers.....to be expected.
If the dish is completely covered in snow discos happen frequently. Maybe someone will come up with an inexpensive way to keep the snow off of the dish.
In the video it appears to be a light snow fall. I have been in some heavy snow storms where I had to find a place and pull over because of visibility. I would like to see his numbers in heavy snow fall.
I would also like to see a comparison with legacy satellite internet providers during the same conditions.
:salute
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Meatwad on November 14, 2020, 12:56:46 PM
Snow storms will decrease d/l speeds and increase latency numbers.....to be expected.
If the dish is completely covered in snow discos happen frequently. Maybe someone will come up with an inexpensive way to keep the snow off of the dish.
In the video it appears to be a light snow fall. I have been in some heavy snow storms where I had to find a place and pull over because of visibility. I would like to see his numbers in heavy snow fall.
I would also like to see a comparison with legacy satellite internet providers during the same conditions.
:salute
Dish heaters and snow covers are available online
Title: Re: StarLink Beta testing begins
Post by: Mister Fork on November 16, 2020, 12:59:05 PM