Starlink

ttmott said:
But here is the quandry on marine use - the satellites travel across the sky in a matrix. They have to move to prevent gravity from bringing them down; they travel a bit more than 17,000 MPH. As a result (when fully deployed) all of the oceans will have coverage no different than the land. The difference is the location and connectivity to the ground based stations. Regardless, I really see no difference between off shore mobile and RV mobile. Any customer is a good customer; so, I don't understand the rate jump for marine mobility other than the big commercial applications.
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I'm not 100% clear on how the SL data gets passed up and down and around but I could see where the costs could always be higher for use away from land. Over land the data can go from user to sat to SL base to get to the internet, where on the ocean it would likely have to pass to a few sats before it gets over a land based SL base to get to the internet.

But if the user data always gets passed be to a few sat's before getting to land links then sure, it shouldn't cost more.
 
Ericinmich said:
I'm not 100% clear on how the SL data gets passed up and down and around but I could see where the costs could always be higher for use away from land. Over land the data can go from user to sat to SL base to get to the internet, where on the ocean it would likely have to pass to a few sats before it gets over a land based SL base to get to the internet.

But if the user data always gets passed be to a few sat's before getting to land links then sure, it shouldn't cost more.
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The sat's are only in view of the "Dishy" array for ~4 minutes. The sat's communicate to each other via laser com. protocol (proprietary). And relay the inet via the closest transfer station. So the middle of the ocean, data will have to be relayed across the network to a land based station. It is unclear if it is the closest or if it is the country of origin of the user. I am guessing the closest to limit network traffic.
 
So as crazy as this may sound, I believe my area has very poor service. At the end of the day there is no difference between my original array and the new one. In fact, the new one is actually slower.

The setup is simple, I am using the new SL router and new ethernet adapter plugged into the Peplink router and that is that. My original array was plugged into the SL router through the new cable. I saw quicker speeds connected directly to the SL WiFi and the in their app the Speed test was more then 4x faster then using speedtest.net on the boats pc.

I let my original array stay connected all night and tested again before 7am and the speeds were nice, ~50MBps. I then switched the array to the new one but was around 8AM and the speeds now are basically unusable at times. Doubt the new array is damaged, also I don't think my original one is either.

Even though my original array was up for a week or two prior to the plan change, when I connected it to the SL router it displayed updating in their app. That I did not understand at all. I was under the impression that the array would still update itself with or without the router.

When I say unusable at times, the DL speed(s) are 1-3MBps when tested. And other times it's >10MBps. It varies greatly. But never have I seen anything close to 100MBps using SpeedTest. Using the SL app and their speed test, it shows those large numbers, but SpeedTest still shows very low numbers, don't quite understand that one either.

I believe it is what I originally thought and is SL is limiting the service for Roam plans and because I am in a "Wait List" area that is also low band width in prime time, this is what I can expect.
 
SKybolt said:
The sat's are only in view of the "Dishy" array for ~4 minutes. The sat's communicate to each other via laser com. protocol (proprietary). And relay the inet via the closest transfer station. So the middle of the ocean, data will have to be relayed across the network to a land based station. It is unclear if it is the closest or if it is the country of origin of the user. I am guessing the closest to limit network traffic.
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Makes sense why it should cost more.
 
SKybolt said:
So as crazy as this may sound, I believe my area has very poor service. At the end of the day there is no difference between my original array and the new one. In fact, the new one is actually slower.

The setup is simple, I am using the new SL router and new ethernet adapter plugged into the Peplink router and that is that. My original array was plugged into the SL router through the new cable. I saw quicker speeds connected directly to the SL WiFi and the in their app the Speed test was more then 4x faster then using speedtest.net on the boats pc.

I let my original array stay connected all night and tested again before 7am and the speeds were nice, ~50MBps. I then switched the array to the new one but was around 8AM and the speeds now are basically unusable at times. Doubt the new array is damaged, also I don't think my original one is either.

Even though my original array was up for a week or two prior to the plan change, when I connected it to the SL router it displayed updating in their app. That I did not understand at all. I was under the impression that the array would still update itself with or without the router.

When I say unusable at times, the DL speed(s) are 1-3MBps when tested. And other times it's >10MBps. It varies greatly. But never have I seen anything close to 100MBps using SpeedTest. Using the SL app and their speed test, it shows those large numbers, but SpeedTest still shows very low numbers, don't quite understand that one either.

I believe it is what I originally thought and is SL is limiting the service for Roam plans and because I am in a "Wait List" area that is also low band width in prime time, this is what I can expect.
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Well that sucks. People in the middle of the ocean are getting better speeds than you.
 
Irie308 said:
Well that sucks. People in the middle of the ocean are getting better speeds than you.
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Yep, but they are paying more as well. I am going to play this out for another month or two and see what happens. I think I am going to also upgrade the Peplink and be ready for a cell contract again. I knew something like could happen, but didn't think is was going to be quit this fast. Hoping this is an anomaly while the new plan settles a bit, but who knows. Your area is full service and not wait listed, very jealous. It would be awesome to sit in Block and have full service iNet.
 
Orlando, Sorry to hear the issues. With all the action from Elon adding sats I would think it must be a ground station issue in your area or just too much BLUE being near DC...LOL Keep us posted. I am just glad they opened up the Bahamas now so I don't have to worry about being geo fenced and not working. Now since I am only using it at marinas I am hoping my RV plan doesn't get killed since I don't have the marine. I have been hearing they are going to enforce the rules soon...but you know how that goes lots of experts with opinions.
 
ocgrant said:
... Now since I am only using it at marinas I am hoping my RV plan doesn't get killed since I don't have the marine. I have been hearing they are going to enforce the rules soon...but you know how that goes lots of experts with opinions.
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So Grant, take a look at your account, you might (will) see that you are now "Roam" and not RV. When that happened is when I lost the great service I HAD and everything slowed down. This was only the past week or so that this happened. You are in a full service area so perhaps(hopefully) your not affected. Next time your at the boat, please post your speeds. It looks like this time the experts may have been right for some.
 
We are still early in the satellite constellation deployment. I believe only about 10 or 15 percent of the matrix is populated. It seems that there is more user growth than capability in the sky right now. From what I've read there are four components of communication - user up and down link, Ground Station up and down link, inter-satellite link, and positioning/operation. The spacecraft has X capability or bandwidth across all of the communications functions. It seems to me that Sx is populating for the purpose to gain customers rather than increase bandwidth right now. The LASER inter-satellite communications is part of the V2 constellation so gains in speed using this will come later. So for folks like @SKybolt it is going to be time and hit/miss on speed and bandwidth.
 
ttmott said:
...The LASER inter-satellite communications is part of the V2 constellation so gains in speed using this will come later. So for folks like @SKybolt it is going to be time and hit/miss on speed and bandwidth.
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Sadly it seems your are correct in that, deployment is for customer base over quality of service right now. Hopefully as the sky populates the QoS will increase as well. Only time will tell, as you stated, it's still too early to tell where this will land.
 
When I disassembled the SL connection on the arch, I noticed that the connection has a little bit of rust on it. I am going to try and splice the wires in place and do away with the array connector in the tube and extend the connector to be in the arch in a waterproof housing. My hope is that this will possibly gain some more speed if there was a connection issue at any point.

But it seems a new Peplink is my future and might be going back to a cell contract. Just ordered the Pro 5G and new antenna. The new SL was sent back yesterday. Man what a smooth procedure, answer a few questions and get a shipping label in an email. Doesn't get much easier. I will say Musk has this down to a science.
 
So here's what is in store for you guys, it seems I am already seeing this, the new plan is Regional Roam and speeds are defined as "Best Effort" and are supposed to be between 5-50MBps. So if your seeing more then that count your blessings for now. I am rarely seeing anything over 25MBps and commonly ~5 at best. Better then most marina wifi but for $150/month not sure it's worth it.

https://www.highspeedinternet.com/resources/starlink-roam-rv#:~:text=Starlink Roam can be ordered,a separate Starlink Maritime plan
 
SKybolt said:
So here's what is in store for you guys, it seems I am already seeing this, the new plan is Regional Roam and speeds are defined as "Best Effort" and are supposed to be between 5-50MBps. So if your seeing more then that count your blessings for now. I am rarely seeing anything over 25MBps and commonly ~5 at best. Better then most marina wifi but for $150/month not sure it's worth it.

https://www.highspeedinternet.com/resources/starlink-roam-rv#:~:text=Starlink Roam can be ordered,a separate Starlink Maritime plan
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If you had RV service before, it was best effort as well. At least if you signed up after August 2022. I typically saw speeds from 15-115mbps.
 
firecadet613 said:
If you had RV service before, it was best effort as well. At least if you signed up after August 2022. I typically saw speeds from 15-115mbps.
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I signed up Aug 22 and did see speeds of 100mbps frequently. But as of Mar/Apr I am seeing less then half of that. Personally I am fine with 15/20 but the upload speed is next to nothing and that causes streaming to skip and pause frequently.
 
Irie308 said:
Seems I’ve found the location to flat mount my StarLink. Have seen them trimmed down to just over an inch thick. Once I put up the cover layer to the canvas it will be completely hidden. I just need to get the nerve up to hack up my StarLink and fabricated a mount. Only concern is would heat from a black canvas in the sun be an issue. Further testing is required.
View attachment 142357
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Thanks to the 88 degree day yesterday I was able to take some temperature readings of the starlink and the canvas. Starlink was 129 degrees and the canvas was about 117 degrees. No loss of speeds at that temp and starlink kept working. Starlink does list temp threshold of 122 degrees in their documentation. I'm going to try a bit of foam (stuff they use for sill plates on foundations) to see if it makes a difference. Really hoping this spot works out as a way to flat mount. Not ready to cut the back off yet until i know for sure this location will work.
 
Irie308 said:
... Really hoping this spot works out as a way to flat mount. Not ready to cut the back off yet until i know for sure this location will work.
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Why not mount it on the arch on a standard 1" mount?
 
SKybolt said:
Why not mount it on the arch on a standard 1" mount?
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Don't like the height so i would have to cut the mast down to size. If i do that I'm skeptical if it will have obstruction from the radar mount even if i park the radar at that angle. See pics attached. Thinking outboard of the gps antenna on the port side if i went that route. What do you think? I know if have too much crap up there...lol
arch2.jpg


launch (2).jpg
 
Irie308 said:
Don't like the height so i would have to cut the mast down to size. If i do that I'm skeptical if it will have obstruction from the radar mount even if i park the radar at that angle. See pics attached. Thinking outboard of the gps antenna on the port side if i went that route. What do you think? I know if have too much crap up there...lol
View attachment 142782

View attachment 142785
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Yeah I get that, but I think, given the temperature, you might need to consider that. Mine is isn't much better. And although I have speed issues as noted above, that isn't my issue. Last summer/fall I was getting very fast speeds.

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