Starlink Roam issues in the ocean

[markxengineerin]

I've had the system set up for about a month now
-No issues at anchor
-Initially no issues in the ocean, for a couple days
-I unplugged it to conserve power
-I tacked, changing the orientation of the mount to the sky
-There are no/were never any obstructions to seeing the sky
-Next morning I power back on, it won't connect
-Dish is visibly aimed wrong (no longer pointing north)
-I decide to choose the "Stow Starlink" option in the app, to see what happens, maybe get the motors to do something
-Dish goes into storage/shipping position as it should, so the motors work
-I select "Unstow"- no response, it never moves again
-The system won't connect by itself after an hour of waiting, multiple tries, but will connect immediately if I manually point it to the north (still in "stowed" position)
-Factory reset made no difference, it's still in stow position and will not move on its own.
-There is a note saying it can take 12 hours to learn about obstructions, etc, but I don't have 12 hours of power to wait for this thing, and no confidence it will work anyway.

My guess as to what the problem is: perhaps the alignment procedure doesn't like waves? In "debug data" I see "Attitude Uncertainty" and "Tilt" parameters hopping around a lot as the boat moves. Is it possible that it can't align itself until the sea state is calmer?

I have "opted in" for ocean data, not that I think this is related, just adding for completeness.

Any ideas?

[Zanshin]

I don't think it is waves. I've had really big rolling at anchor and wind shifts so that my Starlink was pointed incorrectly, and it always recovered. And I've used the "stow" option to force the antenna to point in a better direction, as well. I turn off the device at least 2 times a day.

Where are you located? Perhaps that might affect things. My use, and tests, were all in the Caribbean and I never once had problems.

[suiramor]

I had issues if switching inverter off and on (later) without first switching off/stowing the antenna. After switching the inverter On, I sometimes have to unplug the router from power for 10s and plug it again to get the system working.

On anchor, I get short disconnects (5-10s) when the boat swings excessively.

[markxengineerin]

Maybe heel angle, then? I'm in the Gulf of Maine, not too far from George's Bank. I wish there was a way to manually jog the motors, would easily solve my problem. Rotating it manually in the mount is not the safest thing because I have to unclip the little plastic button from the only place it locks into to allow rotation. It could fall out. Easy problem to fix with some line or a different mount, but I don't remember reading about this problem from anyone else..

[markxengineerin]

I am using the inverter on/off method, sounds like I should use the app to "stow" starlink every time I want to turn off? That's a bit annoying because I have to switch networks and connect directly to Starlink instead of thru a router (right?)

[ABJ87]

Had this happen to us when I decided to stow while sailing at sea. Slow (less than 2 knots) and level the boat out then unstow.

[markxengineerin]

Thanks- any idea how long it needs to be level for, after tapping "unstow"? I have yet to pay attention to how quickly it moves, as it always seemed to work almost immediately after powering up until this recent trouble.

Now I'm not sure what should be SOP. Being level and <2 knots is not realistic in majority of ocean conditions. But "stowing" it is the proper way to power off?

[ABJ87]

Originally Posted by markxengineerin

Thanks- any idea how long it needs to be level for, after tapping "unstow"? I have yet to pay attention to how quickly it moves, as it always seemed to work almost immediately after powering up until this recent trouble.

Now I'm not sure what should be SOP. Being level and &lt;2 knots is not realistic in majority of ocean conditions. But "stowing" it is the proper way to power off?

In our case 20seconds or so.

[skalashn]

I have seen exactly the same behaviour on Lake Michigan while heeled about 30 degrees and beating into moderate chop. Starlink in the same location on davits. Stow/unstow and powercycling did not help. Everything started working again as soon as we turned downwind and leveled off. In all other conditions it connects really fast and I never bother stowing. So I think excessive antenna tilt and jerky motion is a problem.

You should not need to switch networks to use the Starlink app.

[jordanbigel]

Originally Posted by markxengineerin

I am using the inverter on/off method, sounds like I should use the app to "stow" starlink every time I want to turn off? That's a bit annoying because I have to switch networks and connect directly to Starlink instead of thru a router (right?)

I don't think you have to switch networks. I don't and it works fine.

[jt11791]

I don't turn mine off very often, but when I do, I don't bother "stowing" it. In fact, in 9 months of constant cruising use, I have never stowed it. I've also never seen any behavior like OP's problem, so not very helpful.

[markxengineerin]

heeled about 30 degrees and beating into moderate chop.

This describes my conditions pretty well, so that must be it

I don't think you have to switch networks. I don't and it works fine.

Cool thanks

I don't turn mine off very often

I didn't plan to, but there has been no sun lately, and I want my food to stay frozen : )
A wind generator is in my future, probably won't leave it mounted all the time, but necessary when there's a week with no sun and I don't like to run the engine just to charge, as I am now.

[toddster8]

May be irrelevant to this case but FYI that's the behavior you get if you try to use Starlink and Radar at the same time.

[team karst]

Originally Posted by toddster8

May be irrelevant to this case but FYI that's the behavior you get if you try to use Starlink and Radar at the same time.

Tell us more. When antennas are at the same level?
What power radar?

[dlj]

I did the stow function and then it wouldn't "unstow". I did a reset on both the router and the antenna. Finally got the stow option again, did that, and the "unstow" (not sure that's what it's called) and I did that and it started working again. I've never "stowed" it again. It was a real pain to get it working again.

dj