Musk says Starlink will work on boats

[barnakiel]

Well, it depends.


If you are adjusting a small / light element (="the microphone") then it will work even in a smaller mono boat say a modern 50ft hull), and very well in a any cat.


But if you are adjusting the dish ... Just look at that dish. It will take a biggie servo to adjust it.


I have asked a journalist friend here who drives a TV van. He says a 'small' dish takes about 30 seconds to tune in (that's on the roof of a parked car). They also use sat links for their TV data when not in range of mobile networks.



b.

[stubones99]

The antenna already auto-locates itself, and orients the flat plate antenna to the best orientation for the location. The STNG antennas have notorious rain fade in bad weather. It also depends on which satellite they are shooting for, since the lower look angle has to pass through more clouds than a straight up shot would.

The starlink satellites will be passing overhead within 20 degrees of vertical (once they get them all launched) so it will always be nearly straight up.

One trick it could do is every so often, during snow & ice, turn the antenna vertical to encourage the snow, sleet and ice to slide off. The panel runs warm, so tipping it over will drop connectivity, but so will collecting a lot of snow, sleet and ice on the working surface.

[Franziska]

The Starlink antenna are heated to avoid snow and ice accumulation...

[stubones99]

Actually, they are headed because of power consumption of the phased array antenna, but it is a helpful side effect that it may thaw snow, or prevent it from sticking well. I think a good aquaphobic coating (Aquapel, Rain-X, NeverWet, etc.) would be helpful to keep it clear and lower the chance of snow, ice buildup dropping the signal strength.

But a last resort would be to tilt it at an angle to slide the snow buildup off...

[dannc]

Interesting.

A few days ago, SpaceX/StarLink, asked the FCC for permission to launch some of it's satellites into polar orbits to provide service to Alaska.

Link to where I found the discussion and the link to the FCC document:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/co...tellites_into/
• https://docs.google.com/gview?url=ht...nt_key=2832759

...This commitment on physical coordination should clear the way for the Commission to grant the modification at least in part, subject to appropriate conditions, so that SpaceX can continue to deploy its NGSO system for service where it is needed most. Specifically, SpaceX requests that the Commission authorize deployment of one of the sun synchronous polar shells proposed in the modification, composed of six orbital planes with 58 satellites in each at 560 km altitude....

...SpaceX submits this request now because it has an opportunity for a polar launch in December that could be used to initiate its service to some of the most remote regions of the country. The Commission has repeatedly made clear that “[c]losing the digital divide—and bringing to every American the economic, education, health, civic, and social benefits that a broadband connection provides—continues to be the Commission’s top priority.” Unfortunately, less than two-thirds of the population living in rural Alaska and no one on Alaskan Tribal Lands has access to fixed broadband service at speeds that meet even the Commission’s minimum definition for broadband. By moving its satellites to lower altitudes, SpaceX will reduce the latency of its transmissions below 50 milliseconds, which is nearly unnoticeable to consumers. Combined with the high capacity offered by its system, launching to polar orbits will enable SpaceX to bring the same high-quality broadband service to the most remote areas of Alaska that other Americans have come to depend upon, especially as the pandemic limits opportunities for in-person contact. In addition, for many Federal broadband users, satellite service is the only communications option to support critical missions at polar latitudes, and the low-latency, high-capacity service SpaceX offers for these users could have significant national security benefits...

Given the last sentence, I would think it is highly likely the FCC will grant permission for polar orbits.

Later,
Dan

[SalingSue]

What I’m interested in is how he’s going to accommodate the censorship and government monitoring of the peasants that many governments like China, Australia, Vietnam etc love

Or is he just going to be like “can’t stop the signal” which would be VERY impressive.

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by SalingSue

What I’m interested in is how he’s going to accommodate the censorship and government monitoring of the peasants that many governments like China, Australia, Vietnam etc love

Or is he just going to be like “can’t stop the signal” which would be VERY impressive.

Probably easier to stop the payment for the service and the import and use of the hardware. And at $100/month I don't think this was ever aimed at the Vietnamese "peasant" market!

[Pitchondesign]

Originally Posted by SalingSue

What I’m interested in is how he’s going to accommodate the censorship and government monitoring of the peasants that many governments like China, Australia, Vietnam etc love

Or is he just going to be like “can’t stop the signal” which would be VERY impressive.

Not hard to accommodate. First, unlikely he would be able to sell the equipment in censored nations. Second, its easy to geo fence the signal based on user location. Drones have the same issues.

[Beach Panda]

Why not use HAM radio mesh networks? Other than the cost of equipment, they have a 500 mile (off shore). If you want to get fancy, use two systems and one server/router to increase speeds.. however, you can download NETFLIX, or use WhatsApp on just a single system.

The benefit of StarLink when it's finally done, is that you'll have internet access during Ocean Crossings. However, if you stay within 500 miles of any NODE on the Mesh Network, you'll always have access.

All you need is a HAM radio, Radio Anetnna, HAM Pi Server, and a basic WiFi Router. All for under $500 in total and no monthly costs added.

[Jon Hacking]

Panda, first, welcome to CF!

But to answer your question, the bandwidth available to such a low-frequency signal as HAM is about the speed of the 9600 baud modems we threw away 30 years ago. And the Pactor modem costs more than the StarLink user terminal, complete with xmitter & phased array antenna. We've been using Winlink for email for 20 years, & it's (barely) adequate, but only for text. Don't get me wrong, it's been a WONDERFUL service for us, but there's no way you could browse with that kind of speed. You should check out Winlink youself.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Beach Panda

Why not use HAM radio mesh networks? Other than the cost of equipment, they have a 500 mile (off shore). If you want to get fancy, use two systems and one server/router to increase speeds.. however, you can download NETFLIX, or use WhatsApp on just a single system.

The benefit of StarLink when it's finally done, is that you'll have internet access during Ocean Crossings. However, if you stay within 500 miles of any NODE on the Mesh Network, you'll always have access.

All you need is a HAM radio, Radio Anetnna, HAM Pi Server, and a basic WiFi Router. All for under $500 in total and no monthly costs added.

Show me some evidence of a HAM mesh network that operates in the GHZ range with a 500nm range.

[Franziska]

Interesting, here we can see what's in the dish:

https://youtu.be/iOmdQnIlnRo

Guess that would not be too complicated to fully marinise..

[GreenWave]

Big news on this topic today from SpaceX...


https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/08/spac...-vehicles.html

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by GreenWave

Big news on this topic today from SpaceX...


https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/08/spac...-vehicles.html

Most excellent news! I just saw this elsewhere and came to CF to post it only to find you'd beaten me to the punch :-)

-David

[CaptTom]

Another step closer!

I was actually selected for the Beta, but I just couldn't justify the cost premium over my existing home internet connection.

But on the boat...

I'm dying to see what the new ESIM receivers look like.