Test Results: Starlink on a Sailboat Underway

[BlueH2Obound]

People seem to be stretching the whole TOS debate out of shape . . . .My Starlink TOS makes NO mention of terminating my service if I use it while in motion.

The only penalty in my TOS for in motion usage is that in motion usage "may" void my warranty.

No statement that they'll turn off my service.

No mention that some shadowy figure will come to my boat in the middle of the night and steal my antenna, or cut my cable. Nothing except that it "may" void my warranty.

I've not read of any credible,first hand reports of anyone saying that Starlink refused to honor the equipment warranty because they used the system in motion.

Matter of fact, I've not heard ANY credible, first hand reports that anyone NEEDED to get equipment fixed or replaced under warranty . . . Ours has flawlessly since we got it up and running, not REQUIRING any warranty service.

So . . . . what Terms of Service (TOS) is Starlink supposed to be not enforcing? Inquiring minds really like to know.

[wholybee]

Originally Posted by BlueH2Obound

People seem to be stretching the whole TOS debate out of shape . . . .My Starlink TOS makes NO mention of terminating my service if I use it while in motion.

The only penalty in my TOS for in motion usage is that in motion usage "may" void my warranty.

No statement that they'll turn off my service.

No mention that some shadowy figure will come to my boat in the middle of the night and steal my antenna, or cut my cable. Nothing except that it "may" void my warranty.

I've not read of any credible,first hand reports of anyone saying that Starlink refused to honor the equipment warranty because they used the system in motion.

Matter of fact, I've not heard ANY credible, first hand reports that anyone NEEDED to get equipment fixed or replaced under warranty . . . Ours has flawlessly since we got it up and running, not REQUIRING any warranty service.

So . . . . what Terms of Service (TOS) is Starlink supposed to be not enforcing? Inquiring minds really like to know.

Section 3.3 copied below.

IN-MOTION USE PROHIBITED FOR UNDESIGNATED KITS AND COUNTRIES. YOU ARE PROHIBITED FROM INSTALLING OR USING A KIT ON A MOVING VEHICLE OR VESSEL UNLESS STARLINK HAS DESIGNATED YOUR SPECIFIC KIT MODEL AND/OR MOUNT FOR IN-MOTION USE AND HAS OBTAINED ALL REQUIRED IN-MOTION APPROVALS IN THE COUNTRY OF USE. SERVICES IN-MOTION ON A VEHICLE OR VESSEL (e.g., CARS, VANS, RVs, BOATS) VIA AN UNAUTHORIZED KIT OR COUNTRY IS PROHIBITED, WILL VOID THE LIMITED WARRANTY OF YOUR KIT, AND MAY BE GROUNDS FOR TERMINATION OF YOUR AGREEMENT WITH STARLINK PER SECTION 7.6 OF THESE TERMS. Visit https://www.starlink.com/specifications for a description of the Starlink Kit models designated for in-motion use.

[Chotu]

The latest news:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Starli....666667.0.html

Always with that over promising and under delivering.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Chotu

The latest news:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Starli....666667.0.html

Always with that over promising and under delivering.

OMG, only 1tb

Based on the last download I did, 1 tb of tv series is equivalent to 7222 hours of viewing.

[CaptainRivet]

I can survive on 1 TB too, no big deal and expected to come.

[rslifkin]

Even at the 1TB limit, you're not cut off, just de-prioritized like the RV service already is all the time. That's not an unreasonable thing in my mind. Cell carriers have done it for years. De-prioritize the heaviest users once they've used enough. If the network isn't too busy, they'll still get good speeds, but if it is, they'll be slow.

[wholybee]

Very few users come close to one TB, and it has a negative impact on everyone else. Fair use is just that, fair. Actually, to truly be fair, everyone would pay by the MB used, in addition to the fair use de prioritizing. So, people like me who only use Starlink 1 or 2 days per month would be substantially less than $135 per month.

Even de-prioritized you can stream on multiple sets at HD quality.

[fxykty]

We just got a Starlink RV unit on the east coast of Australia. It has the rectangular dish. We will eventually mount it on a pole on one of our sterns above the level of it boom, but for now we place it with its stand on top of the bimini or on the deck forward. It seems to prefer a S view, SW to S to SE. If the boat swings at anchor it doesn’t reposition the dish, but still seems to provide good service albeit with frequent short interruptions. Manually turning the dish towards the south takes care of that.

While sailing south 20 miles off the coast of NSW we placed the dish so that it could see to the SE. No problems and full speed signal with 10 knots boat speed.

We would have liked to get the flat high performance dish as it doesn’t need to look in any particular direction. However, it is only available for sale in the US. Does this mean that we could buy it via a US delivery service and use it in Australia? Or would it be geolocked?

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by fxykty

If the boat swings at anchor it doesn’t reposition the dish, but still seems to provide good service albeit with frequent short interruptions. Manually turning the dish towards the south takes care of that.

We would have liked to get the flat high performance dish as it doesn’t need to look in any particular direction. However, it is only available for sale in the US. Does this mean that we could buy it via a US delivery service and use it in Australia? Or would it be geolocked?

You manually turned the dish when swinging and it cured the short interruptions? interesting....
Many RVs and boaters already modified the RV dish by taking out the motors and making it flat like the "performance dish" plus mounting it flat on the roof/Bimini and it works fine.

the flat high performance will be geolocked because starlink has only the full mobile license in US....you would spend 2500$ for the flat, knowing starlink can or must control their terms and can shut you off anytime...you are not an RV...

[goboatingnow]

I really starlink need to precisely clarify the operational area and parameters it’s strikes me as bizarre that users have to « discover “ these features.

[shimari]

Originally Posted by fxykty

...

We would have liked to get the flat high performance dish as it doesn’t need to look in any particular direction. However, it is only available for sale in the US. Does this mean that we could buy it via a US delivery service and use it in Australia? Or would it be geolocked?

Originally Posted by CaptainRivet

...

the flat high performance will be geolocked because starlink has only the full mobile license in US....you would spend 2500$ for the flat, knowing starlink can or must control their terms and can shut you off anytime...you are not an RV...

The performance dish also uses 2-3X more power than the standard square dishy.

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by CaptainRivet

You manually turned the dish when swinging and it cured the short interruptions? interesting....

Many RVs and boaters already modified the RV dish by taking out the motors and making it flat like the "performance dish" plus mounting it flat on the roof/Bimini and it works fine.



the flat high performance will be geolocked because starlink has only the full mobile license in US....you would spend 2500$ for the flat, knowing starlink can or must control their terms and can shut you off anytime...you are not an RV...

To clarify, we turned the mount so that the angled dish is pointing S again, not NE after we swung. We didn’t manipulate the dish itself.

Removing the motors to make it a flat dish. OK, that sounds good, Google here I come.

Please clarify your last sentence: is it correct that the high performance dish is geolocked, so would work in the US only?

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by fxykty

... Please clarify your last sentence: is it correct that the high performance dish is geolocked, so would work in the US only?

Nobody that I've heard has said this, & I try to keep an ear out for this sort of thing. Certainly nobody on the very active "Starlink on Boats" FB group has said anything about those antennas being geolocked.

Those larger "RV" antennas are relatively new, so few are out there to experiment with. They apparently take ~40% more power to run, but they also have a wider angle of view.

[shimari]

Originally Posted by Jon Hacking

Nobody that I've heard has said this, & I try to keep an ear out for this sort of thing. Certainly nobody on the very active "Starlink on Boats" FB group has said anything about those antennas being geolocked.

Those larger "RV" antennas are relatively new, so few are out there to experiment with. They apparently take ~40% more power to run, but they also have a wider angle of view.

Steve Mitchell has a good write-up on the performance dish at Seabits.com https://seabits.com/starlink-flat-high-performance/

"I saw an average of 85 watts. That's more than 2x increase in power usage. Specifications say 110-150 watts but that likely includes the WiFi router too."

I thought about giving the performance a try, and but the increase in size and power won't work well in my situation.

[Ianau]

fxykty
As an Australian east coast user, dishy may need repositioning south due lack of birds to the North yet.


For van users and coastal sailors in the US is a different story, Starlink coverage map shows US is already smothered in birds, so a fixed upward facing panel works.


If you plan to go offshore in the Pacific or Indian oceans, may be an advantage to be able to reposition dishy, at least until there is the full constellation of birds in the sky.