Test Results: Starlink on a Sailboat Underway

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by Ianau

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

Ianau, the birds are NOT geostationary. They're orbiting the Earth about every 90 minutes. There are as many in the northern hemisphere as there are in the southern. The orbital inclination of most of the birds is 53°, so there are very few above that latitude, but elsewhere there are about the same number everywhere. Specifically, there are about 4-5 within Dishy's cone of operation at any given time if it's pointed straight up.

I suspect (but it's only an educated guess) that the reason Dishy tends to orient away from the equator is that it shares some of the frequencies used by the geostationary birds, so if it directed its beam towards them it would interfere with their operation. But that's already handled in SW, so not strictly needed any more.

[Ianau]

I know that the chains are orbiting.

This map shows the chains that Australia accesses. You will see that the blue chain is what op is mainly using. Due North from SE coast is a long way to red chain.

[Tenedos]

Originally Posted by fxykty

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.

You also can try to disable the motors and force it to point straight up without going for a more power hungry "performance" dish.

We use two dishes, one has its motors disabled. I compared their performances extensively at anchor and underway, see "How Does Starlink Perform When Motors Are Disabled?".

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by Ianau

I know that the chains are orbiting. This map shows the chains that Australia accesses. You will see that the blue chain is what op is mainly using. Due North from SE coast is a long way to red chain.

Ianau, I'm not sure where you got that map, but I don't think it's very representative of reality. I think the orbits are constantly precessing, not fixed over just certain parts of the Earth.

You might want to check out https://starlink.sx/. Go there only with a real computer, as the site is very resource intensive, & not at all mobile friendly.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by flightlead404

If starlink licensed them as a reseller and let them dip their beaks it would help too

Currently, they are having to limit residential units due to system limitations. They have people on a waiting list.

There's no reason to let them "dip their beaks".

Taking over the urban areas will likely remain a challenge even with thousands of satellites. The demand simply will exceed the available bandwidth.

But in rural areas where the cost to provide landline service is high, expect it to be like phones where cell service has largely replaced landline because it's cheaper to provide.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Once they secure enough country by country licences I’m sure they may offer roaming plans but at what cost.

They already offer roaming by continent. I'm sure if there is a significant cost difference by continent, they may include a surcharge but if covered in the country, I see no reason, they would want to shut you down and stop collecting their monthly fee.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

If the dishy motors are so unnecessary if seems , why are they there.

It's intended as an idiot proof system. You stick the dish out and if figures things out.

The biggest issue was licensing for mobile applications (mobile not using in different areas).

As far as expecting more, right now, they can't keep up with demand, so there is little pressure to lock themselves in to very specific terms of service.

Might have learned from the cell companies that offered detailed TOS with unlimited plans back when no one used their cell for internet and speeds were like 1200baud...and you would up with people on the cheap unlimited plan for 20-30yrs.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

They already offer roaming by continent. I'm sure if there is a significant cost difference by continent, they may include a surcharge but if covered in the country, I see no reason, they would want to shut you down and stop collecting their monthly fee.

The issue will probably boil down to country licensing issues what’s really needed is the type of EU wide agreements that revolutionised EU data roaming albeit by dragging the operators along screaming. A continent wide agreement would streamline things of course there are powerful vested interests lined up

Musk strategy must be low cost because the key is reach followed by dependency. If it remains niche it will be ignored by regulatory as a rich man’s plaything

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by Tenedos

You also can try to disable the motors and force it to point straight up without going for a more power hungry "performance" dish.

We use two dishes, one has its motors disabled. I compared their performances extensively at anchor and underway, see "How Does Starlink Perform When Motors Are Disabled?".

Wow, your blog is great. Regarding mounting it looks like you’ve got them on poles. Did you get the pole adapter for them?

Australia has a half price deal for Starlink hardware so I’m thinking of getting a second dish. Since I’ve got a wind generator on one side I would mount the two disheys side by side on the other side.

Did you buy the Starlink Ethernet adapter or if not how do you bypass the Starlink wifi adapter?

12V power would be nice, though we don’t have a shortage of 230V power as we leave our big inverter on 24/7.

If all this is explained in other posts on your blog then my apologies, I still need to spend some time there. Thanks very much!

[Bruce K]

Originally Posted by fxykty

Wow, your blog is great. Regarding mounting it looks like you’ve got them on poles. Did you get the pole adapter for them?

Australia has a half price deal for Starlink hardware so I’m thinking of getting a second dish. Since I’ve got a wind generator on one side I would mount the two disheys side by side on the other side.

Did you buy the Starlink Ethernet adapter or if not how do you bypass the Starlink wifi adapter?

12V power would be nice, though we don’t have a shortage of 230V power as we leave our big inverter on 24/7.

If all this is explained in other posts on your blog then my apologies, I still need to spend some time there. Thanks very much!

I tried to get a second dish, but was told the only way was with a second subscription. Seems your Starlink service is for one dish only.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

The issue will probably boil down to country licensing issues what’s really needed is the type of EU wide agreements that revolutionised EU data roaming albeit by dragging the operators along screaming. A continent wide agreement would streamline things of course there are powerful vested interests lined up

Musk strategy must be low cost because the key is reach followed by dependency. If it remains niche it will be ignored by regulatory as a rich man’s plaything

Most users could care less about roaming as they are stationary users with a system permanently installed at home/business. This is different from cell service.

Most RV'ers never leave their continent and continental roaming is already allowed, at least in N. America, Europe and Austrailia. Africa, Asia and S. America all have limited coverage at this time.

Long range cruisers are such a small number, I doubt anyone will care one way or the other. At worst, you may have to do an address change and pay the local rate. Assuming they have your data on file, the normal taking a copy of your passport and recording your info can be automated.

It really is a different scenario from cell phones where your average user would never dream of leaving their cell at home when they travel but outside a tiny number of very specialized users, intercontinental roaming is just not happening. Travel cases for RV use are the size of a suitcase, so not many will fly with the unit.

If they get the direct to cell phone coverage working, that might be a different matter but my understanding is it's more of a piggyback on top of your normal cell plan (ie: the phone will only try the satellite if it can't reach a cell tower). So again, those who would use the feature will be few and far between and the cell contract roaming would likely detail all that.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Tenedos

You also can try to disable the motors and force it to point straight up without going for a more power hungry "performance" dish.

We use two dishes, one has its motors disabled. I compared their performances extensively at anchor and underway, see "How Does Starlink Perform When Motors Are Disabled?".

I find it amusing that some have butchered their units to make them point up whereas ours has done it by itself.
Been over a week now

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

I find it amusing that some have butchered their units to make them point up whereas ours has done it by itself.
Been over a week now

Butchered means flat that’s the aim…I can mount the flat one underneath the roof of my soft enclosure full Bimini where it’s a)permanently protected from the elements B) very easy to Route cable and c) mounting costs below 30Euro.
On a pole like yours cabling through half of cat a pita nightmare, pole is minimum 500Euro plus a lot work and it’s out in the elements…

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by fxykty

Wow, your blog is great. Regarding mounting it looks like you’ve got them on poles. Did you get the pole adapter for them?

Australia has a half price deal for Starlink hardware so I’m thinking of getting a second dish. Since I’ve got a wind generator on one side I would mount the two disheys side by side on the other side.

Did you buy the Starlink Ethernet adapter or if not how do you bypass the Starlink wifi adapter?

12V power would be nice, though we don’t have a shortage of 230V power as we leave our big inverter on 24/7.

If all this is explained in other posts on your blog then my apologies, I still need to spend some time there. Thanks very much!

It’s not the inverter power, it’s the total additional AH consumption over a day…can your energy balance cover that additionally? Sure if you are on a genny, run it more often

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by Tenedos

You also can try to disable the motors and force it to point straight up without going for a more power hungry "performance" dish.

We use two dishes, one has its motors disabled. I compared their performances extensively at anchor and underway, see "How Does Starlink Perform When Motors Are Disabled?".

That’s a huge bunch of very helpful information on your blog. Thank you. That’s a stainless steel massacre for the solar panels but with 2 dishy plus 2 full working with video conferencing you have no other choice then slam on every bit of solar that fits or run a gen very often.
Surprised you have a mono, how do you work in a rolly anchorage?

Confirmed me to order dishy and modify it…
Dishy run….dish slaughterer is approaching
Well in worst case I get a 2nd one…