Starlink satellites

[DaveInDenver]

The company claims to be working on a dish for RVs. I think it would be pretty awesome to have VOIP voice and data anywhere.

Meh. When I'm out I don't want to come across some #vanlifer live streaming from the damned White Rim or some b.s. If you want to be mobile there's plenty of hot spots at coffee shops to park.


I like that there are places where you can be alone, really alone. Places where you need to be prepared.

 

[DouglasVB]

Meh. When I'm out I don't want to come across some #vanlifer live streaming from the damned White Rim or some b.s. If you want to be mobile there's plenty of hot spots at coffee shops to park.


I like that there are places where you can be alone, really alone. Places where you need to be prepared.

But there already is global coverage via the Iridium constellation... It's just expensive and slow.

 

[DaveInDenver]

But there already is global coverage via the Iridium constellation... It's just expensive and slow.

I suppose if you can call a $10,000 NEXT modem that can get you 700 kbps an option at around $5 per MB service.

The pricing model for Iridium and Globalstar are about short data bursts for those without government budgets.

 

[gungriffin]

Meh. When I'm out I don't want to come across some #vanlifer live streaming from the damned White Rim or some b.s. If you want to be mobile there's plenty of hot spots at coffee shops to park.


I like that there are places where you can be alone, really alone. Places where you need to be prepared.

That is the beauty of of this Starlink system. You can be alone with no system, or you can be not alone with a system. The system doesn't give a damn about us, barring the end of the world, it is coming.

I figure that you have a Garmin InReach. To me this is just an extension of that setup.

 

[KC Masterpiece]

Meh. When I'm out I don't want to come across some #vanlifer live streaming from the damned White Rim or some b.s. If you want to be mobile there's plenty of hot spots at coffee shops to park.


I like that there are places where you can be alone, really alone. Places where you need to be prepared.

I had not actually though about. I will loose my mind the day I am out backpacking or hiking in the middle of nowhere and run into someone posting IG videos with their satellite connection.

 

[DaveInDenver]

That is the beauty of of this Starlink system. You can be alone with no system, or you can be not alone with a system. The system doesn't give a damn about us, barring the end of the world, it is coming.

I figure that you have a Garmin InReach. To me this is just an extension of that setup.

I've had a SPOT for years, the fact of which is not lost on me. SPOT/PLB I view as a technological leap up from a flare gun. It really is just there and does pretty much nothing unless you activate it.

InReach/SPOT X being two-way I do agree is more fuzzy. It's still not quite free form duplex communication. You could be in theory prompted so in the back of your mind do you ever really let go? Maybe some people can but I'm not good at it.

Still, I don't view Starlink as the equivalent of those but rather an extension of the cell system. I personally don't carry my phone unless I'm more than a day or two away from getting back to the truck. I figure I'm either gonna figure it out for myself or punch SOS if not.

In either case having a phone or not isn't going to change anything. If I'm injured to the point I can't move it would've been SOS regardless. If I can still move I'd have to get to a high spot to make a call anyway.

I had not actually though about. I will loose my mind the day I am out backpacking or hiking in the middle of nowhere and run into someone posting IG videos with their satellite connection.

I did a couple of hikes below the rim at the Grand Canyon last year and both times after a while I kind of wanted to start slapping people walking around with f'n phones on selfie sticks. It's certainly fewer backpackers than day trippers but by no means none.

It's a check box on a list - See, look at me! - and the sooner you can get it posted the sooner you get your ego stroked with likes.

 

[nuclearlemon]

And it is just so easy to drop another tower wherever you need one that the only markets Starlink will attract will be oil/gas, shipping, and remote.

That would be me. I'm remote and in a valley where the inet companies need line of sight

I'm curious what are the actual up / down speeds people are seeing with this?

Northern wyo folks are reporting 50+

 

[ccslider]

I've had a SPOT for years, the fact of which is not lost on me. SPOT/PLB I view as a technological leap up from a flare gun. It really is just there and does pretty much nothing unless you activate it.

InReach/SPOT X being two-way I do agree is more fuzzy. It's still not quite free form duplex communication. You could be in theory prompted so in the back of your mind do you ever really let go? Maybe some people can but I'm not good at it.

Still, I don't view Starlink as the equivalent of those but rather an extension of the cell system. I personally don't carry my phone unless I'm more than a day or two away from getting back to the truck. I figure I'm either gonna figure it out for myself or punch SOS if not.

In either case having a phone or not isn't going to change anything. If I'm injured to the point I can't move it would've been SOS regardless. If I can still move I'd have to get to a high spot to make a call anyway.

I did a couple of hikes below the rim at the Grand Canyon last year and both times after a while I kind of wanted to start slapping people walking around with f'n phones on selfie sticks. It's certainly fewer backpackers than day trippers but by no means none.

It's a check box on a list - See, look at me! - and the sooner you can get it posted the sooner you get your ego stroked with likes.

They need that dopemine hit

 

[PhillyB77]

My buddy just reported his speed tests. Mind you, for the $285 ish a month I'm getting 5-6 Mbps DL and 2-3 Mbps UL out here in the boonies via Hughes. Right now Curb your Enthusiasm is lagging like a beotch because my internet SUCKS. He said he is getting 150 Mbps DL and 50 Mbps UL. I absolutely cannot wait for my system to arrive, and at $100 a month no less.

 

[ScaldedDog]

Your buddy Elon is working on it. From yesterday:

Look closely.

Mark

 

[nuclearlemon]

fedex just reported that they have delivered my stuff! internet, here i come!

 

[ScaldedDog]

For you Crosstalk Solutions fans, Chris just posted about Starlink's new Premium service.



Mark

 

[gungriffin]

It is an odd proposition for the Premium service. It is 5x the cost, but it only guarantees 2x the bandwidth. I wonder what the real world numbers will be.

 

[nuclearlemon]

I just watched this video. My second gen showed up Friday, but I was out Friday night and all day today, so tomorrow I'll see what I can do

 

[SteveH]

Solar Storm Destroys 40 New SpaceX Starlink Satellites

Most of the satellites have reportedly already re-entered the atmosphere or will do so within a week.

www.thedrive.com

 

[MonPetiteShoe]

Solar Storm Destroys 40 New SpaceX Starlink Satellites

Most of the satellites have reportedly already re-entered the atmosphere or will do so within a week.

www.thedrive.com

Das a lot of money that'll burn up in atmo. RIP.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Solar Storm Destroys 40 New SpaceX Starlink Satellites

Most of the satellites have reportedly already re-entered the atmosphere or will do so within a week.

www.thedrive.com

For space and amateur radio propagation geeks more information about it.

SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids

The way it damaged them is interesting.

"Two days before launch a CME hit Earth's magnetic field. It was not a major space weather event. In fact, the weak impact did not at first spark any remarkable geomagnetic activity. However, as Earth passed through the CME's wake, some sputtering G1-class geomagnetic storms developed. It was one of these minor storms that caught the Starlink satellites on Feb. 4th.

Geomagnetic storms heat Earth's upper atmosphere. Diaphanous tendrils of warming air literally reached up and grabbed the Starlink satellites. According to SpaceX, onboard GPS devices detected atmospheric drag increasing "up to 50 percent higher than during previous launches.""

 

[rover67]

fedex just reported that they have delivered my stuff! internet, here i come!

aaaaand?????

 

[nuclearlemon]

aaaaand?????

I'll go for the best. Stupid easy hookup

 

[mcgaskins]

I saw they released the Starlink RV kit, so I placed an order 2 days ago and it will be here Sunday! I’ve been in remote places for work for long stretches at a time, and I’m hoping this will make it so I can do that more regularly. Excited to try it out next week in the backcountry!