Starlink Install

[hbn7hj]

I have a class B and a class C. Due to expected current draw (10 amps) and the lack of a mobile antenna the B will have to wait, if ever, for Starlink.

The C only requires an additional roof port and an antenna mount that will be attached with VHB tape. The antenna will be removed for travel. The antenna itself has a 100ft antenna lead with a connector at the end. I expect to shorten it after everything passes the smoke test but until then I am not cutting it.

The demand for a 100 degree clear field of view will be extremely limiting. The 100ft. antenna lead will certainly help in some campsites. I expect the roof mount to work in the western deserts, not so much in forested campsites.

Anyhow, I put another butt ugly roof feed through port on the C. It would be unacceptable to put such a port on a sleek fiberglass shelled B.

The C has 400AH of lithium, 210AH of FLA, 200 watts of solar and a generator. Should be enough to test it out. My service address is Moab. Can’t use it in Phoenix anyhow due to trees. I won’t get to Moab till March but may have an opportunity to give it a try in Organ Pipe National Monument or Quartzsite before then.

Starlink delivery expected 11/12-18. I’ll believe it when I see it. More at that time.

[hbn7hj]

Starlink antenna is now 19”x12”. I guess you could call it Bricky McSquareface. Details at Starlink.com.

[HarryN]

My understanding is that the Starlink system is designed to operate only within a relatively small geographical area for each user.

I don't remember the exact distance but something like within a few miles of the billing zip code.

I could be completely wrong but that was my understanding.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by HarryN

My understanding is that the Starlink system is designed to operate only within a relatively small geographical area for each user.

I don't remember the exact distance but something like within a few miles of the billing zip code.

I could be completely wrong but that was my understanding.

That was a restriction during the beta. I don't know if it has gone away post-beta. But my understanding is that it was an artificial administrative restriction, not a technical one.

[South]

I understood Starlink was allowing mobile use of satellite service. Requires following protocol consisting of registering your new location. As a new service there will be a learning curve to overcome.

[hbn7hj]

At present it is movable, not mobile, and your new location may not be open for you.

[HarryN]

Originally Posted by hbn7hj

At present it is movable, not mobile, and your new location may not be open for you.

Sounds like progress.

[hbn7hj]

Starlink Dishy arrived. Will be at the service address to try it out in a month. Am not going to try to move the service address before activation.

Will be traveling in the B. Haven’t solved the antenna cable entry problem yet. Will use open door or cracked window. Will solve the cable entry problem when or if I solve the power problem. Starlink was bought for the C.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by hbn7hj

Starlink Dishy arrived. Will be at the service address to try it out in a month. Am not going to try to move the service address before activation.

Will be traveling in the B. Haven’t solved the antenna cable entry problem yet. Will use open door or cracked window. Will solve the cable entry problem when or if I solve the power problem. Starlink was bought for the C.

Did you get the new rectangular antenna?

[hbn7hj]

Nope, it looks like you get what you ordered when you paid the $500.

[themexicandoctor]

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

I have yet to add 5G yet, would this be a compliment or an alternative?

https://www.rvtravel.com/spacex-star...pect-it-1021b/

[Davydd]

4G which I presently have is more than adequate for my needs or desires on the road and I can hotspot from my iPhone with my computer or iPad. Verizon has proven about 90% coverage this past year. 5G will be better.

[hbn7hj]

Originally Posted by themexicandoctor

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

I have yet to add 5G yet, would this be a compliment or an alternative?

https://www.rvtravel.com/spacex-star...pect-it-1021b/

Depends on where you park. I would think as a complement. (Hope I have that spelled correctly.) Driving down the road looking for a campsite would be phone only.

Verizon unlimited data costs me $20/month. I don’t foresee canceling it. Out of six months per year of traveling I spend three months with nonexistent or poor phone data service. One month in western Colorado last year was with zero phone service let alone data. Try getting a signal on Lizard Head Pass or Grand Mesa. It ain’t happening.

Moab can go either way. We are north of town and the signal, tho boosted, is weak. In the evening data features are overloaded and come and go. I don’t stream movies which probably helps

We will see how it goes and will let you know.

Park next to me and I share. That appears to be against Starlink’s “within residence” policy.

[hbn7hj]

Greetings through Starlink! Looks like 8 amps of 12 volt DC.

[hbn7hj]

As a followup it appears that Starlink is too location restricted to be of much use to wandering RVs. Hopefully things will improve in 2022.

It appears to draw up to 20 amps the first 20 minutes of operation then settles down to something closer to 8 amps. Current draw was all over the place so 8 amps is a guess.

A class B will need an enhanced battery package to make it work. I have one lithium battery that charges from a generator at 45 amps and an FLA battery. It worked well as I could run the generator when I pleased being alone on BLM land.

Function wise it worked very well. Sunday Night football streamed in with no buffering as did youtube. Setup is just give the antenna a northerly view of the sky and plug it in.

If I intended to use it in a B I would add more battery, get the new smaller antenna, and work on the antenna storage problem. This was just a short term test. It works very well.

[avanti]

Thanks for the reports. Lots of folks have been waiting for news.

[InterBlog]

Yes, thank you for this update. Please continue to post about your findings.

[hbn7hj]

Location info. Nowhere can I find that Moab, Utah, is “open” other than personal use. The requested service address was 8 miles north of town. The provided service address was 9 miles south of that. I was able to move it a mile north but no more. My parking spot was 11 miles north of town. It worked fine.

I didn’t realize till Elon’s recent announcement that a financially viable Starlink depends on a working reusable Starship that can launch 400 Starlink satellites at a time. I guess if Elon can bet a couple of billion dollars I can bet a hundred a month. Starship is not a sure thing but getting there.

My reason for getting an antenna before it becomes usable for RVs is that once it becomes usable there are 400,000 people in line. I didn’t want to be in that line. If things don’t improve I will be paying $1200 for three months use next year. I guess I have a vested interest in Starship being able to re-enter and land near Hawaii next month.

[hbn7hj]

Keep in mind that Starlink is running deeply in the red. I’m not capable of pencil whipping the facts to see if it can ever be profitable. Selling Dishys and Brickys (McSquareface) for less than cost certainly hasn’t helped. The launch costs are certainly the main driver and no one has lower launch costs than SpaceX.

It appears to me to be a correct move to limit the number of antennas to keep data speeds up adding customers as you add satellites and ground stations.

I can believe that the massive reusable launch capability of Starship is required. Achieving reentry is the next major hurdle. They have shown they can land it.

There is such a demand for the service perhaps it will survive if Starship fails. Broadband phone service is really not that far behind for most RVers.

Just a few comments to point out that Starlink may have a few bumps ahead. When you get connected it works really, really well and I’m happy to be a part of it.

[Davydd]

Starlink looks interesting if the Bricky can be mounted on the roof and folds down while traveling. However we seldom camp where we could get a signal from the air as we mostly camp in heavily wooded sites. It might be great while boondocking in parking lots while underway to a destination and nothing else to do.

We forewent a regular TV in our current van because we seldom watch TV when on the road in favor of a Winegard Rayzar Automatic antenna dome that picks up local signals or cable hookup which gathers through our internal WiFi Ranger system so we pick up signals wirelessly on our iPads. There is a free app we use called HDHomeRun. My wife and I can watch different TV channels simultaneously.