The Official, Super Deluxe, Mega BS Starlink Thread

I wouldn’t think that’s the case at this point. SpaceX is still building the satellite net and there’s still a lot of variation in coverage now.

 

I'd agree that there probably aren't a LOT of users per ground station yet. I also don't think it has to do with satellite coverage; your Dishy is either "talking" to one or more satellites or it isn't. There would be no variation in speed from each satellite (unless of course there really ARE enough users already to be crowding the network.)

Just speculating here, but I think the speed variation has more to do with the ground network, such as what server is being pinged for the test and what route the signal is going through to get to it. I see variations in the test results on my DSL connection as is. You'd think that the various speed test apps available would somehow use programming to ensure test results are consistent, as in always using the same server and route, but I have no idea whether this is the case. Sometimes when I run Speedtest.net, it will start out with a message "Finding server..."

My $.02 worth...

 

Ground stations, and weather, are always going to be the weak links in a satellite system.. including this one. Especially in the early rush to get up and running. No one wants to add another ground station.. they're expensive, and this one is world-wide in scope. There's enough money behind Starlink to eliminate this bottleneck and overtake the few providers who aren't interested or don't have the resources, or whatever excuse they tell their shareholders.

3/11/21.. Yet another 60 satellites launched this morning! Saw it on the Columbus OH morning news Channel 6. Was just a blurb, maybe Starlink asked them to announce it?
Columbus is 39.98N lat., I'm at 39.22N. I could easily hit that sat. As soon as they get them on station, I'll be checking my dishy app!

 

I keep checking my address and getting told there is no coverage in my area...

 

Came across this interesting page (hope it wasn't from someone here ) https://satellitemap.space/#
Haven't quite figured out how to interpret it.

 

Shows the live positions of the setelites, and their approx coverage area.

 

So do the red lines from your home location to one or more satellites mean your Dishy is communicating with them? And no lines would mean no communication?

If that's the case, then the "short periods" of no service would be way more for me than what I've read others are experiencing. Guess I just need to be patient until SpaceX has more satellites uver this way.

 

Damn, that is significant. Was it on 6, 8, or 10?

 

Speeds have yet to improve back to what I originally saw. I tried moving the dish back to the middle of the yard to see if that was the difference but no joy. This weekend is supposed to be a good snow storm so I'll get to see how well the dish keeps itself clear. My replacement router still hasn't shipped so I don't have access to all the extra network data that provides.

 

This is the kind of chit you never hear about when you sign up. Customer service will make or break a business. I'm sure Elon knows this. I hope it resolves quickly.. otherwise, I may just cash out. They say patience is a virtue.. I wouldn't know.

 

^ x2 @crazysccrmd .

Thanks for posting that link @KactusJack .
Fascinating to watch and like you said above, gives a sense of gaps in service.

 

The replacement router shipped today. Speeds are still quite variable. From watching the satellite tracker it looks like there's generally only one satellite overhead at a time compared to further north where there are many providing overlapping coverage.

 

Thanks for keeping us updated

When you say “only one satellite” on the tracker, do you mean one satellite with a red line to your home?

 

There are a few that show lines but usually only one that has the coverage ring extending over my house.

 

Thanks

I’m asking for selfish reasons. I periodically check the website and see multiple lines to my house. Only a couple of times with none. Also, the nearest ground station is under 100 miles to my home as the crow flies.

All this makes me hopeful Starlink, given a few more launches, will be what I hope.

 

Cool read. Also cool to know that these things are geofenced. I dread the day when overlanders start bringing satellite dishes with them

So does that website only track Starlink sats, or does it track other stuff too? Im surprised to see so many of them scattered about. I thought they were mostly grouped together in lines

I mean those are still really good numbers..

 

I have been considering StarLink, when it becomes available in my area (northern California). I am in a fairly rural area, traditional providers all around... just not on my street. My in-laws live literally 5.2 miles away, even further out from "town", and they have had Comcast cable internet for 20+ years. I naturally assumed we could get Comcast (Xfinity) here when my wife and I bought this place in early 2019. Called Comcast to order.... they said "Not enough people on your street, it would cost $200,000 to bring cabling to your house." Thus ended that option.

Only thing we can get at our house is wireless. So far, in the last 3 years we have tried the following:

HughesNet satellite. ~$90/month. Extreme latency due to physical distance earth-satellite-earth. At best, 12 - 15 Mpbs downstream, but was so bad we could never stream anything on TV due to the latency. Worst thing is that they lie in their adds regarding "no data caps". BS...... we had the 20GB/month plan... for $90/month. When you hit that 20GB, you're done. Unless you buy extra "data tokens" at another $15/5 GB of data. Cost me a bit to get out of the contract early, but the service was basically un-usable for us.

A local wireless internet company called Cal.net. $75/month. Best we could get was 3 - 6 Mbps down. Essentially no latency (compared to satellite), but it was enough to stream movies/TV 90% of the time, and for me to work from home this last Covid year, and I use Zoom heavily for my work. No data caps. Worst downside - they don't have backup generators on their towers, so when my local power company (PG&E) has those b/s "public safety power shutoffs", I had no internet and had to hotspot off my mobile phone for work those days.

T-Mobile "Internet At Home". Also a wireless deal, essentially same concept as using your mobile phone as a WiFi hotspot. You get a T-Mobile wireless router from them, place it anywhere, it connects to the T-Mobile data network (only 4G LTE available in my area, no 5G for alooooong time), and then you connect your devices to it via WiFi. I see anywhere from 8 - 15 Mbps, even though T-Mobile claimed when I called to ask about the service, they will only sell it to you if they are 100% certain you will get a minimum of 25Mbps. No data caps, and it has been quite reliable over the last 5 months we have had it so far. When we have lost power, since this device plugs into any 110V outlet, our house [portable] generator powers it up and I still have internet and can keep working. Cost is only $50/month, and no contract, so I can cancel at any time.

The big sticking point for me with regards to StarLink is: for twice the price I pay now, will I reliably get 50Mbps or better all the time, as they claim.... and will the latency be low enough that streaming and other sensitive internet activities be negatively affected by the latency to their satellites? And Yes, I know they are much lower earth orbit than traditional satellites, like HughesNet, so it will be much less, but still much worse than land based internet.

I will wait until a fair number of people actually get StarLink, and have had it for a few months to be able to have a sizeable pool of historical data to show what the service will really be like in the long run.

 

@BarcelonaTom67 Latency has been averaging about 35ms and I can stream HD video and play multiplayer online games like call of duty.