Starlink

[rage-a-holic 4381]

18 hours ago, Captain Ron said:

Pretty much what The Verge said when they reviewed this

 

https://www.theverge.com/22435030/starlink-satellite-internet-spacex-review

 

 

I read that review last year and it wasn't exactly glorious

Quote

Once you’re all set up and plugged in, there’s not much to say. Starlink offers a moderately fast, very inconsistent broadband connection. I definitely saw speeds that exceeded the promised 100Mbps down, topping out at 222Mbps down and 24Mbps up. But my usual speeds hovered between 30 and 90 down, matching what others have reported, and the connection slowed down and dropped out with surprising frequency.

If Starlink could offer consistently fast speeds, it would be competitive with the fastest package I can get from my rural cable provider, which tops out at $200 / mo for 325 / 25 but is still not attractively priced compared to the services available in more populated areas.

In my week of testing, Starlink was perfectly fine for anything that buffers — I was able to stream Netflix and Disney Plus in 4K and jump around YouTube videos without significant issues — but doing something faster-paced, like quickly scrolling through TikTok videos, would run into delays.

Services that require a sustained, real-time connection, like Slack, Zoom, or gaming, simply weren’t usable for me, even when I was seeing the fastest speeds. I had high hopes that I could spend several days working over Starlink, and after just a few lost Slack messages and Zoom calls where my video dropped to low resolution and then froze entirely, I gave up. Many Starlink beta testers similar report experiences — consistent dropouts of a few seconds, every few minutes.

Starlink’s latency also swings from fine — Zoom did not exhibit any delay when it worked — to pretty bad. My feeling is that the connection dropouts are going to be worse for gaming than latency, so I didn’t spend any time testing gaming latency, but Starlink itself measures ping times for Counter-Strike: Go and Fortnite in its app, and I rarely saw those numbers dip below 50ms, mostly hovering around 85-115ms. Those aren’t numbers you’d want to game with, unless you like losing. (Some Starlink testers have been able to play games and even use Stadia, but that seems both inconsistent and heavily dependent on satellite coverage in your area.)

 

[RPM 26317]

34 minutes ago, rage-a-holic said:

with the fastest package I can get from my rural cable provider,

If you got cable, you ain't rural.

[Captain Ron 12869]

3 hours ago, rage-a-holic said:

I read that review last year and it wasn't exactly glorious

 

I would note, that review is relatively early in the Beta. The performance is much better since then. The reviewer also didn't have the best installation, with some obstructions in their FOV.

Speaking of that, here is my installation location, it's about 20 yards out.

 

This is up close, I staked it down for the short term. I am going to get a fence post to mount it on to elevate it about 4 feet from the ground. I do worry about the snow.

Edited February 13, 2022 by Captain Ron

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

On 2/13/2022 at 5:10 PM, Captain Ron said:

 

 

Just received notification.  I'm on the list!  Paid the $550 to ship the hardware to my home.  Super excited.  TAKE ALL MY MONEY ELON.  I WELCOME THE FUTURE.

[RPM 26317]

Same here. Got the email, paid Elon and just waiting on delivery. This is going to change everything. Good bye Centurylink, good bye DirecTv, hello streaming in 4K.

[Captain Ron 12869]

I saw this pop up and I wanted to give an update. This was great during the winter, all of the trees were bare. During the summer, this has been kind of a pain with some outages every so often. The biggest issue is that now the trees & leaves fill out the bottom portion of the sky and I get frequent outages. I am looking to raise the height of my dish, but that has become my biggest issue right now.

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

51 minutes ago, Captain Ron said:

I saw this pop up and I wanted to give an update. This was great during the winter, all of the trees were bare. During the summer, this has been kind of a pain with some outages every so often. The biggest issue is that now the trees & leaves fill out the bottom portion of the sky and I get frequent outages. I am looking to raise the height of my dish, but that has become my biggest issue right now.

Thanks for the update.  Does the Starlink app show obstruction status? 

[Captain Ron 12869]

Yeah, I recommend downloading it now so you can start to survey your area. You basically scan the sky and it scores it for you. Lets you know how your area is. Then the dish gives you a map too.

 

 

Edited June 23, 2022 by Captain Ron

[sidis 9823]

[Pato del Muerto 52485]

1 hour ago, Captain Ron said:

Yeah, I recommend downloading it now so you can start to survey your area. You basically scan the sky and it scores it for you. Lets you know how your area is. Then the dish gives you a map too.

 

 

Is this a function of the number of satellites they have in NEO right now, and would/could improve as they continue growing their array around your area?

[Sam Lin 3551]

Yes, coverage and redundancy to obstruction will improve as the constellation gets built up.

[CooterBrown 18004]

Would it make sense to put these up on an old school TV antenna pole or is that too much of a lightning strike target?

[Captain Ron 12869]

17 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Is this a function of the number of satellites they have in NEO right now, and would/could improve as they continue growing their array around your area?

In theory it should improve. I don't know how the dishes pick the satellites they use, so it's possible that nothing could change with more LEOS in orbit (E, their algorithm could say you're on a satellite even if it gets obstructed). Overall I would say TBD.

 

5 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

Would it make sense to put these up on an old school TV antenna pole or is that too much of a lightning strike target?

People have been doing this for a while now. I would not sweat it as far as lightning. The idea is get as high above the trees as you can

 

 

[Catpfish 618]

My dish is going to be delivered on Sunday (supposedly) but the pole mount and ethernet adapter that I ordered at the same time are probably going to be a couple of weeks behind that.  I'll already be charged for service before I have it up most likely.  I have a completely unobstructed sky view and am mounting this on my roof, so I shouldn't have any issues (wish I could say the same about the power drops).

 

[RPM 26317]

Same here. I can tell you right now I ain't gonna get a Sunday delivery.  Found a good spot,  but it's going to have to be on a pole and buried cable. Already made an appointment with a pro installer. 

 

[RPM 26317]

Perfect.  My internet was down when I got home.  Called CenturyLink and they were closed.  Yep, no customer service until Monday at 9am. Of course you have to go through a 5 minute phone maze before they tell you and hang up.  Jesus it's going to be sweet to dump these assholes. 

[Captain Ron 12869]

So thoughts on the service thus far?

[RPM 26317]

I'll let you know this weekend. My house is surrounded by trees so I'm getting it pro installed Friday. I'm too old and lazy to bury 100 ft of cable.

[Captainant 27637]

2 hours ago, RPM said:

I'll let you know this weekend. My house is surrounded by trees so I'm getting it pro installed Friday. I'm too old and lazy to bury 100 ft of cable.

If you're not burying it, I'd at least get some conduit or tubing to physically protect the cable from critters and accidental damage

[RPM 26317]

Just now, Captainant said:

If you're not burying it, I'd at least get some conduit or tubing to physically protect the cable from critters and accidental damage

It's getting buried in pvc conduit by a guy that does it for a living. Do it right the first time and life is easier.

[texasjacket 289]

What download speeds are actually being seen?

[RPM 26317]

Grrrrrrrr. So the installer shows up this morning (a day late), I show him where it needs to go and he asks me how long my cable is. I told him it's the 75 ft one that comes with it, but when I scheduled the install I told them I needed longer and they told me they carried them on the truck. Guess what? They don't. So now I have to order a 150 ft cable and reschedule. This better be some great fucking internet.

[chainsaw 9858]

33 minutes ago, RPM said:

Grrrrrrrr. So the installer shows up this morning (a day late), I show him where it needs to go and he asks me how long my cable is. I told him it's the 75 ft one that comes with it, but when I scheduled the install I told them I needed longer and they told me they carried them on the truck. Guess what? They don't. So now I have to order a 150 ft cable and reschedule. This better be some great fucking internet.

This is probably a game of telephone between general contractors and the lowest bidder subcontractor

[RPM 26317]

1 hour ago, chainsaw said:

This is probably a game of telephone between general contractors and the lowest bidder subcontractor

That's exactly what it is. The guy showed up in an old Ford Ranger with shit piled in the back. He was wearing a shirt from a different company and said the job was sub'd out. Honestly, I liked the guy. We were both fucked by the man.

[chainsaw 9858]

14 minutes ago, RPM said:

That's exactly what it is. The guy showed up in an old Ford Ranger with shit piled in the back. He was wearing a shirt from a different company and said the job was sub'd out. Honestly, I liked the guy. We were both fucked by the man.

Yeah if you ever ask a big box retailer to install some kind of appliance it's the same deal. They don't work for Home Depot or Sears or whatever, they just got hired by some company that has a contract with the retailer to handle the steady flow of contractor work coming from the retailer's sales.

[RPM 26317]

1 minute ago, chainsaw said:

Yeah if you ever ask a big box retailer to install some kind of appliance it's the same deal. They don't work for Home Depot or Sears or whatever, they just got hired by some company that has a contract with the retailer to handle the steady flow of contractor work coming from the retailer's sales.

Weird thing is, I thought I was dealing direct with the contractor. They were listed on Starlink's approved installer page and they are in Jacksboro. It's not like I'm in DFW and getting installer roulette. I just have to have patience, Grasshopper. But if they don't get this fixed I'm gonna choke a bitch.

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

Setting it up tomorrow.  Astros come first.

 

 

[Catpfish 618]

Speeds are pretty inconsistent about 18 hours in. Download has ranged from 63 to 142 which is still much faster than the 30 I was getting from line of sight antenna.

Upload speeds have ranged from 1.5 to about 7 with most in the 5 to 6 range which is about the same as what I was getting before.

[Captainant 27637]

47 minutes ago, Catpfish said:

Speeds are pretty inconsistent about 18 hours in. Download has ranged from 63 to 142 which is still much faster than the 30 I was getting from line of sight antenna.

Upload speeds have ranged from 1.5 to about 7 with most in the 5 to 6 range which is about the same as what I was getting before.

have you noticed many connection interruptions? I know a year or two ago as the constellation was growing, you could have intermittent disconnections due to lack of satellite coverage

[Catpfish 618]

Haven't noticed anything, but not sure I would notice brief outages. Dish mounted on top of house with no obstructions at all.

[The Royal We 3067]

I've been on the waiting list and paid my deposit pretty much as soon as it was possible (February 2021).  Some of my neighbors have it and I'm still seeing available "mid 2022" when I log into my account.  Let's go Elon, I'm desperate!

I currently pay $50/month for 5 down/1 up LOS service and I'm glad to have it.  But fuck me I'm ready for this.  Glad to hear that those of you who already have it are getting good speeds.

[CBT 1282]

29 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

I've been on the waiting list and paid my deposit pretty much as soon as it was possible (February 2021).  Some of my neighbors have it and I'm still seeing available "mid 2022" when I log into my account.  Let's go Elon, I'm desperate!

Same. Shits rigged yo.

[RPM 26317]

Of course this happens as soon as Starlink covers WiseCo. Centurylink can kiss our ass either way.

Quote

 

High-speed broadband internet service could be only months away for a majority of Wise County residents.

Wise County commissioners are expected Monday to finalize an agreement with Nextlink Internet, which would make 100 megabits per second (Mbps) broadband service available for 95 percent of households in the county. Nextlink will also provide fiber to 18 of 20 county offices and gigabit service to all county offices.

The county will provide Nextlink $1.3 million from its $13.5 million American Rescue Plan allotment to pay for two-thirds of the total $1.95 million in fiber, fixed wireless network construction. Nextlink would fund one-third of the costs and assume 100 percent of the operating costs.

“Nextlink has said they will be mobilized in 45 days of the signed agreement to make the improvements,” said Wise County Judge J.D. Clark.

The initial pact was presented to commissioners in May. Since then, the county’s counsel has been reviewing the agreement and adding performance requirements.

“We’ve been working it out with our attorney. We’ve adding performance language where if they don’t meet the 95 percent for the 100 mbps we can reclaim some of the money,” Clark explained.

Clark said the county also has separated the residential benefits in the agreement from the county fiber upgrades.

To improve service for many areas of the county, which struggle to reach 25 mbps, Nextlink will be retrofitting 30 towers in the county with new technology to increase speeds for nearly the entire county to 100 mbps for downloads and 20 mbps uploads. The proposed coverage map shows areas around the LBJ Grasslands, far east Wise County and around Lake Bridgeport that still would not be able to get the 100/20 Mbps.

The project is to be completed by Dec. 31.

Nextlink has committed to no data caps or limits in the county. The cost is expected to be around $100 for the 100/20 Mbps service.

Nextlink, based out of Hudson Oaks in Parker County, has won auctions for $281 million and $429 million from the Federal Communications Commission in recent years to upgrade rural internet service. It also invested $28 million in FCC licensed spectrum, which would bring speeds up to a gigabit to rural areas.

Nextlink is also committing to constructing fiber in new subdivisions in the county at no cost to the county or developers.

“We have island pockets of fiber. Eventually as the area keeps developing, we will be about to have the fiber grow over the wireless,” said Cameron Kilton, Chief Technology Officer for Nextlink Internet to commissioners in May.

The company is planning to open a field office in the county and add 15 personnel.

Nextlink is also participating in the FCC Affordable Connectivity Program to provide 25 Mbps service to low-income residents at no more than the $30 FCC subsidy.

 

[Captain Ron 12869]

One thing I find really weird, Surly is slow on Starlink. It’s weird. The only site this is an issue on. 

[Updawg 2266]

One thing I find really weird, Surly is slow on Starlink. It’s weird. The only site this is an issue on. 

Elon probably doesn’t like that thread that everyone is shitting on him

[Captain Ron 12869]

So I moved my dish out of necessity. As I noted I was starting to get hiccups in service, they weren't bad, but had moments. The bigger issue was that being on the ground, the dish was in the way during the summer. Mowing the lawn around the house the cable had to be moved while cutting, and I need to get the field hayed soon, that was going to be in the way, and not really something I could ask anyone haying that field to do.

So now the dish is mounted on the house. I'll know soon enough how this affects my reception. hopefully if this isn't great I can easily mount an extension on the pole and raise the dish about 3'-6' feet, we will see.

Just from the stats I am currently seeing, I am not much off what I was BEFORE moving the dish.

\

 

The old location was in this field, see post 53 for what it looked like in winter. The dish was about 4' from that pole in the field.

 

Close up of the pole. I tried using that as a mount, no luck, despite 50 lbs of concrete, it needed a stable installation, which that was not. The ground is too sloped and uneven, the result was a mild wind could easily blow over the dish.

[Pato del Muerto 52485]

On 7/8/2022 at 12:33 PM, The Royal We said:

I've been on the waiting list and paid my deposit pretty much as soon as it was possible (February 2021).  Some of my neighbors have it and I'm still seeing available "mid 2022" when I log into my account.  Let's go Elon, I'm desperate!

I currently pay $50/month for 5 down/1 up LOS service and I'm glad to have it.  But fuck me I'm ready for this.  Glad to hear that those of you who already have it are getting good speeds.

You hit enter on this post in March of 2021, didn’t you?  You can answer me after your starlink gets set up. 

[Catpfish 618]

Looks like I lost reception during a brief rain just now including pretty good wind gusts. Wasn't that heavy comparatively speaking...about a tenth of an inch in about 10-15 minutes. Still waiting for it to come back about 20 minutes after it went down

[Captain Ron 12869]

Does your fish move a lot in the wind? Because rain shouldn’t interfere with your signal. 

[Catpfish 618]

It's bolted to the chimney frame and stucco on the starlink pole adapter, so I wouldn't think it would move. Of course, I have no real way of knowing. I'm about to plug the power back in to complete a power cycle to see if that brings it back up.

[Catpfish 618]

And it's back. Very simple procedure to power cycle and let it do its thing. Might have to wait a month or longer for the next rain to see if this was an aberration or if it is that sensitive or moving, etc.

[Captain Ron 12869]

Weird.

From what I’ve read, 2nd hand not directly from SpaceX, the dish can move up to 3’ without problems to the signal.

Precipitation should never be an issue (well snow buildup can be, probably not an issue for you).

Might have been a fluke, keep us posted.

BTW- my dish move is about the same as it was before, so I’m not too worried. 

[CooterBrown 18004]

So I moved my dish out of necessity. As I noted I was starting to get hiccups in service, they weren't bad, but had moments. The bigger issue was that being on the ground, the dish was in the way during the summer. Mowing the lawn around the house the cable had to be moved while cutting, and I need to get the field hayed soon, that was going to be in the way, and not really something I could ask anyone haying that field to do.
So now the dish is mounted on the house. I'll know soon enough how this affects my reception. hopefully if this isn't great I can easily mount an extension on the pole and raise the dish about 3'-6' feet, we will see.
Just from the stats I am currently seeing, I am not much off what I was BEFORE moving the dish.
\
 
The old location was in this field, see post 53 for what it looked like in winter. The dish was about 4' from that pole in the field.

 
Close up of the pole. I tried using that as a mount, no luck, despite 50 lbs of concrete, it needed a stable installation, which that was not. The ground is too sloped and uneven, the result was a mild wind could easily blow over the dish.

Why not put it at the peak of the roof?

[Captain Ron 12869]

On 6/23/2022 at 3:36 PM, Captain Ron said:

Yeah, I recommend downloading it now so you can start to survey your area. You basically scan the sky and it scores it for you. Lets you know how your area is. Then the dish gives you a map too.

 

 

Reception has improved actually. The trees are o much lower on the map.

 

1 hour ago, CooterBrown said:

Why not put it at the peak of the roof?

lack of a ladder that would get me up there (at this location). That would be the ideal spot, without putting up a structure just for the dish. This picture was taken from where the dish was located in the ground. I would likely solve most of my reception issues.

The other thing that took a while to mount this on the house was the fact that I was hoping this was going to be temporary until I got fiber. The install is in the area, it's just how soon will they get it turned on? Now that I am almost a year in, I had to make a choice.

Plus the wife is going to shit a brick when I try to get up there, "rabble rabble ... single mother ... rabble rabble"

Edited July 11, 2022 by Captain Ron

[Captain Ron 12869]

On 2/12/2022 at 2:48 PM, Captain Ron said:

Installed today (last night wasn’t viable due to visibility) speeds are not bad.

 

One last thing - I can't match these speeds anymore. I am about half of each of these, at best now. Usually I'm around 100/15 these days on these numbers. With the expansion of users, these speeds aren't obtainable with the current infrastructure. Still, this is better than what was available, but there is a drop off.

[Captainant 27637]

35 minutes ago, Captain Ron said:

 

One last thing - I can't match these speeds anymore. I am about half of each of these, at best now. Usually I'm around 100/15 these days on these numbers. With the expansion of users, these speeds aren't obtainable with the current infrastructure. Still, this is better than what was available, but there is a drop off.

In terms of radio signal strength and overall bandwidth available over the air: hotter, more humid air dampens signal strength which increases error rate which lowers data throughput. It could be a bit of that combined with the other factors that's impacting your speed. I'll be interested to see if your performance returns to a similar level around Feb

[Captain Ron 12869]

27 minutes ago, Captainant said:

In terms of radio signal strength and overall bandwidth available over the air: hotter, more humid air dampens signal strength which increases error rate which lowers data throughput. It could be a bit of that combined with the other factors that's impacting your speed. I'll be interested to see if your performance returns to a similar level around Feb

Shit, now you have me jonsing for January again when we a string of days that didn't get above 0 F.

[RPM 26317]

Mine is going to be on a pole about 120ft North of the house. I'm surrounded by huge oak trees and it would take a massive tower to get on top. But it says excellent location North of them.

[sidis 9823]

5 hours ago, Captain Ron said:

Reception has improved actually. The trees are o much lower on the map.

 

lack of a ladder that would get me up there (at this location). That would be the ideal spot, without putting up a structure just for the dish. This picture was taken from where the dish was located in the ground. I would likely solve most of my reception issues.

The other thing that took a while to mount this on the house was the fact that I was hoping this was going to be temporary until I got fiber. The install is in the area, it's just how soon will they get it turned on? Now that I am almost a year in, I had to make a choice.

Plus the wife is going to shit a brick when I try to get up there, "rabble rabble ... single mother ... rabble rabble"

i think i see the problem.  it's the umbrella.

[Catpfish 618]

Has anyone else's speed slowed?  Mine measured at 30 down and 4 up this morning.  The speed has really been pretty crappy since I had to power cycle the dish, dropping from the 110 down range to the current 30.