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SpaceX Offers Starlink Hardware for $1 Through New Trial Offer
The company will only charge the full $599 hardware fee 30 days after a dish is first activated.
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One week of Starlink
- Thread Starter The Heretic
- Start date
Ha - didnt know we had a Starlink thread here! I was an early adopter of Starlink, i think one of the first ones in our area to get it. Because we live outside of town, there are very limited options, and at our house, which is set down in a valley overlooking a river with lots of trees, cell phone signal is spotty, which also limits any of the new cell phone broadband plans such as the T-Mobile one. Literally can drive from our house about 20 feet up the drive, and then I have perfect cell signal LOL and sigh. . .
Anyways prior to Starlink, really the only option we had was OnlineMac- the point to point service where they installed a dish on a tower and then aimed it across to a tower miles away. It worked, but was very expensive, slow, and had low data limits.
Starlink has been a lifesaver- they have had a few bumps where at one point in the Salem valley area they over sold the product, and so speeds were slow and choppy during peak service times. But now that has smoothed out tremendously with their continual increase in more satellites and updated equipment. Should only get better/faster from here. I used to be luck if I could get 10mg download- now my speeds run about 150mg consistently, and sometimes when low usage times, can spike well into the 300mgs! Which again for us is amazing. Due to trees and location, i had to mount the dish to a very tall pole, but was able to get it figured out. Now with more satellites than ever, the 'window' of open sky needed is a lot more forgiving.
It is expensive compared to some of the 'city' services, but when you have very limited options, it is very worth it. And as the other person posted, it actually takes up very little electricity- I can run it on my battery backups/solar and generator if needed with ease, and due to it being a satellite based system, my connectivity stays up when everyone else's goes down. Amazing that you can take it in the RV as well.
Lastly, I LOVE watching the SpaceX launches- still blows my mind!!
Anyways prior to Starlink, really the only option we had was OnlineMac- the point to point service where they installed a dish on a tower and then aimed it across to a tower miles away. It worked, but was very expensive, slow, and had low data limits.
Starlink has been a lifesaver- they have had a few bumps where at one point in the Salem valley area they over sold the product, and so speeds were slow and choppy during peak service times. But now that has smoothed out tremendously with their continual increase in more satellites and updated equipment. Should only get better/faster from here. I used to be luck if I could get 10mg download- now my speeds run about 150mg consistently, and sometimes when low usage times, can spike well into the 300mgs! Which again for us is amazing. Due to trees and location, i had to mount the dish to a very tall pole, but was able to get it figured out. Now with more satellites than ever, the 'window' of open sky needed is a lot more forgiving.
It is expensive compared to some of the 'city' services, but when you have very limited options, it is very worth it. And as the other person posted, it actually takes up very little electricity- I can run it on my battery backups/solar and generator if needed with ease, and due to it being a satellite based system, my connectivity stays up when everyone else's goes down. Amazing that you can take it in the RV as well.
Lastly, I LOVE watching the SpaceX launches- still blows my mind!!
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- #183
Could you place a cell booster antenna at that spot?
T-Mobile HI is a lot cheaper for similar performance.
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- #184
I like watching the landings on land - especially when there are two rockets landing at the same time - It it like watching a sci-fi movie, but with real rockets.
Starship is supposed to launch again next month.
Once SpaceX gets the new full sized satellites up in orbit, speeds should increase quite a bit.
I look forward to the new portable dishes the size of a laptop., that hopefully will be able to run on batteries.
Yeah i have researched it at length, but the other problem is that the cell companies wont allow us to sign up- they say we are 'outside of the service area' when we enter our address. If you look on the maps, no joke we are like 100 yards from service, and if i plug in the address for our nearest neighbor in that direction, which they are like a few hundred yards away, it says it is available there!! Sigh ;-)
Yeah that last Starship launch was INSANE! The camera views as it was coming back through the atmosphere literally took my breath away- watching the plasma glowing! I have made it a goal at some point in my life to witness one of those launches life. Something bigger than the Statue of Liberty, just taking off into space and then returning- just unbelievable. . . ;-)
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- #187
And now they are checking the actual locations - but I bet you could fake it. My acreage is such that if you go 100 yards in any direction you are still on my land.
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- #188
Firmware Update Suggests Starlink Mini Dish May Launch Soon
A new firmware version for existing Starlink hardware references a 'mini1_prod1,' which means the hardware is 'production-ready,' according to a systems engineer in Ukraine.
Im hoping for a 12volt starlink, so that you can run it directly off battery back up and not through an inverter. I know there are DIY tutorials out there to rewire them, but didnt want to mess up the dish. Running it off my battery backup system, i have to run the inverter, which of course is not very energy efficient. My battery back up system, a high end Bluetti, has USB-C built into the battery portion of the system, and so if you can tap into the battery reserves that way, much more efficient!Firmware Update Suggests Starlink Mini Dish May Launch Soon
A new firmware version for existing Starlink hardware references a 'mini1_prod1,' which means the hardware is 'production-ready,' according to a systems engineer in Ukraine.www.pcmag.com
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- #190
SpaceX launches more direct to cell capable Starlink satellites
SpaceX launched 20 more Starlink satellites last night from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
www.teslarati.com
Musk's Starlink satellites disrupted by major solar storm
(Reuters) -Starlink, the satellite arm of Elon Musk's SpaceX, warned on Saturday of a "degraded service" as the Earth is battered by the biggest geomagnetic storm due to solar activity in two decades. Starlink owns around 60% of the roughly 7,500 satellites orbiting Earth and is a dominant...
Yeah I saw some disruption to my service last night, but it wasnt too bad. In and out a few times. I have a friend who drives for Trimet, and he said that all their radios werent working, and traffic cameras were affected!SpaceX launches more direct to cell capable Starlink satellites
SpaceX launched 20 more Starlink satellites last night from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Musk's Starlink satellites disrupted by major solar storm
(Reuters) -Starlink, the satellite arm of Elon Musk's SpaceX, warned on Saturday of a "degraded service" as the Earth is battered by the biggest geomagnetic storm due to solar activity in two decades. Starlink owns around 60% of the roughly 7,500 satellites orbiting Earth and is a dominant...finance.yahoo.com
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- #192
SpaceX Hikes Up Price for Certain US Starlink Users, Citing Capacity
SpaceX tells US Starlink users that their monthly fees are going up from $90 to $120.
Summary: if you are paying $90 because of "limited capacity", SL is probably going to up your monthly payment to $120 because you now have "increased capacity".
In actuality, SL needs/wants the income and/or they feel they have number of users they need in that area.
Some time ago SL was offering their service in certain areas for $90/mo because there were not many users in those areas - so the $90 was incentive to get more users. They now have those users and they need the $ more than they need more users - in those areas. It is all about balancing user bandwidth and revenue.
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Still a pretty good deal though and still way better than cellular.SpaceX Hikes Up Price for Certain US Starlink Users, Citing Capacity
SpaceX tells US Starlink users that their monthly fees are going up from $90 to $120.
Summary: if you are paying $90 because of "limited capacity", SL is probably going to up your monthly payment to $120 because you now have "increased capacity".
In actuality, SL needs/wants the income and/or they feel they have number of users they need in that area.
Some time ago SL was offering their service in certain areas for $90/mo because there were not many users in those areas - so the $90 was incentive to get more users. They now have those users and they need the $ more than they need more users - in those areas. It is all about balancing user bandwidth and revenue.
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- #194
It depends on where you are.
My TMobile Home Internet seems slightly better performance for less than half the cost.
OTOH TMHI isn't available almost everywhere like Starlink.
This is my situation. Dish antennas and solar power rigs are not in my future.
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This is my view of Starlink; it is the alternative when there is no alternative. If you have access to cable or high speed cellular or basically any other terrestrial service that fits your needs then that will be the best option. Starlink is for when you need a high bandwidth service and none exist where you are at. For that it is a life saver and worth the cost. For everything else skip it.
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- #197
Pretty much.
I would add that SL is probably the best alternative when you are moving from place to place, day to day, and you are often in areas where there is zero or very little/poor service from cable/fiber/cell. E.G., you boondock with an RV and still want/need internet/phone access.
Also useful as a backup for mainstream internet access. Or wildfire fighters. That kind of stuff - where almost unlimited geographical access is more important than cost.
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- #198
I thought I would have issues with my trees, but I didn't. I set it on my deck and within 45 minutes I was up and running.
Anymore SL has so many satellites in orbit that all you really need is little more than a clear sky straight up. You might be able get the $1 deal and try it for a month to see if it works for you (assuming you don't have an alternative). You should only need about a week, if that, to know whether it will work for you.
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He has come up with an amazing product. A LOT of people fairly recently had no way to get real broadband. The old satellite option was VERY expensive and worked on par with the old dial up service. This is bringing true broadband service to a lot of people who could not get it. The way they offer it for those who travel is also very impressive. Easy to see why this guy is so wealthy.
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- #200
Starlink to Flat High-Performance Dish Buyers: No More Free Wi-Fi Router for You
A Wi-Fi router is no longer bundled with the flat high-performance dish and will now cost $250. The $2,500 dish is not getting a price cut, though.
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