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Mar 19

2 Comments

My Sister Mary Asks . . .

Tom… what a find!!! I’m wondering if this would work for Patty & Brad .. in Whitewater and in Waupaca ?? Is there a monthly fee or what ??
Mary

Short Answer – You betcha!

But first, Starlink is a satellite Internet service created by SpaceX and Tesla’s Wonderkind Elon Musk. His plan is to eventually offer worldwide Internet service using over 40,000 (yes, Forty Thousand) low-orbit satellites.

As of today, there are only about 1,200 Starlink satellites aloft . . . so Internet coverage is currently limited to folks living between latitudes 36.9 and 54.9 degrees. Our latitude in Mariposa, CA is 37.4 – so we “just” made it. However, as more Starlink sats are launched, this range of coverage will increase. By the way, use this link https://www.get-direction.com/address-to-lat-long.html?place=whitewater,%20wi to check your city’s latitude.

Or, just go to the Starlink web site (https://www.starlink.com) and enter your address. Be advised, you may have to try different variations of your address.

NOTE: Starlink is intended to be a rural Internet service as large cities would provide traffic congestion problems. Besides, city dwellers typically already have access to high-speed Internet service.

Cost?

The Starlink kit (Dish, power supply, router, mount, cabling) costs about $500.

Starlink Internet service is $99/month.

Starlink Internet service is Unlimited. There are currently no data caps.

Starlink Internet service is Fast. Users report speeds over 100 Mbps. Just tested my speed: 100 Mbps.

For More Information

I was going to include a bunch of links, but just Google (or YouTube) “Starlink”. There’s plenty of info out there.

Mar 19

4 Comments

Thank You, Elon Musk, for Starlink!

Starlink looks to be the high-speed Internet service rural folks like myself need.

After placing my Starlink beta test order a month ago, I received the kit today and installed it immediately. A few hours after the kit arrived, Starlink was up and running with Internet download speeds like this . . .

1st Starlink Speed Test

Here’s the poop . . .

VIDEO SUMMARY

UNBOXING

A Large Box

Wordless Instructions

MOUNTING DISHY MCFLATFACE (aka the Starlink dish)

No 2 x 4s Died in the Making of this Mount (Photo taken before the dish was plugged in)

As soon as the Starlink Router was plugged in, the dish started searching the northern sky for sats

Routing the Starlink cable through the window . . .

. . . and into the Shed

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

During setup it took several minutes for the dish to connect to the satellites. At times I thought it wasn’t going to connect because the sky was heavily overcast, it was raining, and I had set up fairly close to our house:

At first I thought Dishy might be too close to our house

Starlink Worked in our “Cluttered” Environment

My takeaway is that you need a clear view of the northern sky, but not necessarily the whole sky.

Finally, when we changed our TV streaming to Starlink, the video quality changed dramatically. We’re watching those 4K YouTube videos now. Glorious and no buffering.

WHAT’S NEXT

If after a few months Starlink continues to impress, we’ll say goodbye to the microwave Internet service (unWired Broadband). However, as long as we have the RV, we’ll keep the AT&T Mobley and Verizon Cradlepoint hot spots as we need these when we travel away from home.

Unless, of course, Elon Musk delivers on Starlink for RVs. Can’t wait.