Pulling the Starlink trigger

[HoughMade]

Well, I went and submitted my order. Elon Musk will be sending me a dish and router so I can get SpaceX internet in the next few weeks. The “fastest” internet I can get at home is Frontier DSL at a whopping 6 mbps down when no one else on my road is on the web, but usually closer to 3 to 4. Starlink (it’s in beta) represents 50-150 mbps....which would be like heaven. If we are going to video chat, no one else can use the internet- just an example.

It’s an investment, but with the kids doing an online charter school (even before this mess), faster internet is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.

I’ll update from time to time. I’ve been watching videos. It has a built-in heater to melt snow and automatically positions itself. No pointing and hoping like when I had satellite TV.

Starlink

High-speed internet. Available almost anywhere on Earth.

www.starlink.com

 

[Cameramonkey]

Did you read the fine print? Dont expect to see your hardware till end of Q2, to mid Q3.

I got the email too and started to buy it for work for testing, but saw that its not gonna be till potentially late summer till it ships.

 

[HoughMade]

Did you read the fine print? Dont expect to see your hardware till end of Q2, to mid Q3.

I got the email too and started to buy it for work for testing, but saw that its not gonna be till potentially late summer till it ships.

The fine print I was sent said 4 to 6 weeks. In any event, There aren’t any practical options coming any sooner (home 5G is even further out) and my need for faster internet isn’t going to change. Would be nice not to have 2 feet of snow on the ground when I mount it to the roof (eventually).

 

[hoosierdoc]

the sailing cruising community is very excited about this option when it's live

 

[Cameramonkey]

I read mid summer in the lead up to checkout and backed out. Here is hoping the info you got after the fact is accurate.

 

[JTScribe]

I didn’t realize it was available here. Cool!

 

[HoughMade]

I just ran a speed test while my wife was video chatting with our daughter. I got .96 mbps. Oof.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I just ran a speed test while my wife was video chatting with our daughter. I got .96 mbps. Oof.

if you called it 960,000bps it would sound a lot faster

 

[EPeter213]

I liked 300 bps. I could just about type that fast. LOL

 

[hoosierdoc]

I liked 300 bps. I could just about type that fast. LOL

that kind of speed would make Me baud and tired

 

[smokingman]

I pulled the trigger on starlink 2/11/2020

Crossing my fingers on asap.

I watched a youtube review of starlink the other day. He reviewed it from home AND his totally mobile RV setup(same hardware just wired into an inverter from a battery bank). He was in the White Mountains at elevation getting some amazing speeds(160-190mps) and at home averaging 100-170mps(he showed his speed tests in the video as well).

Like he pointed out you point the dish up and follow a simple setup and it works. Physical location has little to do with it,and will have less once more sats are up.

 

[tsm]

I didn’t realize it was available here. Cool!

I think the point of Starlink is that it’ll be available everywhere on the planet.

 

[JTScribe]

I think the point of Starlink is that it’ll be available everywhere on the planet.

The beta test was only open to a narrow band of latitudes; I didn't think we were far enough north.

 

[HoughMade]

The beta test was only open to a narrow band of latitudes; I didn't think we were far enough north.

Originally (early last year), it was only 44-52 degrees north, and for reference, that's about Ludington Michigan and points north. However, they are launching more satellites all the time and now have over 1,000 in orbit. All I know is that they have my address, which is between 41 and 42 degrees north, and they said it is now available in my area.

I downloaded the app which shows where the sky needs to be clear and the north side of my house will fit the bill nicely.

 

[IndyDave1776]

if you called it 960,000bps it would sound a lot faster

I was just driving 3,801,600 inches per hour!

 

[smokingman]

I was just driving 3,801,600 inches per hour!

Ever tried to drink one of those 453592400 UG sodas? Get back to me when you are ready for that challenge.

 

[femurphy77]

What was the hot set up back in the day, a 56k modem? The "kids" don't know what they're missing!

 

[femurphy77]

I was just driving 3,801,600 inches per hour!

96,560,640 mm/h.

go big or go home!

 

[HoughMade]

What was the hot set up back in the day, a 56k modem? The "kids" don't know what they're missing!

Step into the "back in my day" machine.

When I started law school, I had an Acer 486-100mhz desktop with a 14.4k modem...which was the hot setup at the time. When I got 56.6k a few years later, I thought I had reached the apex. I could watch online videos. With the 56.6k, I could download music, but a 3 minute song took something like 15-30 minutes. A 3 minute video, obviously, much, much longer.

Then I got DSL (different house, but same service)...and life changed. No tying up the phone. Could actually watch Youtube...but even then (which it still is) I am frequently down to 360p at home and never over 720. The more people online in the house (4 to 5 people...equal and greater number of devices), it gets pretty bad...but not 56.6k bad. It would be really nice to change the Netflix playback to something other than the lowest resolution which it has been on since I got it.

 

[hoosierdoc]

heck I recall like 800, 3200 baud modems, or 5600, something awful.