Test Results: Starlink on a Sailboat Underway

[Seafarer7]

Originally Posted by Donnybrook

Seafarer--What's your observed power consumption? Do you consider it low enough to leave on all the time like a fridge or do you turn it on only when you need to access the internet?

It draws about 40 watts or 3.5 amps on the 12v DC circuit. Relatively this is low enough to leave on all the time, but that depends on how it’s connected. When connected via the main 3000watt “whole boat” inverter (which itself has a 40 watt “standby” overhead), total draw is considerable = 7 - 8 amps total. However when powered by one of the mini (150 - 300w) inverters, the overhead is low (extra 4 watts), total draw is only 4 amps, which is no problem for all day using with the 1.3KW solar array + 1500 Ah battery bank. I would leave it on all day/night with the mini inverter.

[Simi 60]

Exciting stuff

[toddster8]

Well rats. I passed up my chance to get in on the Starlink "beta," as I couldn't really justify the cost at the time. But now that I'm imminently moving aboard, there appears to be quite a waitlist. I tried inputting several likely addresses around PNW and get:

"Starlink is currently at capacity in your area, so your order may not be fulfilled until 2023 or later."

Currently costs $99 to get on the waitlist. Pays to plan ahead, I guess.

[Simi 60]

I'm a bit confused
I just looked at a map "coverage in your area " and it seems there is none, I am in the black zone.
But looking at the satellite page they are buzzing around everywhere.

[Seafarer7]

Simi60:
The reasons for the large swarths of no coverage areas, I would guess, include regulatory & licensing requirements (ie country specific licensing), and the need for establishing ground stations in those areas : given the set of satellites that don’t have or yet use laser interconnects.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Seafarer7

Simi60:
The reasons for the large swarths of no coverage areas, I would guess, include regulatory & licensing requirements (ie country specific licensing), and the need for establishing ground stations in those areas : given the set of satellites that don’t have or yet use laser interconnects.

But how does ground stations help at sea?
Real sea, not 10klm off the coast, might as well stick with mobile like we use now if it's only a coastal thing.

Interesting or worrying that that actual map does not show sea coverage either.

[Simi 60]

Google's madly for information, finds this
Oh goody

Replying to
@elonmusk

@SpaceX
and 6 others
My parents are about to travel the earth by boat and it would be great if they could use Starlink for their voyage!

Elon Musk
@elonmusk
·
Nov 13, 2021
Replying to
@SpaceIntellige3

@SpaceX
and 6 others
Should work everywhere for global maritime by roughly middle of next year (enough sats with laser links launched). Until then, it will be patchy when far from land

https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesm...FfecqoERd766IM

[toddster8]

As the network grows, they'll still need to add a proportional number of ground stations (or capacity) to maintain service. Though you may be able to skip from satellite to satellite to reach one from mid-ocean, the latency will increase. And they will have to turn off geofencing of course.

But I plan to mostly be coastal for the next couple of years so it seems like a reasonable thing to try.

I saw a news article last week saying that they've signed up some airlines for in-flight use. Not necessarily intercontinental though.

[Simi 60]

Joined a FB site, starlink on boats.
Seems to be geofenced
Users on commercial vessels reckon it works fine until they cross a line 12nm out then it's gone.

I can pretty much get 12nm out on mobile in Oz

[czarkbrooks]

I'm seeing 8-10 amps (via renogy inverter).
I have one of the early beta dishy units.
That's too much for me to leave on all night >_<

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Joined a FB site, starlink on boats.
Seems to be geofenced
Users on commercial vessels reckon it works fine until they cross a line 12nm out then it's gone.

I can pretty much get 12nm out on mobile in Oz

What kind of mobile setup do you have to get that? I would love to get any mobile at all out to 12 nm, let alone reliable high speed internet!

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by redneckrob

What kind of mobile setup do you have to get that? I would love to get any mobile at all out to 12 nm, let alone reliable high speed internet!

It'll depend on the cell coverage in your area, but I've had no problem getting good enough signal for good performance 6 - 8 nm out with the Pepwave Max Transit LTE router I've got on my boat. And that's just with it mounted in an upper corner of the salon using the included antennas (which are still a lot bigger than the antennas in a cell phone).


With higher gain external antennas mounted outside, 12nm isn't surprising at all (and even my setup might make 12nm in a good signal area, I haven't had the boat that far out since I put the router in). I've heard mentions of the practical limit being somewhere around 18 - 20nm offshore (of course it'll be less in areas with poor cell coverage near the shoreline).

[sailorboy1]

This Starlink type system is going to be the model soon.

5.5 years ago I was mostly using a wifi booster system to get crappy internet. If you had told me then that 2 years later I wouldn't even turn on that booster and instead use my cell phone and it would be faster etc. I would have thought you crazy.

So the faster the early adopters get the systems to drive down the cost the sooner the rest of us benefit.

[Hermia II]

I wonder if we have missed something here. Starlinks satellites are not like Iridium or Inmarsat. They are dumb, meaning they must see the user AND a land station at the same time (traffic is only "bounced off" the satellite. They are also low orbit, so chances at this point in time are that the system is not for ocean sailing.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Hermia II

I wonder if we have missed something here. Starlinks satellites are not like Iridium or Inmarsat. They are dumb, meaning they must see the user AND a land station at the same time (traffic is only "bounced off" the satellite. They are also low orbit, so chances at this point in time are that the system is not for ocean sailing.

They've started launching satellites with laser interconnects to eliminate that limitation. Not every Starlink satellite up there has that yet though (and they don't have the full complement of satellites up either), hence why there are still significant geographic limitations.