I just ordered the Starlink antenna and plan to install on my motorhome, if possible. Would love to have others that get the service to share their ideas and how they installed it. Don't know how long it will take to ship, but hopefully others that are invited to the Public Beta can come back here and share how they install the antennas in a way that is helpful for other RVers.
Please subscribe or comment to this post to come back and share your installation so others can see all the ideas and options in a more organized way.
I just finished installing 2400w of solar on roof, so one of my constraints is to try to not block the sun from those panels.
Here's hoping for solid, fast internet soon. It will still take a couple years for the constellation to mature and reach the whole US, but once it does, this should rock!
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Another request to keep us updated as some of the initial information implies that service for the public beta going on now may be geo locked to a specific service area / region.
p.s. perhaps they don't have dynamic earth station downlinks working yet, so the initial units may be set up with fixed downlink relays within a couple of hundred miles of their service address.
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2002 Safari Trek 2830 on P32 Chassis with 8.1L w/ 400 watts solar 420Ah LiFePo4
2017 Jeep Cherokee Overland & 2007 Toyota Yaris TOADs with Even Brake,
Demco Commander tow bar and Blue Ox / Roadmaster base plates
Lots to explain. I would highly recommend Googling "Starlink" to read tons of information about what is coming. If you haven't heard the nearly weekly rocket launches and landings from SpaceX, it is fun to watch some of those videos. The vast majority of their launches are for the StarLink satellites--Internet service.
I ordered this afternoon. I already got a FedEx shipping number a couple of hours later. They appear to be prepared to send all of this out quickly. I do hope others on this forum who are also joining the Public Beta and join this thread. We can all learn from each other as we get the equipment and figure out how to mount this on RV's...assuming not on a house.
Starlink provides a few mounts that are designed for a roof and could probably be adapted to an RV.
It is interesting that the ridge mount is simply designed to be held down onto the ridge by placing 80lbs of blocks on the mount. No holes is great for a roof, too. I installed all of my solar without mounting holes. I really don't want to drill to mount this as well.
It appears to come with a tripod mount for the ground to start with. This is also pretty good if you are not concerned about it walking away. When it arrives (possibly this Saturday, according to FedEx), I will see what the mounting post is like. I'm thinking about a mount to the back ladder that can be easily removed and used as the tripod for parking location where the roof is obstructed.
The invite email did state "Better than Nothing". They are lowering expectations and hopefully only getting people to purchase that are OK with Beta and glad to be involved in helping to test and launch this. With the amount of money they have spent on getting the satellites up there (one of his primary reasons for launching SpaceX), I don't see this as something that will go away in the next few months.
However, with our ability to do just about everything through the Internet today and with this eventually being capable of working anywhere...even outside of cell service areas, it could provide all forms of communication through a single service. Then $99/month doesn't look so bad.
My one concern that is not possible to answer until we try is whether or not they will care about the physical location changing. The purpose of Starlink is NOT to provide Internet for everyone in the world but to provide for underserved areas. While I would consider this remote locations I can drive in my motorhome, I don't know if Starlink sees it that way. With phased-array antennas, there is the possibility of them having a better idea of where I am located...perhaps almost exactly where I am. It will be a question to answer as to whether they will allow me to have service when not at my home.
For those interested in the terms and conditions. I've summarized below.
Residential Use only (also mentions for use at the location specified...will see if they care about it wandering on the road or not)
They transfer title of all equipment (which means you can do whatever you want with it...even sell it)
I've downloaded the app for it. Looks like the phone will be used for setup and installation.
$99/month begin 14 days after the kit is shipped. Appears to be sent quickly. Should get more than a week "free" before they start billing
You are responsible to install...of course, no professional installation services available yet.
SpaceX has the right to change or cancel service at any time.
You can stop and cancel at any time (you won't get a refund after 30 days). Full refund except on shipping.
Warranty: return/replace or partial refund (straight-line depreciation) within 12 months.
Cool. I signed up for beta testing a few months ago. Hopefully I get my number called soon...
I did sign up in two locations I have. Both are in the same city, but one is more rural. I got the invitation only for the rural address and not the suburban address. We are in far northwest Montana, which is a sweet-spot for their initial offering and service in the US. Canada actually has better coverage.
It appears to start with that they may only be offering for location they feel they can initially cover and for addresses that are slightly outside of service for cable or other highspeed services. I'm sure they have some formula for this.
For those that may be interested in watching the StarLink sats expand over the sky, this site is the place to watch. You can see how the paths of the satellites unfold and when they are passing overhead. This is live tracking and automatically updates and moves. Watching them move is mesmerizing.
You can see how a band across the northern US has two red lines showing the region of service at this time. My assumption is that they will add more bands or expand the current one. A recent article I read said that they will be providing service for some remote schools in Texas, which could be a separate "channel" of satellites focusing on a new path.
When you see large yellow streaks of satellites, those are the more recently launched packages (last couple weeks to a month or so?). They send up 60 at a time, and they naturally spring apart from each other and then have ion thrusters to get their position set. Takes a while for them to separate and then find their exact orbit.
Ground stations (where the satellites connect back to earth for the Internet) are listed in the top right corner and show on the maps with yellow dots. Not many of them yet, by tons planned around the planet.
The satellites on the map with a white dot are in DAYLIGHT. Red dots are in DARKNESS. The circles show the approximate "visible" radius...about 45 degrees. This accounts for the different radius of circles as they slowly ascend to reach their operational altitude (which expands their circle)....or descend as they all have about a 5-year life-cycle before they burn up during re-entry.
Linear Mode
