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Old 08-24-2023, 10:15 AM   #1
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Starlink users

Trying to find starlink users to see if worth having. We're not full timers but will spend the winter 6 months in Fla, Webster City area. Plus we travel out west every summer for a month. My fiance plans to work out of motorhome. Is Starlink the most reliable out there? Pros and cons over cellular hot spots?
Thank you in advance for replying!
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Old 08-24-2023, 10:27 AM   #2
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Starlink users

We are full time. We have both cellular hotspots and starlink. We reserve starlink use for places that have poor cellular connectivity. The RV starlink service lets us pause service (and not pay monthly) for the months we don’t need it. This has worked well for us.

The FMCA AT&T hotspot is virtually unlimited, and works well (become a FMCA member and check out this service). For locations without AT&T service, we have a Visible phone (Verizon service) dedicated for a hotspot function.

You ideally want both, as the hotspots require no setup time. If you are out West (like Yellowstone, etc) you will take out the starlink, and as long as you have open sky, you will have reasonably fast internet when your neighbors will have none.
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Old 08-24-2023, 10:39 AM   #3
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Work from an RV, full-time or part-time, requires two different options for internet connectivity.

Winter - check with the park. A hard-wired connection is best if possible, hopefully fiber.

I know several parks in the lower RGV that have that option. Don't know of any in Florida.

Traveling - as mentioned StarLink is almost a requirement.

Cell companies do not increase tower capacity in anticipation of demand. They increase capacity after customer complaints. What might be great one year can be overcrowded and slow the next year.

At the park I'm in between Fort Worth and Waco, several folks are complaining because ATT and Verizon service (including the FMCA plan) took a sudden downturn in early August.

Kids started back to school on August 10. Now they are on the internet with school based apps more in the afternoons and early evening.

Cell service might be great in one location in a park and horrible in others. Cell signals are line of sight. Trees and such don't bother them, but a hill will.

Popular CG I visit in AZ has great service near the entrance at the top of the hill, and horrible service 1/3 a mile away in the valley next to the river.

Always look at a location for possible terrain interference with a cell signal.
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Old 08-24-2023, 12:30 PM   #4
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Starlink users

The farther out in the boondocks out west the better Starlink works which is what I use it for.

With most of the east coast waitlisted, I wouldn’t expect fast service in those areas with the roaming plan see pic.


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Old 08-24-2023, 01:06 PM   #5
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We got Starlink after a trip where we had almost no cell coverage and the campground wifi was a complete and utter joke (even worse than normal campground wifi)...worth every dime for us.

We both work from home, and tend to extend camping trips into the work week so being able to reliably work from our camper is crucial. We've not seen speeds less than 100 down, even testing in my own driveway.

Our last trip we both worked from (opposite ends) of our TT and zero hiccups in zoom/teams/webex meetings, don't think we had a single drop in VPN connectivity. It just works.

Also, being able to turn it off during the off season (for us mid october to early april) is a bonus, so the billing averages out to something more reasonable.
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Old 08-24-2023, 01:11 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Newmar nut View Post
Trying to find starlink users to see if worth having. We're not full timers but will spend the winter 6 months in Fla, Webster City area. Plus we travel out west every summer for a month. My fiance plans to work out of motorhome. Is Starlink the most reliable out there? Pros and cons over cellular hot spots?
Thank you in advance for replying!
We are full timers with Starlink-In-Motion. Six months in Indio, CA and six months traveling. Just finished an east coast swing where it is advertised as slower speeds. It has performed perfectly. We stream, web browse, and transfer data large files. Only heavy rainstorms have interrupted service.

Being attached to the roof means no set up and tear down at sites and no risk of it being stolen. Partial tree obstructions don't really slow it down much. At night during prime time TV watching by half of the free world sometimes results in buffering now and then.

it is worth the money for ease of use. A real full timer game changer.
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Old 08-24-2023, 03:37 PM   #7
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If you have a clear view of the sky starlink is completely reliable. No one has issue with poor signal or dropping connection... it just works. It's 100x better and more stable and reliable than cell service. Perfect for working from the RV even video calls will work fine.

The issue with starlink is speed but only sometimes as it can get congested and slowdown, but not slow enough to affect work. Just things like streaming Netflix and other things that need high speed.

Cell service is faster if you have great reception but even if you have great reception it's not reliable. Cell has latency and dropped packets all the time. It's so bad Cell phone voice doesn't even use 4g/5g but still uses 3g usually.
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Old 08-24-2023, 10:43 PM   #8
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Ok Gang,
So, not knowing much (or anything really) about this "Starlink" thing, what's the scoop on it and what kind of cost(s) are involved? Or, maybe just a link so I can look up needed info would be appreciated. Thanks
Scott
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Old 08-24-2023, 11:26 PM   #9
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Ok Gang,

So, not knowing much (or anything really) about this "Starlink" thing, what's the scoop on it and what kind of cost(s) are involved? Or, maybe just a link so I can look up needed info would be appreciated. Thanks

Scott


Heres link below to starlink roam, $150 per month service. Can pause service and only pay on monthly basis, perfect for RV.

Roam is deprioritized service meaning it can slow down in busy areas. Only works when stationary.
Hardware is $599

There is a new in motion system, I think it costs around $2500

There is also a residential plan for use at your house that costs a little less. It has prioritized ( faster) service and “supposed” to only use from home location. Of course roam will work at your house too although possibly slower speed’s depending on your location. Your in az so probably pretty fast there.

Super simple to setup. Ive had mine (roam) for about a year and its worked perfectly every time.

It runs on 120v about 400 watts but there’s aftermarket solutions to run it from 12vdc

https://www.starlink.com/roam?referr...reorder%20Page
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Old 08-26-2023, 08:32 AM   #10
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Thanks, that si a great idea to have a backup plan incase 1 doesn't work well. I never thought of that.
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Old 08-26-2023, 08:51 AM   #11
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We are full time. We have both cellular hotspots and starlink. We reserve starlink use for places that have poor cellular connectivity. The RV starlink service lets us pause service (and not pay monthly) for the months we don’t need it. This has worked well for us.

The FMCA AT&T hotspot is virtually unlimited, and works well (become a FMCA member and check out this service). For locations without AT&T service, we have a Visible phone (Verizon service) dedicated for a hotspot function.

You ideally want both, as the hotspots require no setup time. If you are out West (like Yellowstone, etc) you will take out the starlink, and as long as you have open sky, you will have reasonably fast internet when your neighbors will have none.
Just curious- how much do you pay for all that stuff? (sorry-didn't see that other post.)
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Old 08-26-2023, 08:54 AM   #12
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Just curious- how much do you pay for all that stuff?
I have In-Motion so not cheap; $2500+tax for unit, $1,000 to install (well worth it), and $150 per month when activated. Plus YouTubeTV.

We are full timers so well worth it, no hassle ever.
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Old 08-26-2023, 10:00 AM   #13
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Just curious- how much do you pay for all that stuff? (sorry-didn't see that other post.)


FMCA AT&T hot spot $59.99/month (Must be FMCA member)
Visible (Verizon) phone service plus unlimited hot spot data $25/month

Starlink (one time purchase $699). $150/month for months when you use it. $0/month when service paused.
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Old 08-26-2023, 10:14 AM   #14
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FMCA AT&T hot spot $59.99/month (Must be FMCA member)
Visible (Verizon) phone service plus unlimited hot spot data $25/month

Starlink (one time purchase $699). $150/month for months when you use it. $0/month when service paused.
Phone is cheaper but unlimited hot spots only allow high speed for a certain amount (Verizon 50mb per month per phone). Live tv burns through that fast. If cell reception poor, as most rural areas are, then phone not reliable.
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