Satellite internet

[Jangle2]

We will be heading out for a few weeks at a time. Internet, wi-fi issues have been problematic depending on where we are and what we are doing, watching minimal tv is the worst. Checking out satellite options like Firewifi and Starlink. Any suggestions, anyone use either? Pros and cons?

 

[MoonShadow_1911]

We will be heading out for a few weeks at a time. Internet, wi-fi issues have been problematic depending on where we are and what we are doing, watching minimal tv is the worst. Checking out satellite options like Firewifi and Starlink. Any suggestions, anyone use either? Pros and cons?

Starlink RV service allows you to pause it when you are not using it. However it's a $600.00 investment and a $135.00 a month commitment.

Also, speeds vary wildly.

I have no experience (or knowledge) with Firewifi.

 

[Shredder]

Maybe it was an anomaly but …last summer i stayed at a campground with horrible wifi. I used a hotspot from my Verizon phone to watch tv off of my Google Chromecast. My neighbor in the campground had Starlink and when I asked about it he wasn’t too happy. When we did a speedtest I had very slightly better download speeds off of my phone hotspot. That doesn’t seem right but it was what it was. Maybe just that area at that time but??…. I have no other 1st hand knowledge but looking into wifi options too.

 

[MoonShadow_1911]

Maybe it was an anomaly but …last summer i stayed at a campground with horrible wifi. I used a hotspot from my Verizon phone to watch tv off of my Google Chromecast. My neighbor in the campground had Starlink and when I asked about it he wasn’t too happy. When we did a speedtest I had very slightly better download speeds off of my phone hotspot. That doesn’t seem right but it was what it was. Maybe just that area at that time but??…. I have no other 1st hand knowledge but looking into wifi options too.

Yes, Starlink can be like that. RV users are deprioritized.

 

[geotex1]

Maybe it was an anomaly but …last summer i stayed at a campground with horrible wifi. I used a hotspot from my Verizon phone to watch tv off of my Google Chromecast. My neighbor in the campground had Starlink and when I asked about it he wasn’t too happy. When we did a speedtest I had very slightly better download speeds off of my phone hotspot. That doesn’t seem right but it was what it was. Maybe just that area at that time but??…. I have no other 1st hand knowledge but looking into wifi options too.

This is for the obsessed - speed testing that is. Fact of matter, you really don't need obscene rates, to get what you need done. I have Starlink and have for a long while now. Happy with every aspect except the price! Musk needs to reduce it like he's done for the majority of users outside the US. You do have to be able to have a clear line of sight to sky. I have a fix mount on our ladder, the original carry out mount, and a telescoping mount of my fabrication. Between this and some homework for site selection and no problems!

I can only imagine your neighbor, if not just speed obsessed, could have been on the fringe of an active cell - plenty of area still not covered.

 

[Rabbit]

One overlooked aspect of WiFi that’s overlooked when considering services is bandwidth. You can have a blazing fast service that occasionally causes buffering or tileing because an unusually large number of devices are trying to download at once, exceeding the bandwidth. Often happens at peak usage times when people are most likely to be using their devices. A less “popular” service that’s slower might actually outperform the “blazing” service at such times. Bottom line is there’s no perfect WiFi solution.

 

[Jangle2]

Starlink RV service allows you to pause it when you are not using it. However it's a $600.00 investment and a $135.00 a month commitment.

Also, speeds vary wildly.

I have no experience (or knowledge) with Firewifi.

Thank you for the input. We’ve never heard of Firewifi either, just random searching as we are planning about a month out.

 

[Jangle2]

Maybe it was an anomaly but …last summer i stayed at a campground with horrible wifi. I used a hotspot from my Verizon phone to watch tv off of my Google Chromecast. My neighbor in the campground had Starlink and when I asked about it he wasn’t too happy. When we did a speedtest I had very slightly better download speeds off of my phone hotspot. That doesn’t seem right but it was what it was. Maybe just that area at that time but??…. I have no other 1st hand knowledge but looking into wifi options too.

We have used our Verizon hotspot and it can work. But, if I have to do any work and be in an off grid type place I need to know I can get on. Let me know if you find anything out there [emoji4]

 

[Jangle2]

Yes, Starlink can be like that. RV users are deprioritized.

Well we need to speak out to Mr Musk it appears [emoji6]

 

[MoonShadow_1911]

Well we need to speak out to Mr Musk it appears [emoji6]

When initially offered, it wasn't deprioritized, then about 4 months in, they released a new T&C that started the deprioritization and calling the speeds to 100 MBPS down and 15 MBPS up.

 

[MoonShadow_1911]

This is the store on Starlink that I'm getting this morning in central Florida:

 

[llr2800]

One overlooked aspect of WiFi that’s overlooked when considering services is bandwidth. You can have a blazing fast service that occasionally causes buffering or tileing because an unusually large number of devices are trying to download at once, exceeding the bandwidth. Often happens at peak usage times when people are most likely to be using their devices. A less “popular” service that’s slower might actually outperform the “blazing” service at such times. Bottom line is there’s no perfect WiFi solution.

Not just WiFi, I have gotten this in a few places with cell hotspots too. I am seriously thinking about starlink but you probably need a cell backup, at least if you are working from the camper.

 

[ACMEhere]

We received the RV Startlink in August. We ran it off and on for a few weeks and were charged for Sept. Towards the end of September we stowed the antenna and stored it in the 5th Wheel intending to use it in December for our trip to Quartzsite. We paid zero money for October and November. We restarted our subscription in December.
I can say we've had zero problems with Starlink since our arrival. There are days when I randomly do a speed test just because...and we are down around the 5 or 6 Mbps but have normally had zero trouble surfing the web with my laptop while also streaming a movie or the Missus Soapie, so I really don't pay attention to Starlink speedtest or a third party test.
As a note, just this evening we lost all internet for about 3-4 minutes, total blackout, but service has been restored and all is good. Only time this has happened since December. Quartzsite is getting very busy so hopefully this does not become a repeating problem.

 

[Sportsdad60]

We went to Starlink RV in Oct intending to use it when we winter in South Texas. Other than one outage for roughly the same time as ACME had, and I'll bet it was the same outage.

We love it.

 

[goducks14]

For you Starlink users are the sats more straight up in the sky? I see a few Starlink dishes pointing fairly straight up vs a lower angle like on a Dish sat.

And is it possible to use both a tv and internet at the same time? Or basically how much activity is possible with one?

Also right now it's not available where I live but since I can get the RV version could I still use it at my home then take it out camping?

 

[MoonShadow_1911]

For you Starlink users are the sats more straight up in the sky? I see a few Starlink dishes pointing fairly straight up vs a lower angle like on a Dish sat.

And is it possible to use both a tv and internet at the same time? Or basically how much activity is possible with one?

Also right now it's not available where I live but since I can get the RV version could I still use it at my home then take it out camping?

North, primarily. The satellites traverse from East to West in the Northern part of the sky for the country's southern latitudes.

 

[geotex1]

For you Starlink users are the sats more straight up in the sky? I see a few Starlink dishes pointing fairly straight up vs a lower angle like on a Dish sat.

And is it possible to use both a tv and internet at the same time? Or basically how much activity is possible with one?

Also right now it's not available where I live but since I can get the RV version could I still use it at my home then take it out camping?

The angle will depend from where one is, but Dishy needs face North for optimum. This will change a bit as the mesh continues to density.

It's not either/or at all. We've had two TVs streaming, four phones, and two laptops running off ours while camping. Ours is a residential subscription with portability added so the lower prioritization when traveling.

 

[JM0397]

If you can get Starlink home service, the pro hack is to get home service, and then have the mobility service added on top of that. IIRC, it's like another $15/month fee, maybe $25? Anyway, then you are NOT deprioritized, even when on the road.
The issue here is whether or not home service is turned on yet in your area.

For a very nice option, check out Visible wireless. That's Verizon's discount subsidiary. You can get an inexpensive smart phone and hotspot that, with (mostly) unlimited data for flat rate of $25/month. I used mine for a few days last month, when my Verizon mifi device ran out of data. The phones limit you to one connection per phone, but no big deal to add a small wireless router to get around that issue.

 

[geotex1]

If you can get Starlink home service, the pro hack is to get home service, and then have the mobility service added on top of that. IIRC, it's like another $15/month fee, maybe $25? Anyway, then you are NOT deprioritized, even when on the road.
The issue here is whether or not home service is turned on yet in your area.

For a very nice option, check out Visible wireless. That's Verizon's discount subsidiary. You can get an inexpensive smart phone and hotspot that, with (mostly) unlimited data for flat rate of $25/month. I used mine for a few days last month, when my Verizon mifi device ran out of data. The phones limit you to one connection per phone, but no big deal to add a small wireless router to get around that issue.

Unfortunately, that's not been true since about 3 mos after rolling out mobility. If you have a residential with mobility, you're deprioritized any where outside your home coordinates. Dishy is GPS located, and it's regularly tracked. Starlink won't reveal what the threshold is for the GPS tolerance for your residence in their system, but I can tell you it's not all that large! Can see for yourself in the debug data. Based on some home experimentation, Dishy needs to be with about a 100 foot radius of it's coordinates at time of residential activation. Of course, you can have customer service reset the home coordinates, but they'll be wise with excessive distance. The address change hack was also defeated.

 

[JM0397]

Unfortunately, that's not been true since about 3 mos after rolling out mobility. If you have a residential with mobility, you're deprioritized any where outside your home coordinates. Dishy is GPS located, and it's regularly tracked. Starlink won't reveal what the threshold is for the GPS tolerance for your residence in their system, but I can tell you it's not all that large! Can see for yourself in the debug data. Based on some home experimentation, Dishy needs to be with about a 100 foot radius of it's coordinates at time of residential activation. Of course, you can have customer service reset the home coordinates, but they'll be wise with excessive distance. The address change hack was also defeated.

Good to know. Last I read their information online, from Starlink's site itself, is where I saw that. So they're either lying, or changed their terms!