So of course I forgot all about that picture as I installed the system today.

Once the antenna was up on the post and the cable connected on both ends and the router powered up it took it less than a minute for it to connect to the satellites.

After getting a couple of machines connected including this one I did Speedtest and saw, in the middle of the afternoon, speeds in excess of 150 Mbps down and about a dozen up.

I've now gotten just about everything in the house connected to Starlink now (surprised how many things there are, even though we don't have a "smart house") and I've depowered the CenturyLink modem.

Speeds tested tonight have varied between 20 and 120 Mbps down and two to about 12 Mbps up.

There are all kinds of interesting statistics available in the app....

So, the adventure begins.

added: just ran it again at 11:40 PM local time and it's back up to the speeds of the afternoon. 152 Mbps down and 14 Mbps up. This is over a wireless connection to the StarLink router which is in the next room....

__________________
Bernard Cawley
NAR 89040 L1 - Life Member
SAM 0061
AMA 42160
KG7AIE

What are your ping times?

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Scott D. Hansen
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They are running from the low 20s to as much as 60 ms. This is one area where my CenturyLink dual DSL was consistently outperforming Starlink.

I just ran a SpeedTest.net test, got 43 ms, just under 100 Mbps down and just under 7 Mbps up. It's just before 1 PM locally and raining lightly.

__________________
Bernard Cawley
NAR 89040 L1 - Life Member
SAM 0061
AMA 42160
KG7AIE

For over the past year, for internet access, I have been using a Verizon data-only plan, on an iPad with a SIM card. 4G LTE.

No limit or throttling on the The iPad itself. So I’ve used the iPad for streaming movies/TV shows, video, and other things where I mostly watch or look up, but do not need to do much typing (other than to navigate) or transfer files (I hate typing on tablets and phones). I use an Apple HDMI dongle to hook up to a computer monitor, and also at times to a small TV on my rocket build table. Also got a sound bar for better louder sound, using bluetooth.

I use the Hotpot capability for transferring files, typing messages, and other things that I want to use a “real computer” for, mostly my Laptop. The Verzion plan has up to 15 gigs a month for hotspotting. When the 15 gigs are up, it is throttled.

It worked sort of OK but at times has been slow. The one big plus is that I’ve taken the iPad with me on car trips to be able to use the internet, without needing to stop near some place with WiFi. My Cellphone is on a prepaid plan as a phone, NO data.

Well, recently due to other issues, the reception has dropped to 1 or 2 bars (never was above 3 bars, but then never was down to 1 bar). With one bar, it barely can load a web page and sometimes won’t. With two bars, it loads the internet, but sorta slowly. And streaming TV shows/videos, it sometimes does not load or there are data dropouts.

But this message sets the stage. FINALLY in my area, T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet became available. I had been wanting that more to save $ than anything else, at $50, cheaper than Verizon. I got it a few days ago. The only wiring involved is to plug the power adapter into the wall outlet, and the other end into the WiFi Gateway.

Using a special App to set it up, the set-up was easy and it was working in about 15 minutes.

It is working very well. 5G reception at first was 3 bars (Plenty fast for me) , but the last 2 days has stayed at 4 bars. Things load quickly and well. No dropouts.



On my Macbook:
Meter.net shows ping of 34 msec, download of 38.76 mb/sec, upload of 18.92 mbps.

Internet Speed test shows download of 196.2, and upload of 26.
I could not get my Macbook to Hotspot with the iPad with iPad using Verizon 4G, it jumps right to T-Mobile 5G.

On the iPad using T-Mobile 5G:
20.9 download, upload of 28.2
On the iPad, 2 bars, using Verizon 4G LTE:
2.74 download, .04 upload.


A different speed test site, “highspeedinternet.com” :

IPad on Verizon 4G LTE: Ping 140 ms, download of 2.03 mbps

Same iPad on T-Mobile 5G: Ping 46 ms, download of 140.44 mbps

So, I am VERY pleased at how well the T-Mobile home internet works. Great performance, at a great price. And no more “hotspotting” data caps. I have all my computer stuff and phone using real WiFi now.

I realize this is not a good solution for those in areas that do not have that service available yet. But for those who do have it available, this is a great option.

I’ll be cancelling the Verizon 4G LTE plan. It’s paid up till near the end of the month, and I wanted to be able to use it on the road going NARAM and back.

I googled to find out if the T-Mobile Gateway can be used on trips. The “official” answer is no, that it is programmed to work only in the GPS location it is approved for. But it seems others have been able to do so on cross-country trips, that T-Mobile has not closed that technical loophole yet. Or at least had not as of the time those messages were posted. And of course, a lot of areas do not have 5G service (at least away from densely populated areas).

Update - I needed to do some stuff with my car outside, about 100 feet way. Wanted to listen to a podcast as I did it, but not take the iPad in 4G mode. So I used my cellphone, and had no problems with receiving WiFi from the 5G Gateway.

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Contest flying, Sport flying, it's all good.....
NAR# 18723 NAR.org
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Great to hear.

When I was stationed at FE Warren AFB, WY, I lived in an upper floor apartment with a south facing side. I asked permission to install a Dish TV dish, got it, and did so, installing it with easy access from the window over my kitchen sink. The Dish TV uplink facility was easily visible from that widow. When there was a heavy snow, I just opened the window on which I'd removed the screen and brushed it off.

Not a useful trick for dishes that need to track though... and the Starlink dish is heated anyway.

__________________
The other day I sat next to a woman who has a profound fear of flying. I wanted to comfort her, so I said, "Don't worry, we're not gonna' crash. Statistically, we got a better chance of being bitten by a shark." Then I showed her the scar on my elbow from a shark attack. I said, "I got this when my plane went down off of Florida." - Dennis Regan

"Outdoor Cats Are Using $500 Starlink Satellite Dishes as Self-Heating Beds"

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...beds-180979401/

__________________
Contest flying, Sport flying, it's all good.....
NAR# 18723 NAR.org
GeorgesRockets.com
Georges'CancerGoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-geo...ay-fight-cancer

I think the smaller rectangular Starlink antenna, as the one I just put up, would only hold maybe two cats. Fortunately it's on a pole high enough above my roof that even if it were horizontal in the snow it'd be difficult for the neighborhood cats to try that with. There is one in particular who has been on our roof before, but he's clumsy enough that if he tried to get on the antenna he'd likely fall to the ground — not that we'd particularly mind in his case......

__________________
Bernard Cawley
NAR 89040 L1 - Life Member
SAM 0061
AMA 42160
KG7AIE

Cattenuation?

__________________
The other day I sat next to a woman who has a profound fear of flying. I wanted to comfort her, so I said, "Don't worry, we're not gonna' crash. Statistically, we got a better chance of being bitten by a shark." Then I showed her the scar on my elbow from a shark attack. I said, "I got this when my plane went down off of Florida." - Dennis Regan

Good thing that RF is non-ionizing.
Think of all those cations flying around!
At least they would be positive.

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I love sanding.

Need to attach an energized CATTLE PROD to that dish to get rid of all those CATionS.

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When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !