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Old 03-25-2023, 06:21 PM   #81
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Our Starlink operational experience has changed from last year.

We purchased and installed Starlink RV on the boat in May of 2022. After a short learning curve, the unit was operational pretty much 24/7 aboard the boat while in Port or underway. We cruised from Anacortes, through WA, BC, Ketchikan and around Prince of Wales Island with very little down time. The unit operated 24/7 on the September ride down to Ventura CA.

The boat was moored for service from October until earlier this month. Starlink allowed us to monitor the boat's weather and battery remotely 24/7.

March 6 (20 days ago), we departed Ventura for Anacortes. Within about 30 minutes we noticed our Starlink had disconnected. Roughly 15 minutes after each power off reset, the unit will reconnect with internet. This connection holds for 10 to 15 minutes, then another disconnect.

We adjusted to this new operational mode by resetting Starlink whenever we wanted to get caught up on our emails, texts, or make a short wifi phone call. Fairly inconvenient, but workable.

Once we moored in Half Moon Bay CA, Starlink reconnected and stayed connected during our entire stationary moorage.

After mucking around on the net, we upgraded to Starlink Roam, and continued our cruise up the Coast. Unfortunately we had no improvement in the Starlink uptime while the boat was moving. This new status quo lasted until our arrival in Cap Sante Marina, Anacortes. At that point Starlink reconnected and stayed connected.

Questions:

1. Could it be that the Roam upgrade takes effect on the next billing cycle?

2. We're using the rectangular "dishy" antenna. If we pay the $2500 for the stationary marine antenna, will in motion connection be restored?

Thanks...Alex


How far off shore were you on the run up the coast, and how fast were you going?
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Old 03-26-2023, 09:32 AM   #82
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Tom, Steve, Sababa:

Our distance offshore varied from a mile or two around points, to as much as 32 miles off the Columbia River.

I couldn't correlate the connection to the distance offshore. It seemed when we power reset the unit, wherever we were, it would connect for 10 minutes or so then disconnect. Apparently it was taking that time to determine our gps speed before disconnecting.

Our speed averaged around 8 knots. There were long periods of 7.5 knots and 9.5 knots.

Question:

Is there Starlink documentation that states that the $2500 antenna allows for in motion operation?

I'm happy to pay the extra $15 per month for the in-motion service. The marine antenna obviously is an unnecessary expense given the existing antenna works so well. What a waste of resources, when a few lines of code would allow us early Starlink adopters to continue our in-motion service

"If Starlink account has in-motion service, and dishy serial number less than #nnnnn (where #nnnnn highest serial number before Marina antenna was offered), then allow in-motion operation"

Jeez...I'm almost 75 years old and still writing code.....
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Old 03-26-2023, 09:50 AM   #83
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Does Starlink Roam allow for in-motion use?
Yes. In-motion use is supported for users with Starlink Roam Regional service meeting the following criteria:

Using Flat High Performance Starlink
Starlink is securely installed with the Wedge mount included with the Flat High Performance Starlink kit.
Using Flat High Performance Starlink while in-motion without the Wedge mount, or using any other Starlink model will void the limited warranty of your Starlink.

In-motion service is not yet available with the Global Roam Plan.
The service area is still land based with bleed into the water
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Old 03-26-2023, 12:53 PM   #84
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It seems the question is whether the service was turned off repeatedly due to (1) being on the water, (2) being in motion, or (3) both. The flat dish would fix #2 but not #1. I suppose one way to test would be for someone to use it while underway on a canal.

But in any case it highlights the unfortunate uncertainty and potential for change at any moment with such services
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Old 03-26-2023, 01:07 PM   #85
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It seems the question is whether the service was turned off repeatedly due to (1) being on the water, (2) being in motion, or (3) both. The flat dish would fix #2 but not #1. I suppose one way to test would be for someone to use it while underway on a canal.

But in any case it highlights the unfortunate uncertainty and potential for change at any moment with such services


My evasive support experience concerning coverage notwithstanding, I bet this has to do with being in motion rather than on the water. If they were geofencing use on the water within the regional land-based coverage area, I would expect you wouldn’t be able to connect at all. The fact that you are able to reconnect for a little while after power cycling before losing the connection again suggests to me that they are cutting the connection based on detecting motion over a period of time.

I will definitely be monitoring and reporting on the connection for my HSF dish when I am moving away from shore this season, though I don’t expect to be underway more than a mile from land until I cross the Strait of Georgia on the way to Desolation Sound in July.
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Old 03-26-2023, 01:27 PM   #86
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The best information I have from people using roaming systems in SE Alaska is that Starlink Roam works in motion if you are slow (probably less than 10 mph) and in a cell that includes some portion of land. Starlink has divided the world into cells that are roughly 15 miles in diameter. Due to the way circular cells overlap each cell ends of being hexagonal. So generally speaking, if you are close to land and in a cell that overlaps the land, service is available. If you look at the Starlink coverage availability map, you can see how this works on coastal areas with a jagged edge that is different distances from shore depending on the cell.

A system that is classified as maritime (the smallest plan being $1000 a month) are handled differently than a roaming system. Starlink’s network management system has to assign resources to whatever cell a maritime system is in and when it crosses a cell boundary, assign resources to the new cell. So if a roaming system goes into a cell without land coverage, that system won’t have service as the network is not allowed to assign a resource in that cell to a roaming system. When you enter the coverage area again, you may have to reboot Starlink so the network knows you are back.

At least that seems to be how it works. The only real big unknown is will Starlink change their network management logic especially the speed gate.

Tom
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Old 03-26-2023, 05:57 PM   #87
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The attached service map for SoCal is the same for residential and Roam (HP/Flat).

Coverage is shown from land, to about 5 miles out along entire coast.

They are also showing coverage for all of the offshore Channel Islands and these vary from 20 to 50 miles offshore which I was aware of when I bought the unit.

In addition, the most travelled to Island of these is Catalina, and the main traffic corridor between the mainland and Catalina is also shown as SL covered. This is also the travel path many of the passenger ferrys take to and from the Island.

I realize this does not apply to most peoples cruising ground, just sharing it as its interesting.
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Old 03-26-2023, 10:37 PM   #88
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I had continuous good connectivity with the the flat high performance dish running at ten knots from Shilshole to Mystery Bay State Park near Port Townsend today.
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Old 04-10-2023, 11:21 AM   #89
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For those thinking about installing StarLink, I would like to share our very unsatisfactory experience. We had a high performance dish professionally installed on our new Helmsman 38E. It would not connect. After waiting several days for a response to our service request, we received a shipping label to return the system and were notified that a replacement kit was being sent. After several weeks, we received a new kit. Not knowing which component was defective and not wanting to uninstall everything, we tried connecting the original power supply to the new dish. The problem persisted. We then tried the replacement power supply with the original dish. We immediately connected and has download speeds around 176 MBits. Rather than uninstall the original dish and cable, we left them in place and returned the components we hadn’t installed. Within a few days, the system said we had no active account. We submitted another ticket and, after a two week wait, we were informed that we should have installed the entire replacement kit and not just the defective component. After a month as a subscriber, we have no service and only a shipping label to send everything back. They are not sending us a new kit. StarLink customer service seems to have an Elon Musk attitude. The fact that they claim they are overwhelmed is not a good statement for their product. Now we’re trying to decide if we should try again or give up on StarLink. In hindsight, we should have waited for a more reliable system with actual customer support.
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Old 04-10-2023, 12:27 PM   #90
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Originally Posted by Doug_Snider View Post
For those thinking about installing StarLink, I would like to share our very unsatisfactory experience. We had a high performance dish professionally installed on our new Helmsman 38E. It would not connect. After waiting several days for a response to our service request, we received a shipping label to return the system and were notified that a replacement kit was being sent. After several weeks, we received a new kit. Not knowing which component was defective and not wanting to uninstall everything, we tried connecting the original power supply to the new dish. The problem persisted. We then tried the replacement power supply with the original dish. We immediately connected and has download speeds around 176 MBits. Rather than uninstall the original dish and cable, we left them in place and returned the components we hadn’t installed. Within a few days, the system said we had no active account. We submitted another ticket and, after a two week wait, we were informed that we should have installed the entire replacement kit and not just the defective component. After a month as a subscriber, we have no service and only a shipping label to send everything back. They are not sending us a new kit. StarLink customer service seems to have an Elon Musk attitude. The fact that they claim they are overwhelmed is not a good statement for their product. Now we’re trying to decide if we should try again or give up on StarLink. In hindsight, we should have waited for a more reliable system with actual customer support.
It's something about the dish and the router I believe that has an issue and cannot be mixed and matched....even if they temporarily work when connected. Couldn't find a link but I believe I read that when I first started investigating Starlink.
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Old 04-10-2023, 12:27 PM   #91
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Now we’re trying to decide if we should try again or give up on StarLink. In hindsight, we should have waited for a more reliable system with actual customer support.
Thanks for this feedback!

What would be your alternative if you don't go with StarLink? It seems that they have this field entirely to themselves for the most part, unless you're competing with cellular service.
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Old 04-10-2023, 12:36 PM   #92
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Thanks for this feedback!

What would be your alternative if you don't go with StarLink? It seems that they have this field entirely to themselves for the most part, unless you're competing with cellular service.
Amazon, Telesat, and OneWeb are going head to head with StarLink. Some real competition might keep Musk honest. It may take a while but unless StarLink fixes the problem, I have no choice but to wait.

Unfortunately, when they sent the replacement kit, there were no precautions about mixing components.
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Old 04-10-2023, 12:54 PM   #93
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Amazon, Telesat, and OneWeb are going head to head with StarLink. Some real competition might keep Musk honest. It may take a while but unless StarLink fixes the problem, I have no choice but to wait.

Unfortunately, when they sent the replacement kit, there were no precautions about mixing components.
did you ask them to activate the old dish again?
They do have a serial number ID which they expected you to switch all components, matched set. I am sure if you ask they will activate the old one.
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Old 04-10-2023, 01:08 PM   #94
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did you ask them to activate the old dish again?
They do have a serial number ID which they expected you to switch all components, matched set. I am sure if you ask they will activate the old one.

I expect that's the issue. They probably moved you account to the new dish expecting everything to be installed. Asking them to reactivate your old dish might do the tick. I'm not defending Starlink support here. I agree with you that it sucks. Just trying to help get you running again.


BTW, the realistic alternative is cellular. Coverage isn't as wide, and often it's slower, but not always. If you want coverage outside of cellular range than I think the only alternative to Starlink remains the legacy satellite people. Maybe one day Amazon and others will roll out an offering, but I'm not holding my breath. And I doubt their customer service will be much better.
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Old 04-10-2023, 01:30 PM   #95
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did you ask them to activate the old dish again?
They do have a serial number ID which they expected you to switch all components, matched set. I am sure if you ask they will activate the old one.
StarLink tech support says they can’t do that even though it worked fine for a few days. The flat panel system has a power supply, dish and router that need to be matched. It’s odd that they can’t associate the hardware with our account.
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Old 04-10-2023, 01:40 PM   #96
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The really frustrating thing about dealing with them is that you can’t actually speak with anybody and their email response time is way slower than snail mail. I really don’t think they want satisfied customers. I hope the customer service for people who have Teslas is better than it is for Starlink customers.
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Old 04-10-2023, 01:45 PM   #97
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StarLink tech support says they can’t do that even though it worked fine for a few days. The flat panel system has a power supply, dish and router that need to be matched. It’s odd that they can’t associate the hardware with our account.
I reread and missed part where some of the new shipment was returned, so they have a 1/2 set and you have a 1/2 set. good luck
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Old 04-10-2023, 02:04 PM   #98
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StarLink tech support says they can’t do that even though it worked fine for a few days. The flat panel system has a power supply, dish and router that need to be matched. It’s odd that they can’t associate the hardware with our account.


That makes no sense, and would be insane from a manufacturing, sparing, and repair perspective. You would end up with, well, with just this situation. There must be some way to escalate.
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Old 04-10-2023, 02:20 PM   #99
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If your setup is unlike the assumptions made by Starlink, good luck.
We are, as many here are aware, on a world cruise. Our ship is new so has relied heavily on Starlink for internet. It was great while we were near North America. As we left NA, the Starlink criterion of requiring a land station within 200 miles became evident, so our service has been poor, since we left Hawaii. It improved when we were in New Zealand, then again in Australia, but since leaving Aus, it has ranges only from poor to non existent. As we approach Suez, it is improving, though as I write this, I can't download any videos whatsoever, pictures take forever, but text is OK. I am hoping it will improve in the Med.
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Old 04-10-2023, 02:45 PM   #100
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I've got nothing but good things to say of it so far
Simple set up and an issue we had with billing at the start was sorted out within hours, all very easily - compared to dealing with banks, for example.

We are currently in the solid yellow zone again, 50nm out
Spent 32 days out here and since mid December in the yellow dotted area
Full speed and connectivity

Hopeing to head out into the red zone at some stage soon
Random internet posters claim it's working out there.
Will be next level awesomeness if it does getting connectivity 100nm out
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