Starlink on a boat

[@svfairisle]

Check out the description, I’m starting to put useful additional info in there,

[@kosminuskosminus]

07:52 that is a lie : starlink has a special pack for a boat. Please do rectify this aspect in your future videos .

[@svfairisle]

@@kosminuskosminus Well aren’t you just delightful! If you think there is a fitting built for boats then be helpful and put the link in your comment. There isn’t anything of that kind that I’ve seen Starlink provide though and I’m guessing that you intellect is at the same gutter level as your writing and you are actually referring to the fitting kit for the flat dish which is the option built for boats and not what this video was about. So please let’s have the link or maybe just take your dick comments somewhere else

[@howenginemehanicalworks8273]

Nice captain thanks for sharing

[@svgabrielle]

9-months with Startlink inc cruising Scotland, Norway, Sweden ...been fantastic. No need for expensive mobile priority subscription offshore! Just pay for standard £85 per month package then select 'priority data' in account section of mobile app to pay-as-you-go at £1.98 per GB offshore when needed. Can select this on/off at anytime without changing subscription. Far cheaper. Great video. Thanks Steve.

[@pierrecoly1205]

Quel moulin à paroles ce mec

[@svfairisle]

Thats amazing, thank you for that insight. I read the details on Mobile Regional as far as the point where it said 'not for use on the ocean' and moved on! It's weird they've done it like that, we are paying 300euros for 50 Gb and if we stayed on Regional and do what you've done we would only pay 100Euros for the 50 Gb, makes no sense!!

[@Mordalo]

@@svfairisle There is also a Gen 3 now that is even better. "Priority" service is only relevant in high traffic areas. If you are getting 12mbs or more up, you don't even need it to upload your videos.

[@svfairisle]

@@Mordalo I hear the Gen 3 is more power hungry though, that would write it off for us.

[@SteveJones-gz4vd]

I thought you were NOT permitted to use starlink offshore ???

[@SirCharles12357]

Excellent review and very brave of you to drill a hole in the radar casing! I guess I'm going to have to check back to see if anyone has answered your questions. Thanks for making these videos!

[@svmoana]

Great Video, thank you for the Informations. Please keep us updated about it. Fair winds following Seas

[@SailingElectra]

I've got mine connected but have it mounted inside my boat to the top of the deck. The motors report themselves as stuck and never move. I also leave mine running 24/7, and use 1.05kwh per day. I have an electric boat with 3200W of solar, so it's not a big deal, but for everyone else I recommend seeing a timer to turn it off when you're asleep.

[@svfairisle]

You have it mounted inside?!

[@deepeddysf]

Very helpful overview of your install process. Interested in seeing updates.

[@martinlisabennett4952]

F From reading the comments I get the impression that Starlink has different plans and different conditions around the world. I am sailing from NZ to the UK. Bought my Starlink in Darwin Australia, fitted it in Bali. I never got to use the Australian local plan but went straight on the Mobile Priority 50Gb plan. Costs me £196pm then £1.67 per Gb When I asked Starlink if I could change my default address to a different country, to take advantage of a local plan while coastal, I was told that was not possible. My dish fell during a storm (due to a poor bracket!) and broke. I asked Starlink for a replacement, totally happy to pay for it, and they immediately despatched a free replacement to my default address in Australia. Any replacement MUST go to the original country of account. My son is getting a free Starlink! I have started a new plan in Kenya in order to get a new dish, which is on its way. Mobile priority plan here is £180pm (unknown price after 50Gb)

[@Dudunio]

1. So you created a new account or just made a new plan in Kenya? 2. Did you need an address?If yes, then how did you get one? 3.Your old one from NZ is cancelled right? Thanks in advance

[@grantwing6996]

We use the smallest Victron inverter dedicated to the starlink and the losses are about 0.3A. A lot easier than converting the unit to run off DC. Works flawlessly offshore on the regional roam plan if you hit the mobile priority toggle. Elon has made our Iridium go, Pactor modem, wifi booster and 4g mobile booser all redundant 😂

[@neilmccubbin4011]

Agreed 100% (after using Starlink 3 months in Canada and a French Polynesia

[@dougpowers6482]

Can i ask what size inverter you're using? Big fan of Victron.

[@ArazQizilbash]

Starlink lacks the universal connectivity and reliability of iridium go.

[@Steve-qn8gn]

Isn’t that plan now going to jump to $400/mth?

[@Steve-qn8gn]

@@ArazQizilbashdepends where you plan to travel. Some reports are that people with the rv roam plans were being notified by starlink that they had to return to their home base for a period of time otherwise their service was going to be shut off.

[@HoratioBannister]

I always appreciate your videos. Starlin does make a marine specific antenna array. I purchased it last May, and it works very very well. No drilling, no motors, but horribly expensive.be well.

[@westcountry_sailing]

I've got an eco flow solar generator too and want to let you know that the inverter silently draws about 20w. So don't be surprised if when you've modded it to 24v, the draw on the LCD looks the same. You will have saved 30% on the energy consumption. Thanks for the videos, from a cold and wet Dartmouth

[@svfairisle]

Yes obviously the draw the Starlink requires is the same no matter what. It's just that if we choose to feed it in an inefficient way i.e. using an inverter we are using more power

[@peterlee2622]

Just caught your video a few month's late. It's interesting about the power consumption dropping during motor operation. That is almost certainly because they turn off the transmitter when the antenna is moving. My guess is that a good part of the running power is for the transmitter - perhaps 40 Watts or so. Then imagine the gain from the phased array antenna means there is a significant beam of radio power going towards the satellite. As someone who spent much of his career dealing with high power radio transmission (up to megawatts equivalent radiated power!) I would be hesitant to put myself in such a radio beam. I am sure Starlink is safe if used as intended, but on boats you probably should avoid situations where you can walk into the beam from the antenna. This might apply, for example where you can walk on a cockpit roof, if Starlink is at the same height. I think Starlink turn off the transmitter while them antenna motors are moving to avoid "spraying" the radio beam around as the antenna moves. "Precaution" is the name of the game here!

[@tgwhelan]

Great report - thank you!! I'm going to get one for next year's sailing season and ditch my cell modem. It was very helpful to hear you were able to use it at sea, and for weather. It was also helpful to see your mounting solution - I thought it look great. I know Starlink just released a new "dishy", but it sounds like the new one draws even more power (75 to 100 watts, argh!). I would love for them to release a dishy optimized for mobile (12v, lower power draw, small). I guess we'll have to wait and see! Anyway, thank you again for the report and GO ELON!!! Tim - s/v Patience (Cape George 38)

[@nigelsilverthorn9188]

A big use of power is in the transmitter which at times is continuous rather than the short time a motor runs. A likely reason the power goes down when the motors run is the unit stops all transmissions when physically moving. It would be interesting to try different data rates or length of transmission and check power during these. You can also get increased consumption if your link performance drops down and error rate goes up. This causes a lot of re-transmission…like using power twice or more for the same piece of data. This is a game changer so good luck….

[@SailingAquamarine]

I found the biggest draw was during a firmware update, it doesn’t move the motors at all, but must be thrashing the internal processors.

[@grandsoleil56]

You can soldier onto the main board and run it directly on 12VDC and do away with the router, the newer models dont seem to have as good GPS chip so take a while longer to get a fix

[@AllanDrJones]

Really informative. Thank you. Good questions - we'll be checking back because I too am curious, especially about the physical address... Maybe one day we will not need physical addresses and there will be no geolocating... Which I had hoped Starlink would offer - but apparently I will still need a VPN...

[@svfairisle]

Yes there is geolocating so you do still need your VPN if you want to fake a location. It's just annoying that the GPS data isn't constantly fed to apps that you are using so mapping doesn't work well with Starlink at the moment

[@AllanDrJones]

@@svfairisle Yes, that was a bit of an eye-opener. Good reporting. 👍🏻

[@nick21614]

@@svfairisleStarlink doesnt give out GPS data to apps. Apps pay 3rd parties for Geolocation data based on IP address and they are notoriously innaccurate and there isn't anything an ISP can do about it besides keep their IP addresses updated, but for a satellite system that is going to use the geolocation data of the base station most likely.

[@rainfinger]

Great information, presently anchored in Porto Santo, sailing to Brazil, hoping to see you out there.

[@svfairisle]

Well if your anchored in the harbour at Porto Santo you should see us right now! We are here too on the buoy farthest from the marina pontoons. We are leaving this morning for Madeira though

[@rainfinger]

@svfairisle We are the blue hull Bristol 35 on mooring 11, headed to town, needing a new genetator. Sorry we missed you.

[@eduardoalejandrooficial]

Great video, do you have a better part showing how you pulled the cable and how it was disconnected? Thanks

[@SailingAquamarine]

We found the dish went flat pretty quickly once we were at sea, or on a swinging mooring. It even went flat in Mayflower Marina once when it was a bit rocky! I also have starlink at home (the original round dish!) And that is nearly flat now, I suspect it is only at an slight angle for rain run-off. I do remember a GPS sharing setting when I still used the original router, but that went ages ago and I am not on the boat at the moment, I have to move it to another island next month though, I'll look. The boat is currently in the canaries, getting there counts as mostly offshore 😂 starlink has been a game changer for the weather, although I've stopped using predict wind, its too expensive for confirming my routes, I need to trust my own judgement instead of my wallet! There are a few gotchas once you get rid of the router, the main one is not being able to switch to premium data once you get offshore unless you plug the old router back in! So remember to do it before you get too far! It's worth the change though... you will have noticed by now how hot the router gets.. you can feel the Watts wasting away!

[@Dudunio]

What other kind of router can you use?

[@SailingAquamarine]

@Dudunio any router you like. The dish acts like a broadband connection with an ip address. Your internal router provides a firewall, dhcp and dns forwarding.

[@shabbydoris]

Good job, Steve - very useful information - thanks.

[@stevenwhittington7085]

Love Starlink! Thanks for the update!

[@JanHeisterberg-Andersen]

This is a technical reply to the point made about acquiring a mid-ocean connection to StarLink. The phased array must focus on (point to) a satellite. When the ship moves along the three possible axis, a solid state chip could determine this and change the focus direction. My question was related to how quickly this can occur (degrees/second). I discount the possibility of the phased array antenna having a very wide reception/transmission cone. When restarting StarLink, an appropriate satellite may be anywhere in the sky; hence a search may take (a long) time. Possibly, with a GPS chip and a solid state compas as well as a table with satellite positions, a Hot Start could be executed (eg. point directly to a visible satellite). This is very similar to hot or cold start of a (normal) GPS-receiver, where the cold start mode will listen for any and all satellites and eventually select the visible ones computation of time and position.

[@2detore]

Very helpful video for my future sailing adventures from San Francisco to the South. I've sailed from SF to Cabo San Lucas twice with radar and AIS, but having weather intel would be great vs Grib files which aren't always accurate. Safe travels.

[@Coatsey007]

Great video, very useful, thank you.

[@brucefay5126]

I think Starlink now has a non-motorized antenna. Might make more sense for a ship.

[@Turaelin]

Starlink does offer a "pipe adapter", a tubing adapter mount for the Dishy. it's over sized like a bell at the bottom, with setscrews to attach to a wide variety of pipe sizes, with the std. Starlink "dishy" mount w/ cable slot up top. We just tightened the setscrews onto the stern flag tube on the davits and boom, done. We are considering enabling "Mobile Priority Data" which enables "network priority", "ocean access", "in-motion connectivity" and "global use" when on passage. But... it is "metered" use @ $2 US per GB... and seeing as we have already used 102 GB in just the first week of Dec, then again maybe not. So for now we are just using the RV Plan and only when in port/at anchor to manage costs. CJ&JD SV Rocinante

[@svfairisle]

Interesting they have a mount, I assume that’s in the US? There’s no pipe mount on the European site

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

Great name! The question is, is your boat named after a horse, a song or a star ship?

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

@@svfairislehi! I have Starlink on the roof of my house in France and I used the pipe mount. I bought it from the European site. It’s stupidly expensive though for what it is. I also purchased the extended cable. Also not cheap but my internet connection has gone from 8 to 200+ things.

[@richardcurzon4276]

⁠there is now, I get the pipe mount option when I go on to the starlink shop. I hope that helps - I am in the UK

[@Turaelin]

@@bob_the_bomb4508 All of the above AND to honor my wife... who taught HS Spanish for 30 years (ret)... in Chicago. I was an IT Geek for 30 years (ret) and a and SciFI obsessed Gamer/Blogger all my life.

[@kenweissmahr6415]

Thanks for this video. What about the IP rating of the dish? The standard actuating dish you have installed is just splash proof. Did you observe or have any problems during heavy weather and rain? Do you take it off during bad weather?

[@svfairisle]

The standard 'Dishy' is only rated at IP54, so thats splashes. I think the new (non moving standard dish is IP57 though which is immesion to 1m. We haven't had any issues so far though and our dishy has been out in some horrendous weather!

[@iainmacdonald1170]

I'm looking to mount the dish on the arch, as you've done. However, a look at the blurb shows that its only rated IP54. How have you found its behaved after rain, please (if you've had any!?!). Really helpful video - much appreciated!

[@svfairisle]

Well we went through a force 9 storm that lasted 3 days on the way over from Portugal to Madeira with horizontal rain and masses of sea spray & it’s still working, so I’d say it’s fine!

[@iainmacdonald1170]

@@svfairisle Wow - even ‘Yachting Monthly’ didn’t go to that extent when they tested their boat to destruction! Many thanks, Steve; really encouraging.

[@jackdbur]

Remember to turn off its snow removal heating. There are several options to power it from DC without cutting the lead now. Have a look at Sail Life Mazz has recently converted to 12v.

[@apuravela]

Such a good video! thanks!

[@didierpuzenat7280]

I would rather add a switch than cutting the motor cable, since the positioning could be halted just at sea, to keep best performances when at the marina or anchor. BTW, if many people do that, Starlink will probably just add an option to keep the horizontal position with an over the air update.

[@svfairisle]

We are very rarely in a marina & you swing at anchor so repositioning is not what we want as it drops the signal to do it. Starlink work great with the dish horizontal so there’s really no need for it

[@didierpuzenat7280]

To save energy, if it is an issue, maybe you can turn wifi off and use a RJ45 cable for the computer, and just turn it back on with you want an access on your phones and tablets. Or just add some PVs connected to the Ecoflow, if you have room for them.

[@svfairisle]

Yes we run Starlink off the Ecoflow, still not great though as the inverter isn’t that efficient

[@davebull]

Nice review thanks!

[@Capalaba]

Honestly you have no idea how good that is In the banana republic Oz, I’m paying the equivalent in my home fixed connection €40 a month for 55mb per second Think about it 😮

[@victorgreenwood2972]

Send the suggestion to Enon that they put a switch to stop the movement.

[@olavthyvold2288]

Informative video. I heard you mention the Orca tablet. Have you done a review of that yet? I'm very interested to hear your views.

[@svfairisle]

I've been working on it for a while, it's not an easy one to do but i'm going to try and test it out properly on the way down to the Canaries

[@olavthyvold2288]

Great!. I look forward to it. @@svfairisle

[@Mordalo]

WiFi speed to your router should always be faster than you up/download speeds. Stay with 2.4ghz for stability and turn off 5ghz and auto modes. Same for your devices (PC, phone, etc.)

[@paulpaul9914]

Starlink seems quite good? It seems to me though after looking at it, it might be possible, for a highly network centric sailboat, to remote control the boat from anywhere.

[@sebastianorye2702]

Well, it looked like Ukraine put starlink dishes on their Naval drones to remotely control them from afar, so i expect that that'll work😅

[@tomm9427]

You get better Internet speed than I do at home, (more than double)

[@michaeljamieson5227]

I was wondering why you did not opt for the flat hi performance antenna which can be used underway. Until i read up on the power usage. It peaks at 110w and averages 85w and the power cable is only 25ft long with no extension cables available as yet. Good luck!

[@svfairisle]

Yes and there's really no need for the hi performance dish anyway, we always get good connection with this one, just takes a while for the initial connection if you're rolling around a lot. The next generation standard dish doesn't have the motors though and can be mounted flat, not sure if it's any better on power though.

[@josephgadoury1057]

Please confirm with data plan and service you chose with Starlink. Thank you

[@svfairisle]

All the information is in the description and I update it regularly as things change or we find out better ways of doing things.

[@JanHeisterberg-Andersen]

The speed difference between device-router and router-internet is quite natural. You can have devices connected directly to the router (storage for movies or pictures) in which case the first speed applies. The lesser of the speeds apply when using the internet. You may use your devise in a spot where the local device-router speed is the governing speed. Compare to a chain with links.

[@AwanuiNZ]

Great video…which dish did you get? Is it not necessary to get the marine dish? Cheers

[@svfairisle]

No it's not necessary or actually even a good idea unless you have power to spare. The standard dish works great and already has a hefty draw so don't see the point in the flat one which takes double the power/

[@BRuas9080]

I’m thinking about installing one in my boat, but I’m in doubt about how the gen 2 actuators work. Does your antenna kept realigning as the boat moves, even at anchor? I’m abroad and here they still sell the gen 2 antenna. The less power hungry gen 2 is a plus, but I don’t know if this is the best option (due to the presence of the motors) or if it’s better to wait for the gen 3 antenna. Disabling the motors would not be the ideal solution for me as I intend to also use the antenna at my house.

[@svfairisle]

Most people don’t disable the motors and I haven’t heard and major problems. Perhaps someone who has tried it both ways can pitch in and say whether the dish often try’s to realign as the boat swings at anchor. I disabled the motors because logically having the dish move when the boat is moving can’t be a good thing.

[@Kampala69]

Download's not much worse than my Vodafone fibre to the property in UK. (242 down - 266 up). Sold as 900Mb/s. Of course that is "up to 900Mb/s". Small print again!

[@jamesboulton2722]

As a guess I think it has stepper motors for positioning. Stepper motors have a high ‘holding’ current. When it moves the current drops as it no longer needs to lock its position.

[@neovo903]

stepper motors would make sense as it would be very precise.

[@paulpaul9914]

It won't be holding a static position by use of the motors.

[@HopeCatSailing]

So is your Roaming Hardware still able to work in Blue water? as I heard that Starlinkhas canceled that service and only provides it for their new marine hardware which is like $3.5k

[@svfairisle]

Yes it all works just fine. I think the confusion may be that if you want to sign up for the very expensive worldwide roaming contracts then you need a dish designed for mobile use. None of us want that though we just use Roam on Mobile regional and turn on Priority when offshore.

[@secniv]

inverter to power SL rather than converting to DC. My thinking was I don’t have to power up the big inverter just to run SL so ‘hoping’ the inverter losses aren’t as great plus it has a power switch making disconnecting easier. Your thoughts?

[@svfairisle]

Don’t quite know what you’re saying. Yes you need to power the SL via an inverter unless you start modifying the SL yourself, yes the inverter will be very lossy, they all are, I’ve opted for powering from the inverter in one of my EcoFlows as then I don’t have to leave the ships big inverter on and I can easily turn the Ecoflow off without affecting anything else.

[@secniv]

@@svfairisle oh my cut & paste failed lol.. but yes I was going power the SL through a small dedicated 250w inverter so hopefully the losses may not as big? I look forward to “Steve’s TechTalk” analysis when you convert to DC :)

[@svfairisle]

@@secniv thought something like that had happened, yes a small dedicated inverter is probably a good idea

[@bradkidd8264]

Hi So I tried and had these problems 1 I did not disable the motors ? 2. I left it on basic mode 3 . I stayed within 3 miles from shore So I could as soon as I became mobile it would not stop searching and trying to link and thus failed Although when I stopped to anchor it settled down and worked So am I correct when I say you have to disable the motor And change subscription to coastal or offshore ?

[@svfairisle]

You dont have to disable the motors, plenty of people don't. I just think it's better to not have the antenna trying to see the right part of the sky on a boat thats going to move. If you'r at dock most of the time maybe having working motors is better? Ours sometimes takes 10 mins to connect when we're coastal sailing if you're is taking longer then maybe thats the motors getting confused. You need to switch to premium when offshore, thats outside the hexagons which might be more or less than 3 miles

[@thearchibaldtuttle]

Speed is nice but signal stability is more important

[@michaelwake5600]

Shame you can’t disable the motor on the soft ware

[@davidwarnes5158]

Is the position issue because you disconnected the motor? Stopping it locate its self, And what is the draw when your surfing the net . ?

[@svfairisle]

No the GPS positioning has nothing to do with the dish not being able to move. Starlink doesn't feed a constant stream of GPS positioning. The draw is nit dependent on what you are doing on the net

[@davidwarnes5158]

@@svfairisle on the draw , what was it when using it in anger , ? You did show in set up, was it much higher . ? With the very low usage of power at set up with motors , and it initially finding where it is , why turn moving off , if heading upwind heeling will. That hamper performance , it is a remarkable creation .

[@svfairisle]

The draw is not dependent on whether you are surfing on the net or not, the power is for the phased array that is constantly in opperation tracking satellites. The articulation of the dish is purely to sort out the initial set up for the dish to look at the best bit of sky to see the satellites and to avoid any obstructions like trees etc. This is just not relavent on a yacht which is constantly moving so will only confuse the system

[@davidwarnes5158]

@@svfairisle I only asked out of interest about the power, as you only showed at set up, but you say its the same . Thats all.

[@jasonmcintosh2632]

Yes, thank you Elon.

[@cosybike]

Does it use Stepper motors? Are they likely to use more power static than in motion?

[@svfairisle]

No, as I showed in the video the unit takes the same amount of power with no motors as with. I don’t believe they are stepper motors as their only job is to initially position the dish, the tracking of a satellites is done electronically by the phased array.

[@wayneedwards4445]

Good morning to both of you.. Was you able to purchase Starlink in Portugal.. We are set to leave Lagos in January and looking to purchase? currently in the Uk so could travel with it but naturally it would be easier to purchase locally. Can get one from Curry’s here un registered.. Many Thanks Wayne

[@svfairisle]

Yes we just ordered from the Starlink website online & had it sent to the marina, it actuycame from Germany took about a week and the bracket was weirdly came separately and took two weeks don’t know why. If you have the choice of getting one in the UK or Europe just compare the prices, they drop the prices on places that they want to encourage take up

[@wayneedwards4445]

Thank you for your speedy reply. Seems about the same price. Al have a chat with marina and send there.. Thanks again.. See you in the Caribbean 👍

[@aslamalfiysah8750]

Apakah starlink standar bisa bekerja dgn baik di area lepas pantai , dgn kondisi berpindah pindah namun masih di wilayah yg sama, tolong jawabannya terima kasih

[@svfairisle]

Yes it works well. it does take longer to find the satellites when you first turn it on though. We talked about it in the Atlantic crossing video.

[@evinwhiteson4902]

I just bought the maritime. I am in malaysia but could not buy a starlink without a malay digital id. I had to order through my usa adress and ship to malay. To do this you must buy the high performace dish to get the global international waters coverage. Expensive but will be amazing to get internet 1000s of miles off shorr

[@svfairisle]

Yes having internet offshore is cool. I’d be interested in what draw you have from the high performance dish once you fit it. Could you let me know on the comments here?

[@evinwhiteson4902]

@@svfairisle I hear its double. 110 to 150 w the manual says. So like 10 amp hours. My buddy installed his a few months ago. He did not complain about the amperage usage but his first months bill was over 1,000.00 for extra gigs on the opt in plan. Too much net flix i guess. Thats where i draw the line. Maybe i wont opt in

[@JanHeisterberg-Andersen]

Does any of the readers know the specs for Starlink with regard to “angular rate of change” for the phased array ? Consider a boat i a swell with a steady roll from 20 degrees starboard to 20 degrees port. If this takes 10 seconds, as an example, the phased array needs to accomodate (20+20)/10 = 4 degrees/second. Additionally, there may be a limit to angle coverage (reception cone).

[@svfairisle]

Don’t know the figures but my guess is the reception zone is a factor. When we crossed the Atlantic in March this year we were turning Starlink off to save power. We had a very rolly crossing the whole way and Starlink went from taking 5-10 minutes to connect ( so still longer than when in a calm anchorage) to up to an hour to connect in the middle of the Atlantic. Now there will be less satellites available in the middle of the Atlantic if course but if it was just the speed the phased array can move then there shouldn’t be such a difference I think. More likely the active area is too small when you’re rolling so you including sections of sea and missing sections of sky every time you roll. There’s no reason for it to be designed with more half a hemisphere max!

[@mrhouse3826]

Did I catch that right at @13.25? It said 40 euros for standard residential! Where here in the UK it's £75!!! We're getting robbed!

[@Oyashiro_Chama]

It's 35-45 usd in Japan. It depends on local subsidies and currency value.

[@svfairisle]

Yes in Portugal is 40 euros for the standard package

[@svfairisle]

Yes in Portugal is 40 euros for the standard package

[@mrhouse3826]

@@svfairisle Just wait till I see Elon 😡

[@davidcocker8878]

We tour EU in our Motorhome for 3 months twice per year, considering Starlink but sticking with our SIM Card Router at moment Question is, why did you leave the TV Antenna on mast when you could have IPTV via an Amazon Firestick and receive all Channels without being Geo Blocked globally?

[@svfairisle]

Yes now we have unlimited internet that’s a good idea. Up until now we’ve been getting SIM cards that have limited data so try to limit TV viewing

[@svfairisle]

Yes now we have unlimited internet that’s a good idea. Up until now we’ve been getting SIM cards that have limited data so try to limit TV viewing

[@nortonmolly]

Have you seen Mads, Starlink & router setup on his Sail Life channel. His latest video

[@svfairisle]

No I’ll have a look, thanks

[@chrisryba6190]

This is going to sound ignorant... but why not mount it to the top of the mast? Would be nice to get it out of the way.

[@svfairisle]

It’s a lot of windage for the top of the mast and would have to be out on an arm to clear the nav gear & wind instruments up there. Also the standard cable would not be long enough for most masts. But really there’s no need, I think even with a ketch there will be somewhere on the stern rail with a decent view of the sky

[@WilliamAArnett]

How about on the lower spreader?

[@PaulBKal]

We often have problems getting ours to boot up at sea but we have it mounted in a fishing rod holder, which isn’t a good idea as there is nothing to retain the plug in the dish, whereas the Starlink proprietary mounting arm or ground stand do. So if it hasn’t gained an internet connection within 10 or 15 mins, I know I have to loosen the deck grommet, pull through an armful of cable, lift the dish out of the rod holder, push the lead back in the required extra 1/16th of an inch (

[@svfairisle]

Yes I went with the proprietary holder and just adapted it mainly because it locks the dish in ( you press a button the be able to pull the dish up and out) But the replugging issue can happen in any configuration I think. We've twice had a situation where the unit hadn't connected and the way I get around it is to disconnect the cable (but I do it at the router end) and replug and so far this has always worked

[@tangoreal9098]

I use mine in is it looks like the plan Has increased in price to 2500.00 for yachts is that true?

[@svfairisle]

no!

[@b.scottgould]

I thought Starlink had a separate (much more expensive) marine antenna and subscription. Am I mistaken that Starlink blocks terrestrial devices used at sea? I seem to remember Parley Revival having to switch systems.

[@svfairisle]

Yes it does but it’s very expensive and draws twice as much as this one (which works perfectly well) so why would you?

[@b.scottgould]

@@svfairisle If I remember correctly, Starlink will disable any terrestrial account they detect operating at sea. I have seen at least one operator showing a warning notice they got from Starlink. You can use it in port but once at sea you run the risk of being blocked. Also: "Use in areas marked as Ocean require use of Mobile Priority data".

[@svfairisle]

@@b.scottgould yes that's right you have to switch from the standard account to a mobile one and then pay for the priority data if you're off-shore. They do also want you to have the high power dish for motion as well but everyone just uses the standard dishy and I haven't heard of anyone having a problem.

[@mymobile5014]

Have the usb sockets on the Ecoflow rusted?

[@svfairisle]

If you don't look after them they certainly will. I give them a clean with contact spray and then a squirt of WD40 very regularly

[@guillaumedutoit5376]

how far north and south in the 40 or 50 will it work ,south pole,north pole

[@svfairisle]

No I think 60 degrees is the maximum

[@Formaldehydex]

I don’t really know anything at all how this actually works, so I’m going to simply guess while watching the current draw.

[@KevinColt]

Im buying a sailboat in UK and need to bring to Portugal, Algarve tavira.. i need someone to pilot and teach me a thing or two would u like to come along

[@maxflight777]

*the best place to buy Starlink is Costco*

[@jerehada]

If it didn’t use any extra power moving why disable it? Also download for show upload for ahem content.

[@svfairisle]

Obviously it does use extra power, motor use power there’s no way around that. The test I did just showed that everything else is de powered when the motors run, this is a problem in itself as if the unit decides to reorientate itself because you’ve swung at anchor or something then you will loose connection as the antenna moves and the other systems shut down.

[@jonealdomen]

What is the internet plan of this starlink?

[@svfairisle]

Standard Roam package and just switch to premium when you are offshore.

[@Lighthouse6b]

I noticed that you didn’t mention what subscription you are paying for. Starlink has changed the subscriptions many times in the last year. The motion subscription is limited to 10 miles / hr and in shore (up to ~ 10 miles off shore). Off shore you should upgrade at least to the Continental subscription. The GPS on Starlink how fast you are traveling and where you are located. If you violate your subscription Starlink can shutdown your antenna and degrade you system to a fixed system at your registered home address. A world subscription is extremely expensive and is used by and paid for by cruise ships and mega yachts. They haven’t been been aggressive yet but if the use in violation of the subscription increases they may be shutting people like you down and limit your access.

[@svfairisle]

I went through the subscriptions. But it seems the one I opted for ‘mobile premium’ was a mistake as sticking with standard mobile and just paying for premium by the Gb is the cheapest option

[@stuffathouse]

you described everything starlink did not. they should give you free sub...

[@gt-jr]

Gen 3 starlink have no motors anymore

[@billfromgermany]

Drawing 50 Watts at 48 V is only 1 amp, so surprised at comment that it is power hungry? Have I misunerstood something?

[@svfairisle]

Yes it’s not being powered by DC you have to pull it apart to make that happen. I was powering it from the EcoFlows inverter 240v. It draws 4a at 12v

[@svfairisle]

Yes it’s not being powered by DC you have to pull it apart to make that happen. I was powering it from the EcoFlows inverter 240v. It draws 4a at 12v

[@billfromgermany]

@@svfairisle Thanks for that!

[@didierpuzenat7280]

2:55 Maybe you just overestimate what an electric motor consume, especially compared with sending data with a signal strong enough to reach a satellite. Regarding the never ending movement, it is because it is not design for a moving environment. There is a marine version, it is not moving, has more built in antennas to deal with the fact it does not move, and I guess it is more seawater resistant. It is probably more expansive, as everything for boats, and it may be cheaper than buying a new antennas every 2 ou 3 years do to corrosion.

[@svfairisle]

It’s not just that it’s more expensive to buy it’s that it takes twice the power which is really too much on a yacht

[@테스트유튜브배우-x5c]

몇년안에 지구 어디서든 인터넷이 연결될듯

[@edithdriver2094]

My favourite thing about being on a yacht ? Is NOT being “connected” to the world.

[@svfairisle]

Yes, until you need a weather report!

[@bryanelam6128]

gotta fill out forms in advance at a lot of ports though

[@1962gms]

Great update, but please don't ever say thank you Elon. The product is great, but he is worse than marmite...

[@newwavedave112]

Elon is the best. Stands up for freedom and free speech. The world would be better off with more people like Elon.

[@Coleen_West]

SERIOUSLY, are you complaining about 48 watts? That is less than half the power of a single light bulb and it connect with space satalites yet you complaiin? LOL.. Let's see you do better.

[@svfairisle]

I think you've just given yourself away as a landlubber! A light bulb in your house might have that sort of draw (if you haven't updated them in a decade!) but I could have every interior light and all the nav lights on in the boat and not draw 4 Amps

[@whitedog510]

The Elon Musk cult never misses a chance to make fools of themselves.

[@returner323617]

Yes Steve, who still runs a 100W incandescent light bulb..!?!? During one of the energy saving events last winter, I had the entire house down to just 141W. Considering 48W equates to 4Ah, it is a lot, and probably about the same as a refrigeration unit…

[@svfairisle]

Yes and power is a whole different ball game on a cruising yacht. The original poster obviously doesn't understand this. That's not to say that Starlink has done a bad job. To be able to get internet connection anywhere via satellite in this way is just incredible and yes when you understand that the Starlink dish is not a passive antenna in the way that say a 4G dongle is, this sort of draw is to be expected, but its an adjustment that has to be made in the power budget of a cruiser. There is an automated sleep function in the app that will allow put the unit to bed to save power, so if you have lots of power (im thinking these modern cats with massive solar arrays) then just having it depower when you're asleep may be the best thing. For us it's turning the unit off most of the time while sailing and just powering up when you actually need to do something online

[@PaulBKal]

@Coleen_West, 48W is indeed quite a heavy draw on a boat with finite power from batteries and finite charging opportunities. By way of comparison, it’s about what the fridge uses on our sailboat, which is our biggest other draw. The auto pilot only seems to draw about 2 amps (25-30W) even when working hard. So needing to effectively run two fridges greatly increases the load on our electrical system, which means beefing up both batteries and charging capacity. Unlike a fridge you can of course turn Starlink off when not required. If economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources, electricity on sailboats is the ultimate in economics! As Steve said, you’ve given yourself away as a lubber!

[@gavinberry1796]

i have seen some commentary that Starlink on mobile platforms (e.g. boats) is discouraged/unsupported - any comment on that? I have heard there is some form of defense against moving, AFAIR the link is curtailed. (see @LadyKSailing).

[@gavinberry1796]

Ah - I see there is a "mobile" tariff - obviously there has been an upgrade (higher charge!)

[@svfairisle]

On the original RV package it was not for use on a moving platform or offshore, with the new plans (from the start of 2023) they have got plans that officially allow you offshore, the 'Mobile Priority' is the one we are on, but there is a comment on here that you could stay on the 'Mobile Regional' and just pay for priority by the Gb and that is okay for ocean use too. This would actually be a cheaper way as the Priority plan gives you 50Gb for 300euros, so more expensive than paying 2 euros / Gb which would have only cost us 100Euros! Makes no sense which is why I opted for the full on mobile priority thinking I was missing something, but apparently not. They do want you to have 'special hardware' for anything in motion (ie the various flat dish high power options) but they are expensive and frankly take far too much power. The 'dishy' works fine and no one has had any problems using it at sea. You will see in the next episode we just sails for 2 days through a force 9 storm and the Starlink didnt drop out once, so we can definitely say its good in motion! At least with the motors off, not sure how it would have coped with them still energised - perhaps someone out there has experience of this?

[@johnmac7209]

@@svfairisle Could you do me a massive favour and use capital B in GB? Gb is a gigabit, GB is a gigabyte. Does it matter probably not, but it annoys me a very lot. 🙂