TMC is an independent, primarily volunteer organization that relies on ad revenue to cover its operating costs. Please consider whitelisting TMC on your ad blocker and becoming a Supporting Member. For more info: Support TMC
  1. TMC is currently READ ONLY.
    Click here for more info.

SpaceX Internet Satellite Network: Starlink

Discussion in 'SpaceX' started by Grendal, Nov 8, 2014.

  1. dhanson865

    dhanson865 Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2013
    Messages:
    4,331
    Location:
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    #1521 dhanson865, Feb 10, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2021
    fwiw I'm at 35.938 N and I'm still seeing the "targeting coverage in your area in mid to late 2021" but with Kentucky, Kansas, and Virginia already seeing service I don't expect to have to wait long.

    edit: “Due to increased order volume, orders may take 1-2 months to ship.” That should give you an idea on how quickly they'll march south. The limit now is making enough dishes and shipping the kits out, not the satellites. Ground stations could still be a limiting factor in some areas.
     
    • Informative x 1
    • Like x 1
  2. Mr. Michael

    Mr. Michael Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2019
    Messages:
    82
    Location:
    Wisconsin
    At 45.2 North in Wisconsin. About 120 miles from Merrillan starlink site. The are saying mid to late 2021. Not sure what’s gating the process.
     
  3. Cosmacelf

    Cosmacelf Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2013
    Messages:
    8,229
    Location:
    San Diego
    it could be how quickly they can build dishes. Those things are complex and there is also a worldwide semiconductor shortage which isn’t helping anything.
     
    • Informative x 1
  4. DMC-Orangeville

    DMC-Orangeville 85D and John Deere 5100E

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2015
    Messages:
    907
    Location:
    NW of the 6ix Canada
    I ordered this a couple of days ago Lat. 43.56; 2-4 weeks delivery. I told my neighbours.....2 of them got it in 2-4 weeks, and the third, Mid to late 2021 (They weren't happy). I don't think it's supply, I think it's the number of beta testers in the zone.
     
    • Like x 1
  5. Gwgan

    Gwgan Almost a wagon

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2013
    Messages:
    2,836
    Location:
    Maine
    Got Starlink because, among other reasons, my cable internet is not great and I hoped for improved performance of a particular networked device. Good news is download and upload speeds and latency are better and so far uptime is on par. The device uses a local DNS name and does not work with the Starlink router (but does work when I use my own router). I suspect that DNS Rebinding Protection is active as this could cause the problem I am seeing on the device but have no way to check. Waiting for an answer from Starlink. My own router does not have that as an option. In general, so far so good.
     
  6. shs1

    shs1 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2016
    Messages:
    202
    Location:
    Mariposa CA
    When are the satellites activated? Do they have to be in their final orbit (green circles on the map) before they can transmit and receive from the dishy, or are the yellow circles near final orbit also actively contributing to the grid?
     
  7. phantasms

    phantasms Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2019
    Messages:
    1,315
    Location:
    Cross River, NY
    Got mine today. There’s feet of snow outside. As soon as I can I’ll get it on the roof. When we bought the house a few years back there was a Dish network dish up there. Can’t wait to rip that down and replace it with this.

    My lat is 41.2727

    D14DEBEC-7027-418F-87FD-8032AD4EFE4F.jpeg
     
    • Love x 1
  8. f205v

    f205v Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2018
    Messages:
    641
    Location:
    Tessin, Switzerland
    They must be in final orbit to become operative.
     
    • Informative x 1
  9. NY_Rob

    NY_Rob Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2020
    Messages:
    733
    Location:
    Long Island
    @phantasms... would you mind measuring the dia of the dish? I'd like to see what I'm getting in to before taking the leap as I would need a roof mount at our location.

    Thanks... Rob
     
  10. mspohr

    mspohr Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2014
    Messages:
    8,943
    Location:
    California
    Ordered today. Told me mid to late 2021 for delivery.
    Lat 39.2 N
     
  11. mspohr

    mspohr Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2014
    Messages:
    8,943
    Location:
    California
    How do you think it will deal with snow?
     
  12. Cosmacelf

    Cosmacelf Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2013
    Messages:
    8,229
    Location:
    San Diego
    The Starlink reddit has pictures of the dish almost completely buried under snow, and it keeps working. The dish stays warm when operating, so snow and ice usually melt off it over time (although it tends to get an icicle beard over time).
     
    • Informative x 1
    • Like x 1
  13. dwolvin

    dwolvin Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2018
    Messages:
    60
    Location:
    Santee, CA
    Dish is 23 inches, mast is about 16 inches high.
     
    • Informative x 1
  14. NY_Rob

    NY_Rob Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2020
    Messages:
    733
    Location:
    Long Island
  15. shs1

    shs1 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2016
    Messages:
    202
    Location:
    Mariposa CA
    I had the impression that green circles were active or operational, but yellow circles were still maneuvering to their final orbit and were not operational. But, if I select "active" rather than "any" on the starlink satellite map, it shows both green and yellow circles, but does not show the yellow circle "trains" that were obviously recently launched. Are the yellow circles show as "active" operational?
     
  16. f205v

    f205v Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2018
    Messages:
    641
    Location:
    Tessin, Switzerland
    well, not easy to answer. For sure, during the first 15 or so launches they had to wait for final orbit before being operational.
    In the recent weeks, a few satellite that where already at their allotted altitude have started to slowly move. It is not clear if this slowly moving ones are operational or not, most probably yes.
    You can check this animation, and the ensuing discussion.
     
    • Helpful x 1
    • Informative x 1
    • Like x 1
  17. bxr140

    bxr140 Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2014
    Messages:
    2,607
    Location:
    Bay Area
    They could be repositioning those sats to a slightly lower altitude, which seems plausible given the bananas amount of conjunctions the constellation is going to have. Eccentricity is pretty easy to manage, so you don't need too many km between shells to implement what intuitively seems like a sensible way to reduce conjunctions and corollary COLAs.

    Speculating here, but especially if they're planning on populating the inclined shells with ISLs (which to my knowledge, they are) it makes sense to move non-ISL sats out of the prime altitude at some point. For some really hand-wavey Monday morning math, at least one column of the "slow" moving sats (which FWIW are technically moving faster than the static sats) seem to be sliding at about 3°/day relative to the static sats, which means they're ~2-2.5km lower than those "static" sats.

    Circling back on the original question, It is almost certain that the "slow" moving satellites that are ~at service altitude are indeed providing service. While satellites do not have a license to operate service in non-service orbits, like orbit raising and material repositioning (there are all manner of coordination efforts that would be a mess for a short and transient timeframe), being a few km offset is still within the ITU/FCC window.
     
    • Informative x 1
    • Like x 1
  18. Cosmacelf

    Cosmacelf Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2013
    Messages:
    8,229
    Location:
    San Diego
    • Informative x 5
    • Helpful x 1
    • Like x 1
  19. scaesare

    scaesare Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2013
    Messages:
    8,178
    Location:
    NoVA
    That's due to it having active heating elements in addition to just the actual communication electronics as I understand it.
     

Share This Page

  • About Us

    Formed in 2006, Tesla Motors Club (TMC) was the first independent online Tesla community. Today it remains the largest and most dynamic community of Tesla enthusiasts. Learn more.
  • Do you value your experience at TMC? Consider becoming a Supporting Member of Tesla Motors Club. As a thank you for your contribution, you'll get nearly no ads in the Community and Groups sections. Additional perks are available depending on the level of contribution. Please visit the Account Upgrades page for more details.


    SUPPORT TMC