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Starlink UK
- Thread starter OneTinyFish
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- starlink
It's easier to resist when their system can't find my address or Plus code and I'm surrounded by trees with ridges both north and south...
For a computer dependant Co they're hopeless. I even had a message telling me my car repair would be ready on a date 3 days before it actually was...
It finds my address and says, "Starlink is targeting coverage in your area in mid to late 2021", and will presumably allow me to proceed and place an order. One issue is it would be very helpful to know how much of the sky will need to be unobstructed. There are various spots I could locate the dish without too much hassle, but none have 360 degree views free from any tree, roof or chimney. They ought really have an app or other means to check on site location parameters prior to ordering. That said, I'm tempted to place the refundable deposit and worry about that when/if my number gets called....
AFAIK, the Starlink app asks to to point your phone at the sky. It will then overlay a frame showing where it needs clear sky access.I think that it only works once you have the kit though.
The Starlink FAQs say this:
Why do I need a clear “field of view” to use Starlink?
If you could see the connection between a Starlink satellite and your Starlink, it would look like a single beam between the two objects. As the satellite moves, the beam also moves.
The area within which this beam moves is the “field of view”. If any object such as a tree, chimney, pole, etc. interrupts the path of the beam, even briefly, your internet service will be interrupted.
In early service, the required clear field of view is a 100-degree cone around the center of the dish (after tilting) with a 25 degree elevation minimum. Some obstructions are worse than others. Obstructions low in the sky will cause more outages because satellites are in this area of the sky more frequently.
The best guidance we can give is to install your Starlink at the highest elevation possible where it is safe to do so, with a clear view of the sky. Users who live in areas with lots of tall trees, buildings, etc. may not be good candidates for early use of Starlink. However as more satellites are launched, the field of view constraints will decrease, enabling a wider variety of users.
Most people do not accurately assess their Starlink's field of view. To ensure the best possible service, download the Starlink app to assess field of view in your desired install location before installing.
Why do I need a clear “field of view” to use Starlink?
If you could see the connection between a Starlink satellite and your Starlink, it would look like a single beam between the two objects. As the satellite moves, the beam also moves.
The area within which this beam moves is the “field of view”. If any object such as a tree, chimney, pole, etc. interrupts the path of the beam, even briefly, your internet service will be interrupted.
In early service, the required clear field of view is a 100-degree cone around the center of the dish (after tilting) with a 25 degree elevation minimum. Some obstructions are worse than others. Obstructions low in the sky will cause more outages because satellites are in this area of the sky more frequently.
The best guidance we can give is to install your Starlink at the highest elevation possible where it is safe to do so, with a clear view of the sky. Users who live in areas with lots of tall trees, buildings, etc. may not be good candidates for early use of Starlink. However as more satellites are launched, the field of view constraints will decrease, enabling a wider variety of users.
Most people do not accurately assess their Starlink's field of view. To ensure the best possible service, download the Starlink app to assess field of view in your desired install location before installing.
How is any app going to take account of local obstructions you may have in your garden or surrounding your house? There's only so much you can derive from Google Earth images. The trees don't have leaves on them today but in a few months they will. That alone will make a difference if you have a lot of tree cover.
The satellites are constantly moving overhead. It's not like Sky TV where there's one satellite in a fixed position.
The app gets you to point your device up at the sky and superimposes the required field of view over the camera image.
From what I've seen (admittedly not comprehensive), it seems the dish needs unobstructed views of a quadrant of the sky, not a full swipe of the entire horizon in all directions. I am just wanting to see how large and where that area needs to be.
Sure, but obstructions within that FOV won't mean you'll have no service, it will mean you'll have a degraded service.
Does the app work out how degraded the service will be based on the image you give it or does it just show you the FOV?
It just gives you the field of view. I think their assumption is that if you have an obstruction you won't get the service until you've removed the obstruction or the field of view decreases.
Read the FAQ.
"In early service, the required clear field of view is a 100-degree cone around the center of the dish (after tilting) with a 25 degree elevation minimum. Some obstructions are worse than others. Obstructions low in the sky will cause more outages because satellites are in this area of the sky more frequently.
The best guidance we can give is to install your Starlink at the highest elevation possible where it is safe to do so, with a clear view of the sky. Users who live in areas with lots of tall trees, buildings, etc. may not be good candidates for early use of Starlink. However as more satellites are launched, the field of view constraints will decrease, enabling a wider variety of users."
The constellation now has about 1,000 satellites, so its probably not much more than a Minimum Viable Product at this stage, hence them calling it a "Better Than Nothing, Beta". As they launch more the coverage will improve and the impact of obstructions will lessen.
I live in London and have 44Mb down and 6Mb up using BT. BT has no plans for fibre but Boris was elected on a platform of fibre for all within 5 years. That's been dropped to fibre for 85%, but living in London as opposed to a remote rural area I would hope to be in the 85%.
I would like faster, more reliable internet but the set up cost and £90pm is a bit expensive for my tastes. Elon says the price will keep dropping so I think this is one of those occasions to wait and see. If BT bring 1Gb full fibre to my area it will be cheaper than Starlink so probably the one to go for.
If I lived in a remote area with less than 10Mb then it would be totally different and I would order Starlink in a heartbeat.
I would like faster, more reliable internet but the set up cost and £90pm is a bit expensive for my tastes. Elon says the price will keep dropping so I think this is one of those occasions to wait and see. If BT bring 1Gb full fibre to my area it will be cheaper than Starlink so probably the one to go for.
If I lived in a remote area with less than 10Mb then it would be totally different and I would order Starlink in a heartbeat.
You'll get 'a' service, but there will be interruptions. It's just the same as having a tree branch waving in the wind in front of your satellite TV dish, but as there are multiple Starlink satellites usually in view, a single obstruction like one tall, slim tree shouldn't cause too much trouble I'd think.
I think it's a great system and unless you've got a lot of tree cover all around you I think there's a good chance you'd get a fast, reliable service especially once we have some ground stations in the UK.
ACarneiro
Active Member
Sparkeur
Member
Musk has made it clear in interviews (see below) about 5G and internet that Starlink is not primarily for 'city or suburb dwellers' as they tend to have good internet links and would anyway have difficulty with obstructions. It is aimed at users, who live in the countryside, desert, Amazon rain forest, Taiga, Tundra or any of the other millions of sq miles on Earth that are a headache for traditional internet suppliers to provide service. I live in the countryside and have no problem getting a clear field of view to the sky. I've ordered my kit and look forward to going from .5mbps to upwards of 100mbps.
Sparkeur
Member
That's great news!
I see you have the tripod dish stand. Was there also an option to purchase the roof apex stand instead - or as well?
I'm really interested in this, live out in the sticks can just occasionally get 3G on a good day with the wind behind it, broadband can do 10mb if I'm lucky etc etc.
But I would want fixed IP (preferably v4, but could change over with quite a bit of work) and low latency (ping)
Normally anything satellite based has fairly high latency, anyone know what the ping might be like?
But I would want fixed IP (preferably v4, but could change over with quite a bit of work) and low latency (ping)
Normally anything satellite based has fairly high latency, anyone know what the ping might be like?
