TheSongDogHouse
Ranger
Thanks @Dan sloan great find!
Update for wifi/ starlink
- Thread starter Dan sloan
- Start date
TheSongDogHouse
Ranger
Update on Starlink:
TheSongDogHouse
Ranger
Interesting take...
www.pcmag.com
My takeaway is that as long as you can see the sky (no trees, not a rain/snow storm) you have text based and low bandwidth data while in the back country. May replace your backpacker days Garmin InReach...
Of courde, its still a power hog so its another challenge on top of the Dometic as freezer if you want to boondock more than 3-4 days. If you have trees or continuous clouds solar is inop...
NEED MOAR POWAH!
SpaceX Exec Tips 'Real' High-Speed Cellular Starlink, With 15K More Satellites
Starlink’s direct-to-cell service has had an outstanding start, but the second stage of its plan brings new challenges.
My takeaway is that as long as you can see the sky (no trees, not a rain/snow storm) you have text based and low bandwidth data while in the back country. May replace your backpacker days Garmin InReach...
Of courde, its still a power hog so its another challenge on top of the Dometic as freezer if you want to boondock more than 3-4 days. If you have trees or continuous clouds solar is inop...
NEED MOAR POWAH!
Last edited:
Sweeney
Administrator
Interesting take...
SpaceX Exec Tips 'Real' High-Speed Cellular Starlink, With 15K More Satellites
Starlink’s direct-to-cell service has had an outstanding start, but the second stage of its plan brings new challenges.
My takeaway is that as long as you can see the sky (no trees, not a rain/snow storm) you have text based and low bandwidth data while in the back country. May replace your backpacker days Garmin InReach...
Of courde, its still a power hog so its another challenge on top of the Dometic as freezer if you want to boondock more than 3-4 days. If you have trees or continuous clouds solar is inop...
NEED MOAR POWAH!
I havn't pulled any triggers, so I havn't done as much research --- but itlooks like the mini uses about 2amps of power, which is quite a bit, but not absolutely terrible.
Dewalt battery packs can be used as a power source if you buy the adapter (or make your own) Dewalt batteries are 2Ah or 5Ah typically -- the adapter I looked at allowed 2 batteries at a time --- so you're looking at between 2 (1 2Ah battery, up to 2 5ah batteries)
Thats not great, but it's not terrible either -- my laptop battery is going to die at about the same rate. My current hotspot battery life is probably in about that range too, though it could be extended by actually buying a new battery...mine is pretty warn out)
If you have 120 volts avaiable then there is no issue, except the inconveniene of having to pull a cable from your camper to the dish.
I like the idea of onstar, but without modifying your vehicle (probably not all that difficult, but I've been wrong before) and the risk of modifying a wire harness, with all the complexity of not having a wire diagram available. The problem is that do you know just feeding 12 volts to the 2 pins from an external source will work? Its hard to tell -- with the integration and bus being shut down, its not 100% clear the wifi radio would still work.
For what its worth, toyota offers a similar product -- I just found out my car has it. Though I've ever subscribed.
TheSongDogHouse
Ranger
Ya, I'm not spending too much time on edge cases for my use: "which phone/cellphone carrier" etc but I found the reference to Apple sort of interesting, as its looking like Verizon and ATTs bet on AST spacemobile isnt working out.
Tim Farrar seems to be the most often quoted guy in this space. Now a Starlink phone...that could be interesting!
"SpaceX especially wants Apple to cooperate instead of pursuing the C-3 constellation because the H-block and AWS-4 spectrum, that SpaceX is now acquiring from EchoStar, is not supported by any current phones (EchoStar’s Band 66 and Band 70 used different frequency pairings). Thus support from device manufacturers will be needed to get the new capabilities enabled by this spectrum into consumers’ hands in the near term. Of course if Apple doesn’t come around, then there’s always the possibility that SpaceX will announce a “Starlink phone” as Apple executives worried about in the May article."
I'll probly get another sogen when I get a Starlink Mini. My ideal end-state is to NOT be tied to a 120v extension cord, anywhere...
But reliably check in with family, check email, browse the news, download a movie for later while I'm waiting for the coffee to kick in...
Maybe an hour or two of use of Starlink mini per day...
Tim Farrar seems to be the most often quoted guy in this space. Now a Starlink phone...that could be interesting!
"SpaceX especially wants Apple to cooperate instead of pursuing the C-3 constellation because the H-block and AWS-4 spectrum, that SpaceX is now acquiring from EchoStar, is not supported by any current phones (EchoStar’s Band 66 and Band 70 used different frequency pairings). Thus support from device manufacturers will be needed to get the new capabilities enabled by this spectrum into consumers’ hands in the near term. Of course if Apple doesn’t come around, then there’s always the possibility that SpaceX will announce a “Starlink phone” as Apple executives worried about in the May article."
I'll probly get another sogen when I get a Starlink Mini. My ideal end-state is to NOT be tied to a 120v extension cord, anywhere...
But reliably check in with family, check email, browse the news, download a movie for later while I'm waiting for the coffee to kick in...
Maybe an hour or two of use of Starlink mini per day...
Sweeney
Administrator
I dunno, I'd like to see some one other than starlink playing in the game --- I like competition. Its good for everyone.
TheSongDogHouse
Ranger
Ya lets talk about SLS...
She cant take any more power captain the dilithium crystals are meltingInteresting take...
SpaceX Exec Tips 'Real' High-Speed Cellular Starlink, With 15K More Satellites
Starlink’s direct-to-cell service has had an outstanding start, but the second stage of its plan brings new challenges.
My takeaway is that as long as you can see the sky (no trees, not a rain/snow storm) you have text based and low bandwidth data while in the back country. May replace your backpacker days Garmin InReach...
Of courde, its still a power hog so its another challenge on top of the Dometic as freezer if you want to boondock more than 3-4 days. If you have trees or continuous clouds solar is inop...
NEED MOAR POWAH!
Well bezos announced his new high powered high priced alternative.
Is it me or I'd becos pretty much a copycat? Elon has ecars Amazon has trucks. Elon has a spaceship bezos has a spaceship. Elon has satellites bezos has satellites...
TheSongDogHouse
Ranger
Bezos has WAPOo
Musk has X...
Bezos has a trophywife...
Musk has...er...
Neurolink and A kewl robot
I probly ought to stop now.
Musk has 14 kids
Bezos has 4 plus 3 of Sanchezs
You sure he has a trophy wife? Might be some Android in there...
Sweeney
Administrator
Competition is good, but I'd like to see another more reputable company do this -- though I'm not sure who that would might even be -- the amount of capital it takes to do something like this is mind-blowing. Frankly, I don't quite get how it even possibly profitable even if you are charging $150 a month for the service. Perhaps the unserved spaces between cities are enough -- it's a huge country and impossible to really get high-speed internet to everyone.
It's a shame Hughesnet didn't shift their methods -- they've been playing in the internet by satellite for a long time, but never seemed to ring the bell.
<RANT>
I don't trust Bezos as far as I can spit at him. Feel free to call me a hypocrite—I still buy from Amazon as well.
Back in 2018, there were a half-dozen YouTube channels dedicated to dead and dying malls. Most of those channels are gone now. I doubt it's because dead malls became a 'failing fad'—it's probably because there's nothing left to film.
Even Circle Centre Mall, once the jewel of downtown Indianapolis, just closed its doors forever on New Year's Eve. Drive past any once-thriving strip mall these days, and you'll see empty husks full of crime, cheaply built thrift stores hawking roadside furniture pickups, and junk shops.
Is Bezos responsible for this? When he started with books and dipped into retail, maybe he had an altruistic vision. But what he's built now is an e-commerce empire flooded with Chinese companies peddling knockoffs under nonsensical, AI-generated brand names that pop up and vanish as quickly as a bad reputation.
You could say the same about Walmart, Target, Meijer, and the big-box stores killing local retail—but at least those places still prominently stock the real quality stuff: DeWalt, Milwaukee, and Bosch.
</RANT>