Starlink RV for cruising

[Zanshin]

After reading a lot about the new Starlink RV technology and meeting two boats in past days who rave about it, I pulled the trigger and purchased one today! In today's world of immediate gratification, I expected it to be packaged within minutes and be on its way within hours; but the confirmation E-Mail stated that it might take up to 2 weeks to get my order processed. My, how COVID-19 and Amazon Prime have changed expectations!

One of the challenges from working aboard while cruising the Caribbean chain is internet access. Each island has a non-compatible data plan or provider network, so I always need to go ashore, find a store, buy and activate a SIM-Card and get it installed in my MiFi device. And the nice remote anchorages I prefer to stay in are often in areas where local phone coverage is marginal, at best. So I'm really looking forward to using Mr. Musk's nice new technology.

I haven't read about anyone on this forum having used one; perhaps I'll be the first to be able to give a hands-on Jeanneau report. In 2 weeks. Or perhaps longer...

[Tafika II]

We looked at buying the Flat, High-Performance Starlink fixed RV version (more expensive) with no external moving parts. It's much larger than the current RV or standard dish. One of the salespersons told me that if I didn't need it "NOW," to wait as there may be a small fixed version available in 2023. So, I'll wait to see since I don't need it now.
We have several friends with The RV mobile on their boats, and they couldn't be happier. While the RV version doesn't have the priority of the fixed land home version, I've heard no complaints. What is nice with the RV version is that if you're not going to use it, you can shut down the monthly subscription unit you do. I'm sure it goes by Calander month to month.

Looking forward to hearing your story once installed.

[Don Reaves]

If you purchased the "Starlink Maritime" version, I'm definitely not in the same financial league you're in. $10,000 for hardware and $5,000 per month is way more than I would ever (EVER) pay.

[Zanshin]

Don, the link above is to what I purchased, the "RV" version for US$599 and $130/month. The marine version is for megayachts and cruise ships.

[Don Reaves]

Seriously, that's what I figured. But I saw the commercial marine version and just had to say, "Wow!"

[sailbaum]

Zanshin,
Keep up hope.  I received the same email and then 3 days later the dish was at my door.  One day before I left the Chesapeake Bay for Tortola.  We had 100mbps about 500 miles offshore during the trip.  The setup (first time offshore) took minutes.  Instant gratification at its best.  The crew (all well over 50) were like teenagers on their cell phones hooked up to wifi.  It's a game changer.

Mark 

[Zanshin]

sailbaum - thanks for the encouraging post. My Starlink account still says that the status is "preparing shipment". I can't wait to try it out and considering how much boat parts cost the price is pretty low for something that floats on the water. Plus, my tax accountant said I can expense it

[virtualburton]

Hi guys, I signed up early on and got the full residential version but I'm thinking from what I've heard that the results I'm getting are similar on the RV version. I've been running it now for a little over a year and find it absolutely fantastic on the boat. It automatically adjusts itself and so far I have had coverage everywhere I've gone (around coastal British Columbia). I'm guessing that would probably be the same anywhere it has coverage – but I find it works well even when I'm moving, heeled over while sailing, whatever. I live aboard and work from home so I do a lot of video conferences and online meetings and it never misses a beat.

Highly recommend. 

[NZL50505]

Cruisers who recently returned from S Pac islands / Fiji reported that Starlink was very patchy and only worked well in the places they could get 4G cell coverage anyway.

Not sure if that will improve over time…

[loredo]

The "problem" with the Starlink system is power usage.  Router + Antenna = +/- 60 Watt. The router is only 110/220V AC.  Requires the inverter always on which makes the thing even more power hungry.  The router has limited configuration options.

Solution? Get rid of the router and provide power to the antenna via PoE.  The antenna needs 48V.  You'll need a step up converter 24-->48V and then feed the antenna over PoE using your own router.  This cuts power needs to half.

Starlink does not use the standard ethernet wire configuration but has inverted two wire pairs.  Look it up on Utub, all information there readily available. 

[Zanshin]

That is useful information, and I'm surprised that the power consumption is that high. Is the router unnecessary? I have another router already wired into the boat (for my Ubiquiti Bullet and Bad Boy WiFi extenders) that I'd rather use.

[loredo]

Once you've got the "PoE wiring" in place the starlink router is no longer needed, you can use your own.

Another word of caution, when the antenna searches for the satellites it needs more power.  For peace of mind, get a +/- 300W step up converter. 

[loredo]

A place to start reading: Github GIST

[Zanshin]

My antenna arrived in Virginia a couple of days ago, where a friend has now initialized it and it is now on its way to me in St. Lucia. Shipping costs almost as much as the antenna ($400 shipping, $599 for the dish) but I'm treating it as my christmas present to myself. I expect it by the end of the week and will report how it works for me.

[virtualburton]

I agree about the power but it’s doable. Mine is the full sized dish for residential. It draws approx. 7 amps on 12v DC. I turn it off at night.

[Zanshin]

Update: on my confirmation page upon ordering, it stated "Delivery by end of business Friday". The second I confirmed my credit card number and had paid, that status changed to "Expected delivery by end of business Monday". I feel somewhat cheated, considering the expedited shipping costs. Currently the antenna is in Miami, according to the online tracking system. It is going to be a close thing; my local SIM data plan runs out on Monday

[eoin2020]

The very best of luck Zanshin with your purchase.
I'm following this and very interested as the Starlink is on my wishlist of necessary hardware for future purchase.

[Zanshin]

I finally got my Starlink RV system yesterday afternoon. It took 8 days to get delivered, much of that time it was sitting in the DHL only a couple of miles away. It turns out that DHL had messed up the paperwork and put in a commercial invoice for another shipment, which meant that customs wouldn't clear it until that got sorted out by my agent.

The antenna system took only minutes to set up. I think I'll keep it belowdecks, but for my first attempt I wanted optimal reception, and I installed it on deck and forward.

[fma]

Zanshin, how's the overall Starlink performance and have you tried it while underway?

[Zanshin]

I had to move the dish a bit aft to get better performance; I believe that the metal railing of the pulpit and the metal in the genoa disturbed reception. But so far it is going well and I've got 750W of solar running which keeps the fridge, freezer, and inverter with Starlink, PC, 32" monitor and my coffee machine running. On a sunny day it almost keeps up, but I've got a big battery bank and running the generator for an hour every 2-3 days keeps me topped off.

[Charlie-Bravo]

Interested to know how directional the new gadget is, perhaps a stanchion mount to effectively have the antenna outboard might get over any rigging and metalwork getting in the way?
I have found turning the fridge off last thing at night, and then turning it on in the morning every few days stretches out the available power, without allowing the beer to warm or the ham to go off ……… but I’m not in the Caribbean , and don’t have a generator.

CB

[Zanshin]

@charliebravo - I like that energy-saving with the fridge and the freezer. Right now I have some frozen corn and baguettes in the freezer, nothing else except 4 x 5l Water bottles (I let out some water to allow for expansion) that are used as a mass ballast. Once I provision in France (Martinique or Guadeloupe or St. Martin) the freezer will get filled. So keeping those items at -15C is a waste of energy. But I'm so close to being self-sufficient without the genset. I think I'll get a D400 wind generator and that way the batteries will charge at about 200-300W every night, all night.

Anyway, the Starlink doesn't reposition frequently and many boat owners have disconnected the motors after the antenna was set to be pretty much flat. This saves energy and infrequent "dropouts" and doesn't cause undue performance loss. I might get a pole for the Starlink to get it out of the way of all metallic items; since the winds here in the Caribbean are always within about +- 10 degrees of east it should be easy to find one optimal position.

I'm still pretty happy with the solution. For the first time, I can sail to empty and distant anchorages and still be able to login to work and earn my paycheck to pay for my lifestyle. It really is a game-changer!

[Zanshin]

Did anyone notice that I'm pretty much the only one in the Caribbean, excepting cruise ships and professionally run megayachts, that actually displays an anchoring day shape?

[katk]

Check out svrenaissance.com/ for a full report on Starlink and how we use two units for seamless remote work in super remote anchorages.

[eoin2020]

Dec 23, 2022 21:53:03 GMT Zanshin said:

Did anyone notice that I'm pretty much the only one in the Caribbean, excepting cruise ships and professionally run megayachts, that actually displays an anchoring day shape?

Good Seamanship 👏👏