is STARLINK worth it? (1 Viewer)
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Let me save everyone some time. He says "no" it's not worth it. Now if you wanna pay him for the other 99% of video thru YT, go for it but it's just rambling.
No way would I pay for that for driving around on land. It's gaining real traction among offshore sailors for real time weather info but I don't see it for land. Unless you just have to update youtube and Instascam constantly, which some feel they do.
So... I guess I'm the one with the unpopular opinion. I think Starlink is flat out amazing. I take it when I know I cannot take weeks of PTO but want to go, as ol' Dundee would say, "on walkabout." There are plenty of things to be aware of before the purchase, and if you have the RV version, you will get lowest priority of service. However, even in a congested area like Washington DC, when I take it to hang out and work by the bay (and I have taken my team with me), I can still get 5 team members, each on different video conference calls, with minimal lag. 4 team members... no issues whatsoever.
When I head out to Assateague Island, I get significantly greater performance.
Starlink provides me the ability to continue to work while I am on an adventure. People can argue whether or not that defeats the purpose of the adventure, and my answer is... you do you. As for performance, it has been excellent (except it does need a clear sky). I have seen 5mb up/down in congested areas, and up to 150mb up/down in Assateague (I have never seen it that high again). I average about 20mb down, and maybe 5mb up.
It does take up a solid amount of space... so sacrificing other gear may be necessary.
When I head out to Assateague Island, I get significantly greater performance.
Starlink provides me the ability to continue to work while I am on an adventure. People can argue whether or not that defeats the purpose of the adventure, and my answer is... you do you. As for performance, it has been excellent (except it does need a clear sky). I have seen 5mb up/down in congested areas, and up to 150mb up/down in Assateague (I have never seen it that high again). I average about 20mb down, and maybe 5mb up.
It does take up a solid amount of space... so sacrificing other gear may be necessary.
I agree with broomstick.
Rented on for a week to allow my wife to rest. She is a university professor that teaches on line as well manages other profs. In her world the student (customer) is king...if there is a problem you have to be on it yesterday.
Starling worked flawlessly.
Problems: bulk, unstastable pricing.
Won't buy until those problems solved.
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We have the RV version, and use it regularly. It's worked well in TX, CA, UT, CO, MN, WI, OK, AZ, NM, NV, WY, SD and Baja. When you travel to places with fringe or overloaded cell towers, it's a necessity.
I was originally paying $135/mo, and had the ability to shut down the service for the months I was not using it. It went up to $150/mo, continue to be able to shut off the service on the months I do not use it (winter months).
Love your content, RFB. Been following since your "Boston rant" days. Great stuff still. 
Miss your 80 yet? What ever happened to it? Helluva built rig.
Miss your 80 yet? What ever happened to it? Helluva built rig.
my parents live in a remote house in the woods, starlink has been awesome for them.
for convenience while on vacation? no way.
and i think thats the deciding factor,,, full time living vs part time living, working vs non working.
for convenience while on vacation? no way.
and i think thats the deciding factor,,, full time living vs part time living, working vs non working.
I live in BFE Kansas and have been a Starlink customer for 3 years. It has been a phenomenal upgrade over the HughesNet crap I had for a decade. For clarification, Starlink is my ISP and is bolted to my house, not a camper. The service works great. Over the years I have very few issues with it. Starlink Customer support is slow as hell, but they have always resolved any issue I had.
I don't need connectivity when I travel, so I have never even considered taking the dish with me. The 6 family members that follow my Instagram account can wait to see pictures when I get back home
If I travelled full time I wouldn't hesitate to get the Roam plan.
I don't need connectivity when I travel, so I have never even considered taking the dish with me. The 6 family members that follow my Instagram account can wait to see pictures when I get back home
If I travelled full time I wouldn't hesitate to get the Roam plan.
1911
chupacabra
I live in BFE Kansas and have been a Starlink customer for 3 years. It has been a phenomenal upgrade over the HughesNet crap I had for a decade. For clarification, Starlink is my ISP and is bolted to my house, not a camper. The service works great. Over the years I have very few issues with it. Starlink Customer support is slow as hell, but they have always resolved any issue I had.
I don't need connectivity when I travel, so I have never even considered taking the dish with me. The 6 family members that follow my Instagram account can wait to see pictures when I get back home
Same here; I live in rural Texas and suffered HughesNet for 17 years because it was the only way for me to get internet. Bought the Starlink RV package and mounted it semi-permanently on the metal building we currently live in (still on the waiting list for regular home Starlink), and it has been a life-changing experience. Now we have speed and bandwidth and can use streaming services, which was not remotely possible with HughesNet. No data caps, and it's cheaper too. Actually saved a bunch of money by kicking both HughesNet and DishNetwork to the curb. And the install is so easy, a caveman could do it. It's been flawless, and no problems at all for more than a year now.
Making the call to cancel Hughes was great. My experience with Starlink is the same as yours. It has been life changing. I have the ability to stream, make a WiFi phone call and browse mud all at the same time while a few google cameras upload video to the cloud. Hughes couldn't accomplish one of those individual tasks.
1911
chupacabra
LOL, when I made that call, the "service" rep asked the obligatory question, "why was I cancelling"? So I told them: Starlink was cheaper, 10x the speed, and no data caps. The rep was quiet for a few seconds and then said "I'd probably do that too!".
How about cancelling Dish? Do they still jerk you around trying to keep you? Need to cancel mine but just haven't gotten around to it.LOL, when I made that call, the "service" rep asked the obligatory question, "why was I cancelling"? So I told them: Starlink was cheaper, 10x the speed, and no data caps. The rep was quiet for a few seconds and then said "I'd probably do that too!".
1911
chupacabra
I was expecting a gigantic run-around, but it was surprisingly easy. Had to ship their hardware back in a pre-paid box that they provided.
dogdaysindurham
SILVER Star
I have really liked Starlink. I have the standard rectangular dish and on RV / roaming service. I currently use the stock base, but am looking at getting the adapter and Harbor Freight telescoping pole for use in conditions where there are some trees obstructing the horizon view.
Conversation for those keeping it fixed…
I’m home-based with Microsoft Teams calls/video/screen sharing a constant. A couple TVs will be streaming something throughout the day with wife/kids. No time for games, so I really don’t think that level of speed/latency is a driver. Just looking for consistent and no surprise bandwidth throttling. Relatively rural and building the home in the middle of the woods. Clear view of sky, but not horizon - just up.
I like the idea of Starlink, but I’m not impressed with their vague descriptions and tiered offerings that are seemingly in place to mitigate their lack of commitment to deliverables. Price history seems to indicate about a 20% bump in monthly expense over the past couple years, but I guess what hasn’t? Would love to hear from some actual users.
I’m home-based with Microsoft Teams calls/video/screen sharing a constant. A couple TVs will be streaming something throughout the day with wife/kids. No time for games, so I really don’t think that level of speed/latency is a driver. Just looking for consistent and no surprise bandwidth throttling. Relatively rural and building the home in the middle of the woods. Clear view of sky, but not horizon - just up.
I like the idea of Starlink, but I’m not impressed with their vague descriptions and tiered offerings that are seemingly in place to mitigate their lack of commitment to deliverables. Price history seems to indicate about a 20% bump in monthly expense over the past couple years, but I guess what hasn’t? Would love to hear from some actual users.
