Starlink - For Off Shore

[Screen Saver]

Hi,
Has anyone used Star link offshore is the basic question ?

If you have what did you buy ?
and what plan did you chose ?.
How far offshore and how did it preform ?

So here in Ozy you can by the typical home hardware for between $500 and $800 depending on what you buy.
A data plan is about around the $180pm aud....
With these sort of figure Im not sure why one would go down the road of Iridium Go exec for a lot more money. I have been anchored beside Iridium users and had to provide them grib files that I got over SSB (sailmail) cause they still couldn't. All be it that was rare.

So here, I am aware of a number of boats with it on running up and down the coast, but Im not sure about how far off the coast it will actually go.
Seems to me that if the satellites are about 550 k of the earth and there re many of them, that i may cover the ground between countries that are not say 1000nm apart.
So is there anyone with real firsthand experience or good knowledge.

 

[smokey73]

I'm not a user so can't give firsthand experience but here is a "coverage map" for here in the US. Attached is the coverage map from June 2020 (so it is not current) and from the look of it, the horizontal footprint does not cover as big a footprint as you might need. The article also includes how Starlink functions, including the need for a ground station to be in range of the satellite. Hopefully you can get some further first hand experience and a current coverage map to answer your question.

Satellite Internet Update: Starlink Is Exciting, But Reality Check Needed For RVers and Cruisers

With OneWeb going through bankruptcy and Amazon's Project Kuiper seemingly stalled, SpaceX's Starlink has become the clear leader in the race to provide next-generation satellite internet service. Some RVers and cruisers are already dreaming of

www.rvmobileinternet.com

Let us know what you find out.

 

[smokey73]

Here is Sarlink's web page for global marine coverage at a bargain $5000 per month

https://www.starlink.com/maritime

Note that is "global coverage" and maybe you are not looking for that.

 

[dlochner]

A lot of cruisers are using RV packages which seem to work for coastal cruising. The RV packages have an antenna that locks on to a satellite(s) and tracks the satellite.

Personally, I don't think Elon Musk needs any of my money.

 

[Johann]

We are considering starlink as well. There is a Starlink on boats FB page with good first hand information. From there and the starlink website this is what I have gleaned.
RV service is “best effort” whether on land or at sea. If there is little traffic you are great, but with congestion you are the last priority.
In the past, you had to be within range of a ground station to connect, now with the satellite to satellite laser link functioning, people have crossed the Atlantic and Pacific on the RV plan with little interruption.

 

[dLj]

I will have direct experience by the end of this summer but I don't have any yet.

I have had Starlink RV for close to two years at this point. I have used it extensively from close to the Canadian border to the Chesapeake Bay on the East coast and it works very well. I have not been far into the ocean with it yet. So far I have used it to work from my boat and other places along the coast and find it has a bit of a glitch in video conferencing if you don't have a perfectly clear view of the sky. But even with poor sky visibility, it works very well. With a very clear sky visibility, real time video conferencing is pretty much trouble free. Pretty amazing in my mind.

It's my understanding for off shore comes from following others comments stating that there is a geofence off shore so it does not work mid-ocean. There seems to be some discrepancy here. It is supposed to work again once within that geofence distance from the next country you are coming to. There are a number of folk that are using it in the Med and say it has excellent coverage. I've also heard that from those that bought the service from far away (will be my case coming from the US) that after about 3 months the systems says you are too far from your "home" and cut you off...

Stay tuned for more direct info in months to come...

dj

 

[Phil]

I use a Garmin InReach Mini II for my primary off shore communication device. $399 for the unit. Month to month "Consumer Expedition Plan" for $65 per month. Unlimited text messages and tracking. When sailing from San Francisco to Oahu we had a satellite phone as a backup communication device. I don't feel the need to have internet access while sailing off shore. Cell phones work fine for day sailing most of the places that I go.

 

[jssailem]

Not Open Off shore, but some good information.

Starlink is finally useful aboard

Starlink is a great option to stay connected while at anchor or at the dock. There are still some challenges, but combined with a cellular router, it makes a powerful solution.

seabits.com

 

[Screen Saver]

Thanks all for feedback.
Just to cover some points
No my cruising budget does not extend to Starlink Marine at $5k PM. That’s around 20% of my yearly budget.
It looks like most of the coverage is there already Live Starlink Satellite and Coverage Map (satellitemap.space) & Order Starlink
The RV package is what Im looking at. If I can dump the cell service, then its not a lot extra.
As some have suggested it’s a luxury not a necessity. But if it works it would have many benefits to where and how I cruise if I had internet 90+% of the time.

Some of these benefits are:
In Cyclone area’s I can watch almost in real time where its headed, track updates, having been in one SuperTyphoon it helps.
I can see shit weather coming (that's not on the forecast) on a passage and alter course a few degree’s, or even stay put.
If something does go wrong I can call whom I chose and shit does happen Kandrian (New Britain) Attacked !!! Violent Armed Boarding | Screensaver (wordpress.com)
My boat monitoring and alerting can alert me or my family if Im off the boat, be at the bar etc.
I can manage and respond to things that generate income, rental properties, stock market, etc
I don’t need to go chaseing SIM cards at every country and then try to figure there plans out, or which telco to go with and how to pay it
I can research where to get what parts if needed when in some remote places.
Can lodge pre arrival notices to officials before hand, contact the marinea,

The list goes on. Not essential for sure, but they said this about mobile phones when they first came out…. What was it Yuppie toys. Now who wouldn’t be without one.

Questions:
So is RV Service definitely a lowered priority or was that experience a simple congestion issue. ?
Anyone have any additional information on the Geo Fencing ?
Anyone with any more info on being to far away from home after x period ?
Anyone with the RV solution whom has changed countries?

 

[Screen Saver]

This just in... quite helpful a comparison between Starlink and Iridum Go exec Starlink - PredictWind
I guess the between the two, if Geo Fencing doesn't impact Starlink, then for me Starlink would be the way to go between the two of them.

 

[Johann]

.

Questions:
So is RV Service definitely a lowered priority or was that experience a simple congestion issue. ?
Anyone have any additional information on the Geo Fencing ?
Anyone with any more info on being to far away from home after x period ?
Anyone with the RV solution whom has changed countries?

Q1. Yes. RV is definitely lower priority. It is “best effort” service anywhere there is Starlink service.
Q2. Geofencing. Per the TOS you are limited to your continent. After 2 months outside your country you may be required to change you service address.

https://support.starlink.com/?topic=5731490a-56c5-c259-a3d6-13d0872bb398

 

[Johann]

This is what I’m waiting for. Smaller footprint, in-motion certified, presumably lower power consumption.

SpaceX Files With FCC For New Smaller "Version 2" Starlink Receivers

Starlink's current lineup of hardware consists of two different antenna sizes. But new filings with the FCC this week indicate that SpaceX has two new models in the pipeline - including a much smaller Starlink

www.rvmobileinternet.com

 

[jssailem]

Important for a boat owner is this reference to a weakness in the current systems design.

One of the most common pain points of the current generation of Starlink receivers is their use of a proprietary plug on the Standard and slightly different but still proprietary plug on the HP model. ​

​

The proprietary cable end connectors SpaceX uses have proven to be notoriously unreliable. We can only hope that future Startlink terminals embrace a better design.

 

[Screen Saver]

This size is not such big issue for me on a 50ft yacht, although smaller helps. But geo fencing could be. So when I go from Australia to New Caledonia to Fiji to Micronesia is it going work. That is the question, and if not is it just a matter of registering a change in country, or will they block it and force me into the Marine service at a much higher cost.

 

[dLj]

This size is not such big issue for me on a 50ft yacht, although smaller helps. But geo fencing could be. So when I go from Australia to New Caledonia to Fiji to Micronesia is it going work. That is the question, and if not is it just a matter of registering a change in country, or will they block it and force me into the Marine service at a much higher cost.

I don't think at this point you can reliably count on it working throughout that travel itinerary.

dj

 

[Johann]

This size is not such big issue for me on a 50ft yacht, although smaller helps. But geo fencing could be. So when I go from Australia to New Caledonia to Fiji to Micronesia is it going work. That is the question, and if not is it just a matter of registering a change in country, or will they block it and force me into the Marine service at a much higher cost.

Try searching here. Lots of good first hand information. But regardless, you would probably want a couple backups. I bet now that the Iridium Go! Exec is out you could find a deal on the old Go! and use the ”cheap” basic plan. Really those things should come with free airtime for the life of the unit as expensive as they are for the excruciatingly slow download speed. I can’t see how Iridium can keep its price structure when it is 300,000 times slower than Starlink and more expensive. But I guess that is still better than text weather from the Inreach, which would be a second backup.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/starlinkonboats/?ref=share

 

[Davidasailor26]

Mads on the Sail Life YouTube channel has some experience that he shared in his latest video. See 15:15 at

. Sounds like for him it worked in at least some offshore locations (Canaries to Cape Verde), but since it’s not supported in Cape Verde it stopped working within a few miles of the islands.

 

[Screen Saver]

Yea if Starlink turns out not to be for me, perhaps due to coverage or geo fencing I still would not go with Iridium even the new go exec. I have sail mail and get gribs just fine, (over HF) do position tracking and email syncing, so yep thats good enough for passages. It would just be nicer given the relatively small uplift from Mobile/Cellular Data which I buy once I arrive, to have what it seems starlink does through out. I will checkout the FB group, thanks

 

[dLj]

Just a bit of an update. I switched to the starlink plan for off-shore use and that system has run very well across the North Atlantic. Several hundred miles east from the Azores, it would take about 45 minutes for my system to connect and become sufficiently stable to use. But so far, if has been frankly amazing!

dj

 

[Phil]

Just a bit of an update. I switched to the starlink plan for off-shore use and that system has run very well across the North Atlantic. Several hundred miles east from the Azores, it would take about 45 minutes for my system to connect and become sufficiently stable to use. But so far, if has been frankly amazing!

dj

Elon keeps chucking super cheap satellites into orbit so I'm sure it will continue to get even better for a while.