This device, Grand Adventurers, is going to change
the way that people camp in the years to come. Welcome back to Grand Adventure! I'm your
host Marc Guido, and this week we are going to share with you our initial experiences with
Starlink satellite internet, so stay tuned! So what is Starlink? Starlink is a satellite-based
broadband internet system that will eventually be available across the entire globe. Back in
November of 2020 SpaceX began launching up to 60 satellites a time aboard its Falcon 9
rocket. Here you see 60 Starlink satellites stacked together awaiting deployment. Public
beta testing began in the U.S. in November 2020. Only recently has the program left the beta
stage, and it's now available in much of the United States. There is still, however, a waiting
list as Starlink increases capacity by putting more satellites in the sky, and also by producing
more of the router antenna kits for consumers to be able to connect to Starlink services. We were
actually on the waiting list for nearly two years. So how is this different from existing
satellite internet service provided by companies like HughesNet and ViaSat? For
one thing, those latter two companies use several satellites to cover the entire globe from
a high altitude geosynchronous orbit that's about 35,000 kilometers above the earth's surface. By
contrast, Starlink is using a constellation of thousands of satellites in a Low Earth Orbit.
Phase 1 is around 550 kilometers above the earth, whereas phase 2 (which is about to begin) is going
to be even lower at about 340 kilometers above earth. The blue dots on this map represent over
1,200 active Starlink satellites zipping across North America lower altitude means lower latency
and therefore much faster internet speeds. Think about this for a second: if you are transmitting
data over 35,000 kilometers it takes a lot longer than transferring data over 550 kilometers. By
reducing the amount of time that it takes from that data packet to get from you to the
satellite (that is known as latency) it's going to make the internet experience a much
faster experience on something like Starlink. Also Starlink is significantly less expensive.
They charge $99 per month flat rate for unlimited data transfer, whereas HughesNet charges a similar
amount for a very limited amount of data transfer. Finally it's a lot easier to set up Starlink.
Both HughesNet and ViaSat require very careful aiming of their satellite dishes to be able
to effectively lock onto the satellite, whereas Starlink uses a motorized phase array
antenna that automatically positions itself to track and lock onto its satellites.
Just plug it in and it's ready to go. Now it's awfully fascinating how Starlink actually
works, so let's actually take a look at that for a moment. The phase array antenna on our roof
connects us to the Starlink satellite flying overhead. The satellite then relays data to a
base station connected to the internet backbone. On this map the base stations are denoted by the
orange dots. Our location is the green dot. The solid green line to the blue dot, which is
we already mentioned is the satellite, that denotes our primary connection, whereas the dotted
green lines represent our secondary connection. Now we're actually going to repurpose a
16-foot telescoping aluminum flagpole for our antenna mount. Let me show you how we're
going to do that, because we've had an awful lot of interest in this. The dish is not
made to withstand the wind speeds generated during travel, so we're actually going to have
to set it up and take it down each time we move. The flagpole, we're using Starlink's pole adapter
mount to attach the antenna dish to the flagpole. Now, using a telescoping flagpole means that
we can keep it lower for greater stability, or extend it higher to clear nearby obstructions.
We're mounting the flagpole to our RV using Flagpole Buddy's two-inch flagpole mounts. Now
this actually comes with several advantages. For one, we can set it up and take it down without
having to climb the ladder. Our Grand Adventurers know that we hate drilling holes in our RV, and no
drilling is required using this method because the mounts simply clamp onto the RV ladder. We're then
passing the cable into our RV through the weather stripping on our slide. Again, no holes. And from
here we've passed the cable behind our fireplace and up to the Starlink router behind the TV. Now
we eventually plan to bypass the Starlink router and plug the data signal coming from the antenna
directly into our Pepwave MAX Transit Duo router that we shared with you on a recent episode.
If you'd like to know more about that we'll put a link right here on the screen so
you can go back and check it out. However, not only will that reduce power consumption,
but also reduce the complication in the number of hops in the system, so I'm expecting
slightly better performance that way as well. Unfortunately the ethernet adapter from
Starlink is currently on backorder so we actually have to await its arrival. We've ordered
it, we're just waiting for it to be delivered. Now if you would like more information on how to
replicate this mount for yourself, we're going to put links right down in the video description
below to everything you need to be able to do so. So if it's supposed to be fast,
what kind of speeds are we getting? We've been consistently seeing in the neighborhood
of 135 Mbps down and approximately 25 Mbps upload. That's nowhere near the speeds that our friends
down in Texas are getting. They've been seeing close to 300 Mbps data transfer; however,
even our speeds here in Salt Lake City are the equivalent of the best 5G
speeds that we've seen anywhere! You may have heard of Starlink referred
to as a game changer for RV travelers, so what makes this a game changer? So many times
in 2021 we spent hours looking for a boondocking spot where we had adequate cell service to
be able to work from from our RV, and so many times we'd find a great boondocking location,
take out the cell phone, check signal strength, check data transfer rates and realize
this really isn't going to work. And after hours of looking for a spot
we would reluctantly head to an RV park. This is really changing the game for us! Now
we're going to be able to boondock almost anywhere if we can connect to Starlink, even in areas
that don't have any cell service whatsoever. Note that I said "if" we can connect to Starlink.
Take a look again at this map. See those hexagonal shapes? Those are what Starlink refers to as
"cells". In some parts of the U.S. Starlink has yet to enable certain cells, for example across
a large swath of central and eastern Kentucky. In other areas the cells are already full with
existing customers. So as to not degrade the experience, new customers aren't allowed in
unless an existing customer leaves the cell. For example we're heading down to Quartzite,
Arizona next week and we've already heard through the grapevine that the cell in Quartzsite
is already full and people are having a difficult time getting in. Now that situation
is expected to improve in the very near future as Starlink increases capacity by putting more
satellites up into orbit to help that situation. Starlink is moving away from its Falcon 9 launch
vehicle, and is instead transitioning to launching phase 2 of its satellites with the new Starship
launch vehicle which has a much greater capacity. In addition to that, Starlink will be launching
with the starship, phase two of its satellite constellation and the phase two satellites are
actually able to transmit data from satellite to satellite via laser, thereby minimizing the need
for as many ground stations to handle an increased customer base. So over time, and actually in
the fairly near future this issue of finding an available cell and an open cell is expected
to dissipate as more customers are allowed to come online. Now Starlink's timeline has been
very, very quick to date, and it's expected that that pace will continue with the launch
of the phase 2 satellites to increase capacity. Now, people are often commenting that they
thought Starlink wasn't available for mobile use, and that's because of how Starlink defines
"mobile". Starlink defines "mobile" as being used while in motion, whereas a lot of RVers,
they don't need the satellite internet service while they're driving down the road. They just
need it when they get to their next destination, and that's simply a matter of changing service
address. Now Starlink does have pending with the FCC an application for a mobile version of
their phased array antenna, so that is coming down the road. And think about it for a second,
that's a huge business opportunity for Starlink. Think over-the-road truckers. Think ships out at
sea. It's a huge business opportunity, and that is coming, expected to be in the mid-term. However,
for now for our viewers, as long as you only want service at your next destination, yes you can
use Starlink that way now simply by changing your service address. And the way that you do that is
just by pinpointing your next location on a map. When we first activated our Starlink we
activated it down in Texas, then we moved our service location to here outside of Salt
Lake City. As long as you have an open cell, we were able to change that service address in
about 15 seconds. Super, super easy. Just pick a location on the map where you're going to be,
and as long as that location on the map is in an open cell and it's approximately 10 miles from
your physical location, you'll be good to go. You have to have an open cell, as we explained a
moment ago, and if in fact the cell is not open at the location you tried, your request to
change your service address will be rejected and you revert back to your previous
service address that you presently have. At that point it becomes a matter of
clicking around the map to try to find a service location within approximately
a 10-mile radius that will accept you. Now we'll be sharing our experiences with
moving our location for Starlink from campsite to campsite throughout our 2022 travel season, so
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nothing but a Grand Adventure! We'll see you then. Look, even Zoe's excited about Starlink! you
