Starlink or not-to Starlink
 

Please keep this out of DC....

Looking into possibly making the leap into Starlink.

The reason; we have our primary residence....in addition we have a little shack at the lake that we spend the weekends at during the summer.

Our internet options at the lake [Pomme De Terre] are shit. And we previously paying for two separate Internet service, but obviously the weekend place we used sporadically.

I would LOVE to have something that I can just move between the two houses...

The Starlink Mini, I think, would work at the lake...but I am not sure if it is robust enough to handle our daily internet needs (two teenage boys, wife and I work from home, etc.).

And the "standard" Starlink setup does not appear it can moved as easily as the mini....so I come to CP asking for ideas so I am not paying for two services.

And have we signed this piece of shit yet?

Tap into your neighbor's Wi-Fi for free.

Problem solved.

I'm in a similar position; no real good options for internet in Hickory county. Neighbor has Starlink which he says cost about $200 per month plus equipment. I have a Verizon hotspot that works for checking emails however my 5 gig plan won't offer up much in the way of TV watching.

I'm curious as to what you decide, what side of the lake are you on? Pomme or Lindley?

Know nothing about starlink....Is t-mobile internet an option?

I have T-Mobile Wi-Fi as a backup at my hope. I work from how 2 days a week so the last thing I want to do it go to the office if the internet is out..

The T Mobile is great because I can then just take it with me when I travel if I need it. Works great.

How much porn do you stream?

North side near Galmey.

Had hughsnet (sp?) but they weren’t worth the cost.

Usually just the whole time I’m awake, which can be days when I’m high on meth and my sister is on house arrest. But when my brother is on house arrest I tend to watch a bit more. Sum bitch don’t wash his ass crack good.

My Brother in rural Montana has had it for almost 2 years and loves it.

Privacy vs convenience is the new safety vs freedom

Why not just get the roam unlimited? It's $165/month, but you can take it back and forth. Also no data caps. It will easily be enough for all your needs.

I've got friends who have had it for a couple of years (just the standard dish as far as I know). They both work from home and are on video calls constantly. No kids, but they stream NFLST every year. They seem very happy with it.

You’re referring to the mini with the roam unlimited, right?

I think that will work for the lake…but I’m worried it won’t be enough to support my primary residence. I’m internet dumb, so maybe it will be more than enough.

I'm on the Lindley side between Nemo and Pittsburgh.

I checked the Starlink site, there's an $80 and $120 per month option with $145 special for equipment. I try not to use the internet while at the lake, it sort of defeats the purpose of getting away from the city.

I'm no expert however the 5G like T-Mobile will share cell phone data so you will get throttled at times. Satellite you know about, StarLink is satellite however it's better than traditional as there's more satellites in the sky.

Get those kids out of the house and working in the lawn or fixing the boat. No need to play games while at the lake. There's always something to be fixed.

Starlink is better than traditional satellite internet not only due to the presence of more satellites but the Starlink satellites are actually closer to earth lowering round trip latency.

They still won't outperform 5G in most places but 5G isn't available ina lot of remote areas (at least not yet) whereas Starlink is largely ubiquitous in the lower 48.

Might make more sense to look into what your phone company can offer you. I use my Hot Spot when I take long car rides roughly 6-7 hours to see family since I too work from home and have never had an issue bill wise... Not sure if it uses your DATA when utilizing the hot spot but if you're only going to the cabin during summers and only on weekends, seems very minimal...

TLDR: Use a hotspot off your phone when at the cabin, keep your regular internet at home.

Is the question at home about square foot coverage or data load coverage?

If it's about sq.ft. then some extender router like eero or similar might help.

But keep in mind, I have no idea what I'm talking about.

As a T-Mobile customer….would a hotspot like this work at the cabin?


https://www.t-mobile.com/hotspot-iot...mobile-hotspot

I’d use standard Starlink at home since it would be permanent, and not need to move.

WWTBD???

<3

I have starlink on the farm.

It is fantastic for my purposes. I game on it and watch 4k tv/movies on it. A bit pricey per month for the speeds you get but when my only other viable option is 20mbps for $80 a month... I'll take it.

If you aren't daily driving the Starlink internet, and you have good reception on the T-Mobile network at your intended location, I would probably go with the mobile hotspot route from T-Mobile before sinking the money into the unit then the monthly fee on Starlink.

Itll be plenty for primary use. You'll get between 30-100 MBPS. Here at my house we get 40 with Bright Speed and have multiple devices constantly going. TVs, computers, phones, laptops, etc. You'll probably get the higher end and Starlink is so much better than regular satellite internet.

I've never heard a bad thing about Starlink... I don't have it, but have used it a few times and never had issues with video chats, streaming, etc. I know several people who use it as their primary internet for work, whether it's from home or BFE in an RV and they love it.

If it’s any help I just watched a Starlink launch from my back yard

I wondered the same. We take the camper to the lake but wasn’t sure if the starlink would support the wife and son gaming every night.

It would easily be enough. 50-100 Mbps is going to get you all you need.

https://nordvpn.com/blog/internet-speed-for-gaming/

What is a good internet speed for gaming?
Internet speed of 10-25 Mbps download and 5-10 Mbps upload suits most online gaming needs. The recommended internet speed for gaming depends on several factors, including the type of game, the platform, and the number of players involved.

However, if you’re a serious gamer or streamer, you may want to invest in higher speeds to ensure the best possible gaming experience. Remember — these figures apply to the gaming community.

The minimum internet connection speed for gaming:

Download speed — 3 Mbps
Upload speed — 0.5-1 Mbps
Ping rate — Less than 150 ms
The recommended internet connection speed for gaming:

Download speed — 15-25 Mbps
Upload speed — 5 Mbps
Ping rate — Less than 50 ms
If you're unclear about the status right now, you can test your internet speed and get more data.

Starlink has a map of download speeds, latency, and upload speed.

Missouri is at

95-241 Mbps download speed
13 - 25 Mbps upload speed
26-37 ms latency

Those numbers are supposedly from the 20th to 80th percentile of real user data.

Those numbers should also continue to get better and better. Hell look around reddit and you can find people posting there speeds from all over.

Unfortunately, this really isn't viable. Hotspot data doesn't use your data plan. It's extra. Most of the big providers supply hotspot data as a discreet bucket - you pay for "unlimited data" and get 5/10/15GB of hotspot data on top of that. A couple days of Netflix will exhaust your hotspot data in a couple of days, if that.

The best option, assuming there's coverage, is a fixed wireless "home internet". Those usage plans are actually designed for home internet. Hotspots are for checking emails and stuff like that, not streaming.

That device will work but as I explained, it's all going to depend on the data plan.

Sorry but "speed" doesn't have much to do with it. Speed is a misnomer anyway because it's just as much about capacity (bandwidth) as it is about speed and the primary culprit for online gaming issues is latency, not speed.

Satellite generally isn't great for real-time communication or interactive stuff because it suffers from the laws of physics. The network ingress is much further away from you than any terrestrial connection. Starlink is different (and better) because LEO satellites are closer to the earth, reducing that latency.

I have a starlink mini... it kinda depends. We are using it for when we use the RV. I am just getting the 50GB plan for $50. It works greats for what we need but I hear in our local area that at certain times the bandwidth is just shit. That is because my area is flooded with Starlinks after hurricane Helene.

Keep in mind, the Starlink mini is great for an RV because it is all encapsulated in that one small package but the wifi transmitter is very dumbed down. It doesn't cover a lot of area like the full size one does. If I was using it for my house I would probably have to use it as basically your "modem" and use some other equipment as your router/wifi.

Edit:
I tried playing some games that require low latency and it worked like shit. I was playing bf2042 and man... that was ****ing horrible. So if your kids play games that require low latency ehhh... I have not had good results but I am planning on trying it in other locations to see how it does. I heard you are supposed to be able to.

See my post above... depending on the games... speed isn't your issue, it is latency.

I have Starlink, and love it, I have had it for almost two years with no issues. I have the standard model and pay 110 a month. I am not sure why you could not use it at both places. It may seem a little big but I think it would be very portable depending your set up. I think I would buy two cable runs, one for each home, this way, you are only moving the satellite and the modem. You could then permanently install the cable run as you desire. Then its plug and play.

Good Luck

Some good discussion. And I only understand half of what people are talking about which further confirms I know not what I am doing. LMAO


This was an option we had been thinking about doing...making the standard into more of a portable setup. So, if I get another cable, and another mounting bracket for the satelite (have a brack in both locations already setup)...then I am just moving the satelite and modem, as you said. Correct? Why would I not want to do this? Is it just because it is larger than the mini...?

Thank you again all!

On my set up, I did not use a house mount, I used the standard that came with the kit. I just put 4 screws in the legs and flat mounted on my roof. But depending on where you are setting up, and how high you would need to set it up, Due to trees or other obstacles. you may be able to mount it very low and easy access. This way you would not need to purchase an another mount. I attempted to copy a picture to show you, but I am not that savvy when it comes to computers, so I was not able to put it in here.
I do agree, I personally would use the standard kit in this manor, the only thing you may need to check, is due to it not being a portable unit, if Starlink has some rule against moving the bigger unit.

If you are planning on having a separate router for each setup and just using the starlink as the "modem" and you plan on moving it fairly often... I might pay the extra cash for the mini. You have one small box with one cord to deal with vs a huge box... with a clunky other box and extra cable to move each time.

Just my take on it.

This throws me back into the “is the mini powerful enough for my primary residence?” And that’s where I am not sure. As I sit here, my wife is currently “working” on the computer (probably OF)….im streaming online. And both my boys are playing some dumbass online game.

Not sure if the mini could handle that….

The mini doesn't slow that down... that all works the same. The wifi just doesn't cover as much area. But if you just use it as the modem and you have a router/wifi unit you hook it to at both locations that eliminates that issue. I hope you also read my post about latency. Latency isn't going to effect anything like streaming or anything like that but if you play games(depending on the game) it could cause some issues.

From Starlinks's Website

https://www.starlink.com/support/art...7-361a78cce37d

I read it…appreciate it…just don’t understand latency. Is there “something” I can purchase for that? Also…is there a router you would recommend? I would just leave the router home, right? Don’t think I would need it for the lake.

Thank you!

Latency is the length of time it takes for a packet to traverse the network. It's limited by physics. Wired connections usually offer the lowest latency. Depending on where you live, 5G latency can range anywhere from good to tolerable. Satellite is always going to suffer from the highest latency because the signal has to be shot into the atmosphere and then back.

Anything that requires a two-way connection - games, voice and video, stuff like that - requires lower latency.

Maybe some day I will start a "home internet how to" thread. There's a ton of us here that know this shit. We could compile it into a guide.

Tons of routers you could pick from. You might want a different one for the house vs the cabin depending on the size of each.

Take your pick here...

https://www.bestproductsreviews.com/router-wifi-6?targetid=kwd-85213460460822:loc-190&matchtype=e&device=c&campaignid=531199994&creative=&adgroupid=1363396943414302&feeditemid=&loc_p hysical_ms=83040&loc_interest_ms=&network=o&devicemodel=&placement=&keyword=$router%20wifi%206&targe t=&aceid={aceid}&adposition=&trackid=us_all_top_1_1&mId=407-132-4411&trackOld=true&msclkid=c095455dfc68113940f522af70907cf6


As far as latency goes... that is the one downfall to Starlink... it will almost always be higher than wired service. That is because the signal has to travel up to a satellite and then back down to earth. There isn't really anything you can do about that.

For routers, I've had good luck with Tenda in the budget space. In the more expensive routers, I prefer Asus but I use custom firmware.

I would avoid Linksys and Netgear altogether. I used to beta test for them both and there's stuff in their code that is very concerning.

With the voice and chat I didn't notice much difference... I am sure it was there but when I tried to play my game... whoo boy.... that was down right horrible. That could have been the spot I was in though. I have only tried it in one location so far(playing games anyways). I am going on another trip in about a week and I was going to give it a go then as well and see how it does.

Voice and video work fine in most cases peer-to-peer. Where you run into issues is with conferencing because the delay can become echo or you end up talking over people.

I literally put what the average latency is in the post.

Stellar! This is good stuff!

Feel like I just got a CEU out of this thread.

I understand that. The emphasis was still on "speed" and speed really isn't even an issue anymore. Even wireless has acceptable speed unless you're transferring files.

Latency and available bandwidth are just way more important.

I did miss that part... I only read your first part which seemed to be focusing on the bandwidth.

"It would easily be enough. 50-100 Mbps is going to get you all you need.

https://nordvpn.com/blog/internet-speed-for-gaming/

What is a good internet speed for gaming?
Internet speed of 10-25 Mbps download and 5-10 Mbps upload suits most online gaming needs. The recommended internet speed for gaming depends on several factors, including the type of game, the platform, and the number of players involved.

However, if you’re a serious gamer or streamer, you may want to invest in higher speeds to ensure the best possible gaming experience. Remember — these figures apply to the gaming community.
"

And you have to make sure you have enough bandwidth. Two or more gamess or multiple people streaming at the same time are going to use up available bandwidth, decreasing speeds for everyone.

Link to wife's onlyfans?

It seems we do have a solid base of people that work in tech on here. :thumb:

Off topic side bar......Dont mean to diss but when I lived in that area Pom de Terre was considered a low rent part of that part of the area. That was 3 decades ago so has the area changed?

Not really, I've owned my lake house since 2001 and everything is basically stuck in the 80s. Taxes are pretty cheap and there isn't much night life. The only downside so far is that people have found the lake and bigger boats are showing up. It used to be mostly pontoons, fishing boats and runabouts. Now, the bigger boats are showing up and making a mess of things. I avoid getting on the water during holidays. Amateur hour and dangerous.

Lots of rednecks around.

Yeah the pontoons, fishing was all there was on that lake back in the day. I had a lot of fun puttering around, drinking some beers. They were more my peeps at the time than hanging at Table Rock.

Down here in Florida there is only one ocean but I still side with the pontoon crowd floating around drinking beer over having some $100K boat that can fly across the water.

I got an std. trades?

It seems like lots of “fast boats” leave big lakes and where they’re small fish in a big pond and go to medium and small lakes to feel like somebody.

Yeah, one of the new crowd had a big boat with double drives put his boat into the cove. The cove where my place is at has a LOT of stumps. We were waving to him to get his attention however he hit the gas and a bunch of stumps. I don't know what happened; the boat has not been seen since.

I've got an old 17' tri-hull with a Merc 1350 on it. It will do 40+ which is plenty fast.

Yeah I’m on Hudson in NEOK tons of stumps. Had a similar situation with a 29’ fountain. I love power boats. Don’t wish them ill but man our little lakes about 8 miles long. And shallow in spots. It’s an ego thing.

When I was 17 we put a head gasket on my grandpas boat. It was a 32’ boat with twin 502s. My dad worked his ass off for every dollar he ever had and did this work on my moms dads boat because he let us use his house. Long story short we brought it home to NEOk from LOTO. Rebuilt the out drive, new pump and a head gasket then it sat for two years. We decided to take it down to a local fishing spot before taking it back just to make sure it was all on the up and up. We had this big ass boat and a bunch of Amish dudes were fishing in their John boats pulling them with tractors. We weren’t wealthy by any means but I felt like such a douche. I don’t understand the desire to be the big fish. Go to the big pond with the other big fish lol.

I guess I don't understand the big allure of Statlink. But then again I don't spend almost anytime in the country.

Most rural areas have almost no internet coverage. In areas like Pomme De Terre, there's no infrastructure to support it. There's phone and electric service only. Existing options are expensive and high latency. Cell service is limited as well, yet is getting better lately. New towers are up. The population density is very low and Hickory County is one of the poorest areas of Missouri.

It is also great for RV traveling.

The $165 roam one is outstanding. Worth every penny.

I have had Starlink as long as it has been available in my area. Maybe 2 years? I have had no issues whatsoever. Even in blizzard conditions and super winds we've been having lately. I decided to get it after my neighbor got it for his remote horse ranch in Colorado. Since I live out in the sticks, my options are limited. I have tried all options. Starlink is far and away the best. I would even consider the mini if I camp or 4x4 like I used to. I have a son who games, wife who streams crap, and I just surf. Zero issues. Even mounting was idiot proof.


I do not know, however, if you can move the normal starlink between two houses. My neighbor would have just taken it from KS to CO if he could. I think the mini would be the answer. I know Land Cruiser guys who do Moab and overland stuff who sing their praises. Even for extensive times on the road.

Add TP-LINK to the no list

With Starlink do you have to worry that someone will break into your house, key your router and spray paint a Swastika on it?

Wife and I do quite a bit of camping and I do some hunting in remote areas. Ill likely get it sometime soon

Friend of mine after he retired bought a custom Fountain type boat for Lake Tahoe. Brand new with all the bells and whistles. The boats first voyage was with his wife and another couple and they scooted across the lake from Truckee to South Shore wide open. When they got to their destination, his wife and the other couple called a cab for a ride back. His wife said, "Its me or the boat" lol. He took a huge hit selling it but he said the lesson learned is that there is only one person who loves fast boats and that is the driver, not the passengers lol.

Satellite is essential anywhere there's no terrestrial service, like in the middle of the ocean.

I have used their Ethernet switches but I've never used their routers other than to play around with open source firmware. I don't have much faith in stock firmware anymore - too many cut corners and incomplete packages. I found binaries in the Netgear firmware that hadn't been updated in years. Essential security fixes that had been available for years that were completely missing.

Unless you're willing to really dig in and learn an open source firmware, you're at the manufacturer's mercy. That's why I use Asus. They actually support the development community.

Yeah hauling ass is anything but a comfortable ride lol. You spend 80% of your time going as fast as a nice deck boat does. My grandpa acquired his via a similar situation. Guy bought it for himself as a retirement present for 80k in 91/2 ish. Was taking it to party cove on LOTO. Got caught by the wife with a 20 something he picked up back at the cabin. My grandpa bought it for 40 in Feb of 95. Definitely don't get into something like that to make money.

Boats are almost as big a money suck as horses are.

There aren't many options in a lot of rural areas. Where I live we have 3-4 providers (not including Starlink), but only one of those isnt shitty satellite. I remember a few years ago the best speed I could get was 10 Mbps, but they've bumped it up to 60 Mbps. If I was only getting 10 Mbps I'd probably try out Starlink. Other then Brightspeed (DSL) we get shitty service providers like Hughesnet that goes out in a thunderstorm or puts major caps on your data. I'm lucky out service provider did some upgrades and they only cost about $50/month. Most rural places aren't this lucky.

When I first moved into my house, I used DSL from Centurylink. I was lucky if got to 7bps download speeds. It was brutal. I am currently using my jetpack, which I was lucky enough to get truly unlimited data. Right after I purchased it, Verizon got rid of that plan, and they started throttling data. I was grandfathered in under the old plan.

I am thinking about Starlink, but I like the portability of my jetpack. Our utility company is working hard to put rural internet in through their lines. I just need something that allows more than 7 devices to be connected at a time. 2 phones and 2 tvs eat up more than half of allowed devices.