3 ms·

Only if you're counting people who live in San Francisco and other similarly temperate climates. I live in Minnesota. Last week, the high temperature, in the s

Only if you're counting people who live in San Francisco and other similarly temperate climates. I live in Minnesota. Last week, the high temperature, in the shade, was about 40°C. A device in the sun would easily see its temperature exceed 50°C. In the winter, overnight lows can go to -40°C. An outdoor device with thermal limits of -30°C to +50°C is not fit for purpose in many parts of the Midwest.

gpm 5y ago
I'm in Toronto incidentally, not sf. I suspect overnight lows of -40 are ok, because it sounds like it's -30 after the self heating. There are definitely reports of people having it work through 40 degree heat waves, but I suspect that's close to the limit. Keep in mind it is white, so the sun isn't as bad as it could be. I don't have stats to back this up, but I think it's the case that most people live in reasonably temperate climates, 50 degrees is really frickin hot (dangerously so), -30 degrees is really frickin cold (dangerously so).
- quanticle 5y ago
  Agreed that 50°C is really hot, but you have to remember that 50°C includes the ambient heat plus the heat generated by the circuitry. My cable modem gets noticeably warm (and I can hear its internal fan spin up) when I download a large file that saturates my connection for a while. I could easily see the internal circuitry of the Starlink dish going over 50°C under load even when external temperature is 40°C. From what I'm reading, it looks like the dish is passively cooled, which I find surprising. I would have expected at least a small cooling fan or something to provide a bit of airflow for convective cooling.
- HarryHirsch 5y ago
  Large tracts of the US have a continental climate, where temperature excursions are common. Remember that Starlink is marketed at people living in the flat countryside.

3 ms·

Only if you're counting people who live in San Francisco and other similarly temperate climates. I live in Minnesota. Last week, the high temperature, in the s

by quanticle 5y ago

gpm 5y ago
I'm in Toronto incidentally, not sf. I suspect overnight lows of -40 are ok, because it sounds like it's -30 after the self heating. There are definitely reports of people having it work through 40 degree heat waves, but I suspect that's close to the limit. Keep in mind it is white, so the sun isn't as bad as it could be. I don't have stats to back this up, but I think it's the case that most people live in reasonably temperate climates, 50 degrees is really frickin hot (dangerously so), -30 degrees is really frickin cold (dangerously so).
- quanticle 5y ago
  Agreed that 50°C is really hot, but you have to remember that 50°C includes the ambient heat plus the heat generated by the circuitry. My cable modem gets noticeably warm (and I can hear its internal fan spin up) when I download a large file that saturates my connection for a while. I could easily see the internal circuitry of the Starlink dish going over 50°C under load even when external temperature is 40°C. From what I'm reading, it looks like the dish is passively cooled, which I find surprising. I would have expected at least a small cooling fan or something to provide a bit of airflow for convective cooling.
- HarryHirsch 5y ago
  Large tracts of the US have a continental climate, where temperature excursions are common. Remember that Starlink is marketed at people living in the flat countryside.