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Several posters on r/Starlink report that they had seen their dishes at more than 122F, when this topic came up a few days ago. It's entirely possible that thi

by wumpus 5y ago

Several posters on r/Starlink report that they had seen their dishes at more than 122F, when this topic came up a few days ago. It's entirely possible that this story (and 122 hn comments so far) is about a dish with a loose heatsink, and not a product that always shuts down at 122F.

ganoushoreilly 5y ago
I also believe this was sitting on the ground on the tripod stand included in the box. I have ours roof mounted and noticed that the temperates were lower once mounted vs on the ground. That said our Farm isn't in AZ so it wasn't nearly as hot. I think you're probably right about it being an edge case heatsink issue, one that was amplified by Dishy's placement. Outside of that, Starlink has been great for us. Having a real connection rather than a 1 bar 4g connection has been life changing out at the farm.
iamhamm 5y ago
I have Starlink and I'm in Pahrump, NV. We hit 111F today and my dishy is in direct sunlight on the ground so it was easily over 120F. Hell, my direct sunlight thermometer showed over 130F! Didn't go into thermal shutdown, no disruptions in service, and I didn't have to water it either.
- mrandish 5y ago
  Very valuable comment. If this isn't all, or even most, of the beta units then it may indeed be a loose heat sink or variance in manufacturing tolerance. This can be far more easily (and cheaply) addressed than a population wide issue. It may also be the case that the thermal limit is currently set more conservatively than it needs to be. When every hardware unit is rare, costly and yet vital to gathering beta data, the choice to go extra conservative on thermal limits to prevent damage to scarce hardware deployed in the field seems logical.
- user3939382 5y ago
  It's sad Art Bell isn't around to test it out, he loved radio technology I'm sure he would have gotten a kick out of it :(
- coolspot 5y ago
  It can also be that it fails not due to absolute excessive temperature value, but rather after some heating-cooling cycles. Hot summer is like 3-4 months over there, so about 100 very-hot-cold cycles per year. Let’s see if it withstands that.
avipars 5y ago
I am unsure, but it reminds me of the top gear episode where they intentionally destroyed the tesla for the script...

by wumpus 5y ago

ganoushoreilly 5y ago

I also believe this was sitting on the ground on the tripod stand included in the box. I have ours roof mounted and noticed that the temperates were lower once mounted vs on the ground. That said our Farm isn't in AZ so it wasn't nearly as hot. I think you're probably right about it being an edge case heatsink issue, one that was amplified by Dishy's placement. Outside of that, Starlink has been great for us. Having a real connection rather than a 1 bar 4g connection has been life changing out at the farm.

iamhamm 5y ago

I have Starlink and I'm in Pahrump, NV. We hit 111F today and my dishy is in direct sunlight on the ground so it was easily over 120F. Hell, my direct sunlight thermometer showed over 130F! Didn't go into thermal shutdown, no disruptions in service, and I didn't have to water it either.

mrandish 5y ago
Very valuable comment. If this isn't all, or even most, of the beta units then it may indeed be a loose heat sink or variance in manufacturing tolerance. This can be far more easily (and cheaply) addressed than a population wide issue. It may also be the case that the thermal limit is currently set more conservatively than it needs to be. When every hardware unit is rare, costly and yet vital to gathering beta data, the choice to go extra conservative on thermal limits to prevent damage to scarce hardware deployed in the field seems logical.
user3939382 5y ago
It's sad Art Bell isn't around to test it out, he loved radio technology I'm sure he would have gotten a kick out of it :(
coolspot 5y ago
It can also be that it fails not due to absolute excessive temperature value, but rather after some heating-cooling cycles. Hot summer is like 3-4 months over there, so about 100 very-hot-cold cycles per year. Let’s see if it withstands that.

avipars 5y ago

I am unsure, but it reminds me of the top gear episode where they intentionally destroyed the tesla for the script...