6 ms·

Can starlink provide services worldwide in the middle of the ocean? If that happens I can see a lot of digital sailors coming up.

by frontman1988 5y ago

jackpeterfletch 5y ago
I think the dish needs to remain static unfortunately.
- mrep 5y ago
  The current production ones yes but they got some models working on air force planes 2 years ago [0] so they can probably handle a boat. Probably won't be cheap though. [0]: https://www.investors.com/news/spacex-starlink-impressed-air-force-in-big-live-fire-exercise/ https://www.investors.com/news/spacex-starlink-impressed-air...
DoingIsLearning 5y ago
As I understand it Starlink forces you to use a specific sector of coverage. I assume because they have capacity limitations per sector (you can only have so many users per satelite cluster before you start deteriorating speeds). Might be a different story for their priority customers (Military) Basically with Starlink you can go remote but not itenerant.
- wlll 5y ago
  I heard that right now you have to pick a spot, but the rumour is that in the future you will be able to move around. I don't have much more than that, Musk may have tweeted about it at some point.
  - cloutchaser 5y ago
    I remember reading that potentially the hardware is there to do this, but it's not going to be working for a while.
- mrep 5y ago
  Only for now. They wouldn't be sending out surveys about RV usage [0] if that is going to be permanently the case. [0]: https://old.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/prgrbb/starlink_rvs_just_completed_the_survey/ https://old.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/prgrbb/starlink_r...
wlll 5y ago
In the middle of the ocean you're generally not going to be getting much work done due to the time required to look after the boat and yourself. Plus theere's the motion, needing lots of sleep as it's tiring and the need to interact with other people on the crew. Some people do manage it, but I'd not count on it. Where Starlink will really shine is when you get somewhere. Sitting at anchor off a small uninhabited Carrribean or Bahamian island though, or even just to boost your chances of getting a zoom call to work when the wifi at the local marina is spotty, that's where it's going to be most useful.
helsinkiandrew 5y ago
Not yet. Systems like Inmarsat Fleet One can cost $1K a month to get an OK connection. Many sailors make do with the good 4G connections when they're near shore and use satelite to get weather files and send/receive text messages.
- throw0101a 5y ago
  SV Delos put a (large-ish: 50kg) satellite dish from Viasat on their boat a while ago: * https://svdelos.com/sailing-videos/how-to-get-super-fast-internet-on-a-sailboat-digital-nomad-edition-sailing-vessel-delos-ep-260/ https://svdelos.com/sailing-videos/how-to-get-super-fast-int... Not cheap, but it seems you can get roughly DSL-equivalent speeds.
  - jbkiv 5y ago
    Agree, but the rumor is that their social media business (YT, ads) brings US$ 800K/year
    - wlll 5y ago
      Pretty sure they got the dish free, they did an episode on it. I've watched Delos since the beginning. I'd be surprised if they make that sort of money.
      - wingworks 5y ago
        IDK, don't think it's far off. Just from there patreon income alone they'll be pulling over 500k/y (this just by calculating there base fee $5 per vid, they have 2,062 patreons, so assuming some will be paying more, they'll likely be getting more than 500k/y just from patreon) ex taxes, fees etc. Nevermind the income they get from merch, sponsors and YT ads. Not trying to be negative, I say good on them, they worked hard on it, and have been doing it for years.
        wlll 5y ago
        > I say good on them, they worked hard on it, and have been doing it for years. Oh for sure, I support them on patreon :) GOod on them for finding a way to live their best life. I think you have to take into account patreon monthly limits people can set too. It still seems like it's a high estimate. One site I found estimates the income much lower, https://socialblade.com/youtube/c/svdelos https://socialblade.com/youtube/c/svdelos, though I have no idea of the accuracy, and this estimate seems pretty low. I'd be really curious to know for sure, but I'm sure they won't say :)
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
jbkiv 5y ago
Not yet. But we use Iridium + predict wind. Unit cost $1,000 then you pay $250/year for Predict Wind (weather prediction and routing) and $200/month for unlimited data. Video streaming non stop: find yourself another hobby
Tepix 5y ago
Eventually, yes. They need more satellites with laser interconnects. Until then you can only go around 500km from the nearest ground station until you lose your connection. In practice there are other issues yet to be solved but those are likely to be smaller.

Can starlink provide services worldwide in the middle of the ocean? If that happens I can see a lot of digital sailors coming up.

jackpeterfletch 5y ago

I think the dish needs to remain static unfortunately.

mrep 5y ago
The current production ones yes but they got some models working on air force planes 2 years ago [0] so they can probably handle a boat. Probably won't be cheap though. [0]: https://www.investors.com/news/spacex-starlink-impressed-air-force-in-big-live-fire-exercise/ https://www.investors.com/news/spacex-starlink-impressed-air...

DoingIsLearning 5y ago

As I understand it Starlink forces you to use a specific sector of coverage. I assume because they have capacity limitations per sector (you can only have so many users per satelite cluster before you start deteriorating speeds). Might be a different story for their priority customers (Military) Basically with Starlink you can go remote but not itenerant.

wlll 5y ago
I heard that right now you have to pick a spot, but the rumour is that in the future you will be able to move around. I don't have much more than that, Musk may have tweeted about it at some point.
- cloutchaser 5y ago
  I remember reading that potentially the hardware is there to do this, but it's not going to be working for a while.
mrep 5y ago
Only for now. They wouldn't be sending out surveys about RV usage [0] if that is going to be permanently the case. [0]: https://old.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/prgrbb/starlink_rvs_just_completed_the_survey/ https://old.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/prgrbb/starlink_r...

wlll 5y ago

In the middle of the ocean you're generally not going to be getting much work done due to the time required to look after the boat and yourself. Plus theere's the motion, needing lots of sleep as it's tiring and the need to interact with other people on the crew. Some people do manage it, but I'd not count on it. Where Starlink will really shine is when you get somewhere. Sitting at anchor off a small uninhabited Carrribean or Bahamian island though, or even just to boost your chances of getting a zoom call to work when the wifi at the local marina is spotty, that's where it's going to be most useful.

helsinkiandrew 5y ago

Not yet. Systems like Inmarsat Fleet One can cost $1K a month to get an OK connection. Many sailors make do with the good 4G connections when they're near shore and use satelite to get weather files and send/receive text messages.

throw0101a 5y ago
SV Delos put a (large-ish: 50kg) satellite dish from Viasat on their boat a while ago: * https://svdelos.com/sailing-videos/how-to-get-super-fast-internet-on-a-sailboat-digital-nomad-edition-sailing-vessel-delos-ep-260/ https://svdelos.com/sailing-videos/how-to-get-super-fast-int... Not cheap, but it seems you can get roughly DSL-equivalent speeds.
- jbkiv 5y ago
  Agree, but the rumor is that their social media business (YT, ads) brings US$ 800K/year
  - wlll 5y ago
    Pretty sure they got the dish free, they did an episode on it. I've watched Delos since the beginning. I'd be surprised if they make that sort of money.
    - wingworks 5y ago
      IDK, don't think it's far off. Just from there patreon income alone they'll be pulling over 500k/y (this just by calculating there base fee $5 per vid, they have 2,062 patreons, so assuming some will be paying more, they'll likely be getting more than 500k/y just from patreon) ex taxes, fees etc. Nevermind the income they get from merch, sponsors and YT ads. Not trying to be negative, I say good on them, they worked hard on it, and have been doing it for years.
      - wlll 5y ago
        > I say good on them, they worked hard on it, and have been doing it for years. Oh for sure, I support them on patreon :) GOod on them for finding a way to live their best life. I think you have to take into account patreon monthly limits people can set too. It still seems like it's a high estimate. One site I found estimates the income much lower, https://socialblade.com/youtube/c/svdelos https://socialblade.com/youtube/c/svdelos, though I have no idea of the accuracy, and this estimate seems pretty low. I'd be really curious to know for sure, but I'm sure they won't say :)

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

jbkiv 5y ago

Not yet. But we use Iridium + predict wind. Unit cost $1,000 then you pay $250/year for Predict Wind (weather prediction and routing) and $200/month for unlimited data. Video streaming non stop: find yourself another hobby

Tepix 5y ago

Eventually, yes. They need more satellites with laser interconnects. Until then you can only go around 500km from the nearest ground station until you lose your connection. In practice there are other issues yet to be solved but those are likely to be smaller.