4 ms·

This used to be the case, however the new dish along with recent firmware updates brings the power usage down to around 50 W on average.

by kimmk 4y ago

colechristensen 4y ago
50W is still more than 1 kWh per day.
- dntrkv 4y ago
  Are you working 24 hours of the day? An M1 Macbook will draw an average of about 30W under load. Starlink dish is about 50W. 80W * 8 hours = 640Wh With a 100W solar panel generating 200Wh total throughout the day, you would use up 440Wh of your 1000Wh battery. These are conservative estimates. My M1 pulls less than 20W at most times and you can get well over 200Wh from a 100W panel in a day. Tweak the numbers just a bit and you get indefinite power for a 40 hour work week.
  - Scoundreller 4y ago
    Issue is, if you're really in the sticks (and therefore no 2g/3g/4g/5g service), you're completely disconnected unless the thing is on, idling away at 50w. Sure you're not using data while you're sleeping, but you might want to be able to get a call from someone if they really need to get in touch with you. Or other passive tasks where you want to at least take a call/message/email if required. Even in a residential environment, I've toyed with a timer that cuts my ISP modem and router overnight (and kills smart devices from trying to phone home...) because falling back to 3g/4g saves me ~15 watts, but it's honestly dollars/year of savings.
    - dntrkv 4y ago
      I do a ton of backpacking/camping/overlanding/etc and most places you can reach by car have at least some kind of reception. It's not like you will always be 100% off the grid. If you just need a way to stay in touch, one option is to use a satellite SMS service, like the Garmin inReach. Though, if you really want to run that setup 24/7, 600W of panels and a 2kW battery should do it. Bump that up to 800W and 3kW and you won't have any worries. You can also add a small gas generator to the mix for emergencies.
      - shkkmo 4y ago
        > most places you can reach by car have at least some kind of reception You aren't very adventurous with where you take your car. There are large swathes of the west with no cell coverage and passable forest roads.
        inawarminister 4y ago
        Uh, are you looking to carry around a Starlink receiver inside your backpack...?
        almog 4y ago
        I don't think this is what he's referring to — there are vast areas in NM, AZ, NV that do not have cell coverage. Even when you apply all service levels (even 3G) across all cell providers, using carrier provided data (which tend to be overly optimistic), even then you can see giant no-cell-service zones on the map.
        shkkmo 4y ago
        I'm not talking about hiking paths. National Forests publish MVUM maps that tell you where you are allowed to take a vehicle and drive/camp. These forest roads can be in rough shape, but many of them are easily possible with competent driving and a bit of clearance. Large swathes of these areas have no cell coverage at all. Then add in all the amazing places you can camp in northern BC, the Yukon Territory and Alaska and the list of coverage-less camping destimations grows even longer, though many of those areas are outside the latitudes where Starlink works right now. There are also quite a few established , non-dispersed campgrounds in the weat that I've been to that had no cell service. The other Crater Lake (the one in northern California) is one example I can remember off the top of my head.
        dntrkv 4y ago
        I think you're missing the context of this discussion. Of course there are many places without coverage, but the idea that you will be in these places for extended periods of time, working and taking calls, is nowhere close to reality for even the most adventurous (and that's not because you can't get cell coverage). But yes, if you're talking about Alaska/Canada, that's a whole other story. I am mainly referring to the US, especially the Western part of the US.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
geerlingguy 4y ago
Indeed, even the older round dish is down to 60-80W from 90-110W last year. Doable now with solar and a battery.

This used to be the case, however the new dish along with recent firmware updates brings the power usage down to around 50 W on average.

by kimmk 4y ago

This used to be the case, however the new dish along with recent firmware updates brings the power usage down to around 50 W on average.

colechristensen 4y ago

50W is still more than 1 kWh per day.

dntrkv 4y ago
Are you working 24 hours of the day? An M1 Macbook will draw an average of about 30W under load. Starlink dish is about 50W. 80W * 8 hours = 640Wh With a 100W solar panel generating 200Wh total throughout the day, you would use up 440Wh of your 1000Wh battery. These are conservative estimates. My M1 pulls less than 20W at most times and you can get well over 200Wh from a 100W panel in a day. Tweak the numbers just a bit and you get indefinite power for a 40 hour work week.
- Scoundreller 4y ago
  Issue is, if you're really in the sticks (and therefore no 2g/3g/4g/5g service), you're completely disconnected unless the thing is on, idling away at 50w. Sure you're not using data while you're sleeping, but you might want to be able to get a call from someone if they really need to get in touch with you. Or other passive tasks where you want to at least take a call/message/email if required. Even in a residential environment, I've toyed with a timer that cuts my ISP modem and router overnight (and kills smart devices from trying to phone home...) because falling back to 3g/4g saves me ~15 watts, but it's honestly dollars/year of savings.
  - dntrkv 4y ago
    I do a ton of backpacking/camping/overlanding/etc and most places you can reach by car have at least some kind of reception. It's not like you will always be 100% off the grid. If you just need a way to stay in touch, one option is to use a satellite SMS service, like the Garmin inReach. Though, if you really want to run that setup 24/7, 600W of panels and a 2kW battery should do it. Bump that up to 800W and 3kW and you won't have any worries. You can also add a small gas generator to the mix for emergencies.
    - shkkmo 4y ago
      > most places you can reach by car have at least some kind of reception You aren't very adventurous with where you take your car. There are large swathes of the west with no cell coverage and passable forest roads.
      - inawarminister 4y ago
        Uh, are you looking to carry around a Starlink receiver inside your backpack...?
        almog 4y ago
        I don't think this is what he's referring to — there are vast areas in NM, AZ, NV that do not have cell coverage. Even when you apply all service levels (even 3G) across all cell providers, using carrier provided data (which tend to be overly optimistic), even then you can see giant no-cell-service zones on the map.
        shkkmo 4y ago
        I'm not talking about hiking paths. National Forests publish MVUM maps that tell you where you are allowed to take a vehicle and drive/camp. These forest roads can be in rough shape, but many of them are easily possible with competent driving and a bit of clearance. Large swathes of these areas have no cell coverage at all. Then add in all the amazing places you can camp in northern BC, the Yukon Territory and Alaska and the list of coverage-less camping destimations grows even longer, though many of those areas are outside the latitudes where Starlink works right now. There are also quite a few established , non-dispersed campgrounds in the weat that I've been to that had no cell service. The other Crater Lake (the one in northern California) is one example I can remember off the top of my head.
        dntrkv 4y ago
        I think you're missing the context of this discussion. Of course there are many places without coverage, but the idea that you will be in these places for extended periods of time, working and taking calls, is nowhere close to reality for even the most adventurous (and that's not because you can't get cell coverage). But yes, if you're talking about Alaska/Canada, that's a whole other story. I am mainly referring to the US, especially the Western part of the US.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

geerlingguy 4y ago

Indeed, even the older round dish is down to 60-80W from 90-110W last year. Doable now with solar and a battery.