So, I got my Starlink Hardware today.

[OAITW r.2.0]

Last edited Fri Mar 8, 2024, 10:17 PM - Edit history (1)

For years I've been a dirt road off the internet highway. Stuck on 3MB download speeds. A buddy in town is getting speeds of up to 1GB on downloads on Starlink. Yeah, I know, Elon Musk, but the concept is right for rural places where the internet never gets to next level.

Should have the install done tomorrow. Will run both systems simultaneously, until I get comfortable with the new hardware. Then my account with Consolidated Communications will be shut down.

On edit: Also, my major bankcard was threatening to reduce my credit limit from $10K to $2500 because I am not exercising it. True, nothing in 2 years. I imagine that would degrade my "credit" score. So, this purchase made even more sense to me.

[Autumn]

1. Spend a day on it, you're gonna love it.

It's a damn shame our governments didn't do this instead of that rich ass pig.

[OAITW r.2.0]

3. No doubt. I bet Al Gore would have gone this route....help the fledgling internet and NASA at the same time.

Instead, we got W, 9/11, a trillion dollar taxcut for the rich, and the Iraq war. Ain't America Great?

[Autumn]

4. Yes, just fucking peachy.

[hunter]

13. Elon Musk can fuck off and die.

A program similar to FDR's rural electrification utilizing fiber optic cable would have served the public better.

Alas we can't have nice things in the U.S.A. because that might be "socialism." New fiber was actually outlawed in some places because it competed with the local cable television monopolies.

Instead we give our tax money to billionaires who fuck us over again and again and again.

Yeah, I can be civil and look at someone's Tesla or Starlink system and say, "that's pretty cool." And yeah, I am interested in the technology, but I can't help thinking what might have been. Personally, if someone gave me a Tesla or a Starlink system I'd pass it along like a hot potato to some environmental or social justice cause that might possibly make better use of it.

I've been on the internet since the late 'seventies. Our first "high speed" home internet connection was a so-called alarm line connected to a local provider. This was back before our local phone and cable companies even offered residential internet service. My wife and I used this line for work. I was wary of using it for frivolous pursuits because we listed it as a work expense.

I first logged on to DU with a 33k modem, although our phone service rarely achieved those speeds. 56k service was never supported, our phone company jumped straight to DSL.

Our children left home and moved to big cities. Since college, one of their primary criteria for choosing where they live is the availability of fiber internet.

My own internet expectations are modest. I remember connecting remotely to my university accounts at 300 baud.

These days if our Basic Netflix plan is working then it's all good. Maybe my eyes are not good enough, or our television large enough, to appreciate HDTV.

[gibraltar72]

2. cost?

[OAITW r.2.0]

5. About $700,00. A little more for me, because I wasn't sure about the mounting options....and I bought both kits.

After that, a monthly subscription bill, around $70/mo....about $10/mo more than CC, but 1000x faster download speeds. As most of my thinking these days, it will be a great selling point if my kids sell the property one day.

[cilla4progress]

6. We are quite rural with limited options and got Starlink a couple years ago.

Love the connectivity

Hate Musk

Dilemma

[OAITW r.2.0]

7. Same for me. Honestly, I delayed this for a year, because of Musk.

This Spring, I'll be removing the Direct TV and Dish TV receivers. I've got a lot of lines running throughout the house that I need to rip out as well.

[Bristlecone]

8. What is the avg upload speed?

I’ve thought about this before, but I’m in the cloud UC biz and need a solid 2 way.

A Gig down sounds excellent.

[OAITW r.2.0]

9. Found this on Wikipedia.

"Upload speeds are typically between 5 and 20 Mbps. Latency ranges between 25 and 60 ms on land, and 100+ ms in certain remote locations (e.g. Oceans, Islands, "

[Bristlecone]

10. Thank you. I should have just looked it up myself.

I might follow up with you later to see what your experience is on that, and overall.

Thx again.

[OAITW r.2.0]

11. My house location and elevation gives me a total unobstructed South to West exposure,

The kit is pretty simple, as are the instructions. I plan to mount on my upstairs office dormer. I have an open house concept, so should have no problems in the house. I'll need to bore a 1/2" hole in my wood"D' log siding. and will fill with foam and silicone surface seal. Once up and running, I will need to reset the internet connection on the TV, PC, Laptop, and Phone. Pretty simple, actually.

On edit: When I am ready to disconnect with Consolidated Communications, I might want to see if I can keep a basic link with a pay by byte plan. There might be a time where a back-up internet option would be a good thing to have.

[Xolodno]

12. We have three retirement plans....

1. Move to Oregon
2. Move to Nevada...then Oregon.
3. Stay in SoCal as domicile, buy an RV and travel.

Option 3 will require us to get Starlink since I work mobile. Was surprised not only can you get a set up once stationary, they were working on a plan to set up an RV so you get internet while moving. Don't need the latter.

But it does make our retirement plans harder.