Starlink???? Please Help???

[The Gritz Carlton]

My daughter lives just south of Burnsville, NC off Halls Chapel Road, on the Toe River. Her home is OK but they are without power, water, a/c, cell service or internet. Due to her remote location, there is no forecast for when these services will be restored. The single power line to her house runs about 1/4 mile through a gulch which is full of mud, trees and a neighbor's house. She's a goat farmer and has followed my advice in life as being prepared for this type event. I said, after this storm went through...if she's alive, she will survive. I could go on and on but the post here is about Starlink...of which I know nothing. This is the the only temporary system they have up there that's working and she has to travel 5 miles every few day to connect to the world. I am purchasing her this system and need to know the basics of what it takes totally to get it up and running. I know nothing beyond purchasing the antenna. Not sure if there are different levels as I've seen the price on them spread quite a bit. I'm heading that way in a few days with lots of other things and need to make sure I carry this system in complete. As always...thank you guy so much for what I know is coming!!!

 

[16ACE27]

I've always understood that the Starlink hardware package gives you everything you need except power to get up and running, BUT you may need connectivity on the APP to activate it.

As mentioned in another thread, don't worry about aiming the antenna, just give it a clear view of the sky.

Also, she is probably eligible for the $0 relief plan.

 

[The Gritz Carlton]

Thanks Ted. I probably should get everything, hook it all up and running here before I leave. It's travel, plug and play after that, right?

 

[16ACE27]

Thanks Ted. I probably should get everything, hook it all up and running here before I leave. It's travel, plug and play after that, right?

Yep, that's the best idea if you have time before leaving.

 

[Chateau_Nomad]

She will need a small generator, access to gasoline and the Starlink Gen 3 package. Lay the dish anywhere it has an open sky view, fire up the generator, plug in the Starlink power cord and connect her cell phone to the WiFi broadcast from the Starlink router.

You'll be talking to her on the phone (with WiFi calling) within 10 minutes.

 

[dkoldman]

I know you say she is without power, but can we assume she has some type of generator to run to provide power for Starlink?

I know a few times we did not have power to the house, but we still had internet access via the RV's generator and the our wireless Home internet service that was also plugged into the RV, but could have been brought into the house on a circuit being fed by RV.

Glad your daughter is safe. I like stories like yours, they give you perspective on life and make great memories for families and friends when you are able to come in and help.

 

[The Gritz Carlton]

I know you say she is without power, but can we assume she has some type of generator to run to provide power for starlink?

I know a few times we did not have power to the house, but we still had internet access via the RV's generator and the our wireless Home internet service that was also plugged into the RV, bit could have been brought into the house on a circuit being fed by RV.

Glad your daughter is safe. I like stories like yours, they give you perspective on life and make great memories for families and friends when you are able to come in and help.

Yes...sorry to have left that out. A friend of her husband's just came in yesterday (10/5) with two generators. One for there and the other for her Asheville house (which is OK other than all the power issues).

 

[The Gritz Carlton]

I know you say she is without power, but can we assume she has some type of generator to run to provide power for starlink?

I know a few times we did not have power to the house, but we still had internet access via the RV's generator and the our wireless Home internet service that was also plugged into the RV, bit could have been brought into the house on a circuit being fed by RV.

Glad your daughter is safe. I like stories like yours, they give you perspective on life and make great memories for families and friends when you are able to come in and help.

Yes...sorry to have left that out. A friend of her husband's just came in yesterday (10/5) with two generators. One for there and the other for her Asheville house (which is OK other than all the power issues). Her internet is out...all towers and antenna in the broad area were knocked down.

 

[The Gritz Carlton]

She also has a Cobra 400 watt inverter I gave her years ago with battery clamps. She can use for the Starlink as long as the power draw of the Starlink fit within that amp draw. I sent her the "amp formula" for use with the generators. AxV=W.

 

[The Gritz Carlton]

I've always understood that the Starlink hardware package gives you everything you need except power to get up and running, BUT you may need connectivity on the APP to activate it.

As mentioned in another thread, don't worry about aiming the antenna, just give it a clear view of the sky.

Also, she is probably eligible for the $0 relief plan.

I missed this last comment...what is the relief plan?

 

[The Gritz Carlton]

I watched the video in Ted's post. Seems a lot like the old Dish Tailgater type setup (set up dish, find the satellites) plus she has a ton of trees around her house...big, old, really tall trees on the side of a mountain...she's very close to Mt. Mitchell. The picture in the manual (in the video) shows you need a pretty clear shot of at least 110 degree, clear sky. Anybody use these in fairly heavy tree canopy?

 

[ducksface]

They come with many many feet(75 or 150) of cable so she can run it up a tree or to a void in the canopy.

Test it at your house first.

It might be time for a couple hundred watts of cheap solar and a couple of lithium batteries. This might be a good call as a back up for the next storm.

Solar powered Comms will all but always work no matter generator or power line access.

 

[16ACE27]

I missed this last comment...what is the relief plan?

The "relief plan" is she gets 30 days free. If you put in her address/zip code it would show up on the order page. Maybe even with your address. My address qualifies in Lake City.

Also, don't worry about the 110 degree thing. Clear view of the sky in most any direction works now with the current status of the Starlink Satellite Cloud.

 

[Lt Keefer]

I can't help with any knowledge of Starlink, but best wishes for your family members in the affected area. Flood recovery is a long process, it took us a year to get back in our house after a flood in 2012. Tell her to hang in there, keep good notes on interactions with officials and be resilient. Eventually it gets better.

 

[ducksface]

... Tell her to hang in there, keep good notes on interactions with officials and be resilient....

If she lives in a one party state(and even if she doesn't)
There are free call recorder apps that automatically record both sides of any phone call.
The voice recorder app already in her phone needs the shortcut moved to the center of her home screen.

The recordings leave no room for doubt or interpretation or transcription error.

I use an android app called
CubeACR
(It's flawless)

 

[Boatman-THOR]

Starlink Mini works on 12V and has a built in Router

 

[HMCSW]

Thanks Ted. I probably should get everything, hook it all up and running here before I leave. It's travel, plug and play after that, right?

If you do that you will need to have it in your name and get the roaming. It is a very easy system to set up.

 

[The Gritz Carlton]

Lots of GREAT info!! Thanks so much for everything. This family is tighter than Hat's Dick band!!

 

[HMCSW]

Lots of GREAT info!! Thanks so much for everything. This family is tighter than Hat's Dick band!!

We live in Washington and have used it in heavy tree coverage. It does not take much of an opening especially for wifi phone calls, she might not be able to stream "The Old Man" but email and calls should be fine. My guess is the tree population has been reduced a lot.

 

[dkoldman]

Yesterday, I saw where T Mobile is allowing T Mobile Customers in North Carolina area to access the Starlink Satellite with their mobile devices. They have been doing this is some rural areas like Montana as they validate the systems & capabilities. As I understand their is nothing for the consumer to do, but if no cell tower it will automatically switch to Satellite. Satellite pops up on the phone so you know.

It would be nice to know if your Daughter or someone she knows has T Mobile and get get 1st hand experience on how it works. I am banking on my T Mobile Home Mobile solution with this future Satellite service in ever in a pinch.