Starlink

I had signed up on a wait list for Starlink Satellite after I was having less than acceptable results trying to stream over the AT&T cellular antenna I’ve used for several years now. I ditched DirecTV last year and muddled along using a Fire TV Cube and over the air content. The AT&T internet connection was OK for e-mail and most browsing but just didn’t have the bandwidth available to handle entertainment streaming and it was often inoperable during peak cell phone usage hours when my neighbors were using the same cell tower I was attempting to use.

Never heard from Starlink but decided to see if the system was available. They had originally said that service would be available in my area in 2022. Like most things Musk, this slid into 2023. I was surprised when I checked that the system was available to me and I was able to order the satellite dish and processor/router. Took about 2 weeks to arrive and it was very straightforward to hook up the dish, which came with a stand, via the supplied 75 foot cable to the processor. Used the Starlink app on the phone to do the installation and it was completely painless.

The dish was placed in the north side yard and pointed northish. I ran the cable from the pantry/av closet through the attic and out the access hole in the garage and under the garage door out to the satellite dish. It was still cold here and I was worried about damaging the cable and allowing air in if I had tried to run it out a window. Allowed me to test the system and decide if I would keep it or return it to Starlink. The system didn’t like my trees to the north of it’s yard location and complained about the obstructions but it was already working much better than the old connection.

Ordered the ethernet adapter from Starlink that allows the user to bypass the Starlink router and use a user supplied router. Also ordered the roof mount as I had decided to keep the system.

It turned out to be to my benefit, in an unexpected way, that FedEx did deliver the Ethernet Adapter but lost the Satellite Mount. With a little research, I discovered an insert was available to allow me to use my existing DirecTV mast that was already mounted on the roof with the Starlink Dish. Now, the only issue would be if the current location on the northeast side of the house would give the dish enough sky access to clear the trees. If not, it was looking like I would then have to move the DirecTV mast to a different roof location. The plastic insert was remarkably made with a 3D printer so this was the 1st 3D printed part I’ve ever used.

Per usual, the hardest part of the whole installation was the routing of the supplied cable through the existing attic cable run I’d used before for my TV antenna, DirecTV dish, and my AT&T cellular antenna. I was able to fish my cable puller up through the eve and into the attic. Used a hook crafted from a wooden closet rod, U shaped metal support, and electrical tape to pull the cable puller from the eve into the attic to where I could snag it and attach the end of the supplied cable to the cable puller. Got to do some attic isometrics while moving around via attic 2 X 4s but managed to get the cable run out of the attic through the soffit to the dish.

A couple of times up and down the ladders to remove the old DirecTV Dish from it’s mast, make sure the insert would fit, run the cable up through the DirecTV mast, and then mount the Starlink Dish using the insert on the DirecTV mast. All went smooth. I can still carry a 20 ft ladder and maneuver up and down it without too much effort. I didn’t have to get on the roof to get this done so that was a bonus.

I lucked out. The Starlink app reported that there were no obstructions but it did note tree tops on the map they present showing how the system sees the sky and any surrounding surfaces that might interfere with the dish to satellite path. No leaves in the trees so the obstruction report might indicate issues when spring arrives. The Starlink system works very well and comes close to the fiber cable internet access I have enjoyed previously as a city dweller. Starlink just changed my service from “best effort” to “residential” and I expect the service to improve as they place more and improved satellites into space. Extremely happy and the costs are less by using Consumer Cellular, Sling, and Starlink instead of DirecTV and AT&T Cellular and Internet Services. Still waiting to see if Starlink can do anything to assist FedEx in finding my missing Satellite Mount. The Dish has gotten high wind and rain testing. The rain doesn’t seem to affect the signal as much as DirecTV where I often lost service during rain events.