BajaNomad - Starlink in Baja

Then DHL shows up and wants $5000 pesos for "additional tax fee".

Did you get the exact term they used for that tax? Only thing that occurs to me is import duty (aranceles/impuestos de importación), which might be possible in spite of it being a registered Mexican company.

I know Amazon.mx charges import duty on some items and not others; I suppose it has to do with whether they've already bulk imported them for stocking their Mexican warehouses or whether it's custom imported for this customer's specific order.

Relayed to me as "Tax Fee". Starlink in their reply to me told me there should not be any additional fee other than what was itemized on my invoice. Equipment, shipping and IVA. And $5000 pesos would be close to 50% duty.

Bajaboy - 4-3-2022 at 12:43 PM

I ordered mine in February of 2021. At first, we were told we'd have it by the end of the year. Now it's supposed to arrive this year. It appears that Starlink is only covering Baja so far. But we're close.

Interesting about the Mexican address. I have my shipping address to Imperial Beach. We'll see. You do need a Curp, though, for payment...at least on my account.

mtgoat666 - 4-3-2022 at 01:54 PM

It's impossible to deal with starlink by any other method then their support page and expect a one week response time.

Don’t you love dealing with vendors that have a customer service business model that tries to minimize costs by not speaking to customers or providing a tele number for customers to talk to a real person one on one?
Starlink purports to provide an Internet connection for customers to communicate with the world,… but starlink really does does not want to communicate with customers!

JZ - 4-3-2022 at 02:26 PM

Ordered one last summer. Can't wait.

TSThornton - 4-4-2022 at 07:33 AM

I received mine in rural Washington a week before I headed to Todos for this trip. Didn't even think to pack it with me in the truck because wasn't thinking it was active here. Next time.

At home, it's very fast to the router (200+), but the wi fi signal throughout the house seems weak (like 9 about 30 feet away in the living room through a couple interior walls) so I need to beef up the interior distribution.

Note that if your house is ethernet wired, the kit out of the box does not accomodate that (no ethernet port in the gen 2 kit shipping now). You have to buy the SL proprietary enternet adapter seperately, which has its own lead time. If it ships on time, it will have taken about a month.

mjs - 4-4-2022 at 08:09 AM

I received mine in rural Washington a week before I headed to Todos for this trip. Didn't even think to pack it with me in the truck because wasn't thinking it was active here. Next time.

At home, it's very fast to the router (200+), but the wi fi signal throughout the house seems weak (like 9 about 30 feet away in the living room through a couple interior walls) so I need to beef up the interior distribution.

Note that if your house is ethernet wired, the kit out of the box does not accomodate that (no ethernet port in the gen 2 kit shipping now). You have to buy the SL proprietary enternet adapter seperately, which has its own lead time. If it ships on time, it will have taken about a month.

The ethernet adapter wasn't available for purchase to my Mexican account/ address. For my US address it was available to order at same time as the dish. Mine is scheduled to ship end of April.

BajaRun - 4-4-2022 at 10:07 AM

I was wondering if it would work in Baja Sur, Todos y Pescadero area

Don Pisto - 4-4-2022 at 11:05 AM

The ethernet adapter wasn't available for purchase to my Mexican account/ address. For my US address it was available to order at same time as the dish. Mine is scheduled to ship end of April.

so with the rather weak wifi signal im thinking sharing this pretty pricey connection with a neighbor might not work...for the neighbor anyway?

TSThornton - 4-4-2022 at 12:56 PM

Yeah, repeating the wifi is not a problem. And you can extend it over to your neighbor's house as far as I know.

I'm talking about hard wiring from the Starlink router to my devices. The first gen beta starlink routers had an ethernet port that you could connect to your wired network. These second gen ones do not, so you have to buy their eithernet adaptor.

TSThornton - 4-4-2022 at 01:55 PM

Oh I see. Wifi from the SL router into my wired home network. That seems doable, but I don't currently have that hardware, the SL adapter is only $25, and it'll be there when I get home from this trip.

mjs - 4-4-2022 at 02:20 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Don Pisto

The ethernet adapter wasn't available for purchase to my Mexican account/ address. For my US address it was available to order at same time as the dish. Mine is scheduled to ship end of April.

so with the rather weak wifi signal im thinking sharing this pretty pricey connection with a neighbor might not work...for the neighbor anyway?

There is some relatively inexpensive (>$100) ways to share an ethernet connection up to 5km. Not quite plug-n-play but not difficult to set up if you have a bit of network knowledge. The easiest way would be to add a good outdoor access point. TP-Link EAP225 outdoor Need a wired ethernet router to make the most of these options

[Edited on 4-4-2022 by mjs]

BajaParrothead - 4-4-2022 at 02:30 PM

looking at their map site, https://starlink.sx/ it appears to cover all the way to CSL.

John Harper - 4-4-2022 at 04:37 PM

Oh I see. Wifi from the SL router into my wired home network. That seems doable, but I don't currently have that hardware, the SL adapter is only $25, and it'll be there when I get home from this trip.

For $25 delivered you can't go wrong.

John

BajaMama - 4-5-2022 at 12:01 PM

We're 20 months to retirement and are hoping the portable StarLink system will be available (to use in RV & Baja House, maybe US home too) and easy to use. Mostly for keeping in touch with family and streaming Netflix/Prime/Hulu, etc.

BajaGringo - 4-5-2022 at 12:38 PM

Quote: Originally posted by John Harper

For $25 delivered you can't go wrong.

Agreed. And being a direct connection, it will be faster. :light:

As long as you don't mind looking up at well over fifteen thousand low orbiting satellites in what were once clear skies over Baja.

https://talkbaja.com/battle-of-the-titans-over-global-satell...

Space Junk in skies over Baja Mexico Coming Soon.jpg - 120kB

Space Junk in skies over Baja Mexico Coming Soon.jpg - 120kB

JDCanuck - 4-5-2022 at 12:42 PM

I've heard of several people pre ordering Starlink in BCS but no one I know of has received it yet. We are stuck for now with slower Hughesnet but looking forward to an alternative.

Worst problem with Hughesnet Mexico is trying to pay the monthly bill from up here in Canada.
So far we needed to have a friend go in every month and pay the bill at OXXO as they don't accept our Canadian Visa or Mastercard for online payments. Anyone found a way around this?

Bajaboy - 4-5-2022 at 03:46 PM

I just got an email saying we're approved. So it looks like Baja Sur will be opening up very soon. Now it's sit around and wait.

FYI....the CURP was optional but I did have to ship it to a Mexico address. Should be fun to see how long it takes to get to us.

mtgoat666 - 4-5-2022 at 04:57 PM

Quote: Originally posted by John Harper

For $25 delivered you can't go wrong.

Agreed. And being a direct connection, it will be faster. :light:

As long as you don't mind looking up at well over fifteen thousand low orbiting satellites in what were once clear skies over Baja.

https://talkbaja.com/battle-of-the-titans-over-global-satell...

Just what we need, more light pollution!

Wait until they start building satellite bill boards to advertise more chit!

Bajaboy - 4-5-2022 at 06:21 PM

Quote: Originally posted by John Harper

For $25 delivered you can't go wrong.

Agreed. And being a direct connection, it will be faster. :light:

As long as you don't mind looking up at well over fifteen thousand low orbiting satellites in what were once clear skies over Baja.

https://talkbaja.com/battle-of-the-titans-over-global-satell...

I'm guessing you have fast internet :light:

HeyMulegeScott - 4-6-2022 at 08:18 AM

My friends who have a RV Starlink group say that with roaming enabled last month some users with a US dish report it working in Baja. Here's their FAQ -

Starlink for RVers and Other Mobile Users FAQ’s
Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions we feel should help alleviate the repetitive posts that come up often.
Is Starlink mobile?!
“I didn’t think Starlink was mobile yet?” Though not officially supported, many users have used workarounds to use it while moving around the country since early last year. “Roaming” has started to become enabled on many accounts making it even easier to use away from your “service address”
What is this Roaming you Speak of?
From what we as users have deduced, firmware starting around 2/18 have enabled roaming with Dishy. This has enabled moving freely around Starlink coverage areas and not having to “move” your service address around. Users also have now successfully been moving across international borders. None of this has been publicly launched or supported by SpaceX and as such is subject to change at any time. Dishys shipping currently have been confirmed by many users to be current enough firmware to be able to roam directly out of the box. If you are more than 15 miles from your service address, and have firmware release from 2/18 or later then you should have roaming enabled within an hour of powering on. A list of recent firmware is available here: https://starlinkversions.com/ . You can check what firmware that you are running via the app and clicking support, swiping for more, then advanced. What is listed on this screen as a Starlink version number is your current firmware. If you have older firmware, you will need to either move the dish for a night or two into its home cell and it will eventually update during early morning hours of non-use, or move your home cell to where you currently are if possible.
Is there different hardware for mobile use?
No. There are 3 different versions of Dishy out there. Gen 1 and 2 were round and the current one if you order today is a rectangle shape. They are all standard ones meant for residential use. They will likely have some sort of mobile hardware in the future, but nobody has any idea of when or what it will look like, or what it will cost.
How do so many of you have Starlink?
I signed up for Dishy many months ago and haven’t got my order!? Coverage is divided by SpaceX into cells, and these cells are arbitrarily turned “on” for orders via a selection process that only Space X can explain. If you are “mobile”, meaning someone that moves around the country, then you can place an order today with a Service address of an open cell, and the shipping address of where you can receive Dishy. You will only be able to use Dishy where there are open cells nearby, and as soon as you move to a different cell there are no assurances that the prior cell will still have a spot if you decide to return. Our group's founder Evin Carr was one of the first pioneers of this shipping method. If you take advantage of it, grab him a Beer!
How do I change my service address?
Log into your account via the web and in the “your location” area select the change location details button.
UPDATE SINCE ROAMING: This has become less of an issue, if at all, since roaming has started to become enabled on more and more accounts. You may find once you get your Dishy set up and leave it running for a day or two to get firmware updates, that you may not have to go through all the address finding/changing crap anymore!
I paid for Starlink, when will I get Dishy?
If you paid $99, then you have placed a deposit for hardware to be shipped at some point in the future. Only SpaceX can tell you when that may be. Their estimates are just that, estimates. Those estimates may change as things progress, again, only they know why. If you paid $500+, then your hardware will be arriving at the SHIPPING address on the account. Current shipping times have been averaging two weeks or less from order date.
I have Starlink from Country X, and I move it to Country Y?
Unfortunately not yet, SpaceX does not have the appropriate approvals in order. Even though the hardware is ready for any country, we can only currently use it in the originating country till the appropriate red tape gets slashed by SpaceX.
UPDATE SINCE ROAMING: Although the reports have been sparse, there are a number of users that have reported success using their U.S. Dishy in Mexico. Time will tell whether this will continue to work without barriers…
Can I Sell/Buy Dishy?
Yes, SpaceX has allowed for the transfer of hardware from one person to another via their support ticket system. Two of the admins have done this successfully and many users now have reported to as well.
I am getting slow speeds compared to everyone else, what gives?
To start, make sure that Dishy has an obstruction free view of the sky. If you are using the Starlink provided router, go into settings via the web or app and split the 2.4G and 5G networks. Run the tests again from the 5G network.
Can I extend the cable length of Dishy?
Gen1/2 ROUND DISHY: Although technically not officially supported, many have had success with extensions of over 100 feet with a waterproof ethernet splice and a high quality large AWG shielded ethernet extension.
RECTANGLE DISHY: The current Dishy has a user replaceable cable that ships with a 75ft cord and can be replaced with a 150 foot cord from the Starlink store. If you would like to have an ethernet port, a separate adapter is also available in the Starlink store. As the cable uses proprietary connectors. Extending beyond 150feet given the proprietary connector would get messy.

BajaGringo - 4-6-2022 at 10:34 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Bajaboy

As long as you don't mind looking up at well over fifteen thousand low orbiting satellites in what were once clear skies over Baja.

https://talkbaja.com/battle-of-the-titans-over-global-satell...

I'm guessing you have fast internet :light:

No, my internet is at best only average speed compared to the fiber optic connected folks in town. If you had bothered to read the article I wrote, you would have also read where I expressed my mixed emotions over the coming market of cheaper, high speed service available to everybody down here. Yes, I will benefit too from that in terms of connection speed but realize that it will come at a cost.

Our night-time skies here along the coast 15 miles west of San Quintin are spectacular on clear nights and we often just sit outside, admiring the show above.

I have this nagging feeling that before the last of these 15,000+ new satellites is even launched there will already be new technology getting ready to be launched that would reduce the need for that number of satellites drastically while providing the same or even better (and faster) coverage.

Then we get to watch all these 15,000+ new pieces of space junk get turned off, slowly lose orbit and fall out of the sky in a burning mass of obsolete technology.

And that's if they don't crash into each other first in the growing congestion of space orbit around the planet.

4x4abc - 4-6-2022 at 11:03 AM

just ordered mine.
Telmex has been jerking me around with fiber optics for a couple of years now
with the maximum line length from the box, I am not likely to see one for my house anytime soon

so, Starlink is the answer

the fact that I can take it with me to explore Baja tipped the scale
Google Earth and telephone at the end of the world
almost makes inReach obsolete - almost

mtgoat666 - 4-6-2022 at 12:07 PM

just

the fact that I can take it with me to explore Baja tipped the scale
Google Earth and telephone at the end of the world
almost makes inReach obsolete - almost

Better yet, cut the tether and explore old school style without umbilical cord to instagram, facebook and tiktok :light:

Can you survive a few days without seeing snapshots of your friend’s pets and grandkids?

phmilo - 4-6-2022 at 12:37 PM

So if you use Starlink in Baja is your geographic area noted, or is it tied to your account?

If you use a US based (account in US) receiver, does it know you are SOB when roaming? And what does that do for content that is often locked by country?

4x4abc - 4-6-2022 at 12:38 PM

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666

Better yet, cut the tether and explore old school style without umbilical cord to instagram, facebook and tiktok :light:

Can you survive a few days without seeing snapshots of your friend’s pets and grandkids?

what a kind person you are!

anyway - 90% of my time connected is not to share whatever
I am too old for "me, me, me!"
online for me is a learning tool - to find information

often when I am in the wild exploring the (almost) unvisited I am in need of the easiest way through the bushes
only high quality sat images can do that

how far can I possibly drive?
how long is the hike?
what is the elevation profile?

like below
what's the best path to reach Hacienda La Colpa?
Google Earth has the answer

of course I always study the routes for a long time at home before I leave
but often I need to check while on the road
sure you can cache Google Earth tiles
but an oops in power supply and you cache is gone

so, Starlink in the field would be divine

La Colpa.jpg - 281kB

Bajaboy - 4-6-2022 at 04:48 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Bajaboy

As long as you don't mind looking up at well over fifteen thousand low orbiting satellites in what were once clear skies over Baja.

https://talkbaja.com/battle-of-the-titans-over-global-satell...

I'm guessing you have fast internet :light:

A growing city with street lights will ruin your night time skies far sooner than satellites.

Bajaboy - 4-6-2022 at 04:52 PM

Quote: Originally posted by phmilo

So if you use Starlink in Baja is your geographic area noted, or is it tied to your account?

If you use a US based (account in US) receiver, does it know you are SOB when roaming? And what does that do for content that is often locked by country?

Yes, you need to provide a service address. They are beta testing "roaming" though which allows one to use the dish anywhere.

4x4abc - 4-6-2022 at 05:04 PM

Weird, I thought multimode fiber has pretty long runs at consumer speeds. Where is this "box"? You're on the SE edge of El Centenario, right?

Are other people in town getting fiber Internet?

hundreds of people in Centenario have fiber optics.
there is a connection box about every other block
each box takes a maximum of 8 lines
the lines should be no longer than 200m
only one box close to my house qualifies
but it is full
a new box is not planned

[Edited on 4-7-2022 by 4x4abc]

4x4abc - 4-6-2022 at 07:29 PM

know all the field techs on a first name basis
have an inside man at the head office
since there is no waiting list my inside man will cancel an existing account as soon as someone pays too late
but I have to "remind" him frequently to check my neighbor's accounts
Mexico is an unimaginable bog incompetence and open hands

4x4abc - 4-6-2022 at 09:10 PM

currently I have 2 copper lines
one with max 10 Mbps, and one with 6 Mbps max
but on weekends it drops to 2 Mbps
some nights it collapses completely

I got the 2nd line for my airbnb guest
they grow more and more demanding
many simply don't book when I tell them 10 Mbps

that is why I am after fiber optics or Starlink
so SF yoga gurus can do online classes at the pool

JDCanuck - 4-7-2022 at 05:35 AM

currently I have 2 copper lines
one with max 10 Mbps, and one with 6 Mbps max
but on weekends it drops to 2 Mbps
some nights it collapses completely

I got the 2nd line for my airbnb guest
they grow more and more demanding
many simply don't book when I tell them 10 Mbps

that is why I am after fiber optics or Starlink
so SF yoga gurus can do online classes at the pool

That's interesting Harald: I had no noticeable issues with a slower speed when I stayed there in the guest house. Now I too am wondering why people need the higher speeds? Email and browsing sites seemed fine, even my streaming stock data came through fast enough for my needs. I'm going to assume I was on the 10Mbps line and now have a good idea what will meet my needs out west via satellite. Thanks for the info.

Bajaboy - 4-7-2022 at 05:51 AM

know all the field techs on a first name basis have an inside man at the head office

Ah, then it shouldn't take too long to resolve things.

What's your connection right now?

Personally, I get along just fine with about 15 mb/s and can't figure why people need 3-digit bandwidth, but then I'm not in much of a rush for anything these days... :yes:

We average between 1 and 2 mb/s. My wife teaches online and surprisingly does okay with those speeds. But everyone else has to be offline (which isn't always a bad thing). Once we get faster speeds, I'll be able to teach as well should I decide to.

We would have more visitors as well if we had reliable internet, too. I'm looking forward to watching a 5 minute Youtube video in 5 minutes :lol:

As of now, looks like my equipment is being shipped via DHL and is supposed to be delivered by the end of the day on the 18th. We'll see...

4x4abc - 4-7-2022 at 07:49 AM

during my search for Starlink answers I ran into a site where a techie compared "for the heck of it" Starlink to his old 1 Gbps (1000Mbps). He kew Starlink would be too slow for his work, but he just wanted to find out himself. He explained briefly his online work and pointed out why he needed 1 Gbps - most importantly lowest possible latency. He was super impressed with almost zero latency (the time it takes for a sent signal to be received) of the Starlink. But 200 Mbps was way too slow for him.

So, it looks like some of the remotes need indeed fast internet.
And if you can't provide it - you wont get their booking.

by the way, low latency is the reason why the Starlink satellites fly so low (350 miles). The signal covers that distance fast. The geo stationary satellite orbit (22,000 miles) would have created a very long latency.

JDCanuck - 4-8-2022 at 05:51 AM

So, it looks like some of the remotes need indeed fast internet.
And if you can't provide it - you wont get their booking.

by the way, low latency is the reason why the Starlink satellites fly so low (350 miles). The signal covers that distance fast. The geo stationary satellite orbit (22,000 miles) would have created a very long latency.

Thanks again for the info on Starlink Harald. Will be checking with you in a few months to see how it works out. More options seem to be opening up all the time, but Starlink seems to be the up and coming satellite solution. Not sure how the reduced latency plays out in practical use. Voice apps maybe?

mtgoat666 - 4-8-2022 at 07:42 AM

Simulations of visual pollution of night sky:
https://www.deepskywatch.com/Articles/Starlink-sky-simulatio...

mtgoat666 - 4-10-2022 at 03:13 AM

And it's about to get much worse. Lawler and two other Canadian astronomers published a paper in December in The Astronomical Journal which predicted that, in less than a decade, 1 out of every 15 points of light in the night sky will actually be a moving satellite.

"Think about that," Lawler said. "There's only about 4,000 stars that you can see with your naked eye and if 200 of those are moving, that is very different than the sky that we're used to now."

Visibility Predictions for Near-future Satellite Megaconstellations: Latitudes near 50° Will Experience the Worst Light Pollution
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ac341b/...

SFandH - 4-10-2022 at 07:51 AM

Another data point:

Right now I'm using a standard satellite system in front of a friend's house, sitting in the shade on a Bahia Concepcion beach. It works fine. I just watched a video from a San Diego news source. The system was purchased in Mulege and installed by a local technician. Geostationary satellite latency is only about 1/2 of a second. I can live with that. IMHO, if you can get/use a geostationary satellite system, do it. One geostationary satellite does the work of thousands of Starlink LEO satellites and about 10 geostationary satellites can cover the whole world. Go with simplicity.

https://www.viasat.com/about/newsroom/blog/satellite-interne...

[Edited on 4-11-2022 by SFandH]

joel - 4-12-2022 at 07:42 AM

Does anyone know of the Starlink Mexico dishes are the first generation round ones or the second generation square ones? Square ones seem not to come with a built in ethernet port so require an adapter for any ethernet connections.

4x4abc - 4-12-2022 at 08:41 AM

Does anyone know of the Starlink Mexico dishes are the first generation round ones or the second generation square ones? Square ones seem not to come with a built in ethernet port so require an adapter for any ethernet connections.

guess they learned from Apple. A $30 adapter for everything

mjs - 4-12-2022 at 08:43 AM

All of the currently shipping dishes are the new square ones. Without the ethernet port and the adapter was not listed for sale in the starlink store. The store is only available when logged into your starlink account.

Ethernet adapter is listed and available to purchase when logged into an account with a US based service address.

And just for reference, I'm seeing speeds between 60 and 240 Mbps. There are random outages of 10 to 15 seconds throughout the day. Probably as the signal transfers to different satellites. Not really noticeable unless using a VOIP application.

joel - 4-12-2022 at 09:37 AM

Does anyone know of the Starlink Mexico dishes are the first generation round ones or the second generation square ones? Square ones seem not to come with a built in ethernet port so require an adapter for any ethernet connections.

joel - 4-12-2022 at 09:39 AM

That’s helpful info! For those of us with Mexico service addresses any idea how we order the ethernet adapter?

mjs - 4-12-2022 at 11:30 AM

That’s helpful info! For those of us with Mexico service addresses any idea how we order the ethernet adapter?

I imagine they will become available in MX when USA supply catches up with demand. Until then you could try and find someone in the US to order one for you.

JZ - 4-12-2022 at 07:05 PM

Unbelievable. I was traveling this week and missed the emails asking to confirm my order. So it just got cancelled.

mtgoat666 - 4-12-2022 at 08:11 PM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ

Unbelievable. I was traveling this week and missed the emails asking to confirm my order. So it just got cancelled.

That’s chitty. You should wait for Bezos’ sat internet company,… Bezos has always been a customer-service oriented guy, based on what I see from Amazon.

Bajaboy - 4-13-2022 at 07:01 AM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ

Unbelievable. I was traveling this week and missed the emails asking to confirm my order. So it just got cancelled.

Cancel culture :light:

Sorry to hear. Of course our internet has been horrible this week as we wait for our dish to arrive on Monday.

[Edited on 4-14-2022 by Bajaboy]

Beagle - 4-13-2022 at 06:27 PM

That’s helpful info! For those of us with Mexico service addresses any idea how we order the ethernet adapter?

It is my understanding that on the mainland Mexico, people are receiving the 2nd generation ROUND ones. That info is as recent as today on posts on FB Usarios de Starlink Mexico.

I believe there are actually 3 generations. 1st is round black. 2nd is round grey and 3rd is square. 3rd generations are shipping in the US from my understadning.

I could be wrong about what people are receiving in Baja since someone above mentioned a square one...but maybe they are talking about in the US.

According to our order page, we are receiving the round grey (2nd generation). I believe they do have the ethernet port but don't quote me on that. Hope this is helpful.

[Edited on 4-14-2022 by Beagle]
EDIT-Here's a link to the Facebook mexico page. As you can see, they're all round grey units.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/922656234947276

[Edited on 4-14-2022 by Beagle]

BajaRun - 4-18-2022 at 10:17 AM

I ordered my Starlink and received it in 5 Days. There are some work around hacks people are using (youtube) to get their units faster. I didn't need to do that, my area must have had plenty of openings available. Good Luck Amigo

Quote: Originally posted by JZ

Unbelievable. I was traveling this week and missed the emails asking to confirm my order. So it just got cancelled.

Bajaboy - 4-18-2022 at 11:48 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Beagle

That’s helpful info! For those of us with Mexico service addresses any idea how we order the ethernet adapter?

We got ours today and it's operational. We did receive the round dish. Life is good!

aburruss - 4-23-2022 at 07:28 PM

A friend in San Juanico got theirs operational today. It's the round dish.. His initial speed tests were:

243Mb/s down
30Mb/s up
48ms latency

This is orders of magnitude better than what I get at my HOUSE in San Diego.

RFClark - 4-24-2022 at 04:53 AM

We have the new square Starlink at our place in San Felipe. We ordered it in the states though. It came with Roaming enabled. You can order the ethernet adaptor from the Starlink website. They are currently backordered.

Service has been good so far. Downlink speeds have been from 40Megs to over 175Megs, uplink is around 1/2 the downlink speed. We have a few short outages (15 - 30 sec) a day. The WiFi phone service is excellent.

Adiós Viasat!

Bajaboy - 4-24-2022 at 05:24 AM

Is anyone beta testing the new Starlink mesh network? I'm not sure if I want to wait for it to rollout or go with something else.

liknbaja127 - 4-24-2022 at 07:12 AM

We are now working on our home in Pedregal, I would like to per wire
for the network, can any one tell me what type of wire, or cable
is need for this Starlink network?
Thanks,

4x4abc - 4-24-2022 at 07:56 AM

Quote: Originally posted by liknbaja127

We are now working on our home in Pedregal, I would like to per wire
for the network, can any one tell me what type of wire, or cable
is need for this Starlink network?
Thanks,

ethernet

Bob and Susan - 4-24-2022 at 08:16 AM

dont waste your money "wiring" your house with ethernet cables...

the future is wireless

invest in wifi extenders that are compatible with your wifi router

some new computers dont even have the ethernet plug

Bob and Susan - 4-24-2022 at 08:19 AM

the speed of the internet is not that important

a "stable" connection is WAY more important

the thought that you can handle 100mb download is normally a dream
your processor in your computer is normally too slow

you can ONLY go as fast as the computer processor and hardware lets you

mtgoat666 - 4-24-2022 at 08:27 AM

Quote: Originally posted by liknbaja127

We are now working on our home in Pedregal, I would like to per wire
for the network, can any one tell me what type of wire, or cable
is need for this Starlink network?
Thanks,

dont waste your money "wiring" your house with ethernet cables...

the future is wireless

invest in wifi extenders that are compatible with your wifi router

some new computers dont even have the ethernet plug

Wire your house with Cat6 or Cat7. Cat6 and Cat7 are faster than starlink is capable of, but use of such cable will make you ready for any gigabyte speed system that may come in the future. Personally, I have used Cat6 for my house, and patch cables.

Ignore Bob and Susan. Ethernet is faster than wifi. My home office is Ethernet wired, and I can see speed of Ethernet is superior to wifi.

mtgoat666 - 4-24-2022 at 08:31 AM

the speed of the internet is not that important

a "stable" connection is WAY more important

Susan,
You are nuts!
Speed of internet connection is EVERYTHING.

These days, any good internet service provider is “stable.” Why would you even bother continuing to use an unstable/intermittent connection?

Bob and Susan - 4-24-2022 at 09:15 AM

the future is wireless everything

why plug in your phone...just set it on a charger no wires

goat...no more 8 tracks...no tapes....no cd's...no dvd's either

new computers dont have a removable battery

you need to get out more...new stuff is different

Bob and Susan - 4-24-2022 at 09:18 AM

musk isnt in the internet business,,,he's in communications...

the future is SATs in space....no cell towers
everything will go to a SAT then to a earth based server
telephone companies cant even see it yet

if he is one of those "lizard people" we've already lost : )

mtgoat666 - 4-24-2022 at 09:20 AM

the future is wireless everything

why plug in your phone...just set it on a charger no wires

goat...no more 8 tracks...no tapes....no cd's...no dvd's either

new computers dont have a removable battery

you need to get out more...new stuff is different

Susy,
Wifi is convenient, but hardwire connection is still faster.
Not sure of the relevance of battery accessibility, but hey, whatever floats your boat, eh?

mjs - 4-24-2022 at 10:32 AM

Quote: Originally posted by liknbaja127

We are now working on our home in Pedregal, I would like to per wire
for the network, can any one tell me what type of wire, or cable
is need for this Starlink network?
Thanks,

Starlink is ethernet but if you get the new square dish it is a proprietary cable. You will need 1" holes to pass the cable end through. The supplied cable is 75' but you can purchase a longer 150' cable.

As for wired vs wireless ethernet, wired is faster but it is also a more secure connection. It also has the ability to carry power to a connected device. While your phone or laptop may connect via wireless, you should use wired ethernet for all security cameras. These should also be on a separate network from your computer and guest networks. Same for IoT devices which are notoriously unsecured devices.

liknbaja127 - 4-24-2022 at 05:20 PM

Thanks guy's I think I will run the cat wire, as it is easey to do at this point! Of course I have 1,000 ft of 5, but you think 6 or 7 is better?
I will fine some to take down! Thanks again

mjs - 4-24-2022 at 08:24 PM

Cat 5 will be fine for cameras. Anc unless you are getting 1gb+ fiber it will be good for any computer use too. Cat6 is future proof but unless you are prepared to follow all of the cat6 installation requirements it probably doesn't matter.

aburruss - 4-24-2022 at 09:07 PM

Poetic license, I assume?

(Taken literally, that would mean that in San Diego you get less than 3Mb/s down!) :wow:

Valid. But still … I get 18 down and 2 up most of the time. Pretty sucky.

Bob and Susan - 4-25-2022 at 11:53 AM

all you "old men" are being fooled
go talk to a "tech-savy" 20 yr old

your equipment is what is limiting your speed

if you use a 100mb download and your computer is old and can only handle 30mb you will not see a difference

upgrade your old stuff and move into the future with the rest of us

RFClark - 4-25-2022 at 01:36 PM

B&S,

Some of us “Old Folks” have been doing computers as a living for a while! I started in about 1970!

What’s great about Starlink even more than it’s obvious speed is the low latency! 40ms is better than 700ms especially for voice! The uplink speed is important too as is the ability to run private networks and even call centers (PBX)! VIASAT is fine if all you’re doing is emails w/o pictures!

aburruss - 4-25-2022 at 09:10 PM

all you "old men" are being fooled
go talk to a "tech-savy" 20 yr old

your equipment is what is limiting your speed

if you use a 100mb download and your computer is old and can only handle 30mb you will not see a difference

upgrade your old stuff and move into the future with the rest of us

Who are you calling "old men"?

I'm a "young-ish" tech guy.. and it's certainly not my equipment that's limiting my speed. I have ONE option for internet at my house, and it's crappy ATT u-verse service... ON a good day, I'm up to 25mb.

aburruss - 4-25-2022 at 09:15 PM

upgrade your old stuff and move into the future with the rest of us

I'm curious: Bleeding edge is nice and all that, but what is it you personally do that requires your computer to handle more than a 30 mb/s connection speed?
:?:

[Edited on 4-25-2022 by lencho]

for ME... it's the upload speed that is the killer. 30 mb/s download is sufficient. But I do a lot of photo and video work for my kid's school.. trying to upload and sync a few hundred gigs at 2.5mb/s is torture.

Bob and Susan - 4-26-2022 at 01:45 PM

if you cant up load at 2.5 you need to go back to the office and load to the server
Your problem is probably bandwith...example 8 phones using your system...slow

now... on the back of a sat modem there is one cat5 plug...either that goes into the computer or to a wireless router...if you do that you are ONLY as fast as the wireless router NOT the modem

why wire your house with cat5 or 6 if you are limited to the speed of the router...waste of money

soon no sat modem will be needed...the device will accept the sat data directly

build for the future not the past

hedley - 4-27-2022 at 11:18 AM

expeditionportal.com/starlink-satellite-internet-service-is-now-roaming/

mtgoat666 - 4-27-2022 at 01:10 PM

now... on the back of a sat modem there is one cat5 plug...either that goes into the computer or to a wireless router...if you do that you are ONLY as fast as the wireless router NOT the modem

why wire your house with cat5 or 6 if you are limited to the speed of the router...waste of money

soon no sat modem will be needed...the device will accept the sat data directly

build for the future not the past

Robby:
if you have fast internet, then don’t slow it down by running it thru a slow wifi — use internet via Ethernet, and enjoy full speed of the internet service! :light:

JDCanuck - 4-29-2022 at 05:30 AM

Musk promising to rectify customer service issues:
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/spacex-apologizes-falling-...

RFClark - 4-29-2022 at 06:16 AM

We had an account/password issue recently. Staink resolved it in a few hours. So no customer service problem for us!

Want a customer service problem try Verizon!

BajaMama - 5-1-2022 at 08:06 AM

So...for the somewhat technology challenged...is anyone actually using Starlink in BCS with success? Does the internet go through a Starlink modern and you access the signal for your devices via WiFi? And is the system portable? Or do I have to only use it in one location? (I am hoping we can use it anywhere when we travel via motorhome).

RFClark - 5-1-2022 at 09:22 AM

We commissioned our new Starlink unit last week south of San Felipe. The unit has a WiFi modem with it and you can plug in an Ethernet router as well. Roaming is enabled so you can RV with it. It’s very portable. It requires 40W of 120VAC.

submarine_dbk - 5-2-2022 at 05:47 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaMama

So...for the somewhat technology challenged...is anyone actually using Starlink in BCS with success? Does the internet go through a Starlink modern and you access the signal for your devices via WiFi? And is the system portable? Or do I have to only use it in one location? (I am hoping we can use it anywhere when we travel via motorhome).

We know a couple folks in Chivato that have been using their new Starllnk there for a couple weeks now and are impressed with it. We were on a zoom with them back in the States for over an hour and it was a crystal clear, no latency, no drop out connection the entire time. My understanding is the service is tied to a location when you enable it, but more recently some folks are finding that Roam within a couple hundred miles of the service location is still working no problem. Googling will find you numerous accounts of RV-ers using it on the road (when stationary) with good success.

RFClark - 5-4-2022 at 10:33 PM

All good things come to an end! Starlink just emailed everyone who’s unit is at a different location than their service address the “opportunity” to pay $25/mo to be able to move their unit around! It’s called portability!

mtgoat666 - 5-4-2022 at 11:59 PM

All good things come to an end! Starlink just emailed everyone who’s unit is at a different location than their service address the “opportunity” to pay $25/mo to be able to move their unit around! It’s called portability!

Suckers!

Remember way back in the 20th century when you used to be charged for roaming?

RFClark - 5-5-2022 at 03:47 AM

Goat,

Remember when wire phone companies charged for call forwarding because it was the only game in town?

This is the only game in town for most of the out of the way places in BC or BCS! We’re taking our unit south in a few days a user report will follow. Besides 150K Ukrainians are using this system in a war zone so what’s not to like?

Bajaboy - 5-5-2022 at 06:30 AM

I got the email and my unit is at my house (same service address).

SFandH - 5-5-2022 at 10:30 AM

So what is the total cost per month?

TSThornton - 5-5-2022 at 11:14 AM

$100/mo. while at home +$25/mo. while you have roaming turned on. The email indicates that you can turn it on and off on demand, but there is no partial month proration. From the new FAQ page on the Starlink site:

"When you enable Portability, you are charged on your next monthly invoice. Portability is charged in full monthly increments and cannot be pro-rated. The Portability feature and billing charges will be ongoing until you decide to disable it. Once you disable Portability, the recurring charge will stop after your next monthly invoice and Portability will only remain active for the remainder of the current billing cycle. For example, if you enable Portability on March 12th and your next billing date is on April 1st, you will be charged $25 on April 1st for the full previous month."

JDCanuck - 5-5-2022 at 10:53 PM

Problem with satellite is when it goes down you are hooped. I am finding tethering to cell phones far cheaper for the same GB, faster, and more reliable. If they ever come out to service the Hughesnet transmitter before i head home again i will be surprised.

Bajaboy - 5-6-2022 at 05:42 AM

Problem with satellite is when it goes down you are hooped. I am finding tethering to cell phones far cheaper for the same GB, faster, and more reliable. If they ever come out to service the Hughesnet transmitter before i head home again i will be surprised.

Starlink is not Hughesnet :light:

RFClark - 5-6-2022 at 09:09 PM

JD,

That’s certainly true if your provider only has one or two satellites! It’s not true if they have thousands of satellites!

aburruss - 5-10-2022 at 07:23 PM

OK.. So I took my BCS-based Starlink system, brought it back to EEUU, paid the $25 extra per month, and have FAR better speeds than I did with the AT&T "uverse" monopoly I have at my house!!

My last home test (AT&T in san Diego) was 10 down and 3 up. Average is about 22 down, and 3 up.

My Starlink has been averaging between 150-180 down and 10 up, in an "in-continent", "waitlist" area in the states.

Never gotten anywhere close to that with tethering to my cell phone's hotspot.

And I'll be loading is up and taking it back down to BCS in a few months. So far, I'm happy!

[Edited on 5-11-2022 by aburruss]

aburruss - 5-10-2022 at 08:49 PM

Quote: Originally posted by aburruss

Never gotten anywhere close to that with tethering to my cell phone's hotspot.

I doubt cell phones are very efficient as routers-- they're designed to optimize battery life. It would be interesting to run that test on one of those dedicated cellular hotspots which are actually purposed for the application.

I was sending that in response to:

I am finding tethering to cell phones far cheaper for the same GB, faster, and more reliable. If they ever come out to service the Hughesnet transmitter before i head home again i will be surprised.

It's no contest. And it's no Hughesnet...

HeyMulegeScott - 5-11-2022 at 10:13 AM

Another gotcha to be aware for roaming besides the $25 monthly fee is that according to a knowledgeable friend there is a two month limitation for international. This sucks if you have the US equipment and want to spend the winter in Baja or if you have the Mexico equipment and want to spend the summers up North.

RFClark - 5-11-2022 at 11:59 AM

“ International Travel: Starlink can only be used within the same continent as the registered Service Address. If you use Starlink in a foreign country for more than two months, you will be required to move your registered service address to your new location or purchase an additional Starlink to maintain service.”

It’s unclear if that’s cumulative either! That said we ported our US unit to Cerritos South and it works great. We’ll see!

JDCanuck - 5-11-2022 at 03:30 PM

Finally got my Hughesnet back up and running. Declined the 135 dollar service call and traced the fault out to a bad cable connection from the original install. Seems about the same speeds as my cell phone was giving me. Will wait til Starlink gets going full bore here and look at options again. May be something even more reliable by then to consider.

SFandH - 5-11-2022 at 06:17 PM

One year ago:

"Elon Musk says Starlink will need up to $30 billion to survive. 'If we succeed in not going bankrupt, then that'll be great.'"

https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-starlink-spacex-ba...

Starlink loses money on every customer that signs up and pays $600 for the equipment.

"Originally, the Starlink dishes cost $3,000 each for SpaceX to build, meaning the company was selling to users at a loss. However, Shotwell claimed in April that SpaceX was able to reduce that number to around $1,300."

https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/11/22776563/spacex-starlink...

And then there is the cost of all the satellites and the Falcon 9 boosters to get them in orbit.

I wonder if Starlink will ever be a profitable business. They are digging a deep hole now that gets deeper every day.

Starlink is an incredibly complicated system that's costing a fortune to build.

I'm skeptical.

JDCanuck - 5-11-2022 at 06:42 PM

Quote: Originally posted by SFandH

One year ago:

"Elon Musk says Starlink will need up to $30 billion to survive. 'If we succeed in not going bankrupt, then that'll be great.'"

https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-starlink-spacex-ba...

Starlink loses money on every customer that signs up and pays $600 for the equipment.

"Originally, the Starlink dishes cost $3,000 each for SpaceX to build, meaning the company was selling to users at a loss. However, Shotwell claimed in April that SpaceX was able to reduce that number to around $1,300."

https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/11/22776563/spacex-starlink...

And then there is the cost of all the satellites and the Falcon 9 boosters to get them in orbit.

I wonder if Starlink will ever be a profitable business. They are digging a deep hole now that gets deeper every day.

Starlink is an incredibly complicated system that's costing a fortune to build.

I'm skeptical.

Of course we all felt the same about the Tesla cars and he pulled that one off nicely, despite some fallbacks.

mtgoat666 - 5-11-2022 at 07:46 PM

Quote: Originally posted by SFandH

Of course we all felt the same about the Tesla cars and he pulled that one off nicely, despite some fallbacks.

Internet service by coax or fiber will always be cheaper for 99% of first world, where neighborhoods are built with utilities. Sat internet will only be attractive to rural people in first world and mid- to upper class in developing world. Poor people of the developing world will always struggle to justify cost of sat internet.
Will starlink survive? It’s a risky stock bet at this point…

RFClark - 5-11-2022 at 08:04 PM

SFandH and Goat,

Those with an understanding of the history of technology will remember that the US government subsidized the development of aviation and airlines between WW1 and WW2. As a result we had planes and pilots when we needed them.

The Chinese see Musk and Space X as serious challenge to their plans in space. The Russians are feeling the effects of the Ukraine using StarLink to defend their country as we speak. Perhaps we should listen to those who could be adversaries in the future and make sure he’s successful to make sure that technology is available to us in a time of need!

[Edited on 5-12-2022 by RFClark]

mtgoat666 - 5-11-2022 at 08:19 PM