Re: [Starlink] Starlink power use & satellite tracking

[David Lang <david@lang.hm>]

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not the one I was looking for, but has some of the data (replacing the router)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrGCL9pNDDc

Here is the one I was looking for (modifies the router)

David Lang

On Thu, 16 Feb 2023, David Lang via Starlink wrote:

> Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2023 15:23:33 -0800 (PST)
> From: David Lang via Starlink <starlink@lists.bufferbloat.net>
> Reply-To: David Lang <david@lang.hm>
> To: Ulrich Speidel <u.speidel@auckland.ac.nz>
> Cc: "starlink@lists.bufferbloat.net" <starlink@lists.bufferbloat.net>
> Subject: Re: [Starlink] Starlink power use & satellite tracking
> 
> I've also seen people shorten the dishy cord and replace the inverter and 
> internal power supply with a 12v -> 48v converted and had the dish power draw 
> drop significantly. (search youtube for starlink on 12v, I'll try to find the 
> link and send it to you later)
>
> they have a snow melting function that draws a lot of power, the app lets you 
> completely disable that.
>
> David Lang
>
>
> On Fri, 17 Feb 2023, Ulrich Speidel via Starlink wrote:
>
>> Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2023 12:08:02 +1300
>> From: Ulrich Speidel via Starlink <starlink@lists.bufferbloat.net>
>> Reply-To: Ulrich Speidel <u.speidel@auckland.ac.nz>
>> To: "starlink@lists.bufferbloat.net" <starlink@lists.bufferbloat.net>
>> Subject: [Starlink] Starlink power use & satellite tracking
>> 
>> In the aftermath of our cyclone here, I got dragged out for a bit of media 
>> comment and, downstream, a few questions came up on dishy power use. Here's 
>> what I know and can glean - comments welcome:
>> 
>> * Starlink's own specs say 50-75 W "Average Power Usage":
>>   https://www.starlink.com/specifications. But that's average, not
>>   peak, and peak is what matters when people start recommending that
>>   Starlink could be run out of a small inverter and a car battery in a
>>   disaster.
>> * Small inverters usually come with cigarette lighter cables, and
>>   cigarette lighter sockets are typically fused with 8 or 10 A fuses.
>>   That puts maximum safe power outputs in the 96W to 130-something W
>>   range depending on battery voltage.
>> * Our lab's "RV" subscription rectangular dishy & router regularly
>>   clocks in at around 80-100 W, and I've seen it go as high as 108 W
>>   on one occasion. I've also seen it go as low as 30 W for the first
>>   time last night.
>> * I have a user report from an older round dishy owner having seen up
>>   to 200 W on occasion.
>> * Assuming conservatively 90% inverter efficiency, that could mean up
>>   to ~120W and maybe more for the rectangular version and over 220 W
>>   for the circular one.
>> * If dishy goes over cigarette lighter fuse capacity, people may lose
>>   their ability to charge phones from their car - also a critical
>>   capability in a disaster.
>>     o Not everyone takes kindly to the suggestion that advising
>>       inverter + car battery use could potentially be counterproductive.
>> * So, what's the peak power use you have seen on your version of dishy?
>> * It appears that the current mode of operation here is that dishy
>>   uses several satellites in parallel if these can all see a gateway
>>   and have capacity to carry traffic.
>>     o So for us in urban Auckland with few Starlink users in the cell
>>       and three gateways in the vicinity, our dishy is spoiled for
>>       choice and usually gets to use maybe three or more satellites at
>>       once. That takes a corresponding amount of power but also means
>>       great data rates a lot of the time.
>>     o For a rural user with more Starlink users in the cell and
>>       further away from gateways, the satellites that the cell can see
>>       and that  can also see a gateway may be fewer in number. This
>>       means dishy only gets to talk to maybe one or two birds at a
>>       time and so uses a lot less power, and you get more average data
>>       rates there.
>> * If this is so, then it begs a question:
>>     o If Starlink could cap the number of satellites dishy can use in
>>       an emergency area, they would be able to keep your fuse intact.
>>       Should they aim for that, even if it means that you might see
>>       lower data rates in a situation when many people depend on one unit?
>> 
>> Starlink is currently being touted as THE comms solution for emergencies as 
>> large swathes of NZ's northern and eastern North Island remain without 
>> terrestrial or mobile Internet coverage after cyclone Gabrielle. This is 
>> the outage map of one of the larger mobile phone providers just for these 
>> areas:
>> 
>> Most of these are due to power outages to sites, but there are quite a few 
>> backhaul cable issues as well.
>> 
>> One of the biggest problems is that electronic payment systems don't work 
>> without Internet. In our largely cashless society, this is leading to 
>> situations where emergency services can't refuel their vehicles because 
>> their fuel cards won't work, supermarkets and other stores can't sell 
>> anything because customers have no means of paying, and the air force is 
>> flying in hard cash in order to help the locals buy food.
>> 
>