Now on Starlink!
My posting this afternoon today was interrupted because I was spending the day going up and down from my roof as I and friend Ken worked to install my new Starlink antenna.
As always with these kinds of jobs, there were moments that reminded me of a motto of mine when I used to assembly Ikea furniture as a part-time job: “It’s ‘Do everything twice day!'” In the end, the problems were minor and quickly solved, such as discovering that the Starlink ethernet cable from the power supply to the router could only be plugged in in one direction. The plugs on either end looked identical, but we struggled for almost twenty minutes trying to get the plug to click into the router, to no avail. Then a light bulb went off, and we decided to flip the cable. Lo and behold, both ends clicked in instantly.
Setting up the account and the Wi-Fi and the computers went very quickly, mostly thanks to my lovely wife Diane. Starlink only allows you to do this stuff on a smart phone, and I won’t touch one of those with a 200-foot pole. She got it all going within a very short time.
I had hesitated doing this for the past two years, mostly because it involved a lot of other non-Starlink-related time-consuming stuff too boring to describe but that we both wanted to avoid. We finally got that stuff taken care of in the past month and could make the switch.
The Zimmerman household is linked to the world, through space. Seems entirely appropriate.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
My posting this afternoon today was interrupted because I was spending the day going up and down from my roof as I and friend Ken worked to install my new Starlink antenna.
As always with these kinds of jobs, there were moments that reminded me of a motto of mine when I used to assembly Ikea furniture as a part-time job: “It’s ‘Do everything twice day!'” In the end, the problems were minor and quickly solved, such as discovering that the Starlink ethernet cable from the power supply to the router could only be plugged in in one direction. The plugs on either end looked identical, but we struggled for almost twenty minutes trying to get the plug to click into the router, to no avail. Then a light bulb went off, and we decided to flip the cable. Lo and behold, both ends clicked in instantly.
Setting up the account and the Wi-Fi and the computers went very quickly, mostly thanks to my lovely wife Diane. Starlink only allows you to do this stuff on a smart phone, and I won’t touch one of those with a 200-foot pole. She got it all going within a very short time.
I had hesitated doing this for the past two years, mostly because it involved a lot of other non-Starlink-related time-consuming stuff too boring to describe but that we both wanted to avoid. We finally got that stuff taken care of in the past month and could make the switch.
The Zimmerman household is linked to the world, through space. Seems entirely appropriate.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Welcome to the club!
You have often mentioned that America’s primary space effort is SpaceX, entirely funded by voluntary contributions from The People. Your Starlink connection is doubly appropriate.
I started a business assembling knock-down household goods. Abandoned it fairly soon. There is nothing inherently wrong with the furniture, but the built-to-price materials leave little room for error, and attention must be paid during assembly, lest something break.
Awesome.
Mr. Z.,
Congratulations!
-I had dial-up internet (and landline) for 25 years, then switched to Frontier for fiber optic when they installed new lines 2 years ago. (1 Gig service for $49.99 / month, locked in for 3 years.)
As with Starlink– you need a smartphone to configure your modem/router, which I don’t have, but the Tech guy did it for me.
Then Verizon bought out Frontier–if you needed service for your copper lines, they started charging $300 for a service call.
I have a pre-paid flip phone from Tracfone, but then Verizon bought Tracfone. (Amazingly, Verizon charges less than Tracfone, at least for now…)
Almost pulled the trigger on Starlink a few weeks ago. They were offering their basic service for $35 a month, no contract. I just don’t ever want to have to climb on my roof in the Winter, had satellite TV for 5 years and inevitably I would need to climb up at least once, I’m too unsteady for that now.
That being said, Verizon can’t wait to raise my monthly price for fiber, so I remain open to Starlink.
Welcome to Starlink! from a happy customer for over five years.
Welcome to Starlink!
Wayne,
It doesn’t have to go on the roof. Mine is on a 4’ pole strapped to my deck railing. It just needs a view to the northern sky (in the Northern Hemisphere) and the Starlink App will help you find the spot with the least obstructions.
Initially the app uses the camera. Once the antenna is mounted, it uses the Starlink signal strength to build an obstruction map for you to fine tune your antenna location.
Stan
Doing the install at my elderly parents’ farm in a couple of weeks. Nearby, my brother who farms, was among the very early customers when certain areas were opened up for use. He had to pay about a grand for equipment and somewhere above $125 per month. Now, due to the March sale we got basic Starlink equipment free and a monthly rate of about 40 bucks for my parents. And good timing too; the old radio Internet provider they had, which cost more and was not very good, shut all its towers down on 31 March. Their old stuff cannot compete at all with Starlink and yet politicians of both state and federal government continue to vote for billion dollar programs to hand out money to these old-style systems for “rural broadband.” What an expensive farce.
Robert Pratt: I got about the same deal, $39 per month for the first six, than $50 per month thereafter. No equipment charge.
Has your brother’s plan changed since he started at $125 per month? Has Starlink dropped his monthly rate?
Good for you Mr. Pratt.
My poor Dad was a sucker for home repair rip offs who would wait for me to leave.
My Mom would just sit and pout rather than contradict him.
I hope they don’t go after your folks.
The world is full of evil people.
I paid $100 and got on a waiting list for starlink some years back. I waited over a year and gave up. I got my deposit back. As much as I hate Comcast (or Xfinity)they do a great job for my internet. High speeds and a very rarely goes off line. What kind of speeds are you guys getting with Starlink? I get close to a gig with comcast.
Elsie: My deal is for 100mb. And it seems to be delivering.
Jeff Wright,
The world is also full of good people. Enough lowlifes to screw things up though when allowed.
Indeed so
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoCZEOIuE8I
https://stormtrack.org/threads/starlink-demand-surcharges.33359/#post-387759
Congratulations! It’s much better than it was when I got it four years ago. I have a backup connection via the cable company (Blue Peak, here) because Starlink used to be more snow sensitive. Didn’t get a good test this year due to very little snow. I do notice the occasional video stutter during “after work” hours.