Starlink - pre-order available in NZ

Forums › New Zealand Broadband › Starlink - pre-order available in NZ

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75 posts

Master Geek
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#2678515 22-Mar-2021 15:36

Jordanh:

I just received my kit today in Christchurch, will get it set up tonight after work. the box is much bigger than i though...

Cool! Be great to know how you get on. Also curious to know which direction Dishy points. Probably south, but at least one person's App showing south so far.

sidney

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Master Geek
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#2678672 22-Mar-2021 17:01

Zander:

Also curious to know which direction Dishy points. Probably south, but at least one person's App showing south so far.

Wouldn't it point in the direction of the nearest ground station, from Christchurch southwest towards Hinds? I've been speculating that Dishy should point at an angle such that the center line of its cone is directly above the ground station when it is at the height of the satellites' orbit. That would maximise the number of satellites that it sees in its 100 degree cone that are also within the ground station's cone, which presumably is pointed straight up. Oh, unless some ground stations, like Awarua near the coast, would direct their cone at an angle to not waste coverage on the ocean. That would complicate calculation of the optimal direction and angle for Dishy for that ground station.

Zander

75 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 25

#2678695 22-Mar-2021 17:32

sidney:

Zander:

Also curious to know which direction Dishy points. Probably south, but at least one person's App showing south so far.

Wouldn't it point in the direction of the nearest ground station, from Christchurch southwest towards Hinds? I've been speculating that Dishy should point at an angle such that the center line of its cone is directly above the ground station when it is at the height of the satellites' orbit. That would maximise the number of satellites that it sees in its 100 degree cone that are also within the ground station's cone, which presumably is pointed straight up. Oh, unless some ground stations, like Awarua near the coast, would direct their cone at an angle to not waste coverage on the ocean. That would complicate calculation of the optimal direction and angle for Dishy for that ground station.

Oh, I realised my last comment meant to say 'at least one person's App showing NORTH so far' :)

Quite possibly, south-west towards Hinds. Will be interesting to know.

From what I've observed on Reddit and told by the satellite.space guy - most Dishy terminals in the USA etc are pointing 'north'. The interpretation being that 'north' is where more satellites are in the USA, so you can get Starlink coverage sooner and stronger than if Dishy points straight up. There's not much point aiming just for a close ground station if there's no Starlink to cover you both.

Its possible that the ground stations have mostly been north in the USA too, so the effect hasn't been noticed so much.

In reality, there may be a balance of pointing towards satellites and ground station to get the best combination.

I suspect that as more Starlinks are in the sky, and more ground stations nearer users - Dishy will point closer to straight up, for shortest path and best ping etc.

I also suspect that Starlink put a ground station in Invercargill so that would be 'south' of many South Island users and also in the same direction as most of the Starlinks.

PS - a new Christchurch user on Reddit just now said their Dishy is pointing south.

Jordanh

11 posts

Geek
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#2678794 22-Mar-2021 20:22

Can confirm dishy is pointing south, currently fluctuating between 60 and 150 mbs. Ping is slightly higher than my ADSL was.

Zander

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Master Geek
+1 received by user: 25

#2678862 22-Mar-2021 22:50

Jordanh: Can confirm dishy is pointing south, currently fluctuating between 60 and 150 mbs. Ping is slightly higher than my ADSL was.

Thanks for the update. It seems on Reddit some people have got similar speeds, maybe even a bit faster :)

https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/ma9k72/hello_from_swannanoa_nz_postie_said_its_the_4th/

Oblivian

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#2680103 24-Mar-2021 23:26

Another 60 tonight to help the hole in near future

2nd orbit straight up the middle

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Yank1w1

47 posts

Geek
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#2680237 25-Mar-2021 11:11

I received my Starlink kit on 22/03. Installed on roof using old skytv dish mount. Removed push clip from dishy pole. Drilled hole through skytv pole and used Galvanized bolt to secure it. Dish mostly aligns to the south. Have seen download speeds up to 220MBps. Upload has maxed at about 40Mbps. Pings are 35-40 to Sydney servers using Starlink app speed test tool. When using Speedtest.net tool to Auckland server speeds the same , but pings are closer to 60-70. Looks like the ground stations are not up in New Zealand yet.

MaxineN

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#2680239 25-Mar-2021 11:12

That's performing really nicely even with the lack of ground stations.

Ramblings from a mysterious lady who's into tech. Warning I may often create zingers.

Yank1w1

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#2680247 25-Mar-2021 11:19

Oblivian

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#2680250 25-Mar-2021 11:22

They're up. Which is how they can offer it to us thus far.

Just not all/many of them yet and a little sparse overhead still

My only thought, the people going to make use of this are somewhat rural.. often in areas of snow.. that's going to be fun :P NZ frosts and upcomming winter will be a true tale

kiwifidget

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#2680257 25-Mar-2021 11:30

This would be a great solution for our bach on the Coromandel.

Price is a bit steep for a holiday home though.

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noroad

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#2680258 25-Mar-2021 11:32

kiwifidget:

This would be a great solution for our bach on the Coromandel.

Price is a bit steep for a holiday home though.

A little bit of wifi and you could share the cost with your neighbors.

Jordanh

11 posts

Geek
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#2680261 25-Mar-2021 11:33

Yank1w1:

I received my Starlink kit on 22/03. Installed on roof using old skytv dish mount. Removed push clip from dishy pole. Drilled hole through skytv pole and used Galvanized bolt to secure it. Dish mostly aligns to the south. Have seen download speeds up to 220MBps. Upload has maxed at about 40Mbps. Pings are 35-40 to Sydney servers using Starlink app speed test tool. When using Speedtest.net tool to Auckland server speeds the same , but pings are closer to 60-70. Looks like the ground stations are not up in New Zealand yet.

Interesting that your ping is so low, mines currently sitting at 95 to Auckland, 103 to Christchurch and 75 to Sydney.
Where are you located if you don't mind me asking? and are you using the Starlink router?

(also good job with the install, I have someone coming next week to do mine)

Oblivian

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#2680274 25-Mar-2021 11:44

North station vs south station?

Yank1w1

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#2680310 25-Mar-2021 12:17

I am located on the Port Hills in Christchurch.

I use a Fortigate FWF30E for my router. Not using the Starlink Router.

If you look at a Starlink satellite coverage map you will see that most of the coverage is to the south of NZ. Christchurch is on the fringe of the coverage. That is why last I read that only the SI is getting the kit at the moment.

Starlink daily coverage estimates (sebsebmc.github.io)

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