Too Many Obstructions for Signal?

[Boman]

I'm interested in purchasing Starlink since high-speed internet is not available where I live. I scanned the sky from my roof with the Starlink app and it told me that I have 9% obstructions from trees (which is less than I expected because I have many trees) and it would interfere with the signal so I held-off on purchasing the kit. I have satellite TV with no issues other than weather and wondering if Starlink works the same as TV. Scanning with the app makes me think the Starlink dish moves to find the signal but I don't know, if that's the case it would need a power source as well. 

I'm sorry if this sounds dumb but I don't want to buy it to find out it won't work at my location. Thanks for any advice

[RicochetStarlink]

On 4/25/2024 at 12:49 PM, Boman said:

I'm interested in purchasing Starlink since high-speed internet is not available where I live. I scanned the sky from my roof with the Starlink app and it told me that I have 9% obstructions from trees (which is less than I expected because I have many trees) and it would interfere with the signal so I held-off on purchasing the kit. I have satellite TV with no issues other than weather and wondering if Starlink works the same as TV....

Obstructions might be an issue, but at 9% obstruction that shouldn't be a huge problem for you. In order to get a clearer view of the (northern) sky, is there another location you could place the Starlink antenna, perhaps higher off the ground?

In short, Starlink works similarly to satellite TV. However, there are huge differences in the satellites employed by Starlink vs other satellite Internet provider that make a world of difference in the quality of service. If you are interested in more information, first read https://www.pcmag.com/news/starlink-vs-hughesnet-vs-viasat-which-satellite-internet-provider-is-best, especially the section titled "How Satellite Internet Works". If that's not enough detail for you, dig in with some Google searches and you'll find a ton of information out there. The basics: Starlink uses 3000+ orbiting satellite in low-earth orbit (about 350 miles up) vs. other providers using one or two satellites in high-earth orbit (about 22,000 miles). The number of satellite and their closeness to the earth are why Starlink's speed (30-150Mbps) and reliability are 50-100 times better than traditional satellite service.

 

On 4/25/2024 at 12:49 PM, Boman said:

....Scanning with the app makes me think the Starlink dish moves to find the signal but I don't know, if that's the case it would need a power source as well. 

The Starlink Gen1 and Gen2 dishes would automatically move into position once they were installed. Once that position was set, most dishes never move again. While it is true that your Starlink dish will track the best satellite as it passes over -- and usually, there will be anywhere form 4-8 satellites that are "in view" -- this tracking is done digitally by some very, very sophisticated electronics that "shape" the signal so it always points at the satellite without the dish moving at all.

Finally, there are no dumb questions -- except the questions that you don't ask. You must ask questions to get the information you need to make an informed decision.

Thanks!