Starlink for basecamp?

[406life]

I travel with mine. I'm 200 days afield so definitely need it. I can shut it down and go "off grid" as I need. I have had it since Elon made me wait for the launch. Guy with me last year watched his first grandchild being born from middle of nowhere Montana. Worth it for him. I like being UTD on fire and weather and on off days steaming something to watch is nice.

 

[hereinaz]

Using it will stretch my days in the field, so its a big win. Its amazingly fast, and once I figured out how to align it, super easy to do that.

It does need some clear sky, but so far I have managed just fine. In a really wooded area, I could see a problem, but a longer cable can probably get you to a good spot to use it.

Now, I am going to set it up so that I don't have to pull it all out. I'll put it in my truck box, and just grab the flat panel out when its time to go.

I have it running off my truck battery with an inverter, and doesn't even touch the charge on my truck. Next time, I am going to try it on the jump start box that I have and see how much it drains that battery. Probably not that much...

 

[Boarmaster]

I've had Starlink since it launched and take it with me on all of my trips. Before Starlink I could only get away for a week at a time and would have to drive to town every couple days to respond to my clients emails and return calls. I was always stressed out that I was going to miss an important call or email. Each trip would cost me thousands of dollars in refunds, chargebacks, returns and lost opportunity. Now with Starlink I can hunt multiple times per year. I set up my Starlink at my basecamp and every evening I'll turn it on so I can respond to emails and return any urgent calls. I understand that not everyone needs to be "connected" while hunting and that's ok. Now that I have Starlink I can hunt multiple States each year and not have to worry about the financial impact of losing my income while doing so. I'll be hunting cow elk in AZ, bull elk in NM, Cow elk in WY, assisting my bother with his bull tag in WY and will wrap up the year hunting mule deer in AZ. I'll go early and return when I'm ready. Starlink has been a game changer for me.

Following. This. I can be away from town three weeks at a time a few times a year if I have reliable internet service.
I’m not going to work all day but being able to handle business as needed is huge for me. Personally I like what I do and I’m more interested in being out of town than a break from work.

On the flip side I will never have a TV or radio in my cabin. Got to draw a line somewhere. I’m just as effective from my cabin or a pine tree in Alabama as I am in my home or downtown office in FL.
Internet can be sketchy where I hunt. Dependable internet where I don't have to find a hill with a signal would be pretty sweet. And less impactful to my time away.

 

[hereinaz]

@Boarmaster Starlink is going to depend on the user. I agree that once in the mountains, there is no need for internet and all for entertainment, but, anything to get me more time in the mountains.

Who wouldn't want to go hunt in the morning and evenings, and be able to go to camp and get some work done? Or, just log on and put out fires to stay on the mountain longer...

Posting this from my Starlink, lol. I jumped on to RS for work purposes.

 

[wesfromky]

I just ordered a starlink mini to allow me more time hunting as I am fully remote. Should be ready to go by the time the rut kicks in, which means probably at least tripling the amount of time I can hunt.

 

[ben h]

I love mine. I'm writing this using it right now. I've been at my cabin since the 3rd of August. I work 70% remotely and 30% is travel to client offices or site visits (I'm an engineer). I'm in a low population area and there really isn't another option for internet speeds high enough for Teams/Zoom meetings and 2 gig+ file size down/uploads.
I don't have a lot of PTO and by my own metrics, I don't think I have any (I bill over 2080 hrs a year and nobody does my job when I'm not at work). I'd love to be able to "un-plug" for weeks at a time, however I'm not in a financial position to do that, but Star Link has enabled me to have a lot of flexability. For those of you that are fully or mostly remote, I'd encourage you leverage it and try it out.

 

[NrthFrk16]

Also, supplemented with a Anker 787 when I didn’t want to drag the Jackery out. Past couple years I have ran the larger Starlink with a gas generator. This a superior (and quieter!) set up.

 

[Rockchuck]

I use the mini in combination with a jackery 1000+ and panels, a generator, or some smaller power packs/smaller panels. It has helped me get out more and take advantage of remote work to extend my time in the field. Wifi calling works great, zoom calls and the like no problem. I have never used for entertainment while out, but just work, so can't speak to streaming a show, etc.

 

[wesfromky]

I just ordered a starlink mini to allow me more time hunting as I am fully remote. Should be ready to go by the time the rut kicks in, which means probably at least tripling the amount of time I can hunt.

Did a two week trip with my starlink mini and it worked great. No issues with my work VPN, plenty fast enough, did multiple teams calls, including with video, and ave about 20 watts once it is up and running.

Really looking forward to being able to work remote from pretty much anywhere with a clear view of the sky this year. Should really up the number of days I can spend out in the field.

 

[nodakian]

My kids came up with another use for the Starlink Mini: land surveying. I subscribe to a network of remote survey bases which broadcast corrections via the internet (VRS for the surveyors out there). Normally we use a cell phone or a sim card in the rover for internet access, but when cell coverage is spotty, the standard procedure is to set a regular base on a tripod and broadcast corrections via radio. A regular base setup is a major hassle, a time suck, and at least $5K-$10K for a second set of equipment which rarely gets used. Other solutions can easily cost $10K-$20K.

My kids realized I just need internet, regardless of how it is broadcast. For about $1000 I picked up a Starlink Mini, spare cables, and two Anker battery packs. With a wi-fi range of 200-300 feet, It usually stays on the 4-wheeler. For areas without 4W access, I also stitched up a pouch system like a pack lid with arrow shafts for kick stands so I can strap it on my pack and operate all day. It's really slick, and the price is right.

I'm pretty sure it will also be used heavily this summer when my survey crew is camping for a couple of remote survey jobs.

 

[Beendare]

Is there a chart somewhere on the power requirements for the system?
Will it run off 12v power without an inverter?

 

[nodakian]

Is there a chart somewhere on the power requirements for the system?
Will it run off 12v power without an inverter?

It will run withoutan inverter. We use the Mini in a lighter socket on the 4W and in the pickup. When working away from the vehicles we use this.

Anker power supply

 

[chukwithak]

I've had the Starlink Gen 1, Gen 2, and now own the Mini. The mini is the way to go. It's not as fast as the main models but it has many advantages and while not "as fast", it's fast enough to stream on many devices.

I purchased it because I'm in school full time and it allows me to get up in the mountains and maintain internet while being where I want to be. I'm not chained to the house.

Food for thought, the main Starlink devices will draw 50-60w/hr. The Mini draws about 35w/hr so will almost double the life of a battery. The mini has a plan which is much cheaper and can be started/stopped at any time, and can be ran in a "Flat" position, meaning you can mount it to the roof of a truck.

 

[fmyth]

It will run withoutan inverter. We use the Mini in a lighter socket on the 4W and in the pickup. When working away from the vehicles we use this.

Anker power supply

Do you know long will the Starlink mini run on that Anker power supply?

 

[go_deep]

For sale at most retailers near you now.

 

[cuerro viejo]

Normally I'd say horrible idea but I've been considering it because I work 100% remotely and could camp wherever and whenever I like. Just the expense that keeps me at bay.

That’s why I got it. Working on a at base camp on a sheep hunt. WiFi calling is biggest thing

 

[parshal]

Do you know long will the Starlink mini run on that Anker power supply?

A couple hours on mine with that battery. I use that as a "UPS" in the truck. The Anker C300 will last a couple hours for 4-5 nights.

 

[nodakian]

Do you know long will the Starlink mini run on that Anker power supply?

At least a couple hours. So far we have only used it intermittently when cell service is bad, and it has lasted 4 hours that way. Much more testing will occur this spring and summer when we get into areas with little to no cell service.

 

[nodakian]

Food for thought, the main Starlink devices will draw 50-60w/hr. The Mini draws about 35w/hr so will almost double the life of a battery. The mini has a plan which is much cheaper and can be started/stopped at any time, and can be ran in a "Flat" position, meaning you can mount it to the roof of a truck.

We set the Mini on the dashboard of the truck wwhile driving across MT. No interruptions, and at least one kid was streaming movies.

The plan is great, too. Mine is turned off for the winter. I will turn it back on in the spring when we can get back in the field.

 

[wesfromky]

My starlink mini pulls around 20-25 watts once running. Maybe double that for the first 10-15 minutes. So, you can just do some math to get an idea of how long any give battery pack will run it.

And the $50.00 for 50gb roam plan is pretty nice if you are not using it a ton. A single teams video call used like 8gb an hour, but I barely used any data for most of the time. Even teams voice calls were not too bad.