Starlink Revisit

4/4/2024

By BD Bondy

I’ve been very happy with my Starlink. It’s been stable, fast, and trouble-free. The folks that use it around here that give me feedback say the same thing. Downside is that it is pricey, and it belongs to Elon Musk.

I recently worked on a neighbor’s new Starlink, and it was different than mine. She received the Series 3 device, which has 2 built in ethernet ports. So, good job Starlink Engineers for adding those.

The issue I had with it was when I attached an AP to the Starlink, it only broadcast at about 40Mbps. The Starlink itself was reading over 300, which is fairly incredible, and nearly twice as fast as mine. I tried a brand new AP, same model though, and it still read about 40Mbps.

I thought that shouldn’t be the case, and that an Access Point added via the Ethernet port should read pretty close to the original 300Mbps. So, I googled it, because that’s how I learn things. And it seems that my presumptions were correct, so I bought a different, better AP, though it was a TP-Link like the other 2 I tried.

Bingo, that worked. So while the original APs said they could go up to 300Mbps, they only did 40. The new one I got is a Gigabit AP, supposedly able to go to 1200Mbps, and it did seem to do the 300Mbps the Starlink was putting out.

Lesson learned.
If you’re interested, the new unit is a TP-Link EAP610-Outdoor, and it uses what they call the Omada software. Omada is TP-Links software to configure and control their APs, etc. It was an App I downloaded on my phone and was fairly simple to use. Also, very cool to be able to configure the unit on my phone.

5 Comments

Bruce Smith

4/5/2024 08:30:49 am

Brian, thanks for the upgrade information. I've been considering the Starlink system for years. I still am, and would like to know how much power (and energy/day) the system uses. I live off-grid and every kw-hr counts!

Rick Hilsabeck link

4/5/2024 09:47:28 am

HI Brian,

All your tech tips are great. I was particularly interested in this Starlink piece. We have been using Starlink very successfully here on the "mid-mesa" in the Prado Valley Ranch area for a year and a half. We are very pleased with our service. It doesn't get quite the 300mbs you have, but it's pretty good for our purposes. And yes, you are right on both accounts- it's expensive AND owned by Elon Musk. If there were a comparable alternative, we would surely take our business elsewhere. But that's another story...

I was very interested in your tips re: your AP. We have a small house where our one router lives. My particular issue is that I have my art studio (a converted metal building (18'x30') situated about 120' from the house. I have no phone or internet service out there. The cell signal alone is just too unreliable and weak. I have the 2nd generation type of router with only the one ethernet port. I have heard that Starlink makes a "Y" plug (for purchase naturally) that you can attach to run another ethernet cable to an access point in an outbuilding, etc.

One, would it work to enable me to have communication in this outbuilding using the one router attached to an AP? And two, given your experience, would it be best to bury an ethernet cable and run it out my studio building and connect it to an AP inside to acquire service out there? - As in the
TP-Link EAP610 you referred to at the end of your article?

I have long wanted to have communication access in my studio, as I spend hours there and have to come in the house to be able to have phone/communication access. It's high time! Any suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your informative articles!

All the best,

Rick Hilsabeck

Brian

4/5/2024 10:04:47 am

Rick,
If you already have an Ethernet port on your Starlink, but want more, then using a switch is a good solution. 120’ isn’t far, so you could bury an Ethernet cable and just put an inexpensive WiFi router in the studio. Once you have a good WiFi signal, you can also do WiFi calling on your phone.
You could also bypass laying cable by using a “bridge” where 2 devices talk to each other across the 120’ expanse.
Or, as in the case of the article, you could try just a single AP from the house. In the article, the person doesn’t have electrical at the far end so we were avoiding putting another device at that far end.

Rick Hilsabeck link

4/6/2024 07:29:43 pm

Thank you for this info, Brian! I can't use a bridge or a line of sight situation, as there is a metal structure in the way between the house and studio. As for the switch and wifi router - any recommendations? Thank you!

Katy Blanchard

4/5/2024 10:36:02 am

After experiencing FOUR outages with Windstream just this year we have ordered Starlink and should receive it by Monday. While the initial cost is high we will be saving $16.50 a month over Windstream. And, yea, we don’t like Musk either but what are ya gonna do? Reliable internet is crucial for where we live.

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