Starlink Usage Changes

Note: Back in the overcrowded cesspool that is the Metro Denver area.  I'll be here for a bit as I've upcoming medical appointments with the VA.

Recently, Starlink raised the price of the Roam Unlimited plan I had selected when I bought into the system.  It went from $150 t0 $165.  They said they were adding a benefit of being able to use it while moving as a way, in my opinion, to soften the blow of it costing more money.

This led me to examining the data usage during the periods where I had used Starlink while camping.  I saw I never exceeded 50 GB, heck I didn't get above 40 GB!

Starlink has a plan called Mini Roam, initially rolled out with their new Mini Dish systems.  It had a 50GB plan for a mere $50 per billing period.  If you exceed the 50GB, you can opt-in for $1/GB if needed.

This plan is available to us regular dish users and I signed up for it starting on Oct 2 which is when my billing period begins; on the second of each month.  We'll see how that goes.

In the meantime, based on posts I saw on FB, it turned out usable data connectivity is achievable with the Starlink dish being inside the vehicle!  This assumes of course the vehicle roof's material allows Starlink signals to pass through.

Turns out, the bunkhouse area of the VRRV, which we use for storage, allows signals to get through.

I tried just setting the dish flat in the center of the bunkhouse, pointing straight up and no bothering with the tilt.  The results of some testing are below, the first number is download speed, the second number is upload speed in MBs.

189/26, 183/7, 135/3, 172/8

Quite usable speeds in our case.

Then, I thought to insert the dish into the wooden cubby which used to house the DVD Player that the VRRV originally came with from the factory.

The results of speed tests were:

107/13, 172/11, 130/17, 49/6, 91/8, 100/12, 108/14

Again, the speeds are quite usable by us and way faster than 4G LTE in most foreseeable circumstances.

Testing while driving: Steady reception (was listening to Internet radio station) and only saw two brief drops while inside some steep canyons.

So, I think we'll continue with Starlink this way, easy enough to pull it out of the DVD Cubby and put it on the roof too.

A Paradigm Shift?

Friday, October 11

After breakfast, I geared up and went to fire up Yagi my Yamaha TW200 for a ride to check out the last of the Fall Colors along Marshall Pass Road.

Alas, it was not to be.  She fired up and ran for perhaps a second then died.  I tried for a bit to crank it but the engine wouldn't catch.  Subsequent troubleshooting revealed no spark getting to the spark plug.

Based on recent events that led eventually to the stator wiring having been found damaged and then replaced, I tried replacing each component along the way.  CDI Module, Rectifier and Coil.  No Spark.

Even took the cover off the stator and verified no damage to wiring visible.  

So, using the Green Chile Z-Drag system and a nearby tree, I was able to drag/push the dead TW200's 300 lbs of dead weight onto the cargo rack in from of the VRRV.  Pretty sure I couldn't have done it by muscle power alone!  I was very fortunate to have the motorcycle die on me just feet from the RV, not alone and miles from nowhere down some rough trail.

The title of the post is "A Paradigm Shift".  Basically, I'm thinking the days of solo riding down mountain trails are over and this is my official sign from the motorcycling gods.  The fact that recently my Inreach satellite beacon locator had failed might have been an omen.

I'll take Yagi home, maybe work to repair it, maybe take it to a shop for diagnosis.  Either way, there's major trust issues now with her; akin to the ones that I experienced a lot with all of my Ural Sidecar Rigs!  That's saying something about a Japanese motorcycle!

Part of the paradigm shift also argues that perhaps the motorcycle (either the repaired TW or the Ural) need not be included in the next camping trips.  After all, the likelihood of Martha coming along also means there will be a towed car for transportation while camping.

Anyways, these are things I'm pondering along with future camping vehicles that may not include Uma, the VRRV.  That's for future postings though as I'm still debating options and discussing plans with Martha.

Saturday, October 12

Lacking a motorcycle, it was actually quite a nice and relaxing day at camp.  

Seen while taking a walk:

Enjoyed a morning and evening campfire, read a lot, researched e-bikes (doubtful) and just enjoyed not going anywhere or doing much of anything. 

The sunset was pretty good too:

Sunday, October 13

I couldn't help myself, I decided to do some more in-depth troubleshooting on Yagi.  I compared ohm readings to the service manual and between two CDI modules, two rectifiers, and two stators.

The CDI modules' readings seem to be identical, so I think they're okay. The same with the rectifiers. I have with me two other coils besides the one installed on the bike, two were out of spec in terms of resistance so I put the one that was in spec on the bike.(It was the original one).

I did find a lack of resistance on the stator connections that lead directly to the unit installed. The one I had for comparison, AKA the old one, registered a 0.862 ohm reading!

I've written the seller on eBay asking for a replacement since it has been less than a year since I bought this stator.  We'll see if they stand behind their product or not.

Did I mention that I have major trust issues with this motorcycle now? 

On the plus side, the weather remains gorgeous in the afternoon.  A bit chilly in the morning but not bad yet.

I believe I'll head home tomorrow morning, the weather is cooling here ...

The Aurora Borealis comes to Colorado

Thursday October 10th 

It turned out to be a very propitious displacement on my part to be here by Thursday. Martha, my loving life, alerted me to the fact they were expecting the Aurora Borealis to be visible as far south as Colorado that night!

It must have been a heck of a Coronal Mass Ejection event to enable the sight of the Aurora Borealis this far south!

Close to 8 pm, I thought I saw a brightness in the skies that was unusual. So I set up the camera using the instructions googled for me by Martha. It took a while to figure out focus, framing and exposure settings but eventually:

The above pictures were taken over the course of about an hour and 15 minutes. Then the light display from the Aurora Borealis became to dim.

Notes:

Use ISO 3200, F3.5, aperture priority mode, manual focus (watch for Infinity symbol), and step down the exposure to perhaps minus 2.0.  Tripod of course!  Keep exposure in time under 8 seconds if possible otherwise you get star trails.

A Few More Rocks at Hartman and now Boondocking near Poncha Pass, CO

 Wednesday, Oct 9

Woke to temperatures in the mid to high 30s.  A bit brisk but OK after I turned on the catalytic propane heater.

I ended up mostly hanging out at the camp in the morning.  I did ride out in the afternoon to check out the rock climbing areas.  Several campsites nearby these rock climbs too, but a bit crowded in for my taste.

Thursday, Oct 10

It was a few degrees colder when I woke this morning, which made up my mind about displacing to warmer locations.  Such as the BLM Dispersed camping area south of Poncha Pass, near Salida, CO.

Decision made, I was packed up and heading into town by 10AM, got the tanks dumped and took on water by 11AM and by 1230 or so was choosing a site to camp at.  I tried the usual spot but found it hard to get the rig leveled, so I went up hill a bit and got a snug little spot instead.  

I may have arrived at the area at the beginning of the tail end of the Fall Colors.  Here's a few show of it near the campsite within the BLM area.  I think I'll try and check out the Fall Colors along nearby Marshall Pass tomorrow.