Access to cellular networks is so obvious to us today that we usually only notice their absence when we really need them. All it takes, however, is leaving the cities and major roads to realize how quickly that certainty disappears. This experience was, in a way, my excuse to try Starlink and have a little fun with it. Another motivation was my friend Tomek, K9RCZ, who has been complaining more and more often about gaps in cellular coverage. Since he drives thousands of miles every week through sparsely populated parts of the United States, I wanted to see whether Starlink could be a kind of golden middle ground for him.
Iām not going to get into all the different Starlink hardware options and plans, because that depends on where you live and what address you have on your account ā or, more accurately, where the credit-card bills are being sent. I chose the Starlink Mini with the basic Roam plan. The plan provides unlimited speed, but the amount of data available at maximum speed is limited to 100 GB. Once that limit is reached, the speed drops to around 500 kbps. In the U.S., this plan costs $55 per month. Another option is to enable āStandbyā mode. In that case, the monthly cost is $10, but the speed is immediately limited to 500 kbps. And, honestly, that is more than enough to run our SVXLink hotspot, or even check email and browse the news online.
From the very beginning, I expected that Starlink itself, with its built-in router and Wi-Fi, would not work particularly well with SVXLink. Just like with many cellular providers, I ran into a connection hiccup: connected, disconnected, connected, disconnected. Iām not going to get into the technical reasons behind it here. Instead, Iāll focus on the cure. And the cure is very simple: connect to SVXLink through any VPN, and the problem is solved.
This can be done by using the simplest router that supports WAN/LAN or WISP. In my case, to begin with ā because Iām lazy ā I enabled WISP mode on my router, which cost me a whole $40, and pointed it at the Starlink Wi-Fi. Connectedā¦ and stayed connected. Whenever Starlink had internet access, SVXLink remained connected 100% of the time. Iāll get to what happened when Starlink actually lost internet access in a moment.
Eventually, though, I configured my router and Starlink a little differently. The cable way.
First, I switched Starlink into bypass mode. This turns off its router functionality and sends the internet connection directly to its Ethernet port. I switched my own router to WAN/LAN mode ā Starlink was connected to the dedicated WAN port, and the LAN port was connected to the Raspberry Pi running SVXLink. It may involve more cables and a little more configuration, but personally, I like cables and avoid Wi-Fi whenever I can.
Additionally, because the router I use also has a SIM card slot, I configured it for LTE backup. This means that whenever Starlink loses its internet connection, the router automatically switches to the cellular network.
But why would I do that if Iām more likely to lose cellular coverage than Starlink?
That brings us to the issue of Starlink connection stability while traveling.
Starlink needs a clear view of the sky. Surprisingly, it doesnāt need quite as much open sky as you might think, but the antenna still needs to see a portion of it. City streets surrounded by dense trees or tall buildings in downtown Chicago can effectively block most of that view. Thatās why using Starlink as an internet connection for SVXLink in a city or large urban area doesnāt make much sense ā cellular networks already handle that job for us.
But once we head out onto the corn-covered plains of Nebraska or the green hills of Montana, things start looking completely different. In fact, all it takes is getting onto an interstate highway, where the sky opens up above us, and Starlink works like a charm. Even passing underneath longer overpasses does not necessarily cause the SVXLink connection to drop.
So, if I were going to install Starlink permanently, the second configuration would be my standard setup, with an additional Starlink power switch. When Iām in the city: Starlink off, internet comes from the SIM card. I leave town and hit the road: turn Starlink on, and the internet comes from the stars.
To sum it up, after this experiment I believe that Starlink is not a solution designed to replace cellular service, but it can be an excellent complement to it. Especially in places where LTE or 5G coverage ends and there are still hundreds of miles of empty road ahead.
For an SVXLink user, this means the ability to maintain connectivity even in places where the traditional cellular network simply stops existing.
Combined with a router capable of automatically switching between Starlink and LTE, we get a solution that is not only convenient but, more importantly, resilient to the loss of either technology. In the city, we use LTE; in the middle of nowhere, we use Starlink.
And with the current cost of these services, we can have a working solution for less than $20 per month. For someone like K9RCZ, who spends thousands of miles every week behind the wheel, this could be exactly the missing piece that allows him to stay connected with Group 312 through SVXLink, regardless of where he happens to be.
de W9GIL
On a side note:
I took Starlink with me for a long September weekend in the Wisconsin woods. This time, my main goal was to see how it would perform under camping conditions, in a heavily wooded area.
SVXLink in a box
My setup consisted of the Starlink Mini antenna, a Motorola CDM750, a Raspberry Pi with the radio interface, and a Cudy router.
At the campsite, where there was barely any visible sky (see the photo showing the āobstructionā), there was no chance of maintaining a stable conversation over SVXLink, but the internet itself was still working. It was noticeable that Starlink would occasionally freeze for a moment, but it was still perfectly usable for checking email, browsing social media, or simply surfing the web.
When I moved the equipment closer to the water and exposed a larger portion of the sky, the situation improved significantly. During the day, the connection dropped perhaps four or five times.
It is worth remembering, however, that although the attached photo makes it look like there is quite a lot of open sky, directly above the antenna the trees formed something resembling a deep canopy over the dock, blocking a significant portion of the view.
Overall, though, it was possible both to have conversations over SVXLink and to use the internet normally. Considering that Starlink was operating under these conditions, I once again consider the result quite good.