|
| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +marp: true |
| 3 | +class: invert |
| 4 | +--- |
| 5 | + |
| 6 | +# Lessons and Takeaways from Setting up a Starlink in the Woods |
| 7 | + |
| 8 | +Mitch Feigenbaum - <https://mitchf.me> |
| 9 | + |
| 10 | +--- |
| 11 | + |
| 12 | +# Background |
| 13 | + |
| 14 | +- I was tasked by my boss with setting up a Starlink at his cabin in the middle of the Shenendoah valley. |
| 15 | +- For reference, it's on a mountain in the middle of nowhere |
| 16 | + |
| 17 | +--- |
| 18 | + |
| 19 | + |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +--- |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +# Requirements |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +1. **Connect to the Internet** |
| 26 | +2. Set up a guest network and a private security camera network |
| 27 | +3. Make it secure |
| 28 | +4. Allow for remote access to the security cameras |
| 29 | + |
| 30 | +--- |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +# Initial Challenges |
| 33 | + |
| 34 | +1. Starlink router is very limited |
| 35 | + a. No guest network capability |
| 36 | + b. No ethernet adapter |
| 37 | +2. Trees block the view (especially in the Spring) |
| 38 | + |
| 39 | +--- |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +# Dealing with the limited Starlink router |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +1. Use a third party ethernet to micro usb-c adapter between the router and the dish |
| 44 | +2. Use a third party router (EERO Pro 6) to allow guest network functionality |
| 45 | + |
| 46 | +--- |
| 47 | + |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | + |
| 50 | +--- |
| 51 | + |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | + |
| 54 | +--- |
| 55 | + |
| 56 | +# Dealing with the trees |
| 57 | + |
| 58 | +1. Used a mount on the side of the house to get a better view |
| 59 | +2. Still 3% obstacle obstruction (as calculated on app), causes intermittent outages |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | +--- |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | +# Now the fun part |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +- Starlink requires a subscription to start using it |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +## Good news |
| 68 | + |
| 69 | +- Starlink allows you to access the Starlink website during the setup to buy a subscription |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +## Bad news |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +- Starlink accounts send you email verification on login, but gmail is blocked on the Starlink network |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +--- |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +# How we solved it |
| 78 | + |
| 79 | +## Not easily |
| 80 | + |
| 81 | +--- |
| 82 | + |
| 83 | +# A note on the Starlink Subscription |
| 84 | + |
| 85 | +- If you set up your account as a business, you won't even be shown the home option |
| 86 | +- The home option is advertised as $80 a month |
| 87 | +- Suprise!!! It's actually $120 a month plus a $100 one time "congestion charge" |
| 88 | + |
| 89 | +--- |
| 90 | + |
| 91 | +# Starlink account database speculation |
| 92 | + |
| 93 | +- Once the payment was sent, it said it auto created an account with the email used. |
| 94 | +- It auto redirected to the existing account associated with the email, but the account had no subscription on it |
| 95 | +- The internet worked after this |
| 96 | +- Speculation: the Starlink account database is severely buggy (not too far off considering its owner's other ventures [see X]) |
| 97 | + |
| 98 | +--- |
| 99 | + |
| 100 | +# Setting up the cameras |
| 101 | + |
| 102 | +1. Used cobra cameras connected to the EERO router with a 100 foot ethernet cable |
| 103 | +2. Connected the EERO router to the Starlink router via the adapter |
| 104 | + |
| 105 | +--- |
| 106 | + |
| 107 | +# Yet Another Issue |
| 108 | + |
| 109 | +1. The EERO router has an easy mobile interface that allows you to change settings |
| 110 | +2. The EERO router has support for UPNP, which the cameras use to connect externally |
| 111 | +3. The Starlink Router is unable to be configured until it downloads an update, which automatically happpens... at 3am |
| 112 | +4. This can be mitigated by using the Starlink router in bypass mode... which requires the router configuration... which is unavailable until the update is installed |
| 113 | + |
| 114 | +--- |
| 115 | + |
| 116 | +# Final Configuration |
| 117 | + |
| 118 | +- Our network topology consists of the Starlink dish |
| 119 | +- Which sends its signal to the Starlink router |
| 120 | +- Which sends its signal to the Ethernet adapter |
| 121 | +- Which sends its signal to the EERO router |
| 122 | +- Which sends its signal via ethernet to the security cameras and via wifi to the guest network |
| 123 | + |
| 124 | +--- |
| 125 | + |
| 126 | +# Takeaways |
| 127 | + |
| 128 | +1. Everything takes more time on the mountain |
| 129 | +2. Starlink needs to think about its actual use case |
| 130 | +3. It all sort of works, impressively (90 mbps down, 15 mbps up) |
| 131 | + |
| 132 | +--- |
| 133 | + |
| 134 | + |
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