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Comment by treelovinhippie | Hacker News Reader

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treelovinhippie·

I'm interested in mounting it laying flat (no stand) to the top of a van. I don't expect it to work while on the move.

But do you think it would still work in a fixed configuration like that?

And how much do you think tree coverage would affect service?

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It should work while on the move. It has a beam steering capable antenna array. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1316255322835759105

It needs to be able to tilt and angle itself.

Trees cannot be in the way. 11GHz+ doesn't like trees.

It tries to give itself an optimal angle but it doesn't move while operating and the satellites are zipping in and out of its beamforming cone all the time anyway. The technology is capable of running with a flat mount.

Right now a terminal even at 48.9 latitude angles itself somewhat north, because the greatest simultaneous density of satellites at any moment in time is around 52.5 to 53 degrees north. If you mount it flat and don't allow it to move, who knows what starlink will change in the future architecture. They included the servo motor geared pan and tilt mechanism for a reason. Maybe later it will reorient itself differently as network density and satellite population changes. I'm not saying they won't ever release a flat non motorized cpe, but that is very much not the configuration now.

I don't think that disagrees with what I said.

The ability to align itself allows for mildly to moderately improved reception. It's more cost-effective than improving the beamforming, and easier for the user. It's a good feature. But the terminal doesn't need it to work. (On a hardware level. Any possible software lockout is a separate issue.)

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