New Starlink terminal solution for Cybertruck?

[JBee]

EM recently tweeted that they now have a 280kmh (174mph) wind rated Starlink dish that is optimized for moving marine applications.

The new device is 575mm (22") x 511mm (20") but now is mounted with an angled bracket and no longer needs to track or be mounted on a pole, meaning it would be ideal for the back window of the Cybertruck. Hopefully this will be an option on CT release.

What would be really nice if they include a mesh networking router to allow other Teslas and users to piggy back off the system.
Finally we will have three of the main necessities for life in our Cybertrucks: Transport, Energy and Internet!

https://www.starlink.com/specifications?spec=3

Sponsored

 

[charliemagpie]

well, its flat... we are a step closer.

Could they build a long rectangle ? Would that work ?

 

[JBee]

well, its flat... we are a step closer.

Could they build a long rectangle ? Would that work ?

Potentially. There are two factors, one is total area and second is the ability to use the shape to beamform the signals in all directions. The elongated shape of that area might have the area, but I don't know how it goes for beamforming using a phased array.

"If" it was maybe twice the width and that surface area, I think it might work, but from what I have seen using our McSquareface, it prefers to have the long edge aligned North South. If that was the case then a round or square antenna, like the Marine version above would likely be the best format.

BTW The actual antenna inside has always been flat, it's just that the other pole models have motors built in under the flat antenna for orientating the dish.

 

[charliemagpie]

I was thinking along the same lines, purely from a layman's perspective.
As you say, its too narrow to beamform the signals in all directions

i just thought.... perhaps when there are i.e. 7000+ satellites up there, the area of the dish can be reduced? May be enough to maintain contact just using that rectangular space.

Wait and see.

 

[JBee]

I was thinking along the same lines, purely from a layman's perspective.
As you say, its too narrow to beamform the signals in all directions

i just thought.... perhaps when there are i.e. 7000+ satellites up there, the area of the dish can be reduced? May be enough to maintain contact just using that rectangular space.

Wait and see.

The antenna area would be the function of the signal being tranmitted between each individual satellite at any point in time. From what I understand the phased array can switch between satellites in real time, multiple times per second, meaning the bandwidth is between ground and space based antenna and time of use, but not that one part of the antenna talks to different satellites than the other part. Antenna "gain" would be the surface area, which it needs all of the ground dish just to talk to one satellite at a time.

Having more satellites might mean you have more capacity at one time, but that would also diminish with more terrestrial users.

 

[charliemagpie]

Yea, I said 7000 .. Elon is planning 40,000 satellites.
End of the day, it may aways boils down to how many users.

 

[JBee]

Yea, I said 7000 .. Elon is planning 40,000 satellites.
End of the day, it may aways boils down to how many users.

Sorry I wasn't very clear, the ground dish can only talk to one satellite at a time, and needs most, if not all the ground antenna area to do so. It could be incrementally smaller, and one day you might get down to half size or so for the same bandwidth, but it would use more power to do so. If you however, throttle the data rate all the way down to say voice call bandwidth (3-4kps), you essentially get what Starlink and MobileT are going to do now with SMS messaging straight to any mobile from a V2 Starlink with a 5m satellite dish in space. So essentially what I'm trying to say is that if you want to make the dish smaller, you also have reduce the data rate and need to increase the signal strength by other means.

 

[rr6013]

well, its flat... we are a step closer.

Could they build a long rectangle ? Would that work ?

!= directional = NG

 

[rr6013]

Sorry I wasn't very clear, the ground dish can only talk to one satellite at a time, and needs most, if not all the ground antenna area to do so. It could be incrementally smaller, and one day you might get down to half size or so for the same bandwidth, but it would use more power to do so. If you however, throttle the data rate all the way down to say voice call bandwidth (3-4kps), you essentially get what Starlink and MobileT are going to do now with SMS messaging straight to any mobile from a V2 Starlink with a 5m satellite dish in space. So essentially what I'm trying to say is that if you want to make the dish smaller, you also have reduce the data rate and need to increase the signal strength by other means.

Stated another way reception is a function of TX signal strength. Which is why all cellphones receive VOX,TXT,Data and SMS media transmitted via a carrier terrestrial transmission tower. All cellphones receive the identical signal strength. No new cellphone will increase carrier signal to get better reception. No new cell phone will improve your cellphone connection transmit signal strength. Its all regulated. Antenna technology varies brand to model to shitty. But all the above apply.

T-mobile+SpaceX simply elevates tower height improving coverage, improving TX power to line of sight reception. But requires SpaceX MUCH bigger RX receiver antenna to read the cellphone signal direct to SAT from earth. That’s Magic.

 

[JBee]

Stated another way reception is a function of TX signal strength. Which is why all cellphones receive VOX,TXT,Data and SMS media transmitted via a carrier terrestrial transmission tower. All cellphones receive the identical signal strength. No new cellphone will increase carrier signal to get better reception. No new cell phone will improve your cellphone connection transmit signal strength. Its all regulated. Antenna technology varies brand to model to shitty. But all the above apply.

T-mobile+SpaceX simply elevates tower height improving coverage, improving TX power to line of sight reception. But requires SpaceX MUCH bigger RX receiver antenna to read the cellphone signal direct to SAT from earth. That’s Magic.

With the TMobile setup the v2 Starlink also has a phased array antenna pointing at the cell phone. That means unlike a terrestrial cell phone tower, it does not actually have to broadcast in all directions, rather just to the area around the cell phone itself. Likewise It can only listen and amplify that same area. This means v2 amplifies both RX and TX, which it actually needs to do to negotiate duplex packet transfer.

 

[Bill906]

Potentially. There are two factors, one is total area and second is the ability to use the shape to beamform the signals in all directions. The elongated shape of that area might have the area, but I don't know how it goes for beamforming using a phased array.

Beamforming?

 

[JBee]

Beamforming?

Yep exactly. It's just that it doesn't create a blob on the end.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phased_array

As should be clear from the diagram the more angle you have the less gain the antenna has through the reduction of surface area towards the target.

 

[RVAC]

I was thinking along the same lines, purely from a layman's perspective.
As you say, its too narrow to beamform the signals in all directions

i just thought.... perhaps when there are i.e. 7000+ satellites up there, the area of the dish can be reduced? May be enough to maintain contact just using that rectangular space.

Wait and see.

Even if it were feasible I don't see why you'd want to produce a dedicated antenna when you can just use the ones already in production.

 

[charliemagpie]

It would be seamlessly integrated and hardly visible

 

[JBee]

It would be seamlessly integrated and hardly visible

It's easily possible that a Starlink terminal would be integrated into the rear roof of the CT. In fact I think the rear roof won't be a clear glass roof, instead it will have some sort of opaque see-through solar cells. The test track CT photos seem to show this in the rear roof as it is not see-through as the front windscreen.

Sponsored