Starlink Through UPS or Inverter

[marcvl]

Given my experience with Starlink, I think UPS is a secondary issue. The major issue is that Starlink frequently loses satellite connectivity for fractions of a second which messes with video calling. I’ve now set up my Peplink router to route video calling through cellular and streaming through Starlink. Streaming doesn’t seem to care about the brief disruptions because of buffering.

[RonJudi]

Originally Posted by adambhicks4

My wife and I are setting out for an undetermined amount of time where she will be working from the road some. Her position is wholly reliant on video chat and she has to have a solid, reliable connection to fulfill her duties.

My questions is, would it make more sense to run our Starlink (or wifi hotspot and router) through a UPS, or would it be fine to always run the inverter and plug into that circuit (even when on shore or generator power) to make sure there are no power interruptions? The computer is fine with power interruptions since it has a battery, but if the power blips and the Starlink goes down, it is a few minutes for it to reboot... This would be a liability for her professionally.

I'm not sure if there is any downside to running the inverter constantly to ensure power? Looking forward to any thoughts you all may have.

Thanks!

Inverter always draws a little power. Option to leave on or use a battery back up for Starlink. Not familiar with power supply of starlink. Is it a separate block or internal?

[Vlamgat]

Originally Posted by adambhicks4

Thanks, all. I think for now I will plan to run the Starlink off the inverter circuit. I will look at the suggestions made above if the inverter does not prove sufficient.

Be aware though, that because of the large number of still to be launched starlink satellites, there are many aspects of the sky that will not carry sufficient bandwidth to run a video chat. Streaming yes, mostly but video chat needs more bandwidth. This necessitates always parking as far from shade as you can get; or at least getting permission to put the antenna on someone else's site to have a 180x180 sky access 24/7 to prevent outages.

[trikdacy]

I would plug the UPS into the inverter circuit and plug your equipment into the UPS. I have a UPS on all my delicate equipment. Being I am now retired, I now use them on my OLED TV's, Aquariums, and home computers. If we have a voltage fluctuation, I hear the UPS fan kick in or an alarm, if set, will go off, but the equipment runs without a hitch. My UPS warns me, when power is going down or of any fluctuations, so if the batteries are running low you will still have power in the UPS to give you time to shut down electronic equipment in an orderly manner. Most UPS system come with an interface and software for your computer to make your computer go into a soft shutdown without harming your equipment or corrupting software. If voltage goes low on the inverter you may just experience shutdown as if someone just pulled the plug. I have worked with UPS systems large and small since the 70s.