Hi all,
We got a new Starlink mini to facilitate ocean IoT experimentation we do in our lab. What would it take to “hack” the Spotter’s telemetry interface and stream data through Starlink?
Cheers,
George
@gsklivanitis , we’d probably need to know more about how Starlink establishes a connection with devices. There’s likely a M2M (machine to machine) instruction set or tutorial that would be helpful to know.
If it’s only through Ethernet, as if it’s acting as a router, there are probably some options to go through a co-processor like a RasPi that has all the native Ethernet stuff already built in. In this scenario you’d not be using the Spotter electronics for anything other than supplying power to your payload, the dev kit, the RasPi, and the Starlink.
It’s also important to find out how much power the Starlink needs to maintain a connection. We’re limited to about 3W continuously using the Spotter platform.
Let me know what you find out…
~Z
From previous testing, I’ve seen starlink mini draw 20-50W @ 24VDC
It only supports Ethernet for local communications
specs: Starlink | Specifications
That’s going to be too much to be powered by the Spotter…
Assuming it’s externally powered and Ethernet only comms, the best way to interact might be to use a co-processor like a RasPi to manage the data coming and going to a Bristlemouth system. Seems like a tough telemetry module.
Future revs of the Smart Mooring might be able to handle more power (no news on this yet…).
Z
@zack_j and @jcorcoran many thanks for your replies. We are investigating how we could use external power and use Ethernet for local comms with the RPi. will keep the group posted on how this goes.
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