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Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

arstechnica.com

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Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#291

Post by eganist »

da_chicken wrote: post #253
zaroth wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The put a non-automotive grade LCD in the original Model S because it was that LCD or nothing. The automotive screens didn’t exist in the size they needed and they weren’t at a stage in their company where they could design their own. They took a risk to achieve the product vision that they were determined to bring into the world given the technical constraints of the age. I’d say overall it paid off. IMO it wasn’t a…

I agree, it wasn't arrogance. Deliberately going forward with something in spite of knowing for certain that it's not fit for purpose is called engineering malfeasance, not arrogance.

> Deliberately going forward with something in spite of knowing for certain that it's not fit for purpose is called engineering malfeasance, not arrogance.

An argument can be made for both. Malfeasance in that it was a significant and potentially catastrophic engineering tradeoff due to unknown failure modes, and arrogant in that the decision valued company vision over potential consumer safety risks as well as over the expertise of the component manufacturers.

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#292

Post by Meph504 »

aaomidi wrote: post #176
blhack wrote: post #154

Starlink is in beta. The entire purpose of the beta is to find stuff like this. They found something, and I'm sure that the next iteration of this before it goes to mass market will account for it. You're just seeing the system work.

If your engineering team had to wait for a product failure to realize an item that's going to be outdoors in the sun is going to get hot, what on earth else are they missing?

Your missing optimization engineers who come behind the original engineers and optimize design with a focus on production cost over performance.

This often leads to some of the most spectacular failures, and unforseen issues.

Or someone fucked up

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#293

Post by da_chicken »

kortex wrote: post #284
da_chicken wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, it wasn't arrogance. Deliberately going forward with something in spite of knowing for certain that it's not fit for purpose is called engineering malfeasance, not arrogance.

It's a heckin' internet uplink dish, not a mission-critical piece of engineering lives depend on (if Starlink is your only way to call emergency services, you ought to have a radio backup).

I'm not taking about the dish in my comment, I'm talking about Teslas shortcuts.

But it doesn't really help if your poor engineering only causes your company to fail due to recall, or gets you shut down for fraud or negligence, or your product is so bad that customers entirely leave your market. That's still not something to champion.

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#294

Post by HarryHirsch »

babesh wrote: post #173
blhack wrote: post #154

Starlink is in beta. The entire purpose of the beta is to find stuff like this. They found something, and I'm sure that the next iteration of this before it goes to mass market will account for it. You're just seeing the system work.

The link is mostly a honeypot for Elon Musk haters. I wonder if they have bothered looking at the operating temperatures of other satellite Internet dishes? A simple search will net you heating and cooling devices for satellite dishes. If you face more extreme temperatures, you need only go buy a heating and cooling unit. http://www.dishcamo.com/dish_heater.htm

That's a de-icing system. Starlink dishes have the opposite problem, they get too hot because they have to dissipate 100 watts electric energy plus the heat from the sun and the nearby rooftop.

OK, maritime outfitters will sell you a climatized radome, which will set you back a few grand. Proper engineering costs money (can't have radar fail in the middle of the Strait of Malacca), and that's why Elon relies on his army of fanboys, Elon's outrageous conduct is part of marketing.

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#295

Post by s0rce »

aaronmdjones wrote: post #195
willhinsa wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just curious, what are the differences between normal LCD's and automotive-grade LCD's?

Automotive-grade LCDs don't burn out and melt at the temperatures commonly found in ... well, automotive environments. Like your car sitting in a tarmac car park all day in sunny weather with the windows closed.

Tell that to my 2012 Suzuki SX4 radio LCD, it won't work when its warm out.

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#296

Post by ipython »

bombcar wrote: post #158
6gvONxR4sf7o wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same. I want it to tell me "take Rengstorff Ave exit" and it just tells me "take exit 53b." I have no idea what 53b is and the big signs don't say it either.

Look for the highway mile markers - the exit number is based on them. Should get you closer at least.

Not all highways work like this. Take I-87 in New York for example. Thankfully most of those roads are slowly changing exit numbers so they follow the sane convention you describe!

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#297

Post by sfifs »

jazzyjackson wrote: post #278
daniellarusso wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have always had a bizarre fascination with refrigeration engineering. It is amazing all the things this has enabled for humanity.

Well, I’ve heard of preserving food and transporting vaccines, but as an enthusiast have you got any exotic examples for me?

Not OP but you might find it interesting to hear the thoughts of one of the most successful nation builders in history on air conditioning :-)

https://www.vox.com/2015/3/23/8278085/singapore-lee-kuan-yew...

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#298

Post by runarberg »

babesh wrote: post #173
blhack wrote: post #154

Starlink is in beta. The entire purpose of the beta is to find stuff like this. They found something, and I'm sure that the next iteration of this before it goes to mass market will account for it. You're just seeing the system work.

The link is mostly a honeypot for Elon Musk haters. I wonder if they have bothered looking at the operating temperatures of other satellite Internet dishes? A simple search will net you heating and cooling devices for satellite dishes. If you face more extreme temperatures, you need only go buy a heating and cooling unit. http://www.dishcamo.com/dish_heater.htm

An Elon Musk hater here:

Starlink provides an excellent example of a deeper problem I see with new technology vs. traditional infrastructure. We know how to do broadband in rural places. We do it all over the planet. We simply tax income and spend it on infrastructure.

Elon Musk (and the likes) see an opportunity to disrupt this simple answer and make money selling a different unproven solution that has the potential to be at best as good. For me this is bad news. If politicians get sold by the likes of Elon Musk, it will stand in the way of traditional proven infrastructure and—in the case of starlink—fast and affordable broadband connection for rural communities.

Re: Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit

#299

Post by kortex »

andrewmcwatters wrote: post #6

I’m always surprised how poor engineering gets exposed in products I purchase being an Arizona resident. No, failing at 122F is not acceptable. If your hardware is exposed to outside conditions, it should operate easily below 32F, and well above 140F. Considering that phones can operate below 0F and near 122F, that’s embarrassingly bad. Same thing in vehicles. If you’re driving consistently at interstate speeds, you…

> Too many vehicles fail this, and frankly it’s repulsive for something you buy for 5-6 figures.

What's repulsive is the way many people live in AZ.

Literal hot take: maybe people living in one of the hottest places on Earth shouldn't expect to have the same consumer experience (without modulating their habits). IMHO, AZ is chock full of human hubris. Pools, fountains, water features, grass lawns, and golf courses.

Why should people expect to live as if it were Cascadia or New England with water consumption? Same with car performance. Maybe you don't get to have an icy 68°F in your rolling greenhouse behind a 40,000BTU power plant at dead noon in the heckin desert.

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