Howdy y’all!

As far as I am aware, this is the first public message ever broadcast from the BWCA via Starlink :)

Looking forward to keeping in touch with you all! Looking like rain tomorrow & likely traveling to Knife Lake on Monday. Cheers! (Love the aurora IPA, even if it is a tad warm haha)

I am not sure if I should be horrified or impressed LOL.

Have a great trip and thanks for sharing!

T

timatkn: "I am not sure if I should be horrified or impressed LOL.
Have a great trip and thanks for sharing!
T"

A mix of both is probably a proper response haha.
Thank you - fingers crossed it will be clear Sunday night for the meteor shower (& that I’m able to get a good campsite tomorrow, taking off from Sucker bound for S.A. Knife with an early afternoon eta).

No doubt Elon Musk is smiling right now!

Columbus, Charles Lindberg, Neil Armstrong, and now John Galt. Congratulations sir, you’re a true pioneer.

Dishy Mc-Flat face?

uqme2: "Dishy Mc-Flat face?"

Tis so. Pretty incredible how portable it is & they really did a good job on build quality - the plugs going into the router even have gasket seals.

Apparently we now don't even have to plan a trip, much less pursue one ourselves. The link below is twenty-six years old, and while about National Parks, was a sarcastic and yet apparently a realistic foreboding view of the world ahead. Evidently we will be there soon. Just asking, but is there a timeline before this is pay-per-view?

Why even go?

Does it track and adjust on its own like the rooftop ones?

What do you use for power?

Oh perfect John, keep me posted on campsite availability around noon :)

Lawnchair107: "Oh perfect John, keep me posted on campsite availability around noon :)"

As of yesterday, near/at capacity on Knife Lake. A group from Northern Tier crashed at my site last night after finding, as I had an hour or two before, every site was taken. I didn’t check S.A. Knife or past Thunder Point, though with the number of groups which passed me yesterday, nearly all in one direction, it is near peak occupancy in this region. ;)

uqme2: "Does it track and adjust on its own like the rooftop ones?
What do you use for power?"

It does. It is just the standard Dishy McFlat Face, not the fancy one. It needs a decently clear view looking NNE to get consistent signal, though even with some obstructions it still works (~10-13% obstructed where it is at now, thinking of moving it for better signal…& a photo op haha).

For power, I am using the EcoFlow 160W panel + River 2 Max. The battery is ~500Wh & Dishy draws 30-70W (less when it has a stable signal & more when initializing or poor signal, similar to one’s phone). It would probably give ~7hrs of uptime with a full charge. In full sun, the panel generates enough output to charge the battery & power the Dishy though if it is cloudy power generation drops to under 20W & it is not sustainable. A second 160W panel may be in order. Prior to getting Dishy, I used a 60W RockPals panel + 150Wh battery bank & it was ample for maintaining camera, GoPros, iPad mini, lamps, GPS, & Zoleo, etc.

Thanks man!

Don't get me wrong. I've taken plenty of heavy
camera gear plus other personally decadent type things. Perhaps that's not the right word but is this the power supply?

https://us.ecoflow.com/cdn/shop/files/river-2-max-solar-panel_1800x.png?v=1666593190

Just out of curiosity, what size and weight (packed) is all that "extra" kinda stuff? I see 13.2lbs. for the power supply alone? No clue what Dishy weighs but I'd assume the base is kinda heavy.

Don't know your plans or anything. Just curious is all. Hey, enjoy!

uqme2: "Thanks man!
Don't get me wrong. I've taken plenty of heavy
camera gear plus other personally decadent type things. Perhaps that's not the right word but is this the power supply?
https://us.ecoflow.com/cdn/shop/files/river-2-max-solar-panel_1800x.png?v=1666593190
Just out of curiosity, what size and weight (packed) is all that "extra" kinda stuff? I see 13.2lbs. for the power supply alone? No clue what Dishy weighs but I'd assume the base is kinda heavy.
Don't know your plans or anything. Just curious is all. Hey, enjoy!"

Yep, that’s the one. Complete kit is not light per say, though I do get to deduct the weight cost of the previous battery & panel + for what it truly is, it is unfathomably small. It contains far more information than the Library of Alexandria & can send a message with data to the other side of the earth in seconds. For a week or month it is totally unnecessary, I concur, though when living as a vagabond in the wilderness for months/years, it is nice to be able to communicate with folks in more than 185 characters (special characters surcharges apply). Necessary, for sure not, though quite nice to have. Akin to trading out a Chair Zero for a Sunset Chair, starlink trumps Zoleo though it is more brutal to transport. All in all, it takes me from having two food packs & ~8+ weeks of ratioms to one food pack & ~4 weeks of rations.

It was useful today in particular. My bank blocked my credit card when outfitter tried to run a permit & it was breaking my bill auto-payments. I was able to fire up the starlink + use my banking mobile app to chat with the rep & resolve the issue, all without having to lean on a friend/family/outfitter for assistance with the matter.

YaMarVa: "Columbus, Charles Lindberg, Neil Armstrong, and now John Galt. Congratulations sir, you’re a true pioneer. "

Lindberg... So over rated !
Alcock & Brown flew over the Atlantic, nonstop, 9 years before that Nazi sympathizer.

Stumpy: "

YaMarVa: "Columbus, Charles Lindberg, Neil Armstrong, and now John Galt. Congratulations sir, you’re a true pioneer. "

Lindberg... So over rated !
Alcock & Brown flew over the Atlantic, nonstop, 9 years before that Nazi sympathizer. "

Lighten up Francis, its a quote from the Apollo 13 movie.