StarLink/SpaceX

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zEtLzpKuoNPzcNud7

Over the past few days, I have been installing and testing my new StarLink ground station.  In the photo, it is sitting on a glass top table on the apron of my pool.  The above link is to higher resolution photos.  The cable runs to the lower floor of the pool building where my main router is situated.  Feeding into my main router, internet access is provided to my entire LAN.  Performance and ease of use is SUPERB.

I ordered the station when I first heard of StarLink, 2-3 years ago.  Last week, I finally received as did quite few in Caldwell County.   The residential model is currently priced at about $600 for the station hardware plus $110/month for the service.

SpaceX has single handedly brought about a revolution in rocketry just as Tesla has single handedly brought about the EV revolution.  By claiming otherwise, President Biden has proven himself either extremely poorly informed or dishonest.  SpaceX has enormously brought down the cost of launching mainly by developing reusable rockets.  I think some of the SpaceX rockets/boosters have now been used 13 times; launched 13 times.  Had it not been for SpaceX, we would still be at the mercy of Russia for servicing the International Space Station.  SpaceX has developed a near a monopoly on affordable launches.  NASA was slow to recognize.

I've long sought a way to invest in SpaceX; it is a privately held, not publicly traded, corporation.  The best I have found is the Baron family of funds.  BPTIX and BPTRX hold about 5% of assets in SpaceX.  StarLink is a subsidiary of  SpaceX but is expected to soon be "spun off" into a publicly traded company.  It is hoped that the value of my Baron investments will increase, perhaps explode, after the IPO.

StarLink, increasingly, is offering internet access to much of Earth's surface.  That is accomplished through an enormous constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites.  Right now, there are thousands of operational satellites; the completed system will be tens of thousands.  Right now, SpaceX puts up to sixty satellites in orbit from a single launch.  Traditional satellite internet service is provided by a relatively small number of large and complex satellites placed in geosynchronous orbits.  Meaning the satellites stay above fixed point on the Earth.  LEO satellites are much lower (giving much faster response due to shorter signal travel distances) but they are in continuous motion  relative to Earth surface.

My impressions of my StarLink ground station:

1) It is exceedingly easy to self install.  Contributing is the lack of a default wifi password.

2) Latency is well under 100 milliseconds.

3) Bandwidth varies wildly as you might expect when it must constantly shift from one satellite to another as the satellites march across the sky.  I typically observe around 100 Mbps but that can go as low as about 10 Mbps.  Others, in other areas, report 200 Mbps or a bit higher.  My old wifi provider ranged from zero (during much longer periods than I find acceptable) up to about 6 Mbps.  With about 2-3 Mbps being common.  Depending on where I am in my LAN, the signal may have to go through up to four wifi bridges (or links).  That is in order to make my LAN extent a mile or so.  Those bridges cut my usable bandwidth down to single digit Mbps; that is, less than 1/10 of the bandwidth StarLink is providing.  A pretty good solution might be to move my main router to my house where most of the demand is.  But, that's a major LAN reconfiguration.

https://www.spacex.com/

https://www.starlink.com/

https://www.baronfunds.com/

John Wesley Hardin

 My great uncle, Frank Patterson of Junction, famously told and retold the tale of having an encounter with John Wesley Hardin during his youth.  Patterson lived from 1879-1969.  I met "uncle Frank" only once about 1953 when he was retired from Texas Rangers and Kimble County Sheriff in Junction.  John Wesley Hardin (I've been reading about him) lived from 1853 to 1895.  JWH was in prison from 1878 through 1894.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wesley_Hardin

ONE of my pending "things to do" is visit Hardin's grave:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1346/john-wesley-hardin

The story was that Frank was roaming brush land and practicing shooting a pistol.  Frank and friends unexpectedly met JWH and friends.  JWH opined that Frank had a poor quality pistol and gave him a better one.  That pistol and the story remained in Frank's collection long after Frank's death.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29924103/cabot-frank-patterson

JWH went to prison before Frank was born.  And was killed only a year after his release from prison.  So, if the story is true, it would have had to occurred about 1894-1895 in the year before JWH was killed.  Frank would have been about 21-23.  Not the youth that I had understood.

Frank is believed to never have talked of his involvement of the Povenir Massacre of  Jan 28, 1918.  Frank left the Rangers a couple of weeks after the event.  But he was in Ranger Compay B under Captain Fox before he left the Rangers.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/porvenir-texas-details-massacre-mexican-americans-u-s-soldiers-rangers-n1059146

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porvenir_massacre_(1918)

36v battery charging

 For quite a while, I've maintained a 36v battery bank made up mostly of the surplus hoverboard batteries that I run in golf carts.  I have a golf cart charger that can supply ~9 amps that I have on a timer so it only charges when there should be good sun.

36v lead batteries can tolerate about 50 volts while typical 36v lithium batteries can tolerate no more than about 42v.  Two chemistries can be used in batteries.  Lithium Iron Phosphate, known as "LFP" and Lithum Cobalt which might be known as "Lithium Ion".  LFP cells, with nominal voltage of about 3.2v, can tolerate about 3.5v.  While LC can tolerate about 4.2v.  Four LFP cells in series can make a 12v lead replacement battery.  Twelve LFP cells can make a 36v battery while only ten LC are used.  For both LFP and LC, a charge voltage limit of 42v works nicely without killing the cells.  In both cases, it is best to use a battery management system to insure individual cells do not exceed their upper limits even when the total voltage remains below the 42v limit.

My 9 amp charger has been modified so as to not exceed 42v and I use it to charge both LC and LFP 36v batteries.

This post was stimulated by my observations this morning.  I took my spray golf cart out this morning to spray mesquite.  I nearly exhausted the battery as evidenced by the cart slowing down and stalling under load.  That condition is best detected by a volt meter but I have not configured an easy to use and reliable volt meter for that range.  Recently, I have been using a clamp on DC amp meter to detect charge current.  That is, to insure that charging is taking place.

So, this morning after I hooked up the mostly depleted golf cart, I noticed that a fully charged cart was discharging at about 19 amps while the depleted cart was charging at about 38 amps.  I should have expected that but I was surprised at the high current.  Most of the wiring connecting various batteries in the bank is only 14 gauge which should not handle current higher than about 20 amps.

Not yet delivered Model Y for sale

 Tesla tells me that it may deliver my long ago ordered Model Y in May.  With TSLA alarmingly low, I am unwilling to pay, as planned, with a sale of TSLA.

SO, I'm taking offers for someone to take delivery in my stead.

It is white, long range, dual motor, with FSD and (I think) a trailer hitch.  Tesla wants $69,990 above my $250 deposit before delivery.  Since I ordered, both the car and FSD have gone up in price.  If one were to order same specs today, I think the price would be about $75k and delivery would likely be in 2023.   If interested, I encourage you to play with the Tesla configuration found through http://tesla.com.

I am looking for offers of $77k+.  All numbers are exclusive of TTL; those should be around $5k.  I have told Tesla: no trade-in, no financing, payment in cash.  It may be possible to change those.

wmckemie4@gmail.com

I'm not sure what rigmarole is involved to get the buyer swapped but I believe it is commonly done.

Tesla now offers insurance in Texas.  Insurance acceptable to a lien holder will likely start around $60/month and may go down from there if Tesla decides you drive safely.  I've been paying AAA $300 +/- per year for minimum liability.

My hope has been that it will be a Austin made car with the new battery cells.  I don't know when/if that information will be available.

Recent news is that low range, about 270 miles, cars WILL have the new cells.  That implies that this car, even if made in Austin, will have the old cells.

 

Fiber to Dale

Yesterday, I noticed some construction along Barth Road between Fm1843 and FM672.  They made me come to a stop so I took the opportunity to ask what they were doing.  I was rewarded: "Installing fiber optic cable to the new cell tower in downtown Dale".  I have not previously noticed the technique being used:  They were using a backhoe to dig holes about 100 yards apart on the side of the road.  Then, they use a boring machine to bore from one hole to the next.  I imagine they were using an empty conduit to push through the borings.   I further imagine that they will somehow push a long continuous length of fiber cable through the conduit once they splice together the conduit segments.  I can not imagine that they would make cable splices every 100 yards.  That's because my perception is that making a fiber splice is difficult/expensive/lossy.

Five or more years ago a cell tower (tower only) was put up behind the Dale Volunteer Fire Department building.  I discovered that the chain link fence surrounding the tower had a sign identifying as "McKemie HomeGrown".  Finding that label surprised me.  The tower sat for years with the tower complete but no antennae or electric stuff.  A few months ago, activity resumed; first, electric service was installed.

I'm surprised that fiber is being installed to the tower.  I thought that all cell towers were served data only via radio. 

 https://photos.app.goo.gl/mKBGJxe2gCpfBrpJ6

Dust Bowl. And Stuff

 I recently decided to tour through both panhandles: Texas and Oklahoma.  Dust Bowl country.  After the dust had settled down, the government bought much of the eroded land that was available.  Now, it is a patchwork of "National Grasslands".  Most of the lands remain in private hands and is mostly farmed.

I was surprised to see so much center pivot irrigation in the area.  And I was more surprised to see "dust devils" scattered about.  It turns out that the "dust devils" were clouds of dust rising from farm equipment doing plowing.  So, there is more wind erosion in progress than I would have thought.  The dust creation is likely very short duration, occurring only between crops.  Maybe two or three times a year.

I have (or had) a very nice sandy asparagus patch of about three acres.  With asparagus, you have a single opportunity to mechanically control weeds.  That is best done a week or so before the asparagus spears begin to appear.  The entire field can be disked at a shallow depth.  Hopefully staying above the crowns from which the spears arise.  I remember one year when we had inopportune winds following the annual weed clean up.  It hurt to see great clouds of dust rise from the field.  Good and irreplaceable soil lost.

So, I've been reflecting on soil conservation.  Over freshly plowed soil, wind will pick up and carry away the smallest particles first.  Leaving behind coarse sand and pebbles.  That changes the character and value of the soil.

One good remedy to such soil loss is "low till cultivation" or, better yet, "no till cultivation".  Both require increased herbicide inputs.  That raises the cost but avoiding or reducing tilling lowers cost.  So, the farmers are inclined to use more herbicides and use less tilling for the purpose of preserving soil.  There are, increasingly, market forces that discourage herbicide use.  Certainly, there is a a conflict.   Think about that the next time you demand "organic" from your fresh produce source.

I notice that there are a lot of what appear to be sand dunes in the panhandles.  Vegetated over and mostly stable.  Road cuts and other excavations reveal much sub surface sand.   I suspect that most of the center pivot land is smoothed up sand dunes.

From personal experience, I know that farming may not be profitable.  It has many economic ups and downs.  Most beyond the control of the farmer.  I recall that when I started growing peaches in about 1983, I knew I had to make about three crops of peaches out of each five years in order to stand a chance of being profitable over the long term.  In my first five years of peach growing, I made a single decent peach crop.  And, I branched out into blackberries, tomatoes and many other "truck" crops.  NONE were long term profitable.  Most farmers have similar stories.

One great fear of our government is agricultural failures resulting in food riots and maybe even starvation.  Because of that fear, agricultural subsides are wide spread.  Most modern farmers are dependent on "feeding at the trough" for economic stability.    Without subsidies, market forces would push many farmers out of business.  That happened during the Great Depression and dust bowl era.  The declines in production due to farmers being previously pushed out of business results in shortages later.  Hence, the government strives to keep farmers in business when short term market forces tells them that they should not be in business.  

Recall that the Russians, under Stalin, starved millions of Ukrainians as a political control method. 

Because of low profitability, aggravated by government subsidies, agricultural land is of generally low value compared the value for other uses.  "Development".  Ass backwards, IMHO.  Farming should be reliably profitable.  Farmers should be valued and honored members of society.   Farm land should be so valuable that "development" occurs only on "waste" land.  Dream on, Willie.

tesla.com/blog

 In response to an old friend's Tesla questions, I've been reading the Tesla Blog:

http://tesla.com/blog

It is the first time I've read more than a post or so.  It covers near the entire history of Tesla.  Since the 3rd "Master Plan" is due to appear soon, I decided to locate the first two Master Plans:

https://www.tesla.com/blog/secret-tesla-motors-master-plan-just-between-you-and-me

https://www.tesla.com/blog/master-plan-part-deux

Tesla should have great credibility given how well they have followed previous long term plans.

Like everyone else I know, I have tried to inform my friend on Teslas.  Sadly, he remains surprisingly poorly informed.  Even to be uncertain as to the attributes of currently offered models.  So I offer:

1) Original Roadster 

2) Model S - a high performance, largish, four door sedan

3) Model X - a larger SUV type body on the Model S chassis.

4) Model 3 - very similar to Model S but smaller and cheaper.

5) Model Y - has about the same relationship to Model 3 as Model X has to Model S.

"In the works" are Cyber Truck and Semi with a cheaper smaller sedan expected to be introduced after Tesla has saturated the higher priced market. The original Roadster has been out of production since about the time the Model S was offered.  But is due to be replaced with a new Roadster.