• After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

Mobile Satellite Internet

John Wetter

SN President
Staff member
Joined
Dec 11, 2005
Messages
956
Location
Maple Grove, MN
Hello All,

I'm wondering if anyone currently uses MotoSat and what they think of it. I'm strongly considering purchasing the F1 system from them. I talked to a representative for quite some time last year at CES, and it seems like they have a fairly large number of deployed systems for RV'ers and Emergency Management. The rep I talked to thought there were a few chasers using it, but couldn't give me any names.

Currently, for all except their top system (~$34k) you need to be stopped to get data. It takes a couple minutes for it to lock on to the satellite and then you have 700k/down 128k/up. With the way I chase, this is okay for me. I usually do a few stops a day to look at data or to grab satellite images and/or use SwiftWX, or now GRlevel3 to grab radar shots looking for the first storms. Once I'm on a storm, I usually put the data stuff away to focus on the storm. I'm not one for needing to see or wanting to see radar while I'm on the storm. The clouds tell me what I need to know, IMHO.

The standard system costs about $2500-3500. The service is $60-100 depending on how much bandwidth you've got. The best thing about it is that it's available EVERYWHERE in the US, I don't need to worry about whether I've got cell data coverage. I know many here use the WxWorx system, but I am wondering if others are feeling the need for 'real' internet while chasing like I am.

Interested in your thoughts,
John
 
I'll be testing a high-gain cell antenna with amplifier this year and can report back if that helps any. It would cost about $300 as compared to thousands for a MotoSat.

Could be a good first step before throwing down a couple grand.

Any idea if MotoSat will let you stop service for 7 months or do you have to pay the minimum monthly all year round?


Seeings how I refuse to buy WxWorx I need a real internet connection :)

-Tyler
 
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