• 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.

Satellite Internet Discussion thread

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When is satellite internet while moving going to be available to the general public? And how much?

I know the "hardcore" chaser folks and the tour companies will be all over that...assuming the price isn't insane.

From what I recall, there are mobile in-motion satellite TV services, but I don't know of any other in-motion mobile internet services. For most folks, the cost is prohibitive, but there are certainly times and situations where such a service is necessary!
 
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I remember the thread about the company that was coming out with the dish that was flat and was installed between the luggage rack of an SUV/Wagon. It was suppose to come out in late 2006 but I haven't heard anything about them lately. I think some folks posted some estimated monthly prices that were in the several hundred dollar range...which puts it in the 'insane' category ;)
 
I agree - this is going to be way out of the practical range for most if not all of the chase community. Even the most successful chaser businesswise is going to have a hard time finding the cash flow to cover and justify even the $4k option. If any chasers were to go for these systems, it would be a 100% luxury purchase.

I say that because WxWorx and/or cell internet already provide chasers with the basic data we need on the road. Sat internet would be great, but there is no way I can see anyone justifying the cost at this stage.
 
The two way satellite Internet/television is called the SpeedyRay3000 and is produced by RaySat. I had been following them until they finally announced a retail price of $7000 and change for the unit. I did visit their website about a month ago and they are advertising a new product that they are just calling the speedyray and they say it is "affordable in motion satellite TV but no mention of Internet.

By the way I say an SUV the other day with QWEST graphics on it and a SpeedyRay on the roof so I a certain that they are available now.

It appears I may have spoken too soon, it must have been a SpeedyRay 1000 that I saw. The following link seems to have current information on the status of the 3000 as well as prices and availability of the 1000.
http://www.countycom.com/raysat1.htm?gclid=CNzYreimzYgCFQ34SAodK1SGCw
 
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Does the 1000 have internet capability or just the 3000? I couldn't tell from the website. If the 1000 has internet ability does anyone have an actual quote from a vendor for monthly internet service?
 
Does the 1000 have internet capability or just the 3000? I couldn't tell from the website. If the 1000 has internet ability does anyone have an actual quote from a vendor for monthly internet service?

The 1000 is inbound TV only. The 3000 is two-way satellite. This is just a guess but it would make sense for them to use either the WildBlue or HughesNet Services. Why re-invent the wheel from a service standpoint? WildBlue packages are $50 and up per month, and Hughesnet are about the same. WB packages ramp up higher in speed than hughesnet, but you'd expect that from a newer company with newer birds in the sky. They also are less latent than HughesNet. As DirectTV is now out of the data business after the News Corp purchase, I wonder how it'll all work out as they transition to their new birds...

Back to the data though, I'd be surprised if the data was more than a WildBlue subscription... It'll just be the $4-6k investment to get it. The current motion data setups out there use some of the slower speed birds like inmarsat which were never meant to be used for a lot of data, more just for short messaging while at sea. Much like MotoSat, I'd expect the RaySat dish to use an existing service for their data.

-John
 
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