I forgot to include the link: http://blockstream.space
Can be done cheaply with a small usb device called a software defined radio and a satellite dish you might already have or can find dirt cheap.
Discussion
how many man hours would you estimate i will invest to get it up and running? is it possible to use as a backup or will it become my main connection for blockchain data?
20 hours if you have never pointed a dish before. 2 if you have.
If you don’t have a dish, mounting on a wall, ground pole, or ground mount is preferable to risking your life on a roof and easier for adjusting. Running cables into your home through the attic or basement is actually really easy.
A bigger dish is easier to point. It helps a lot to see where in the sky your targeted satellite lives. Dishpointer on iOS is what I used. Having realtime feedback from your pc while you adjust dish pointing helps a ton (there’s a tool in Blockstream satellite software for this).
thank you for the insight here 🤙