Gen5 SmartBrowsing?

[GabeU]

Does Gen5 have SmartBrowsing like Gen4 did, or are the new, higher FAP speeds taking the place of "SmartBrowsing"?

[GabeU]

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maratsade wrote: 

I find the updates are slow to download no matter the speed.  

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No doubt.  I had updates a while back that took over 24 hours for something like 700MB (Glasswire's tally).  I don't remember the exact amount.  At the same time I was getting speeds in the uppper 20s.  It's ridiculous.  Lately it's seems to be a little better, though recent updates on one computer did take a considerable amount of time.  I waited until a few days later to update the other one, with the same W10 version and updates, and it was very quick, as was my notebook with W8.1.  

I don't know if it's that the servers are more sensitive to the latency of satellite internet when they are very busy, as in right after updates are released, and are less sensitive when they aren't as busy, as in a few days later.  At this point, I'm beginning to think anything is possible.  It may even be caused by the speed not being smooth, too.  I've seen tests on testmy.net where I have great speed, but the graph looks like a mountain range rather than a horizon.      

I don't know if having Gen5 will make any difference.  If it is caused by latency, it won't.  If it's caused by the service/speed not being smooth, it might, as Gen5 will probably be a smoother service with there being less people on at the beginning.  

[wildcats198308]

How did you build up so much data in tokens?  I only have 4 - 500 MB tokens available in my account.   I have had to use some in the past but not enough to add up to over 20 GB. 

Just to make note I am currently on a Legacy daily usage plan.  

Also I was wondering what HughesNet actually considers as a GB ... Is it 1024 or 1000 MB?

With the Free Zone if you go over the 50 GB limit does your usage get restricted to slower speeds the same as it would if any time data is exceeded?   (Maybe someone that had Gen4 with SmartBrowsing can answer that).   50 GB seams pretty low ESP when coming from Unlimited free zone usage.  -- with multiple computers and devices constantly needing updated and downloads I don't like the 50 GB limit!

[GabeU]

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@wildcats198308 wrote:

How did you build up so much data in tokens?  I only have 4 - 500 MB tokens available in my account.   I have had to use some in the past but not enough to add up to over 20 GB. 

Just to make note I am currently on a Legacy daily usage plan.  

Also I was wondering what HughesNet actually considers as a GB ... Is it 1024 or 1000 MB?

With the Free Zone if you go over the 50 GB limit does your usage get restricted to slower speeds the same as it would if any time data is exceeded?   (Maybe someone that had Gen4 with SmartBrowsing can answer that).   50 GB seams pretty low ESP when coming from Unlimited free zone usage.  -- with multiple computers and devices constantly needing updated and downloads I don't like the 50 GB limit!

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If you are asking me, I amassed 21GB from carrying over a couple of GBs from my legacy plan and receiving some GBs for testing of a router for Hughesnet, plus giving info on the instruction booklet for that router's setup for Hughesnet customers.  

With Hughesnet, a GB is 1000MBs.  

When you run out of data during the Bonus Bytes period and you have no Anytime Bytes or Token Bytes to draw from, SmartBrowsing will kick in if you have a Gen4 plan that has SmartBrowsing.  It's the same as when you run out of Anytime Bytes during the 8AM to 2AM period and have no Token Bytes to draw from.  

As for Gen5, it appears the Gen5 FAP has replaced SmartBrowsing, which is good as it appears that the Gen5 FAP speeds are higher overall and allow you to still do more than you could with SmartBrowsing, like watch Youtube videos and even stream in lower definition.  You coudn't do that with SmartBrowsing.  Being able to do such is not a guarantee or anything, just a logical conclusion based on the stated possible speeds of the Gen5 FAP.  

As for the 50GB Bonus Bytes limit, unless you are/were one of the very few folks who actually utilized your download zone data each and every night for the full five hours, 50GB should be plenty.  I thought of that, too, before upgrading from my legacy plan to Gen4.  I calculated that, at full tilt, I could download/upload about 80GB or so per month with my legacy plan, and couldn't do that with the Gen4 plans available at that time. The thing is, in the eleven plus years that I had my legacy plan, I don't think I ever exceeded 15GB in a month, and that was an extreme month.  Thus my thought of not being able to download as much as I could with my legacy plan, though true, was VERY skewed.

Again, though, this was for me and most others, as most don't use their legacy plan full tilt like that.  A few do.  

With all of that said, I've never used more than 12GB with Gen4 in any given month, and that month was due to the Anniversary Updates for two of the comptuers.  Normally I use around 5GB combined.  This is with keeping three computers (two W10 and one W8.1) up to date and browsing, paying bills, Facebook, Youtube, etc.  I'm sure it won't be any different now that I have Gen5.  

[wildcats198308]

Most nights I am awake all night and I use a fairly large amount of data.  Watching and streaming movies and doing updates on computers and other devices between 5 people including an 12 and 16 year old.  (6 computers with win 10/7 - mainly usually only update 2 or 3 of them regularly - and have 2 Android tablets, 2 Kindle fire tablets, and multiple smartphones. Plus planning on getting an iPad in the coming months) 

Just seams like a step backwards going to a 50 GB nightly limit.  But the monthly (20 GB) is a slight step up with the current 375 MB daily current.  Plus the faster speeds and i assume better multi user friendly.  (With my current plan only can do one thing at a time).  Also the speeds if limit is exceeded also would be step up!  

[GabeU]

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@wildcats198308 wrote:

 Also the speeds if limit is exceeded also would be step up!  

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That's the added bonus.  For the most part, at least from what I have been reading, even the FAP speeds will be somewhat comparable to the speeds of many legacy plans and maybe even better.  

I have yet to see anyone FAP their Gen5 system, so I haven't seen any actual numbers as of yet.  

[wildcats198308]

I know this is kinda off topic, but I have been curious to find out and don't know where to ask...

On my HN9000 system control center it shows Normalized Power Word.  Mine is always around 41, is this normal or high for the HN9000?  I never seamed to have issues with browsing or using the web or with signal strength. (Signal Strength is normally around 157).  

Does Gen5 have a Normalized Power Word?  If so what is yours with Gen5?  

I have a group of trees in the direction the dish points and with researching the Echostar 19 satellite I believe my dish will need pointed a few degrees further west(?) and about 1 degree lower elevation plus the skew I believe is a few degrees different.  I am concerned the trees may be an issue, ESP if my current Normalized Power Word being 41 is caused by them...  The trees are not a real major problem they can be cut down if they are an issue.  (The HN9000 systems use the Spaceway 3 satellite at 95°W correct?)

[GabeU]

@wildcats198308

Gen5 does not have a Normalized Power Word reading.  

A value of 41 is within the normal parameters of the HN9000 system.  

As for the dish pointing for Gen5, you can try the following site, but take it with a grain of salt as the heights and such may not be exactly correct when using the "show obstacles" option...

http://www.dishpointer.com/

Make sure to change the satellite to "97.1W ECHOSTAR 19" and input your address.  Change it to satellite view if not already on that.  You may have to move the map around to locate your house.  

Again, use this for only a general idea.  

[wildcats198308]

That is the site that I have been using.  I was not sure what satellite my current system is on But I am pretty sure its Spaceway.  The closest on the dish pointing site to the direction my dish is pointing is the Spaceway 3 so I assumed thats what I am on.  Its good Echostar 19 is only a few degrees different from the Spaceway 3.  Much more it could cause much more concern with trees in my area.

[Gwalk900]

If you have an HN9000 modem then you are aimed at Spaceway-3 at 95'W.

Echostar 19 that that uses the HT2000w modem is located at 97.1'W.

[GabeU]

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@wildcats198308 wrote:

Its good Echostar 19 is only a few degrees different from the Spaceway 3.  Much more it could cause much more concern with trees in my area.

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I ended up having to cut down a tree, and I can say with all certainty that the obstruction option on that site was incorrect when it came to the height for my tree at the distance it was away from the dish.  Not just a couple of feet, but more than ten.  Had I relied solely on that site, I would have left the tree in place, and had I done so I wouldn't have Gen5 right now.  

[wildcats198308]

I cant really judge by using the obstruction feature.  The trees are on a slight hill from where my dish is located.  But yeah I think I want to be better safe than sorry and cut the questionable trees down before I get Gen5 installed.  (My dad cuts down trees for a living, so its not a big problem) 

When I had my HN9000 system installed, the installed mentioned that the trees may be an issue, and recommended them be taken down.  But my service and signal has always been around where it was when installed and never had much of a problem with connection issues.  My inital install in 2008 was with an HN7000s modem, I dont know what satellite I was on at that time, but I believe it was further East and there was no trees to cause a problem. 

[GabeU]

@wildcats198308

If you go to http://www.n2yo.com/?s=41893 and input your address, you'll see what should be the elevation of the satellite for your location.  It was correct for mine.  Although, without the proper tools it's difficult to tell for sure, it may give you an idea as to whether the tree(s) will be in the way.  0 degrees is the flat horizon and 90 degrees is straight over your head.  REMEMBER TO CHANGE THE SITE TO YOUR ADDRESS TO GET WHAT SHOULD BE THE CORRECT ELEVATION.  Again, though, never take anything like this as 100%.  Sites can be wrong.  

You're lucky that you have someone that can cut it down so easily.  I had to use Black & Decker Aligator Loppers to cut down a 15" thick, very dense and very heavy tree.  I couldn't get the chainsaw I was hoping for.  It was VERY difficult.  The Loppers are not designed to cut anything near that size, let alone actually cutting down an entire tree.       

There is an app for iphones, if you have one, that is called satoolz, and that should show you where the satellite is in the sky just by holding your phone up.  

[wildcats198308]

I checked all the details for the Spaceway 3 satellite and checked the adjustments on my dish, and everything is pretty much exact as what the site says,  maybe 0.5 - 1 degree difference... But yeah, the Echostar 19 details may be more off, but will give a good idea. 

I only have Android devices,  I want to get an iPad but I dont know if that app is compatible with iPads.  I was trying to find an app for Android but never found or tried to test any. 

WOW,  thats amazing you used Loopers to cut down an entire tree... LOL...  You couldn't go to a local hardware store or something and rent a chainsaw?  If you live in a wooded area maybe would have been good to invest in a chainsaw,  I believe you should be able to get one under $100.   But anyway, im glad to hear you got the tree taken down safely and successfuly!

[GabeU]

I don't know if this might help, but take a look at SatFinder.  It's for Android devices.  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.esys.satfinder&hl=en

From the looks of the pics when searching on Google pics, it looks like it might be something that could show you the same type of info.  Scroll through the pics on the app's page, too.  There are a couple that definiltey look like they would help.    

As for a chainsaw, there wasn't a place I could rent one, and the cheapest one to buy was nearly $200, which I didn't have at the time.  The people I was supposed to borrow one from never came through.  I think they may have simply forgotten, but I didn't want to keep bugging them.  

This is the tree that I had to cut down.  And yes, Loppers.  It was amazing that I could do it.  You can see near the right edge of the picture, and closer than the tree in question, the stump of another one I cut down with them a few years back.  It was one of those trees with HUGE, THICK thorns, and it got me every single time I mowed the lawn.  I've gotten pretty adept at using the Loppers for things other than what they are made for.  LOL.  

BTW, I also cut down the smaller tree that's closer and to the left of the tree in question.  It wasn't tall enough to be in the way yet, but in a few years it would have been.  That's more like the size of the things the Loppers are meant for.  🙂  

[wildcats198308]

Here is the trees in my situation...  The group of trees that are circled is my main concern.  And possibly the limbs from another tree that are coming into picture from right (shown best in first picture). That tree gets huge leaves which weigh the limbs down. It is a good bit to the right from my current Spaceway3 install though. We will find out here in a few days or weeks after I have Gen5 installed.

Also, I have tried the SatFinder app on my one Samsung tablet and I was not able to get it to locate satellite and find any obstructions.  I did notice with a compass app that I tried using it was saying no sensor found.   This tablet is a POS.  I wanted to try using my phone or another tablet but haven't had any outside and think of trying them.

[GabeU]

@wildcats198308

That doesn't look like it would be a very fun tree to cut down if it is, in fact, in the way.  

I know that knowing the elevation of the satellite, but not having the proper tools to show that elevation, can only give a very general idea if the height of the tree would be too much.  I sort of guessed with mine, only to find out later that the guess was right.  

Here's an idea, though.  A person I talked to, who happens to be an installer, suggested that I call the installers to see if they may be in the area before the date of the installation to see if they could stop by to let me know if my tree would be in the way.  I didn't do so, but it actually might be advantageous for you to try that.  

The number of the installer should be in the email Hughesnet sent you.  They may not want to do that, but the guy I talked to suggested that they may want to in order to know what they may have to do when the time comes to do the installation.  

It's just an idea.  

[wildcats198308]

I am hoping my dad can be here when they are doing the install that way if it needs taken down he can.  I don't think it will be too bad to take down, There is nothing in the way just woods and open yard,  I believe should be able to just notch and drop it probably in the yard it's pretty much right on the edge of the yard.  

[Gwalk900]

Another thing to consider is that look angle is considerably higher than the angle of the dish arm.

(graphic courtesy of Alan)

[maratsade]

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@GabeU wrote:

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@maratsade wrote:

Seems so from reading this:

No Hard Data Limits†

With HughesNet Gen5, hard data limits are a thing of the past.

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Well, that's playing around a little with the meaning of "hard data limits",  

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It's the language spoken by those whom Shakespeare wanted to kill.