Satellite Internet at the cottage

Describing our cottage as “remote” may be an understatement. It’s located on Logan Lake, which is about 90 minutes up highway 400, and then another 60 minutes completely off-road. As you can see, it’s in the middle of nowhere.

There are only 15 cottages on the lake (most of which don’t have direct road access) and each is quite a distance from its immediate neighbor. There is also a horsepower restriction for all boats on the lake which prevents water skiing, wake boarding and the like. It’s quite and peaceful, and when you’re here, you feel like you’re all alone. This is, without a doubt, not Muskoka.

Because of the remoteness, most people think we’re roughing it up here. And while I suppose there is a hint of accuracy in that assumption, it’s really not the case. We are completely off the grid - this is true - but we’ve got solar power and propane to run everything. Water is pumped in from the lake, most lights are electric, the fridges are cooled by propane (counter intuitive, I know), and we have an old 3-watt analog cellphone for phone calls. We’ve made a conscious decision not to have a television (it takes away from the charm I suppose), so daily activities usually include reading, fishing, eating, drinking and sleeping. And to that list, we can now add surfing.

Thanks to Galaxy Boardband, we are now hooked up to the internet through a satellite connection. And connected to the satellite modem is an Airport Express, so the cottage is also blanketed with WiFi. I’m such a geek.

Satellite technology is definitely interesting. Obviously, I’m impressed that we can get “highspeed” access in such a remote location… but it’s not without a few quirks.

1. It’s not slow, but it’s not exactly fast. Once the connection is made, things download relatively quickly, but there’s a slight delay as when transmitting. Apparently it takes time to beam things into space. Who knew.
2. Maintaining a signal is temperamental. We’ve currently got the dish sitting on the ground, and that was a mistake. We’re going to build a concrete base for it soon, as I think the ground has settled since the installation, and even a small gust of wind sometimes disrupt the connection.
3. Because our lake is meant to feel as “rustic” as possible, we didn’t want a bright-gray satellite dish in open view. This obviously causes some issues, as the dish needs a clear line-of-sight to work. So, with a little research and a few dollars spent at the Bass Pro Shops, we found our solution. I painted it with special camo paint . And then covered it in a special camo netting. And if you ask me, it did the job well.

Painting the dish was surprisingly easy, and doing so will not affect the signal quality whatsoever. Anyone with satellite TV who might want to paint their dish, take note. There are a few things you may want to take into consideration.

1. You MUST use a non-metalic, flat-matte paint. Anything else will cause interference with the signal, and if you use a glossy paint, you’ll actually melt the reception lens (the thing attached at the end of the arm).
2. Use spray paint, and spray on light coats until you get the desired color. You want to preserve the smooth surface texture of the dish.
3. Cover the reception lens with something prior to painting to ensure no over-spray gets on it (I zip-tied a bag over it).

Keep that in mind, and you should be able to completely blend your dish into its surroundings. I mean seriously, can you see the dish from the lake?