Earlier this year we announced Starnote, our cost-effective satellite module with bundled data and transparent pricing (no monthly active device fees, and no monthly minimum).
Since then we’ve been overwhelmed with interest and activity—it’s clear this is one of our most popular products ever! Here are a few things we’ve heard from early Starnote users.
Katlin Lang, FarmSimple:
By following the getting started guide we were up and running within minutes. The Starnote appeared to connect and communicate very quickly, nearly instantaneous from our tests.
Paul Hutchinson, Hussat:
I have sent a 121 byte packet via Starnote. Fantastic. Great work. No issues. Put me down for 10 Starnotes please so I can build some prototypes & get them out in remote Australia!
Today we’re happy to announce that we have Starnote in stock and available in our shop. The Starnote is $49, includes 18KB of satellite data (enough to send one 50-byte message a day for a year), and has no monthly fees.
But keep reading before you buy, as we have a few other announcements today 👀
Introducing Notecarrier XS
Starnote is an accessory designed to be used with a Notecard, requiring a wired connection between the two. To simplify this setup, we’re excited to announce the release of a new Notecarrier board: the Notecarrier XS. This new board serves as the perfect companion for both Starnote and Notecard.
By attaching a Starnote and a Notecard to the two M.2 connector sockets on the Notecarrier XS, you'll be all set to try out Starnote—no extra wiring necessary!
The Notecarrier XS also includes JST connectors for LiPo battery and charging support, as well as Qwiic and ESLOV ports for connecting the Notecard to host MCUs over I2C.
With all this new hardware, wouldn’t it be great if there was one kit that put everything in one box to make prototyping super simple? Funny you should ask.
Introducing the Starnote Starter Kit
At Blues we pride ourselves on creating world-class getting-started experiences. We believe our Cell+WiFi Starter Kit is the easiest way to get started with cellular connectivity, and that our Starter Kit for LoRaWAN is the easiest way to get started with LoRa and LoRaWAN connectivity.
Today we’re bringing that same ease of use to satellite with our new Starnote Starter Kit.
Each Starnote Starter Kit includes:
- Starnote
- The kit has our Starnote with u.FL connectors as well as all required antennas. You can use the included satellite and GPS/GNSS antennas, or use your own antennas of choice. See Antenna Requirements.
- Notecard WiFi
- As an accessory, the Starnote needs a Notecard to operate as a satellite failover device. You can use a Cellular, Cell+WiFI, or WiFi Notecard that you already have, or quickly prototype with the Notecard WiFi we’ve included.
- Notecarrier XS
- The kit includes our new Notecarrier so you don’t have to worry about wiring the Notecard and Starnote together for your first project.
- 500 mAh LiPO battery
- Starnote needs a clear view of the sky, so it’s helpful to have battery power when taking your device outdoors.
The Blues Starter Kit is available for $99 in our shop.
Once you have your kit, head over to our quickstart tutorial, which will walk you through setting up your hardware and sending your first data to space 🛰️
Wrapping up
While you wait for your hardware we have a few other Starnote resources you might want to check out.
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Last week, we did a webinar with our satellite connectivity partner, Skylo. We covered how Starnote works and did a demo that showed off Starnote in action. Check it out on YouTube.
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Rob Lauer wrote a project on building a two-way satellite messaging system with Blues Starnote. Check it out on Hackster.
Overall, we’re pretty excited about Starnote and can’t wait what you build. If you have any questions feel free to reach out in the comments. Our community forum is also a great to ask technical questions as you get your devices up and running.
