Starlink Mini Installed

[fred_jb]

I have now done the first stage of my Starlink Mini installation, which was to get it mounted on the roof.

This replaces my Gen 2 setup with something more compact and which can be left on the roof while travelling if I want. However I also want to retain the ability to deploy the dish on a tripod away from the van as I have found that essential in the past due to shading of the van roof on many campsites. The other requirement was that I wanted to use my own router but without requiring two cables to the Mini as it has separate power and network sockets and does not support POE (power over ethernet) on the network port.

I solved the single cable issue by using a POE injector running off the 12V supply in the van with a POE splitter designed for outdoor use on the back of the dish with its outputs plugged into the power and network ports on the dish. I had already used a POE injector with the Gen 2 installation but had to replace it as it output the power on the non-standard pin out arrangement used by Starlink POE enabled devices. I used a cheapish Tycon device which has industry standard pinouts and works as an injector or a splitter in conjunction with a 12V to 48V 3A converter. The LAN output from this goes to my router.

As I wanted to be able to take the dish off the roof and deploy it on the ground on a tripod as I had done with the Gen 2 I had to be able to unplug it from the POE network cable that comes up through the roof of the van so used a waterproof box housing the socket part of a waterproof RJ45 plug and socket. For ground based deployment I will make a long outdoor network cable with a similar waterproof box on the dish end for the dish to plug into. I have a similar socket inside the toilet cassette compartment which connects to the POE injector and the roof cable is routed into this space also, so it is just a matter of unplugging the roof cable from this socket and plugging in the outdoor network cable instead to change over.

The mechanical arrangements are based on using a tripod head mounted on a plate on the roof which was previously used to hold the Starvmount I used with the Gen 2 dish. This tripod head was bolted on using a Loctited 1/4 inch bolt and was locked in place with some superglue. This tripod head is identical to the one on the tripod used for ground deployment. The tripod plate which normally fits onto the underside of a camera and clamps into the tripod head was bolted onto the bottom of the pole mount which comes in the Starlink Mini kit.

To attach the tripod plate I wanted something more robust and also much cheaper than the commercially available tripod adapters so I made my own. This basically consists of a plastic disk which is a slice sawn off a 2" diameter plastic rod. I drilled a hole through the middle of this and also through the back of the Starlink pole mount, then bolted the camera plate to this using an M 8 bolt with a low profile head, after removing the original screw from the plate and enlarging the hole. I also added two screws into the sides of the disk and drilled a hole in the disk to match up with the original screw hole used for the securing knob which comes with the pole mount and which I used to bolt on the POE splitter.

This last picture shows the POE splitter mounted on the back of the dish, though not tightened down, with a bracket I made from some alloy angle. One of the waterproof glands has been removed from the splitter in this picture. On final assembly I also used some 3M double sided foam adhesive pads under the side of the splitter opposite the bracket so it is very secure.

Anyway, I hope this has been of interest to others and shows that you can use the Mini with a single cable connection.

 

[fred_jb]

Just to add a bit more info about performance, I don't see the max speeds of 250-300 Mbit's that I often got with the Gen 2, but I am seeing about 120 Mbit's second as a maximum when I use the tripod mount adjustment to exactly align and tilt the dish according to the app instructions, which are very easy to follow as the diagram changes almost in real time as you adjust the dish position. It sometimes dips down to around 30 Mbit's but that may be down to me living almost under the flight path to East Midlands airport! I was pleased to see that even mounted perfectly flat, as I would position it while driving, the dish is still getting speeds of 40-60 Mbit/s, not that I have any real need for internet on the move. Overall it looks like it will be perfectly suitable for our needs, with the bonus of a power consumption of only about 30W once it has settled.

 

[St3v3]

Looks good, but I'm not sure I'd travel with that clamp

 

[St3v3]

Looks good, but I'm not sure I'd travel with that clamp

Splitter is a good find

 

[fred_jb]

Looks good, but I'm not sure I'd travel with that clamp

I can understand the concern, but it is designed to support expensive cameras. The only issue is if vibration while travelling will loosen it. There shouldn't be a problem with air blast as when set flat the dish sits just below the level of the front skylight and in a sheltered position between that and the bathroom skylight.

The ball joint can't escape from the tripod head so the clamp which locks the mounting plate into the tripod head is the potential weak point, but as I struggle to release that when it is fully tightened I am not too worried that it will work loose. I will put a tether attached with a carabiner on just in case - that is what the rubber coated loop on the mounting plate is for. The dish is easy enough to remove and stow away for travelling so will probably mostly do that anyway.

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[fred_jb]

Splitter is a good find

Yes, though rather expensive, but otherwise I would have had to mount something like the Tycon unit in a waterproof box. I also like the fact that whatever POE voltage it receives, up to 56V, it outputs a regulated 12V to the dish.

 

[fred_jb]

I have now completed the ground mount. I made up a cable with most of a 25m Cat 6 network cable, usefully coloured orange like my EHU cables, so less likely to be a trip hazard! This has ended up about 3m longer than the 75ft cable I used with the Gen 2, so should cover most eventualities. I was concerned that the power might be attenuated too much by such a long cable but am happy to report that it seems to be working fine - in fact the first speed test I did was the highest so far at just over 150 Mbit/s! However with both the roof mount and the ground mount I do see a lot of variation in speed, sometimes around 100 Mbit/s but other times seems to struggle to get over 20 Mbit/s. The Gen 2 also varied though maybe not so much, so this is maybe due to the smaller dish. Still, good enough for my needs.

 

[fred_jb]

One other oddity worth noting for anyone else thinking of doing this is that when I powered the dish from a 12V to 56V converter I got a lot of dropouts and very low speeds. When I replaced this with the 12V to 48V converter I used with the Gen 2 everything was fine. Maybe the 56V unit is faulty or has a lot of electrical noise, or possibly the POE splitter is not happy with an input voltage right at the top of its permissible range.

 

[MisterB]

Oleg Kutkov stated that up to around 14.4v to feed a 12v ONLY Starlink is fine, anything over that risks damage, so I would have assumed the 48v supply could also be up or down a bit. Good information though from a real life test.... Thanks for sharing!

 

[fred_jb]

Oleg Kutkov stated that up to around 14.4v to feed a 12v ONLY Starlink is fine, anything over that risks damage, so I would have assumed the 48v supply could also be up or down a bit. Good information though from a real life test.... Thanks for sharing!

The Mini can accept a DC input voltage anywhere in the range of 12-48V and in fact the mains adapter that comes with it outputs 30V. I did try it connected to 48V and it worked fine. However, my POE splitter takes anything up to 56V and outputs a stabilised 12V to the dish. I originally used a 12-56V converter on the basis that with a long cable the higher the voltage the better, but my splitter and its built in 12V down converter doesn't seem happy with that so I've reverted to the 12-48V converter I used with the Gen 2, and that is working fine even with a very long cable.

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[fred_jb]

A further observation on this is that the dish seems to work better the longer it has been running, as after about an hour on the ground mount I just got a speed test result of 190 Mbit/s!

 

[fred_jb]

For those concerned about leaving the Mini on the roof while travelling, I do have the option of stowing it and the tripod in the gas locker with the long extension cable in a circular bag next to it protecting it from any impacts.

 

[fred_jb]

Another performance update:

Although not travelling at the moment, so the van is just parked on the drive, I've been experimenting with running the Mini locked in the flat position on the roof I would use if I was travelling with it. This means it is misaligned both in direction and tilt. Surprisingly, despite this I am getting very decent speeds, so far no lower than about 50 Mbit's and the last few tests this morning were all above 100 Mbit/s. This makes me wonder why alignment seems to be regarded as so important by Starlink.

I am now thinking that if I can rely on this giving a reliable always on internet connection it may be practical to install some internet enabled security cameras so we can keep an eye on things while we are away from the van.

 

[Sevensixtwo]

Another performance update:

Although not travelling at the moment, so the van is just parked on the drive, I've been experimenting with running the Mini locked in the flat position on the roof I would use if I was travelling with it. This means it is misaligned both in direction and tilt. Surprisingly, despite this I am getting very decent speeds, so far no lower than about 50 Mbit's and the last few tests this morning were all above 100 Mbit/s. This makes me wonder why alignment seems to be regarded as so important by Starlink.

I am now thinking that if I can rely on this giving a reliable always on internet connection it may be practical to install some internet enabled security cameras so we can keep an eye on things while we are away from the van.

I have had the same experience. I have been running the mini for a couple months now alternating between my MOHO and the boat. Love the dish and also find alignment is not as critical as the alignment tool suggests. It works flawlessly on my boat even with pronounced heel angles.