Starlink ordered… I feel it’s the only sensible option now..

I am going to flat mount the dish myself as cannot use the tv aerial hole as its way too small, so just started the printing process which is going to take a long time (108 hours according to my slicing settings) but it's fine as there is no rush. Will need an entry gland of some kind when fitting as will need to drill another very small hole through the 40mm anti hail roof which i suspect it i will need some advise on but the rest i can do myself to then just drop the cable down into back cupboard.
 
Carpmart said:
I’ve said this in previous posts but I’ve sikaflexed two 25mm square aluminium tubes to the roof through which I had mounted four m5 stainless bolts/studs with the correct spacing to correspond with the feet on the standard dish mount.

I’ve also sikafleded a smart white (so it doesn’t stand out) quality plastic box (semi designed for the job as it has glands for the cable) to the roof in which I store the majority of the cable in. There is enough mounted through the roof for use inside to place the router where I have it.

In terms of usage, when we ‘arrive’ I just get my telescopic ladder out, climb up and put the Starlink base and dish over the studs, four wing nuts secure it and connect the cable to the Starlink antenna. Very secure for both wind and hopefully light fingered naughty people alike.

Should where I park be obstructed I can get the cable out of the box and put the Starlink antenna somewhere else on the pitch at ground level…

Yes I want to flat mount the panel at some stage, but so far, it’s proved a very easy solution.
Click to expand...
I think I need a solution like yours. A photo of the install would be handy
I am currently in quite a windy coastal location. The only thing stopping it flying of the roof is it’s weight and the lead going through my roof vent. I will see if I can get a couple of small bags of sand later as whilst so far it’s ok the big gusts of wind are a concern
 
ceejayt said:
Just need an elegant solution for easily mounting it on the motorhome once pitched up where there is clear sky rather than sitting it on the floor and running out the cable.
Click to expand...
Quite a few RV solutions online usually involving a pole and the rear roof ladder or bike rack.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Im wondering if it will work "bracketed" to one of my large skylights in the MH on the inside ?

Ive seen people say they work through glass?
 
i've seen some with some suction pads on each feet of the stand which would probably work on a flat roof like a motorhome etc.
 
zac said:
i've seen some with some suction pads on each feet of the stand which would probably work on a flat roof like a motorhome etc.
Click to expand...
Would you trust suction pads? I certainly wouldn't :(
 
Carpmart said:
So out of the dish and the router, what determines the authentication with the Starlink service? I’m assuming the dish as many are using alternative routers.

Can’t find the post now, but someone suggested they had bought a second kit as a spare and or second service location and will pauses the service. I’m assuming that won’t work if you install at two different locations (or Motorhome and home) as you will overlap on the months you’re switching from one to the other, so can’t get a clean £85 per month with two systems due to the overlapping billing periods.
Click to expand...
The authentication they say is similar to GSM (and 3/4/5G) with a SIM card (though with no physical SIM of course). I'd guess it is possibly a Challenge and Response system, but they do throw in Public Key and Certificates into the protocol as well. Starlink has published a white paper which explains a bit, and there have been recent papers and tear-downs at Black Hat. It will be in the dish part that has the security, the other part with the WiFi and power supply is very dumb, and the code has been published for their extender routers based on OpenWrt.

I'll not offer any views on the security design, as this forum is not really the place, but they do mention secure boot and least privileges, which is a good start.

Sorry if I have confused anyone with technical ramblings :)

Cheers
 
Gromett said:
Would you trust suction pads? I certainly wouldn't :(
Click to expand...
A guy on Facebook mikeonmoon or similar used suction cups to test it in motion. Eventually moved at 50+ mph

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Gromett said:
Would you trust suction pads? I certainly wouldn't :(
Click to expand...
No way, but if someone is looking for a temp solution just whilst on site. Certainly not while travelling and not in high winds either but better than free standing
 
Last edited:
I think so many are being ordered someone is going to start offering professional installation. They would be inundated I reckon

The system is so easy, been using it all weekend with multiple grandkids connected and adults. Worked like a dream it is a game changer for travelling in Europe
 
coopc said:
I think I need a solution like yours. A photo of the install would be handy
I am currently in quite a windy coastal location. The only thing stopping it flying of the roof is it’s weight and the lead going through my roof vent. I will see if I can get a couple of small bags of sand later as whilst so far it’s ok the big gusts of wind are a concern
Click to expand...

Will take one tomorrow when I get the ladder out!

I’ve been reluctant to take one as my roof is filthy and I am ashamed by my lack of vehicle husbandry. 🤦‍♂️
 
ceejayt said:
I think so many are being ordered someone is going to start offering professional installation. They would be inundated I reckon

The system is so easy, been using it all weekend with multiple grandkids connected and adults. Worked like a dream it is a game changer for travelling in Europe
Click to expand...
Indeed it is. Mine has stood just outside the awning with the dish cable tucked under the Fiamma PatioMat. Been researching VPN arrangements for our trip to France next month as apparently you still need a VPN for British TV reception in the EU. A very helpful person who lives in Jerez, Spain with an SL recommended a Pyramid VPN micro router https://www.pyramidwifi.com
Very small mains powered unit £30 to buy and £6.99 30 day contract.
Links by WiFi to the SL router so no need for ethernet cable unless you prefer it.supports up to 15 devices.
Looks like job done to me.
 
Gromett said:
Would you trust suction pads? I certainly wouldn't :(
Click to expand...
For me at the moment suction pads seem a great idea !!! So far gusts of 26mph have not dislodged my dishy 🤞🏻 it remains in place

IMG_4620.jpeg

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
coopc said:
For me at the moment suction pads seem a great idea !!! So far gusts of 26mph have not dislodged my dishy 🤞🏻 it remains in place

View attachment 761456
Click to expand...
I have used suction cups for everything from holding internal screens up to mounting external antenna.
They ALWAYS give up at some point and apparentely at random. Never had one that stayed in place long term..
 
Kups said:
Indeed it is. Mine has stood just outside the awning with the dish cable tucked under the Fiamma PatioMat. Been researching VPN arrangements for our trip to France next month as apparently you still need a VPN for British TV reception in the EU. A very helpful person who lives in Jerez, Spain with an SL recommended a Pyramid VPN micro router https://www.pyramidwifi.com
Very small mains powered unit £30 to buy and £6.99 30 day contract.
Links by WiFi to the SL router so no need for ethernet cable unless you prefer it.supports up to 15 devices.
Looks like job done to me.
Click to expand...
our VPN is set up on the firestick which we have used in a few mainland EU countries aswell as the UK
 
Carpmart said:
Will take one tomorrow when I get the ladder out!

I’ve been reluctant to take one as my roof is filthy and I am ashamed by my lack of vehicle husbandry. 🤦‍♂️
Click to expand...
I need a roof cleaner. Not too bad though

IMG_4622.jpeg
 
Morning all,
Starlink arrived this time last week and I set it up in the garden, clicking Roam - 4x faster than the home Sky Broadband. The app made the setup straightforward. I’d also ordered the mounting pole from the Starlink shop - my idea being to attach their pole to the ladder on the back to get some elevation. The Starlink pole is designed for an American backyard, which i should have realised, only about seven feet tall and the instructions say concrete in… its good and sturdy steel, too heavy to use when roaming really (now need to work out how to return it! Any advice?)
So far so good, packed the box into the garage and headed off for the weekend. Festivals are notoriously difficult for mobile signals, local infrastructure being overwhelmed for the weekend and Bearded Theory was no exception. Perfect conditions to test out Starlink, and they were everywhere - on top of ice cream vans, portacabins and other motor homes!
Right, time to unpack and setup - the pole idea had been discounted so a doormat on the roof to place the dish worked well, plugged everything in and Starlink came on… and then went off. A bit of head scratching and I think the problem was either the van 12v (1993 N&B Arto) or my little plug in inverter. Starlink was mostly down and occasionally came to life but for very short periods. I unplugged it, thought i’d do some more research and went off to enjoy the Friday night bands. Nearby was a Rimor with Starlink on the roof, so a human to start the research with! He’d had a couple of equipment/component issues at first but was now over a year into ownership and is over the moon with it. Thanks to his v.v.long extension cable, i tried again on mains power and bingo, Starlink worked perfectly for the following two days.
I’ve pressed pause (which will take effect after the 14 day trial) and have paid £4.90 for this weekend because I changed settings to Roam - I’ll switch on for summer break to Devon and Brittany via Roscoff but at the price it seems a great option (I’d got as far as a quote for mi-fi installation). I just need to send to send the pole back…

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
I’m parked up for some time so have done mine like the photo below. I had an external TV aerial so have used the very light pole from that (pole parts fit into each other). I bought the pole adapter from Starlink and have used tie-wraps to fasten the pole to the rear ladder. The dish is quite far away from the phone line!

IMG_1681.jpeg
 
MisterB said:
Also means that Flatty Mcflatface can point/orientate in any direction so you can get maximum signal strength
Click to expand...
Yes, but how do you fine tune Flatty McFlatface's critical direction, depending location across Europe, without getting up there and adjusting the angle MisterB Dave, Carpmart Harvey?

Cheers,

Jock. :)
 
JockandRita said:
Yes, but how do you fine tune Flatty McFlatface's critical direction, depending location across Europe, without getting up there and adjusting the angle MisterB Dave, Carpmart Harvey?

Cheers,

Jock. :)
Click to expand...
the app/dish determines the best direction automatically.
 
Last edited:
Last edited:

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top