Starlink ordered… I feel it’s the only sensible option now.. (1 Viewer)

[MisterB]

System has been on boot for 48 hours, tried all the usual resets etc. Thought it would be time to put my hand in my pocket and buy a new dish given I hacked the back off the current one. Starlink asked me a few questions which I suspected would lead to them sending out a new router and cable, neither of which I use. I cut them at the chase and advised I tested the dishy with my friends cable and router. They got back saying a new kit is on the way but it is a Gen3 as they no longer supply Gen2
Bit the bullet and ordered the StarMount 12Volt conversion and quick release. The same one I fitted to my friends van which has been excellent. It should arrive on Monday from California. At least there shall be no dish cutting this time around. I will need to get the old mount off the roof of the van.

What are you doing with your non working hacked one? If it's being dumped, I'm happy to take it off your hands and have a play with it?

 

[stewartwebr]

What are you doing with your non working hacked one? If it's being dumped, I'm happy to take it off your hands and have a play with it?

Your welcome to it, but it looks terminal

 

[MisterB]

Ouch, what happened to it?

 

[stewartwebr]

No idea, it was working fine then went into the dreaded “booting” cycle and stayed there. No sign of water ingress and nothing else untoward. Looks like something overheated on the board but I’m no expert. Starlink did ask if I had it on Snow for any period of time, perhaps a known issue.

 

[Carpmart]

No idea, it was working fine then went into the dreaded “booting” cycle and stayed there. No sign of water ingress and nothing else untoward. Looks like something overheated on the board but I’m no expert. Starlink did ask if I had it on Snow for any period of time, perhaps a known issue. View attachment 914722

No way back for that PCB and components

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[stewartwebr]

No way back for that PCB and components

I couldn’t tell Starlink it was fried They seemed fairly laid back about sending a free of charge replacement. They did mention sending the broken one back but I said I binned it which didn’t provoke too much of a reaction. I think it depends on who is managing your ticket to how much help and slack you get.

 

[MisterB]

No way back for that PCB and components

But they're only components.... Looks Def heat damaged though

 

[MisterB]

But they're only components.... Looks Def heat damaged though

stewartwebr

That's prob why they asked about it being on snow melt. Looks like the heater has damaged the internals. Is the router OK? I wouldn't mind having a play and see if I can strip it down and remove the router board if you're up for letting it go?

 

[Carpmart]

stewartwebr

That's prob why they asked about it being on snow melt. Looks like the heater has damaged the internals. Is the router OK? I wouldn't mind having a play and see if I can strip it down and remove the router board if you're up for letting it go?

I can bring my router to Hereford which you’re welcome to have a play with for Frankenrouter purposes!

 

[zac]

I couldn’t tell Starlink it was fried They seemed fairly laid back about sending a free of charge replacement. They did mention sending the broken one back but I said I binned it which didn’t provoke too much of a reaction. I think it depends on who is managing your ticket to how much help and slack you get.

Which mod did you do before it broke, was it the everlanders one where just the Motor was removed or another one where the actual whole case is removed?

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[MisterB]

I can bring my router to Hereford which you’re welcome to have a play with for Frankenrouter purposes!

Thanks but I'm in France at the moment, Lake Annecy - happy to sort something out when we get back if the offer still stands. I'm trying to get the router PCB into the new casing, strangely it's exactly what Musk has done with the Gen 4 starlink I understand. I hope he has used a better router, but I suspect not.

 

[MisterB]

Which mod did you do before it broke, was it the everlanders one where just the Motor was removed or another one where the actual whole case is removed?

It looks as though the case has been cut as opposed to being split, which now seems the less destructive method and less chance to damage any components.

 

[zac]

It looks as though the case has been cut as opposed to being split, which now seems the less destructive method and less chance to damage any components.

Sorry I am not following?

 

[MisterB]

Sorry I am not following?

I was referring to the question you asked re which mod stewartwebr had undertaken. If you look at his photos it appears to show the case was cut ....

 

[zac]

I was referring to the question you asked re which mod stewartwebr had undertaken. If you look at his photos it appears to show the case was cut ....

Ah i see, sorry, i wasn't sure if this was done after it went wrong

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[stewartwebr]

Which mod did you do before it broke, was it the everlanders one where just the Motor was removed or another one where the actual whole case is removed?

The complete rear was cut away but don’t think that had anything to do with the issue.

 

[stewartwebr]

I can bring my router to Hereford which you’re welcome to have a play with for Frankenrouter purposes!

I sold the router when I did the mod and flat mounted…sorry!

stewartwebr

That's prob why they asked about it being on snow melt. Looks like the heater has damaged the internals. Is the router OK? I wouldn't mind having a play and see if I can strip it down and remove the router board if you're up for letting it go?

It appears from the information I obtained whilst speaking with Star Mounts in California when ordering my new mount. The guy who does sound to be a bit of an expert told me they have an issue with a few dishes overheating. Apparently, there is no physical heater in the dish. When the snow function is activated it supercharges your dish causing it to heat up creating snow melt. In this mode it obviously puts a lot more heat onto the board. It was recommended when flat mounted and it is raining it was a trick to put the dish onto snow to put it into overdrive to get more speed. Doing this regularly over the wet period may have caused issues. I have no idea if any of this is true, I’m merely repeating what I was told from someone who makes a living modifying dishes.
New Gen3 is up and running, collected from drop location in France which was convenient. Got a shock at the slimline box and how much bigger the dish is. Up and running now awaiting the new mount to get back to 12 volts operation.

New Mount I ordered:

Star-Mount VOYAGER PRO BUNDLE for Gen 3 Starlink (12V Conversion Included)

VOYAGER PRO BUNDLE The Ultimate Mobile Starlink Package Take your Starlink anywhere you go with the all-new Star-Mount Voyager Bundle for Generation 3 Starlink. If you just got your Starlink kit, and you’re wondering how to mount it to your vehicle, this kit is for you. The Voyager Bundle is the...

star-mountsystems.com

 

[zac]

The complete rear was cut away but don’t think that had anything to do with the issue.

I was just wondering, i cannot see it having any issues with it breaking.

 

[MisterB]

I think the best selection when flat mounting is to turn the snow heat off! My view is that the volume of a flat mount is a lot less, I think that doesn't allow the heat to dissipate around and out of the enclosure, as the flat mounts are basically sealed smaller units.
Someone who makes a living doing something doesn't always know why their doing something, but they know it makes money. As starlink and 12v mods are relatively new, how did it they ea n a living previously....

Of course they may be a skilled IT or electronic components engineer, in which case why do they need starlink to make a living ....

 

[stewartwebr]

I think the best selection when flat mounting is to turn the snow heat off! My view is that the volume of a flat mount is a lot less, I think that doesn't allow the heat to dissipate around and out of the enclosure, as the flat mounts are basically sealed smaller units.
Someone who makes a living doing something doesn't always know why their doing something, but they know it makes money. As starlink and 12v mods are relatively new, how did it they ea n a living previously....

Of course they may be a skilled IT or electronic components engineer, in which case why do they need starlink to make a living ....

I have no idea of the owners background or even if he was factual when speaking about the heat function, but it certainly made sense in my non-technical mind, I’m a scientist and not an Engineer and know my limitations. Over the years I have learned the vast difference, one works on probability the other on proven calculations and statistics. You decide which does which
I agree it’s fairly new technology but Star Mount if any should be getting it right and understand what they are doing. They are shifting a lot of units including supplying the US military. Getting things wrong could be costly and ultimately lose their business if they got it badly wrong.

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[zac]

Am i right in thinking you were using the snowmelt function stewartwebr

 

[MisterB]

I'm certainly no expert, so it's just my opinion, which might be wrong and way off the mark !!

Starlink have had a lot of failures due to heat, so you're not alone whether caused by the snow melt function or not, pleased that they sent you a new starlink - is it gen 3 or 4?

 

[stewartwebr]

Am i right in thinking you were using the snowmelt function stewartwebr

Yes, I was advised during heavy rain storms to use Snow function as it doesn’t actually have a heater it just super charges you dish with a boost which helps increase speed but looks like it also fryers your dish.

 

[stewartwebr]

I'm certainly no expert, so it's just my opinion, which might be wrong and way off the mark !!

Starlink have had a lot of failures due to heat, so you're not alone whether caused by the snow melt function or not, pleased that they sent you a new starlink - is it gen 3 or 4?

They are sent the Gen 4 to an address in Germany which I collected. I have also ordered a StarMount 12 Volt conversion. Seriously thinking about cancelling and doing internal 12Volt conversion with 5Volt router then run the cable to the roof in a waterproof plug/box and just pop it out the bedroom Heiki which allows me to position for optimum performance and will prevent the rain issue I mentioned which did have a big impact on the flat mounted dish.

 

[MisterB]

They are sent the Gen 4 to an address in Germany which I collected. I have also ordered a StarMount 12 Volt conversion. Seriously thinking about cancelling and doing internal 12Volt conversion with 5Volt router then run the cable to the roof in a waterproof plug/box and just pop it out the bedroom Heiki which allows me to position for optimum performance and will prevent the rain issue I mentioned which did have a big impact on the flat mounted dish.

Have you checked out some of my earlier posts? RogerIvy has done the same mod BUT I don't know if it will work on the Gen 4? Check out AUSY8 on you tube for details of the internal 12v hack devised by Oleg Kutkov.
It's simple enough to split the case on the gen3 and I assume the same on the gen4 but worth checking on the net/YouTube. I would be surprised if no one has already opened it up !!

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[zac]

Yes, I was advised during heavy rain storms to use Snow function as it doesn’t actually have a heater it just super charges you dish with a boost which helps increase speed but looks like it also fryers your dish.

Ah ok, sounds as though Mr Musk has some bugs in his hardware

They are sent the Gen 4 to an address in Germany which I collected. I have also ordered a StarMount 12 Volt conversion. Seriously thinking about cancelling and doing internal 12Volt conversion with 5Volt router then run the cable to the roof in a waterproof plug/box and just pop it out the bedroom Heiki which allows me to position for optimum performance and will prevent the rain issue I mentioned which did have a big impact on the flat mounted dish.

The Everlanders one that i used to flat mount it has a slight slope so no rain collects, but i can see why you might want to do your own conversion as that's a lot of money just to flat mount it but it does look professional thats for sure.

 

[MisterB]

TP-Link Introduces Pocket-Size Wi-Fi 6 Travel Router With VPN Support

This pocket-sized router from TP-Link is portable and offers enhanced security for anyone using public Wi-Fi. It can also turn a hotel bedroom Ethernet port into Wi-Fi.

www.forbes.com

This might be suitable router for 12v conversion devotees

 

[stewartwebr]

TP-Link Introduces Pocket-Size Wi-Fi 6 Travel Router With VPN Support

This pocket-sized router from TP-Link is portable and offers enhanced security for anyone using public Wi-Fi. It can also turn a hotel bedroom Ethernet port into Wi-Fi.

www.forbes.com

This might be suitable router for 12v conversion devotees

I think the favourite seems to be one of these with a 5Volt supply fed via a 12V/5V converter via mini USB connection, which are around £5 on Amazon. This router is the ones fitted to the Star Mount and a lot of the other fully converted all in one 12Volt mounts

https://www.amazon.co.uk/GL-iNet-GL-SFT1200-Wireless-Pocket-Sized-Repeater-White/dp/B09N72FMH5/?tag=mhf04-21

 

[MisterB]

I also use an i-net but it's always useful to know there maybe different solutions out there to what is becoming a popular hack.

Have you started on your Gen4 yet?.

 

[stewartwebr]

I also use an i-net but it's always useful to know there maybe different solutions out there to what is becoming a popular hack.

Have you started on your Gen4 yet?.

It’s up and running via the inverter and very pleased with it. I’m waiting for StarMount to confirm if I can cancel the order, they are not great with emails. If they do I shall use one of these along with an i-net router running the cable out via the roof into a waterproof enclosure where I can store the cable when I have Dishy stored inside. I was getting no where near the speeds I’m getting now with my Gen3 flat mounted. I loved the freedom but now seeing the speeds and less drop outs when raining I think this is a good compromise and a lot less than the £1k StarMount are charging.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/XLTTYWL-Protection-Conversion-Converter-Compatible/dp/B0D4DH9TDN/?tag=mhf04-21

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