Starlink usage

Leons_Bad_Side

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2015
Messages
117
I just got one of the Starlink kits and I was wondering if there are people using it and if it’s working as expected. I haven’t started my service yet but I was wondering about a few things. Do most people hard install the receiver or something they put out when camping? If it get set up when camping does it stay set up at night when sleeping or when it’s raining? Im not full time so will be using it ass needed or when on camping trips.
 
I just got one of the Starlink kits and I was wondering if there are people using it and if it’s working as expected. I haven’t started my service yet but I was wondering about a few things. Do most people hard install the receiver or something they put out when camping? If it get set up when camping does it stay set up at night when sleeping or when it’s raining? Im not full time so will be using it ass needed or when on camping trips.
Like you intend to, I use mine when boondocking. I always put up my dish when setting up camp, never taking it down, then take it down just prior to leaving. Rain should not be an issue to the dish itself but may hamper internet connection if it's a heavy rain. As for thunderstorms, my dish is usually lower than the treetops around it, just need a somewhat clear line of sight to the north, so I do not worry about it. Anymore questions, which there will be, feel free to ask. There is also a lot of information on this site about converting your dish to a 12v system. That way you can run it at night and not have to worry about generator use.
 
Thanks for replying, yes lots of questions. So guessing you do not set it up on the ground or anything but higher like on the top of the camper?
 
Thanks for replying, yes lots of questions. So guessing you do not set it up on the ground or anything but higher like on the top of the camper?
Sorry I did not mentioned that part. Sometimes when I do not have a clear view of north, I will use the tripod mount it comes with and set in on the back of my trucks tonneau cover. I also added magnetic foot pads to the tripod mount and can mount it to the top of my truck. The magnets a very strong and will keep the dish in place with higher winds. The magnets are rubber lined so they do not scratch my paint. I placed a link below for that option.

 
It has worked very well for us. I'll put it on the ground most places but I do have a flagpole buddy which puts it above the roof. It has worked very well for us from NH to MT/WY. I'm also waiting for the T-Mobile/Starlink handheld phones to hit the market.
 
.. just need a somewhat clear line of sight to the north, so I do not worry about it
Same here, except I use it pretty much everywhere I go, including boondocking and RV parks where typically their internet stinks.

The only reason I've had to mount it higher than ground level is to avoid obstacles (like the camper next door) or to keep sticky fingers from it. When you're setting it up, the beam from it works more like a telescope than a cell phone antenna since it uses a much higher carrier frequency (Ku band).
 
We have had it since they came out with then the RV version now known as roam. It has served us well. I'll try and point out a few tips.

For storage and transportation it fits well in a Huskey 12 gallon container that can be found at Home Depot.

For mounting, I use the Flag pole buddy mounted to the ladder. I used to put it on the ground but found some cleaning was needed when I went to store it away. Now days I just put it up on the pole and run the cord over the two dump valve ends to the passthrough. I have a stick-on hook close to the passthrough to hang the rest of the cord so everything is off the ground. One of the apparent weak points has been the cord connection into the dish. It has been known to get damaged if one is not careful inserting it so I have only removed it once. What I do instead is secure the cord just below the dish with one of those rubber coated ties with a little loop up there. Then another one at the bottom of the ladder after spinning the pole enough to provide a little wrap around on the pole. This eliminates the cord slap all night when the wind is up.

The modem sits in the passthrough so it's out of the weather. The cord runs through the water inlet area and the electric comes from the 120 outlet above the panel inside.

We activate when ever we get to a point with no cell signal or limited bandwidth knowing at that time we are committed to a month of $150 service. It can now be activated without having to connect to the internet by some other means. It can be done now once a signal has been established by the dish.

If you leave it off of roam for an extended time like we tend to do at times. You need to take it out and point north and let it update. They push updates all the time and I believe that is why it has just gotten better.

Speaking of roam: NEVER switch to priority roam. That is for off shore and comes with a I believe a $1,000 a month price tag.
 
Oh man thanks for all responses. They really help. Yes I have wondered about sticky fingers aspect as well. No problems getting good WiFi signal with router in the pass-through? I mean in and around the rv?
 
Agree with everything stated so far. I have our router in the pass thru, and it works just fine. We were in Alaska this summer, and it faces the southern sky up there. A pole is good, but you can’t always use it, based on tree cover. While it doesn’t like it on the app, at times I would lay it flat to get better sky view due to trees, and it seemed to work better.

It worked great virtually everywhere, but for whatever reason, it was a bust at Haines, AK.
 
I purchased the starlink mini with the $50 50 gig service plan. it is completely self contained with the wifi built into the dish. All you need is to provide it power. Works great for me. I also worried about theft, so I just put it on the trailer roof with power coming out of the service connection
 
I will check things out on our next trip and see how much data I use to see if the 50gb service can work especially on some shorter stays.
 
Starlink newbee and all I had questions on how the pause anytime and unpause deal works. So if you purchase a month long service and go on a two week camping trip and pause the service when your trip is done then say a month later you go on another trip for two weeks can you then unpause and have that two weeks?
 
Starlink newbee and all I had questions on how the pause anytime and unpause deal works. So if you purchase a month long service and go on a two week camping trip and pause the service when your trip is done then say a month later you go on another trip for two weeks can you then unpause and have that two weeks?
It runs monthly. If you pause, you pay for the month. Billing is in one month increments.
 
So that doesn't sound like you can actually pause anything? Is that true for the roam plans?
 
Dont mean to disagree with anything being said here just my interpretation of pausing then un pausing something is I pause something then at some point in time later I can unpause and resume from where I left off. Prolly why Im not on the Starlink friends and family plan! lol
 
So that doesn't sound like you can actually pause anything? Is that true for the roam plans?
Sure you can. It's a monthly cycle - you pause in mid-month but you pay for the entire month. After that, no more bills unless you un-pause your service. This is the Roam plan. I haven't paid anything to Starlink since we returned from our long trip October 2023.
 
So that doesn't sound like you can actually pause anything? Is that true for the roam plans?
Yes and no.
For the way you would like to pause it, use it for a week or two then pause, it will not work. Like it was mentioned above, once activated you just paid for the full month.
For those of us who are not full timers, I typically activate mine in May and when done camping for the year, around late October, I will pause it for November-April. So I pay a monthly subscription for about half the year.
 

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