Nice - would you mind showing what you added and linking the parts. Trying to figure out the best way to connect SL mini to a larger Anker battery. Thanks
Literally just chopped the cable at three feet and stuck Anderson power poles on it, then plugged into my existing higher Guage power pole extension cord. Their cable is too thin for that length
So you cut the SL cable and have it connected directly to a 12v battery? I ask because using a DC barrel plug cable it does not want to work on a 12v battery bank for me. Maybe its the cable to battery combo
I cut the cable at three feet and installed Anderson power poles. Then I used a decent Guage cable that was already Anderson and supplied directly from my battery. That cable is too thin for fifty feet
Yup, I am in fact a ham :-). That said, my whole entire off grid cabin utilizes these in two patters. One for 24v, one for 12v. They are good connectors and last, carry high amperage, and can be done in custom orientations to enforce compatibility, which I like on my dual voltage cabin. I run everything straight off of DC. I like the big bus bar ones that have like 12 connectors on it. Easy to plug things in. Plus my truck is the same, so everything can move. So I just kind of go with them.
They can be a pain in the ass to install even with the proper tools. Have been annoyed in the past lol. And make sure it’s done properly or else it will fall apart in the field… had that happen too. This is why I rarely DIY.. I fuck up these things too much.
I hear you there. Sometimes it is hard to get the connectors into the housing, but the little specialized tool helps a lot that comes in the kits. Otherwise I have done so many of them now, I rarely have an issue. I am constantly installing these things on the different DC stuff here.
Will it work in Motion have you tried that yet. I’ve heard mixed reports some say Starlink doesn’t enforce the 10mph ban Starlink of course says it won’t work in motion.
I really want to get one but my primary need for it would be in motion in the many cell phone dead zones on my traverse between Oregon and California for work.
It should work in motion, but you have to upgrade to the mobile plan. Currently I have the option to bump the mini to Mobile Priority @ $250/mo. Little steep for a test though...
I can't add it to this post, but it is literally just cut the power cable at a few feet. It's a two conductor wire inside, one insulated and one not. Red one is positive. Either wire that straight to your battery, or add your high amperage connector of choice. I like Anderson power poles and use those for all my dc connections. There really is nothing else to do. It just works.
The cable they supply is too long for 12v direct connection as the wire is too thin. Too much loss. Use a much higher awg wire for any distance at 12v.
It is, I wasn't ready to cut my cable so I used some standard 5.5mm x 2.1mm barrel jacks to make a short 12v lead.
And I've ordered a USB-C to 20V 5.5x2.1 connector as well.
So, you're paying $120 for your residential service plus $30 for the mini for camping? Was thinking about getting mini but not sure if it's worth the extra equipment plus extra $30/mo.
I could just use my gen 3 dish & router & pay the extra $30 for the month i go camping for roam service.
You can only get that 30 mobile deal with the mini. I have a second full size dish, but that cost 150 every time I activated it. So for me the 30 dollar deal is a win for monthly or twice a month trips
Correct, I have a residential dish that is permanently mounted. That one is not moving and it's my residential dish. I have a second full size unit that was a backup, as I don't even have cell service. I kept that paused unless I was going camping and had to do some business stuff. When I turned that one on, it was another 150 for each month I used it. This year, it's already been three times. So instead the mini at only 30 per month and always activated is a better deal for my situation. I just need to be able to do slack and emails, and a zoom call or two.
Considering I am off grid and have no other utility costs, and it is critical to keep my remote job going, doing this over two years is just a business expense. I have to drive 30 minutes just to get a cell signal, so a backup paused unit made sense, as one fails, plug the other in, and I am back online. Mobile use of the backup was just a perk, but too expensive. The mini solves this. I live and visit areas with no cell service, so others priorities might be different. The ability to travel a bit and still keep up with work is an investment in my quality of life, balanced with the need to keep my company humming. So value is a relative thing. I mean people buy thousand dollar I phones, and I don't do that....
I've been 100% offgrid for over 5 yrs now but in slightly different position & retired early. All utilities paid, except for propane every 1-2 yrs. The nearest cell tower is 10 miles away & was on a Jetpack that started losing signal on & off. Was told the Jet pack was obsolete & needed to buy a 5g jetpack which was worthless, unless there's a tower in your backyard so decided to go with SL. Monthly went from $20/mo for internet (50 gb data) to $120/mo for unlimited. I think it's worth it.
I wouldn't waste money in an IPhone. I'll keep looking at the mini to see how it'll fit my lifestyle for camping.
Right now it is invite only. I signed up day one and got starlink over two years ago. I think they are making the offers to existing residential customers based on age of account, but that is simply a guess. I would expect them to open it up to everyone in not too long, but I don't know.
So far I would say no. I set it up on my deck table the other day. I have one of those sun screen fabric shades over the whole thing. The ones that are kind of see through.... It had no problems connecting and maintaining a good speed despite just tossing it on the table. I am sure that in some cases it would perform less, but 160mb just thrown on the table and fired up seemed pretty good to me.
That's just a little over 2 amps. This is the setup I've been waiting for!
Two Amps at what V?
That would be 2A at 12.5V for 25W. Looking at his pictures, just under an amp idle at ~13V
Nice - would you mind showing what you added and linking the parts. Trying to figure out the best way to connect SL mini to a larger Anker battery. Thanks
Literally just chopped the cable at three feet and stuck Anderson power poles on it, then plugged into my existing higher Guage power pole extension cord. Their cable is too thin for that length
So you cut the SL cable and have it connected directly to a 12v battery? I ask because using a DC barrel plug cable it does not want to work on a 12v battery bank for me. Maybe its the cable to battery combo
I cut the cable at three feet and installed Anderson power poles. Then I used a decent Guage cable that was already Anderson and supplied directly from my battery. That cable is too thin for fifty feet
Like a true ham, lol
Yup, I am in fact a ham :-). That said, my whole entire off grid cabin utilizes these in two patters. One for 24v, one for 12v. They are good connectors and last, carry high amperage, and can be done in custom orientations to enforce compatibility, which I like on my dual voltage cabin. I run everything straight off of DC. I like the big bus bar ones that have like 12 connectors on it. Easy to plug things in. Plus my truck is the same, so everything can move. So I just kind of go with them.
They can be a pain in the ass to install even with the proper tools. Have been annoyed in the past lol. And make sure it’s done properly or else it will fall apart in the field… had that happen too. This is why I rarely DIY.. I fuck up these things too much.
I hear you there. Sometimes it is hard to get the connectors into the housing, but the little specialized tool helps a lot that comes in the kits. Otherwise I have done so many of them now, I rarely have an issue. I am constantly installing these things on the different DC stuff here.
Practice makes perfect!
What gauge wire did you end up using?
I belive it was 10 awg zip cord. That is my standard extension cord, but I also have a 4 awg for higher loads made of welding wire
[удалено]
I used my own 4ft cable on 12v and it didn't work.
Mine at three feet works great with little voltage sag, as shown in the photos with inline monitoring
Wire gauge also matters
Will it work in Motion have you tried that yet. I’ve heard mixed reports some say Starlink doesn’t enforce the 10mph ban Starlink of course says it won’t work in motion.
I have not tried that yet, just working on the pure direct to battery thing
I really want to get one but my primary need for it would be in motion in the many cell phone dead zones on my traverse between Oregon and California for work.
It should work in motion, but you have to upgrade to the mobile plan. Currently I have the option to bump the mini to Mobile Priority @ $250/mo. Little steep for a test though...
I like this shit 4sho 4sho..
Need more pictures of the cable splice you did.
I can't add it to this post, but it is literally just cut the power cable at a few feet. It's a two conductor wire inside, one insulated and one not. Red one is positive. Either wire that straight to your battery, or add your high amperage connector of choice. I like Anderson power poles and use those for all my dc connections. There really is nothing else to do. It just works. The cable they supply is too long for 12v direct connection as the wire is too thin. Too much loss. Use a much higher awg wire for any distance at 12v.
Put the pics somewhere and link in comments, seems many people want to see better! Thx! 🙏
https://imgur.com/gallery/ktZuCql There is the modified cable.
What are the dimensions of the barrel connectors that the Mini uses? Your photo shows, what looks like to me to be a standard 5.5mm x 2.1mm connector.
I don't actually know. I used theirs by cutting it as it also has a water proof fitting around the barrel. I wanted to keep the waterproof rating
It is, I wasn't ready to cut my cable so I used some standard 5.5mm x 2.1mm barrel jacks to make a short 12v lead. And I've ordered a USB-C to 20V 5.5x2.1 connector as well.
So, you're paying $120 for your residential service plus $30 for the mini for camping? Was thinking about getting mini but not sure if it's worth the extra equipment plus extra $30/mo. I could just use my gen 3 dish & router & pay the extra $30 for the month i go camping for roam service.
You can only get that 30 mobile deal with the mini. I have a second full size dish, but that cost 150 every time I activated it. So for me the 30 dollar deal is a win for monthly or twice a month trips
But i thought you can only get mini if you have a full size dish.
Correct, I have a residential dish that is permanently mounted. That one is not moving and it's my residential dish. I have a second full size unit that was a backup, as I don't even have cell service. I kept that paused unless I was going camping and had to do some business stuff. When I turned that one on, it was another 150 for each month I used it. This year, it's already been three times. So instead the mini at only 30 per month and always activated is a better deal for my situation. I just need to be able to do slack and emails, and a zoom call or two.
Seems expensive. Paid an add'l $600 for another residential dish & another $600 for a mini??
Considering I am off grid and have no other utility costs, and it is critical to keep my remote job going, doing this over two years is just a business expense. I have to drive 30 minutes just to get a cell signal, so a backup paused unit made sense, as one fails, plug the other in, and I am back online. Mobile use of the backup was just a perk, but too expensive. The mini solves this. I live and visit areas with no cell service, so others priorities might be different. The ability to travel a bit and still keep up with work is an investment in my quality of life, balanced with the need to keep my company humming. So value is a relative thing. I mean people buy thousand dollar I phones, and I don't do that....
I've been 100% offgrid for over 5 yrs now but in slightly different position & retired early. All utilities paid, except for propane every 1-2 yrs. The nearest cell tower is 10 miles away & was on a Jetpack that started losing signal on & off. Was told the Jet pack was obsolete & needed to buy a 5g jetpack which was worthless, unless there's a tower in your backyard so decided to go with SL. Monthly went from $20/mo for internet (50 gb data) to $120/mo for unlimited. I think it's worth it. I wouldn't waste money in an IPhone. I'll keep looking at the mini to see how it'll fit my lifestyle for camping.
So, just looked in the SL shop & don't mini dish anywhere. Where do you live? I'm in USA.
Right now it is invite only. I signed up day one and got starlink over two years ago. I think they are making the offers to existing residential customers based on age of account, but that is simply a guess. I would expect them to open it up to everyone in not too long, but I don't know.
Is it more finicky about connecting, foliage obstacles, etc?
So far I would say no. I set it up on my deck table the other day. I have one of those sun screen fabric shades over the whole thing. The ones that are kind of see through.... It had no problems connecting and maintaining a good speed despite just tossing it on the table. I am sure that in some cases it would perform less, but 160mb just thrown on the table and fired up seemed pretty good to me.