Starlink power cable

TH

The Rookie

Senior Member
RV LIFE Pro
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Jul 27, 2024
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273
Location
Ft Irwin
Out of curiosity, has anyone mounted a Starlink Mini and ran the power cable into the RV through the OTA antenna hole? It seems like that would be a good place to follow the antenna cable and use the outlet in the cabinet that contains the AV switchbox.
I don’t need to redo my seals yet, but was considering this when I took the old sealant off.
 
It should work . Even better if it is a straight shot down into the cabinet. If it is not a straight shot. Tape a pull wire to the Antenna wire in the cabinet then pull them out from the roof. Add the power wire and pull everything back in.
 
I have a Mini. I'm always watching Starlink mod videos. Some of them are about Gen 1 through Gen 3, but aside from the separate router, cable size and power requirements they mostly all apply. In most cases I use a Harbor Freight flagpole attached to my ladder as a dish mount. My planned project is to run the cable underneath and into a rear storage compartment... then plug to a 120v outlet in the compartment. Eventually I want to power from 12v. But... I'm finding best practice is to use a boost converter when doing that due to voltage drop over the roughly 50' cable.

This guy does some pretty cool mods. He used a custom printed frame/mount for a mini in another video. Check out his channel for ideas...
 
The Rookie said:
Out of curiosity, has anyone mounted a Starlink Mini and ran the power cable into the RV through the OTA antenna hole? It seems like that would be a good place to follow the antenna cable and use the outlet in the cabinet that contains the AV switchbox.
I don’t need to redo my seals yet, but was considering this when I took the old sealant off.
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On your MH, that hole for the antenna cable feeds down into the space between the left interior wall of the cabinet over the dinette and the outer sidewall of the cabinet. You have to pull that interior panel to access the space (that's where your coaxial splitter happens to live).

I bought a Mini back in early December when it was still on their Black Friday pricing. Bought it through Home Depot and scored an extra 10% military discount. Tossed the unit in its unopened box under the bed for our two month trip down to Florida, "just in case" we needed it. Got by without it using an AT&T hotspot only. At least I'll have it for our future trip to Alaska where cell service will be somewhere between zero and spotty outside of the towns. I plan on just putting it on the dash in front of the window unless I find a spot where I need to move it outside to get a good enough view of the sky. Half tempted to see if I can put it inside the forward roof vent and just string the cable across the ceiling to the "AV cabinet".
 
PS89 said:
On your MH, that hole for the antenna cable feeds down into the space between the left interior wall of the cabinet over the dinette and the outer sidewall of the cabinet. You have to pull that interior panel to access the space (that's where your coaxial splitter happens to live).

I bought a Mini back in early December when it was still on their Black Friday pricing. Bought it through Home Depot and scored an extra 10% military discount. Tossed the unit in its unopened box under the bed for our two month trip down to Florida, "just in case" we needed it. Got by without it using an AT&T hotspot only. At least I'll have it for our future trip to Alaska where cell service will be somewhere between zero and spotty outside of the towns. I plan on just putting it on the dash in front of the window unless I find a spot where I need to move it outside to get a good enough view of the sky. Half tempted to see if I can put it inside the forward roof vent and just string the cable across the ceiling to the "AV cabinet".
Click to expand...
Great idea for the front roof vent! Have you measured to check fit? If it will fit just remove the fan and associated aluminum cross members. Fashion some screw clips to hold the dish. Then a little cable management and done!
 
Chateau_Nomad said:
Great idea for the front roof vent! Have you measured to check fit? If it will fit just remove the fan and associated aluminum cross members. Fashion some screw clips to hold the dish. Then a little cable management and done!
Click to expand...
How do you align to the Satellites with it mounted in the vent enclosure?
 
Used to be that majority of satellites were only in northern sky. As more satellites were put into orbit, there's much greater sky coverage. The satellites aren't stationary. They are moving across the sky, so there's hand-offs as a closer satellite approaches.

Now pretty much all you do is point the dish at the clear sky and Starlink does the rest... no aiming needed. So mounting the dish on your roof or skylight should work if it has a clear sky view.
 
Chuck and Mary Ann said:
Interesting, I always see the people lining them up with an app or with a mere on the receiver showing on the TV. good to know.
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I have the Mini. Although the app has an alignment feature, it doesn't seem to have much purpose anymore. I've tried both random alignment (just pointing upward) and aligning using the app. After a good connection is established there's really no difference in data speed or connection reliability using either method. Bottom line... point it to the sky and you're done!
 
Chateau_Nomad said:
I have the Mini. Although the app has an alignment feature, it doesn't seem to have much purpose anymore. I've tried both random alignment (just pointing upward) and aligning using the app. After a good connection is established there's really no difference in data speed or connection reliability using either method. Bottom line... point it to the sky and you're done!
Click to expand...
I use the same mini for the house and the RV and that’s all I do when I setup each location.
 
Have you guys seen the video where somebody mounted the flat panel on the ceiling INSIDE the coach? Unless you have an Airstream, the ceiling is probably made of cardboard, rubber, and styrofoam, so there won't be much signal loss.
 
Wiley1 said:
Have you guys seen the video where somebody mounted the flat panel on the ceiling INSIDE the coach? Unless you have an Airstream, the ceiling is probably made of cardboard, rubber, and styrofoam, so there won't be much signal loss.
Click to expand...
That’s interesting. I may have to experiment with that in the near future
 
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