- Joined
- Jul 27, 2019
- Messages
- 12,907
- Location
- Midlothian, VA
- RV Year
- 2017
- RV Make
- Newmar
- RV Model
- Ventana 4037
- RV Length
- 40' 10"
- Chassis
- Freightliner XCR
- Engine
- Cummins 400 HP
- TOW/TOAD
- 2017 Chevy Colorado
- Fulltimer
- No
I mentioned in a thread somewhere else on the site how I used a sling to carry Dishy to the roof and it fell out of the sling. Yeah, don't use sling, don't use roof. It still worked fine and I mentioned I'll replace it when the next new thing comes from Starlink otherwise if I wanted a refurb I could send this in and pay $250 for a replacement. It works, not needed. I used white duct tape to tape this up and all was fine, until yesterday. I am at EAA AirVenture in WI, a big airshow event which grinds cellular to a halt and Starlink has been the best option in my array of Internet options. I took off the flagpole buddy pole and set things aside as I took the coach to the dump station to get water and dump the tanks after 8 days of boondocking.
Upon return I had a problem getting Starlink to work again so I tried everything possible. Long story short, when I took down the Dishy for the umpteenth time I noticed water coming out of it as we've had storms almost daily. I left it alone for a few hours and then turned on using my Amazon smart plug and this morning noticed it at least moved from stowed to horizontal, a sign of life at least but I could not get beyond that.
I removed the tape and put it back up again and decided to let it bake in the sun today then sure enough another storm rolled through. I remotely turned on Starlink from the airshow flight line using the Amazon Alexa app and returned to the coach to find that it was oriented out of horizontal and pointed as it was before - woohoo! Yes, it's working again, tape off and even after yet another rainstorm in which it was in this orientation during the rain. I'm tempted to drill drain holes but I'll likely just tape it up after I take things down Monday and head to my next stop and try to do better sealing it. While I sealed the broken area I didn't realize that the edges have separated some in areas which could allow water in so I'll seal it more carefully.
Moral is, it can still work and moral 2 is, if it's broken, make sure it's water tight as best as you can determine.
Upon return I had a problem getting Starlink to work again so I tried everything possible. Long story short, when I took down the Dishy for the umpteenth time I noticed water coming out of it as we've had storms almost daily. I left it alone for a few hours and then turned on using my Amazon smart plug and this morning noticed it at least moved from stowed to horizontal, a sign of life at least but I could not get beyond that.
I removed the tape and put it back up again and decided to let it bake in the sun today then sure enough another storm rolled through. I remotely turned on Starlink from the airshow flight line using the Amazon Alexa app and returned to the coach to find that it was oriented out of horizontal and pointed as it was before - woohoo! Yes, it's working again, tape off and even after yet another rainstorm in which it was in this orientation during the rain. I'm tempted to drill drain holes but I'll likely just tape it up after I take things down Monday and head to my next stop and try to do better sealing it. While I sealed the broken area I didn't realize that the edges have separated some in areas which could allow water in so I'll seal it more carefully.
Moral is, it can still work and moral 2 is, if it's broken, make sure it's water tight as best as you can determine.
