FYI Starlink Mini on sale - 299

[Neal]

I saw on my feeds that the Mini is on sale for the lowest price yet.

Amazon.com

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/starlink-mini-kit-ac-dual-band-wi-fi-system-white/6589861.p?skuId=6589861

 

[whereRVapp]

Well darn! I paid $350 for refurbished. Looks essentially brand new when it showed at least.

 

[Neal]

Sale ends May 28th supposedly.

Starlink | Roam

Work and play at remote locations. Starting at $50/mo with a hardware cost of $499.

www.starlink.com

Starlink Shop

www.starlink.com

 

[Neal]

I admit, I picked one up at this price (w/50 GB plan) which will be primarily for the plane but I can see taking this along in the car/toad for safety (and joy). I'm becoming a Starlink hoarder I can see, my new show Sandford & Son & Grandson Neal is airing soon.

Some required Amazon activity entailed:

Tripod

12V car charger cable

Suction cup roof mount

Ultralight carry case

USB-C to Starlink Mini cable

I have a Jackery portable power station for the plane. Not sure if I'll use this in the car, don't want to be running down a car battery (or airplane battery).

Jackery power station

Jackery Solar panel

Amazon quota for May met. Shyeeeeeuh!

 

[John&Andrea]

I’m not much of a tech head so I hope this will not be too complicated. I ordered the mini this morning. We will see.

 

[Neal]

A little more on my thought process as to why I added a mini to my Starlink collection. Mainly, it's for airplane camping and/or being in a location with no cell service and having Internet available for flight planning, etc. However, @ARD has on at least two occasions that I remember had a breakdown with no cellular service. I reminded her that she could have pulled out her Starlink and/or used her Garmin inReach to get help via satellite. And now, with iPhone 14 and later, satellite communication is a feature, so that's something I just remembered and is a good emergency service to consider.

Will Starlink start coming to cars? I think so. The case I bought arrived yesterday, it's small, I'm anxious to see how small this setup is going to be to carry in the floorboard of my car when I'm RVing and in the back of the plane otherwise. This is my emergency kit, yeah, paranoia is one of my strengths, but breakdowns damn near give me a breakdown and not having communication and relying on someone pulling over is not what I want to have happen. People don't seem to help like they used to so I'm not counting on good Samaritan's to come to my rescue.

RVing or traveling in your car to remote areas always has its risks. Some do better at "prepping" than I - this is my start.

 

[newmarokie]

Neal, Do you know if the mini is plug and play interchangeable with the standard antenna and cable? I switched to the 50gb plan last month and it seem like it is going to be fine for our semi part time use. We took the back axle assembly off and routed the cable up the A post to the cabinet above the drivers seat. The cable is stored in the front fuse bay below the driver. I obviously don't want to have to redo that.

 

[Neal]

I don't know the answer to that, maybe someone else can answer or you can review the specs on the Starlink website. Let me see if I can find links for you:

Click the links in the header to switch between devices and that should help you compare:

Starlink specs for various equipment

 

[RollingManCave]

I saw on my feeds that the Mini is on sale for the lowest price yet.

Amazon.com

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/starlink-mini-kit-ac-dual-band-wi-fi-system-white/6589861.p?skuId=6589861

That is a great price!

 

[FLSteve]

Amazon quota for May met. Shyeeeeeuh!

@Neal ... A few months like this and they will name a spot at their new campground after you.

 

[RollingManCave]

Neal, Do you know if the mini is plug and play interchangeable with the standard antenna and cable? I switched to the 50gb plan last month and it seem like it is going to be fine for our semi part time use. We took the back axle assembly off and routed the cable up the A post to the cabinet above the drivers seat. The cable is stored in the front fuse bay below the driver. I obviously don't want to have to redo that.

The mini has the router built into the dish. I run a power cable from the dish to an AC outlet in my motor home. You also have the option of running a type C 100 watt cable to your computer or solar generator if your have a 100 watt type c on it. I think you can also ethernet it to a router or a switch. I assume it would be a cat 5e cable including power but not sure.

 

[Neemer]

Does the router on these have the same output as a standard Starlink router? I have heard of people putting one on the dash as they go down the road.

 

[Neal]

These have built-in Wi-Fi, all you need is power. So yes, they put them on dash, there are all kinds of unique mounting (and power supply) contraptions for these things including your Dewalt battery as a power for the mini.

 

[Neal]

The roam allows up to 100 mph now in motion I believe, so you can get there even faster now!

 

[DennisT]

I have seen the mini mounted inside a sunroof of a vehicle and they said it worked while traveling. At least the individual on the FB group said it did

 

[Neal]

Yep, my plane has a skylight (like sunroof) which is why my Amazon list shows the suction mount contraption.

I got the tripod today, it's really nice and looks like it will work with any of the Starlinks. If you're looking for a tripod, this one is worth a look.

Amazon.com

 

[Neal]

You could probably use the suction cup mount and attach it to your windshield.

Amazon.com

 

[RollingManCave]

Does the router on these have the same output as a standard Starlink router? I have heard of people putting one on the dash as they go down the road.

The router is built into the Dish. You can route the dish on the roof and the router wifi would let you connect to your device. You could put the dish on your dash and maybe get a satellite signal, I have not tried that. I have mine on a telescopic pole that I put up and take down each time. I have not used it in motion over more than a few blocks that way.

 

[Neemer]

My question is more about the range of the wifi signal of the mini. IOW, if it is on my dash, will I be able to stream on all TVs including the bedroom and exterior ent center?

 

[Neal]

Starlink mini router, from a quick google search, has a 150ft range. Your coach is only 43ft, any wi-fi router should suffice for that length.

There are alternative options depending on your coach Wi-Fi setup. For example, I use a pepwave to broadcast Wi-Fi to my phone and all devices in the coach. You could consider the Starlink Wi-Fi like Campground Wi-Fi so you bring in the external source (WAN) to your pepwave, if you have one, and then that goes out of the pepwave like before. I actually use an Ethernet connection on mine so my Starlink connects to my Pepwave over Ethernet and I don't even use Starlink's wi-fi.

Short answer YES

Long answer posted, you have options to keep things even simpler if needed and change Internet sources without ever having to change Wi-Fi connections on streaming devices, TV's, computers, Alexa's, etc.