StarLink Mini question?

[Flyer32RLS]

Seeing on FB that they are offering the Mini for $199, $16/mo or pay in full with a service plan. No they have three different ones. 100GB/$55/m0,
100GB/$80/mo or Unlimited for $175. Now I use our T-Mobile cellular WIFI for $50/m0. IT does very well where we go and have been. Will be going traveling more often next year and just trying to catch a good deal ahead of time if one comes along. I understand that going to Alaska, StartLInk is a must.

My question for those that mainly travel within the lower 48. Do you find yourself needing StarLink or does cellular fit most needs? I like my TV for entertainment and also to keep up with what is going on in this crazy world. The equipment price of $199 isn't bad but I have no idea how much data 50 or 100 GB's is. How long that 50 or 100 GB will last. I like the unlimited as that takes all the guess work out of things but $175/mo is a little hard to take.
Any help will be appreciated!!
TYIA!

 

[Fishfnatic]

We started out with 50 and moved to 100. We stream some shows in evening. Pushed the limit on 50. We use Rv park WiFi when possible but sometimes their WiFi will not stream. We may go back to 50 as we have not come close to using 100 yet.

 

[Lantley]

I have T mobile wireless internet using T-Mobile router. I am seldom of grid.
I travel mostly east coast. I always have Wi-Fi $50 a month unlimited.

 

[Flyer32RLS]

I have T mobile wireless internet using T-Mobile router. I am seldom of grid.
I travel mostly east coast. I always have Wi-Fi $50 a month unlimited.

Thanks, that is what we use. Looking at going more but not total full time next year and trying to get things set up before then and watch StartLink for specials. Just can't justify the money when T-Mobile works like a champ. Fast, easy and cheap.
They had mentioned that it was not allowed roaming but have never had anything said. Think we got it before they made that rule. At $160 a month for their roaming fee, think I would for sure jump on the StarLink wagon.
Happy Glamping!

 

[KCAlis]

Full timers here. We used a Visible phone account purely as a hotspot for our Roku TV. We stream around 2 hrs/day on a regular basis. Buffering was occasionally a problem. We had numerous campsites where we had no phone service, much less streaming ability.

Seeing locals in the Big Bend area (no cell service for miles on end) with Minis on their vehicles coupled with Starlink’s current hardware deal convinced me to sign up for a Mini on their 100GB Roam plan.

Buffering has stopped, availability is excellent and we’re using around 65GB/month. I’m considering allowing our phones and laptop to use Starlink data via the Mini’s router as down and upload speed is better than 5G. I may increase my subscription to 300GB if things keep working so well allowing me to remotely monitor sensors and cameras at the trailer.

An added advantage to the Mini is it’s WiFi network. It’s the first solution that’s consistently allowed me to connect to my printer.

 

[stanburnb]

We are pretty much full-time, but don't work. We use about 275 gigs a month. We have the 300 gig plan and use Starlink pretty much all of the time. We mostly dry camp and spend a fair amount of time where there is no cellular coverage.

 

[azreddot]

For those with starlink mini roam, does anyone suspend the service while at home? We only travel for 4-6 months and wouldn’t need it then.

 

[George]

For those with starlink mini roam, does anyone suspend the service while at home? We only travel for 4-6 months and wouldn’t need it then.

We definitely suspend service when not using. The catch is that the suspension does not take affect until the end of your billing cycle.
When you resume you pay a pro-rated amount for the days left in your billing cycle. For example: If today happened to be July 26th and if your billing cycle ended on July 31st, you would only pay for 5 days of service to resume.
You could resume today and tomorrow pause and the $10 pause fee would be billed on 7/31 and you would have full service until then.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

For those with starlink mini roam, does anyone suspend the service while at home? We only travel for 4-6 months and wouldn’t need it then.

100%....simple task in the app.

 

[Chaseweston]

The first year we were out, we only had TMHI with a Winegard 5g air 360+ with 4x4 MIMO on the roof and it was mostly good. I still work so we had to redirect from some boondocking spots that had zero cell signal (one time, turning a 1 hour drive into an 8 hour drive around the Rockies looking for a spot to fit the rig and had signal...) Second time out I had gotten starlink mini so we wouldn't be bound by cell signal and that was a game changer. I've worked full time from Canyons in Moab, deployed it in remote areas in NM where we have broken down and needed signal to figure it out, etc. With two young kids, and me working full time (mostly teams meetings), we use about 800G a month. I have the Roam unlimited. I ended up cancelling the TMHI because we ended up needing to deploy the starlink more often and they wouldn't let me pause the TMHI since I was on a promotion $50/mo unlimited or something. The TMHI was nice on the road because I left it on all the time, powered by DC system so we had Wifi while driving and spots that had signal, the rig was connected when we parked, letting the kids get into something while we setup.

It felt like they started really throttling the mobile TMHI customers over the geo-located users in some areas. I got our SL Mini as a refurbished unit for like $300 I think. I'd go for it at $200 all day. Get a boost converter to push 30v and run it off DC system with the included cable.

 

[Flyer32RLS]

Get a boost converter to push 30v and run it off DC system with the included cable.

Chaseweston, Thanks for your comments. The last sentence above I do not understand. Why do you need to run it off DC. Obviously you boon dock so I think you would have a 120V inverter installed right? Do you find that it draws less DC than AC. I would guess to run DC to AC inverter might burn more, just guessing. I'm not totally sold on solar for use to be able to boondock and have unlimited DC available. We have never boondocked as I like to take showers and run A/C units. I understand you can do that with enough solar but don't see the ROI. We have a generator that is pretty quiet we can run if required. So back to the original question. Why the need to boost to 30V when if runs off DC, 12V would be enough? Just don't understand to need, please enlighten me!
Happy Glamping!

 

[johnm]

We have the Starlink Standard - use it at home as well as in the rig. I think its $165/month. We dont really boondock other than just overnights at Harvest Hosts. The nice thing about it is I have two mounts for it and its very easy to transport. I set it up the flagpole on the ladder in the rear and the router and power transformer in the front storage on the wall - out of the way. Cord reaches the dish easily in our 385. I run magnets on the frame to hide the cord.
Typically the parks we stay in have very poor internet service, especially bad if you stream video and sometimes audio..

 

[Chaseweston]

Chaseweston, Thanks for your comments. The last sentence above I do not understand. Why do you need to run it off DC. Obviously you boon dock so I think you would have a 120V inverter installed right? Do you find that it draws less DC than AC. I would guess to run DC to AC inverter might burn more, just guessing. I'm not totally sold on solar for use to be able to boondock and have unlimited DC available. We have never boondocked as I like to take showers and run A/C units. I understand you can do that with enough solar but don't see the ROI. We have a generator that is pretty quiet we can run if required. So back to the original question. Why the need to boost to 30V when if runs off DC, 12V would be enough? Just don't understand to need, please enlighten me!
Happy Glamping!

Great Questions!

Why do you need to run it off DC. Obviously you boon dock so I think you would have a 120V inverter installed right? Do you find that it draws less DC than AC. I would guess to run DC to AC inverter might burn more, just guessing

We do boondock maybe 30% of the time in 14-day periods due to BLM regulations (sometimes we stretch it but are mindful of sharing the land). The short answer of why I run it directly from DC is efficiency losses. To invert 12V DC to 120V AC with such a small load can be down in the 60%-70% efficiency range, and then plug the AC adapter into an inverted outlet to convert it back down to 30V DC has it's own efficiency loss added on. So to me, inverting just to convert back down is wasted energy. The OEM Starlink adapter converts the 120V AC to 30V DC to power the mini. The closer you have the voltage separation, the less loss. So boosting 12V DC to 30V DC is the most efficient path to powering it while boondocking. We operate everything electrically as normal except AC's and water heater on propane instead of electric. We do not boondock in locations where AC is needed. We have 640W on the roof (came stock), 414AH of battery (Stock Renogy 100ah and added a 314ah Eco-worthy) and a 1000W ups inverter. We do have an NPS 6000 inverter generator on board but I hate starting it up, mostly out of principle. Before I re-wired some things and got our program mostly dialed, the wife and kids would start the generator to power the living room TV and range igniter which irked me into a mission to run what we needed on DC only. They are auto-fed from inverter when not on shore power now. I don't recommend the 1000W inverter though (I got it for free so I threw it in there). I'll eventually replace with 2000W UPS. Since it passes through AC when on shore power, the overload protection is still active and shuts down if a load exceeds 1000W, so the GFCI #2 circuit I am feeding through the UPS inverter is now limited to 1000W which our plug-in vacuum exceeds.

Why the need to boost to 30V when if runs off DC, 12V would be enough?

12V is technically enough for a short run or a bigger cable. The standard 15m SL cable that comes with the mini has too much voltage drop at 12v to power the mini. So you'd either need to run a bigger cable ($$) or just boost it to 30V with a boost converter off amazon and feed the mini with the voltage it wants and using the standard cable that came with the kit.

 

[Flyer32RLS]

Great answer and I thank you for the information. Still not sure about all the solar. Funny, watched a video of a couple with 5th wheel and his entire roof is covered. Think he said he had 3500W of solar and over 400AH for batteries. That is a lot of green to throw so that you can boondock all the time. They have been boondocking all the way from FL to AK and he brags that they have never hooked to shore power.
I guess if that is what blows air up your skirt, have at it but I just don't see the ROI for going to that length. I guess that is what makes the world for round and round!!
Thanks again and HAPPY GLAMPING!!

 

[Lantley]

Great answer and I thank you for the information. Still not sure about all the solar. Funny, watched a video of a couple with 5th wheel and his entire roof is covered. Think he said he had 3500W of solar and over 400AH for batteries. That is a lot of green to throw so that you can boondock all the time. They have been boondocking all the way from FL to AK and he brags that they have never hooked to shore power.
I guess if that is what blows air up your skirt, have at it but I just don't see the ROI for going to that length. I guess that is what makes the world for round and round!!
Thanks again and HAPPY GLAMPING!!

You bring up good points referring to ROI as it pertains to solar investment. However being on the East Coast I don't think we can appreciate the ability to go to BLM or just open land and boondock.
We simply just don't have the places or opportunities to boondock in a major way on the East Coast.
If we were out West I think we would see solar differently as the opportunities to boondock are greatly expanded.
Like you I never or seldom boondock however that's because there's really no place for me to go. If I were on the West Coast I imagine would spend more time off the grid.
I will add I was just at Shenandoah National Park, they had a nice campground but it had zero hookups.
If I had a major solar package The campground at Shenandoah National Park would have been a nice place to stay.