Moabite
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
I've had Starlink residential service for 3 years and it has been flawless. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to take advantage of the rare sale on Starlink's new Mini dish. I've lived about 30 miles outside of Moab for more than 50 years and, as many of you are aware, cell phone service (and internet) is simply not available in much of this area because of the rugged topography. I've carried inReach devices for many years.
I mounted the Starlink Mini dish in the Gladiator last week. It works great inside the cab and while driving. However, it hates wearing a tinfoil hat. When it was turned on for the first time, it refused to locate any satellites. Turns out the HotHeads headliners and Sound Assassin strips that I installed a few years ago have a layer of tinfoil-like material. Once I trimmed the rear passenger side HotHead, Starlink connected immediately.
My drive to town takes me down the winding Highway 128 deep in the narrow canyon of the Colorado River where there is absolutely no cell service. With Starlink, I've been able to maintain a cellular connection all the way to town, even in an area where SiriusXM radio always drops out. I've been able to walk at least 100 feet from the Jeep and maintain a solid wifi signal. Speeds have been at or over 100Mbps when stationary and about half that when driving.
I've attached a few photos of the installation. I still need to clean up the cable routing and the adhesive residue left from the HotHeads. The dish is connected to the keyed 120V outlet on the back of the center console via a 100-watt USB-C charger/adapter. The Jeep's USB-C outlets do not provide sufficient power to run the dish. When the Jeep is not running, the dish can be plugged into a 100-watt USB-C port on the Jackery.
The Mini is mounted to a conveniently empty hole in the sport bar with a C-size RAM Mount ball and arm. I initially mounted it with the smaller B-size RAM Mount gear. However, it would not stay in place on rough roads. The B-size mounts are only rated to hold 1 pound under heavy-duty use while the C-size mounts are rated at 3 pounds for heavy duty use. The C-size mount is extremely sturdy and has not moved at all since installed. I've also mounted a ball on the DV8 chase rack so the dish can easily be moved out of the cab if necessary.
I mounted the Starlink Mini dish in the Gladiator last week. It works great inside the cab and while driving. However, it hates wearing a tinfoil hat. When it was turned on for the first time, it refused to locate any satellites. Turns out the HotHeads headliners and Sound Assassin strips that I installed a few years ago have a layer of tinfoil-like material. Once I trimmed the rear passenger side HotHead, Starlink connected immediately.
My drive to town takes me down the winding Highway 128 deep in the narrow canyon of the Colorado River where there is absolutely no cell service. With Starlink, I've been able to maintain a cellular connection all the way to town, even in an area where SiriusXM radio always drops out. I've been able to walk at least 100 feet from the Jeep and maintain a solid wifi signal. Speeds have been at or over 100Mbps when stationary and about half that when driving.
I've attached a few photos of the installation. I still need to clean up the cable routing and the adhesive residue left from the HotHeads. The dish is connected to the keyed 120V outlet on the back of the center console via a 100-watt USB-C charger/adapter. The Jeep's USB-C outlets do not provide sufficient power to run the dish. When the Jeep is not running, the dish can be plugged into a 100-watt USB-C port on the Jackery.
The Mini is mounted to a conveniently empty hole in the sport bar with a C-size RAM Mount ball and arm. I initially mounted it with the smaller B-size RAM Mount gear. However, it would not stay in place on rough roads. The B-size mounts are only rated to hold 1 pound under heavy-duty use while the C-size mounts are rated at 3 pounds for heavy duty use. The C-size mount is extremely sturdy and has not moved at all since installed. I've also mounted a ball on the DV8 chase rack so the dish can easily be moved out of the cab if necessary.
Sponsored
