Snackchaser

Great catch ScubaRx! I ran out there and it was a partially open. Thankfully those quick fittings shut off automatically, but that redundant shut-off lever should be closed regardless. Thanks, Geoff

Greetings. Our tacky dishy mast is simply a 10 foot stick of 1” EMT (Electrical Metallic Tubing) with a Starlink mast adapter on one end. It was overpriced for $20 at my local ACE hardware, but much less than other flimsy looking masts that were available the time. I wasn’t keen on mounting anything to the Fiberglass, or using a ladder to step it on the roof. My experience is that you need to be able to move dishy around to get obstruction free sky at many RV sites. I’d discourage any fixed or permanent mounting because parks love trees and you'll often will find yourself without internet because of them. For that reason, I put mounts on both the front and rear of the trailer because it alway seems like one end or the other is shaded by a tree. Of course here in the Great North Wet we have lots of tall trees and we often have to put dishy on the ground to avoid them. We’ve put dishy in neighbors sites more than a few times, on the hood of the truck, and even in a tree. Were thankful that Starlink provides a tripod and long cord. Oh, I should mention that the Starlink App is a great tool for finding obstruction free satellites. I made my mast mounts with 6” x 1-1/2” OD stainless pipe, the rear one was mounted on a 3” x 3” aluminum angle with 2” stainless u-bolts, and the front on a 3” x 3” plate cut from the same piece of angle. They sell 12” lengths on Amazon for under $12, but I got some cut-offs at the local metal supply. The stainless pipe I already had laying around from a marine supply, but I’m sure the metal supply would have it too. The 2” inch stainless u-bolts are pretty common and I may have bent them a smidge to fit around the pipe. The rear mount is attached to the existing (optional) bumper mounting bolts, the front is screwed to the (optional) front cargo carrier. I drilled and counter sunk the front mounting screws. I think there are other frame places you could mount the pipes if you don’t have the optional bumper and cargo carrier. The mounts almost look like they belong there, so at least that part is not too tacky. The mast just slips in through the pipe and sits on the ground. Makes a tacky flagpole too! The mast is stored under the trailer, not tacky at all! I used heavy TY-Wraps to secure a length of 2” PVC pipe with an end cap along the frame rail and into the sewer hose storage compartment. You can’t see it, and it can’t come out unless the bumper is folded down. That reminds me, don’t forget to pull it out before parking to close to something in the back. I provided a few pictures as best as I could… but I couldn’t pull the mast out because I was parked to close to something in the back. Good luck and Cheers, Geoff & Tanya

Ollietime wrote: I 'm confused, I received my Starlink kit a few days ago and the cable connectors are proprietary, not RJ45. Interesting? I have the original Gen-1 round dishy with the latest Starlink Gen-3 router. Both have RJ45 connectors? But admittedly, I’ve never looked at the Gen-2 rectangular dishy. So I looked on-line and sure enough the Gen-2 has a different connector. Thanks for that comment! No worries though, my installation should still be a good option because Amazon sells the “Aosheng Rectangular Dishy Cable Adapter to RJ45” for $35. It’s not waterproof, but that looks easy enough to address. I’d just use a longer RJ45 cable than the one supplied, and I'd put it under the trailer out of the rain and off the ground. Maybe in a Tupperware box thats notched for the cables. It wouldn't be absolutely watertight, but neither are the other plug-in options. It still beats cutting the Cable. Cheers!

Greetings! I was reading some great instructions for installing Starlink inlet ports on the outside of an Oliver. However, it was a pity that the installations required cutting and splicing the Starlink cable. That’s a discouraging and challenging proposition, so I just signed up to this Forum to share how I did mine without cutting the cable. My method was risk free, super easy and with quality results. The wiring is all plug-in with about $35 worth of Amazon parts. The router and modem is ideally located in the Oliver’s attic where there is an AC outlet and good WIFI broadcasting. Sorry to those if I've duplicated some of their installation methods, I guess great minds just think alike. I’ve provided a list of 3 Amazon parts, and recommended a few tools that are worth owning anyway: Furrion Mini TV/SAT Inlet #FTVINB-PS, $11.30 Penglin #PL252, RJ45 CAT6 female to female panel mount connector, two for $14.99 Juxinice 10’ long shielded RJ45 Cat-6 cable with a 90 degree angle connector, $9.69 Neiko #10194a step drill bit, or similar, $10.99 Generic brand 14’ fiberglass fish rod, or other Amazon options under $20 It’s a good idea to first test the parts by running an internet speed test both before and after plugging-in the new cable and connector between your dishy and router/modem. You can use any internet speed test such as Ookla or the Starlink App, and the speeds should be about the same unless the new cable or connector is faulty. Start your installation by unscrewing and removing the coax connector from the new Furrion fitting, then enlarge the hole with a step drill bit to accept the Penglin connector. This is the exact same Furrion fitting that Oliver uses for the outside Cable and Satellite TV connections, so you could use one of the existing ones if you don’t need the the satellite or cable connection. Find a relatively flat surface next to the existing Furrion cable/satellite TV fittings to install the new Furrion fitting (with the installed Penglin connector). Unscrew the storage compartment liner so that it can be pulled back to access the area where the connector will pass through. Using a step drill, make a hole big enough for the Penglin coupler to pass through into the storage compartment, and drill large enough holes so that the Furrion mounting screws will hold without chipping the fiberglass. The photo shows where I mounted mine, but it gives an illusion of being crooked and unevenly spaced??? With the storage compartment liner pulled back, the AC drain tube can be seen running down between the trailer walls. This is a good guide to fish the new Juxinice cable up into the Oliver’s attic compartment. The recommended fish rod makes this easy and you will have to unscrew and pull back the attic side panel for access. The 90 degree end of the new Juxinice cable will be plugged into the back of the Penguin connector and other end into the Starlink modem in the attic. That’s it! Replace the panels and your done. The Starlink Dishy cable will plug into the outside of the new connector and the Furrion fitting keeps everything dry when it’s unplugged. Don’t worry about the rumored proprietary Starlink wiring, this is just a pass-though connection and the internal color coding of the individual wires does not matter. I was a beta tester for Starlink when it first came out, and I still use the original Gen-1 round dishy at home and when traveling with the Oliver. We used to run the dishy cable though the outdoor compartment door, and we kept the router and modern under the bed close to the AC outlet. This was always kinking the cable, interfering with the compartment seal, and generally in the way. The quick disconnect was really worth doing, and wifey is happy that she doesn’t have to crawl under the bed to pull the cable though anymore. Watch for a future post on how to conveniently mount and store a Dishy pipe mast. Cheers and good luck, Geoff & Tanya