The new Starlink Mini Router, for what ails you!

[Snackchaser]

Starlink introduced the Mini Router in May, and it will hopefully address a shortfall in the Starlink Mini Dishy.  I had ordered one on Amazon for $99.99, but it was a month out for shipping.  I just checked the Starlink Store and wow!, they are only $40 with an estimated 3 day shipping!

The Mini Dishy has a built-in router, which is great!  However we often have to locate the Dishy further away from the trailer to get a treeless sky view.  The shortfall is that the farther away the dishy is, the weaker the WiFi signal becomes, which in turn slows down the internet speed.  Folks have addressed this in different ways, usually with a second router inside the trailer connected to the dishy with an RJ45 ethernet cable.  Others have combined them with Pepwave cellular routers to enhance data use, but that’s getting expensive.

The new Starlink Mini Router can be seamlessly connected wirelessly as a Mesh Node, or with an RJ45 cable.  It comes with a 120 volt wall wart for power, or Starlink offers the $45 Mini Car adapter to power it from a 12 volt cigarette lighter style plug.  So you can go full DC with your Starlink.

BTW, there are other cheaper ways to power the router for the DIY folks, I’ll use my Victron power supply described in the post titled “Starlink Mini Installation cracking the 12 vdc or not?”

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/10354-starlink-mini-installation-cracking-the-12-vdc-barrier-or-not/?do=findComment&comment=108891

Although I primarily bought this mini router to extend my home Starlink Gen-3 router WiFi coverage, I also plan to use on an upcoming trip with the Mini Dishy.  In all honesty, I’m not sure how effective it will be in the wireless mode.  It all depends if bandwidth will be lost in the WiFi signal boosting process.  Starlink recommends a RJ45 wired connection for best performance, so I’ll let you know how it works out.

Cheers, Geoff

[Geronimo John]

wow!

[Ronbrink]

7 hours ago, Snackchaser said:

or Starlink offers the $45 Mini Car adapter to power it from a 12 volt cigarette lighter style plug. 

I bought an aftermarket Starlink Mini 12V cigarette lighter plug adapter/step up converter (12V to 36V) for about the same price.  I tested it with the kit 15m cable and measured 35.6V at distance. I’m primarily going to use it when traveling with the SLM on the TV’s dash or magnetic rooftop mount. This was an Amazon purchase, BarBaren/Stargear. The converter is in keeping with the design of the wall plug adapter that comes with the SLM kit, which steps up 12V to 30V.

 

[rideandfly]

Geoff,

Thanks for the info, look forward to your Mini Router camping report.

We were just camping where they did not have shore power. Currently use an Anker battery to power the Mini dish when away from shore power and recharge Anker during the day with a USB to USB-C cable from our 12V system since our Ollie does not have an inverter and factory installed solar, we use a solar suitcase.

Since the Mini Router has USB-C like the Anker battery, I could power it with the cable I use to recharge the Anker battery when away from shore power, if I'm understanding this correctly.

Thanks,

Bill

 

 

Edited 17 hours ago by rideandfly

[Mike and Carol]

I’m going to order one to use with our Mini.  It seems it gives a lot of flexibility to the Mini setup… if you can set your dish close to the trailer you may not need it but if you’re under trees and have to move the dish further away the router would ensure good speed.  Mike

[Snackchaser]

5 hours ago, rideandfly said:

Since the Mini Router has USB-C like the Anker battery, I could power it with the cable I use to recharge the Anker battery when away from shore power, if I'm understanding this correctly.

Bill,

Yes you can power it with a USB-C cord, but I question if your Anker charger can handle the wattage.  The router needs to be fed from a power supply rated at least 65 watts at about 20VDC.  Most USB-C power supplies, and outlets for phone chargers, cannot handle that wattage.  For example, some folks have replaced the Oliver USB outlets with USB-C outlets, but these are typically under 20 watts.

The 12vdc cigarette outlets can certainly handle the wattage, but be aware of plug-in adapters to USB-C because most are low wattage.

The Starlink power supply is good value at $45.  You would pay almost that much for an aftermarket power supply and cord, but you would not get the quality that Starlink is known for.  

For the more savvy electrical folks, there are scads of 9-20VDC boost converters under $20 that can handle the wattage.  These can be used for powering all sorts of electronics or appliances that use 120vac wall transformers.  I've even seen them for under $5 on AliExpress. 

Cheers!  Geoff

[Geronimo John]

3 hours ago, Snackchaser said:

The 12vdc cigarette outlets can certainly handle the wattage, but be aware of plug-in adapters to USB-C because most are low wattage.

True. For me it was a while anyway. 

I have a truck mounted 65 watt VHF Radio.  For a couple of years I could reliably transmit at full power.  But there after the available amp draw decreased enough to only allow me to transmit at low power.  The radio would self protect if using full power.  Research told me that cigarette lighter plugs are not advised for at this power level as they are notoriously degrade over time.  .  

I don't know if your StarLinks would be considered in the same group as VHF radio's, but for ours we have to run dedicated 12V power line to the radio fuse and unit.

GJ

[rideandfly]

Geoff,

Appreciate the information!!!!!!

I'm going to get the Starlink Mini Router 12V power supply, too.

Thanks,

Bill

 

 

Edited 7 hours ago by rideandfly