Starlink mast holder/base

[Mark and Lorraine]

A DIY  base which could be easily placed under any of the stabilizers.

I used a 6” x 27” plate for the bottom of 3/16” steel and an 18” piece of 3” pipe. The threaded knob is 10mm. The pole is from Harbor Freight and adapter for the dish is from Amazon.

I lined the pipe with the pvc ground sleeve included with the pole. I used gorilla glue to hold in place and then contoured the top with a small grinder. I also ground a 10mm nut to the thickness of the pvc pipe and installed on the inside with red thread lock to give a larger surface when clamping the pole.

I finished it with bedliner spray.

Total cost was about $120.

 

[mossemi]

@Mark and Lorraine I find the variety of solutions among Ollie owners to the same need or issue, to be truly amazing!  Very nice mod.

Mossey 

[SeaDawg]

Sweet!  A few questions.

Where do you attach this? 

How does it function in windy conditions,? Does anything bend/sway/ rub on the Oliver? 

Is your pole fiberglass?

[Mark and Lorraine]

10 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

Sweet!  A few questions.

Where do you attach this? 

How does it function in windy conditions,? Does anything bend/sway/ rub on the Oliver? 

Is your pole fiberglass?

I haven’t used it yet, but it’s much heavier and longer than other tire mount flag pole holders sold on websites and as mentioned, made out of 3/16” steel plate. I plan on setting the base under any of the 3 stabilizers depending on which location would be best to extend the mast to give the dish the best view of the constellation. The pole is aluminum and is from Harbor Freight. The base is very stout and doesn’t flex, however the pole does a bit depending on how height and windy it is. The dish actually does a good job of not catching much wind. There is plenty of clearance and does not contact the hull.

I’ll update with it in use in a few weeks when we travel.

[MAX Burner]

@Mark and Lorraine Nice set-up, brother!  

FYI:  We just converted our SL to a dedicated "OTT 12vDC system" from their original 120vAC router - in fact, this message is being shot out ATM with the "new" config.  

You'll love it when you get to use it in a few weeks on travel - for us, because D's working from "home", SL has been a total game changer.  Enjoy yours!

Here's our mast config and ethernet wire connection - on this, quick 1-nighter, trip we're using the flagpole at the lowest height setting (6-foot) just to get Dishy off the ground:

Cheers!

A & D

[Going]

1 hour ago, Mark and Lorraine said:

I haven’t used it yet, but it’s much heavier and longer than other tire mount flag pole holders sold on websites and as mentioned, made out of 3/16” steel plate. I plan on setting the base under any of the 3 stabilizers depending on which location would be best to extend the mast to give the dish the best view of the constellation. The pole is aluminum and is from Harbor Freight. The base is very stout and doesn’t flex, however the pole does a bit depending on how height and windy it is. The dish actually does a good job of not catching much wind. There is plenty of clearance and does not contact the hull.

I’ll update with it in use in a few weeks when we travel.

Nice for being able to move from each stabilizer depending on sky.  How tall does the pole extend above the trailer?  Does it extend easily  with the dish attached?  

[Mark and Lorraine]

1 hour ago, Going said:

Nice for being able to move from each stabilizer depending on sky.  How tall does the pole extend above the trailer?  Does it extend easily  with the dish attached?  

This pole extends 20’ plus the dish post, so roughly twice the height of the trailer. Raising and lowering is not an issue for me. The gen 2 weighs in at 9# including the base which is not used. The new version looks like 7# including a smaller base.

As someone previously noted, it’ll be nice to get the dish off the ground. One less thing for me to trip over.

[Mark and Lorraine]

Update from an extended trip.  I'm more than happy with the stability and ease of use. I really like being able to simply put under one of the stabelizers. I prefer the streetside rear as the port I installed to connect is in the same location as the coaxial cable for satelite, so keeping everything in that location is simple and clean. Extending the mast 15' is managable in areas with a canopy. I'm actually surprised at the ability of the dish to function in areas with obstructions, especially when there are no leaves on the trees, It's not perfect, but enough you can stream with small lapses for buffering. One restriction is you can't extend the awning over either of the rear setups depending on location. 

The one change I would make would make is increasing the plate under the stabelizer to 1/4" from 3/16". The mast does sway a bit under windy conditions (over 15mph sustained) and is especially true when extending the mast higher than the trailer.

 

I will try to upload image later - the website is currently being uncooperative in uploading images

Edited March 30 by Mark and Lorraine
trying to upload images with a different browser - annoying