5 ms·

I was excited to see this, until realizing that the dish is not meant for permanent RV roof mounting -- I don't want to climb up on the roof every time I stop

I was excited to see this, until realizing that the dish is not meant for permanent RV roof mounting -- I don't want to climb up on the roof every time I stop so I can put out the dish, nor do I want to leave a $500 dish sitting outside my RV. Any word on whether or not they'll come out with a roof mountable dish or at least a radome to cover the dish?| They may have gone GA with the RV dish today, I've been waitlisted for over a year for a home dish, and got the RV dish email today.

wyager 4y ago
People have been DIY'ing this for a while. This service has been out for weeks - not sure why it's only getting publicity today.
- Johnny555 4y ago
  Yes, and the people I know that have done it are either putting their dish on the ground or putting it on a roof or ladder mount when they want to use it. Do you have a link to the DIY permanent installation? All the Youtube videos and other guides I've seen mount it on the roof while parked, and take it down while driving.
  - wyager 4y ago
    There's a Facebook group called starlink ESIM or something where people are doing more advanced lie-flat installations.
    - walrus01 4y ago
      On the second generation rectangular cpe, there is a certain spot where if you drill a circular hole on the rear using a hole saw, you can reach in with non-conductive tweezers and unplug the cables going to the azimuth and elevation motors. Obviously, voiding the waterproofness and the warranty of the unit.
- TecoAndJix 4y ago
  I think a bunch of people (myself included) got an email today if you are on the residential waitlist
- s5300 4y ago
  May have something to do with distraction from Musks’ current undesirable spotligt.
- skykooler 4y ago
  I just got an email about this today - I was not aware that it was available previously. I think the original poster probably got the same email.
jacquesm 4y ago
What's stopping you from coming up with a DIY solution? It would seem that the dish + the hardware are the hard part, the mount the easy part.
- wmf 4y ago
  I can understand why people are reluctant to cut up a $600 terminal with a Dremel.
  - jacquesm 4y ago
    This is hacker news after all :) And you could of course make your mount in a non-destructive way.
- Johnny555 4y ago
  What's stopping you from coming up with a DIY solution? It would seem that the dish + the hardware are the hard part, the mount the easy part. Well, for one, I'm not a satellite communications engineer. I don't know how to source or fabricate the materials to create a custom radome that's transparent at the frequencies needed, nor do I know the thermal emissions of the dish and whether or not any of it needs to be heat sinked or fan cooled. Plus, I'd feel better with a commercial radome at 70mph on the roof than some home made enclosure I glued together myself.
  - mlindner 4y ago
    > Well, for one, I'm not a satellite communications engineer. You don't really need to be. You just plop it down anywhere with a big section of the sky clear and it figures out the rest. As long as however you DIY it, it's sitting roughly flat, then it figures out the rest. No one's talking about building a radome.
    - Johnny555 4y ago
      No one's talking about building a radome. That's literally what I wrote in my post above - I want to protect it while mounted on the roof of an RV. Is the bare dish rated for 75mph+ wind and driving rain? Any word on whether or not they'll come out with a roof mountable dish or at least a radome to cover the dish?

wyager 4y ago

People have been DIY'ing this for a while. This service has been out for weeks - not sure why it's only getting publicity today.

Johnny555 4y ago
Yes, and the people I know that have done it are either putting their dish on the ground or putting it on a roof or ladder mount when they want to use it. Do you have a link to the DIY permanent installation? All the Youtube videos and other guides I've seen mount it on the roof while parked, and take it down while driving.
- wyager 4y ago
  There's a Facebook group called starlink ESIM or something where people are doing more advanced lie-flat installations.
  - walrus01 4y ago
    On the second generation rectangular cpe, there is a certain spot where if you drill a circular hole on the rear using a hole saw, you can reach in with non-conductive tweezers and unplug the cables going to the azimuth and elevation motors. Obviously, voiding the waterproofness and the warranty of the unit.
TecoAndJix 4y ago
I think a bunch of people (myself included) got an email today if you are on the residential waitlist
s5300 4y ago
May have something to do with distraction from Musks’ current undesirable spotligt.
skykooler 4y ago
I just got an email about this today - I was not aware that it was available previously. I think the original poster probably got the same email.

jacquesm 4y ago

What's stopping you from coming up with a DIY solution? It would seem that the dish + the hardware are the hard part, the mount the easy part.

wmf 4y ago
I can understand why people are reluctant to cut up a $600 terminal with a Dremel.
- jacquesm 4y ago
  This is hacker news after all :) And you could of course make your mount in a non-destructive way.
Johnny555 4y ago
What's stopping you from coming up with a DIY solution? It would seem that the dish + the hardware are the hard part, the mount the easy part. Well, for one, I'm not a satellite communications engineer. I don't know how to source or fabricate the materials to create a custom radome that's transparent at the frequencies needed, nor do I know the thermal emissions of the dish and whether or not any of it needs to be heat sinked or fan cooled. Plus, I'd feel better with a commercial radome at 70mph on the roof than some home made enclosure I glued together myself.
- mlindner 4y ago
  > Well, for one, I'm not a satellite communications engineer. You don't really need to be. You just plop it down anywhere with a big section of the sky clear and it figures out the rest. As long as however you DIY it, it's sitting roughly flat, then it figures out the rest. No one's talking about building a radome.
  - Johnny555 4y ago
    No one's talking about building a radome. That's literally what I wrote in my post above - I want to protect it while mounted on the roof of an RV. Is the bare dish rated for 75mph+ wind and driving rain? Any word on whether or not they'll come out with a roof mountable dish or at least a radome to cover the dish?