Starlink Cable Pass Through? (1 Viewer)

[ceejayt]

I actually like having the Starlink available to place anywhere around the vehicle to be sure of a signal and modifying it for a roof mount doesn't really appeal.

The problem I have is that I need to leave a window slightly ajar for the cable to come in to the vehicle which can be a little draughty! (Currently on the coast in Northern Ireland - very wet and windy!!!)

Is anyone aware of something I can fit to the wall to allow me to pass the cable through as and when I want to that is weatherproof and straightforward?

Thanks in advance

 

[Figaro]

You can get a combined coaxial / F type connection fitted with a protective cover, but I've no idea if the starlink is compatible with the F type fitting ?

 

[ManTheVan]

All I can suggest is to try googling “12V cableport” and looking at the options. I’d imagine that a cableport suited for a roof should do the job, but you’d probably want to break the cable and install proper connectors rather than trying to pass the cable through the wall every time? That way, you’d plug in the Starlink antenna each time.

I’d be a bit worried about someone stealing the antenna, to be honest, unless it was installed on the roof?

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[ceejayt]

Not too worried about it being stolen - used it loads this year on and off grid without a problem and they are not much use to anyone as they are serialised so won't just work without reregistering I guess.

A break in the cable with plugs either side would be the best bet I guess - not sure what connectors I would need.

 

[ManTheVan]

Not too worried about it being stolen - used it loads this year on and off grid without a problem and they are not much use to anyone as they are serialised so won't just work without reregistering I guess.

A break in the cable with plugs either side would be the best bet I guess - not sure what connectors I would need.

Does Starlink sell waterproof connector plugs? I’d imagine they would have to offer something of that nature? Good luck.

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[ceejayt]

This is the closest thing I have found so far and could go through into my garage?

 

[stewartwebr]

I went for the fixed roof mounting and must say I’m really pleased with performance. We also went for the 12Volt conversion. So no packing away, always there, always available. Personally couldn’t be bothered with the faff of packing and unpacking.

 

[zac]

any ip67 rj45 connector box would work as its just a network connector

 

[zac]

I went for the fixed roof mounting and must say I’m really pleased with performance. We also went for the 12Volt conversion. So no packing away, always there, always available. Personally couldn’t be bothered with the faff of packing and unpacking.

same, so much easier just hitting a switch when stopped or telling Alexa to turn the starlink on

 

[ceejayt]

Well beyond my skill set to roof mount.

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[zac]

Well beyond my skill set to roof mount.

nah you would be surprised, its easier than you think. The main part is the mount as once you have that it's quite simple, i am not a DIY person by any means but i managed it, you just need to take your time. If you have a Vison plus TV aerial on your roof that you dont use it's even easier as you can just the same hole with one of my 3D prints (I have some spare). Mine's been in now for nearly a year with no issues at all.

 

[stewartwebr]

Well beyond my skill set to roof mount.

I bought the frame 3D printed off eBay and followed the directions of this guy

 

[ceejayt]

Thanks. Still not going to attempt it myself. Total wuss

 

[ceejayt]

nah you would be surprised, its easier than you think. The main part is the mount as once you have that it's …

What do you do in a campsite full of trees?

 

[Carpmart]

I actually like having the Starlink available to place anywhere around the vehicle to be sure of a signal and modifying it for a roof mount doesn't really appeal.

The problem I have is that I need to leave a window slightly ajar for the cable to come in to the vehicle which can be a little draughty! (Currently on the coast in Northern Ireland - very wet and windy!!!)

Is anyone aware of something I can fit to the wall to allow me to pass the cable through as and when I want to that is weatherproof and straightforward?

Thanks in advance

Have a look at the main Starlink thread and you will see the way I’ve done it. I would call it semi permanent and it takes 2 mins to hook up when on site and gives the flexibility to use on the ground if obstructed.

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[gus-lopez]

All I can suggest is to try googling “12V cableport” and looking at the options. I’d imagine that a cableport suited for a roof should do the job, but you’d probably want to break the cable and install proper connectors rather than trying to pass the cable through the wall every time? That way, you’d plug in the Starlink antenna each time.

I’d be a bit worried about someone stealing the antenna, to be honest, unless it was installed on the roof?

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Provides a neat, water resistant installation. Use this attractive cable outlet to neatly pass cables through bulkheads. 1 Piece Boat Cable Outlet. Size: Approx. Due to the light and screen setting difference, the item's color may be slightly different from the pictures.

www.ebay.co.uk

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View attachment 879649

The ethernet end would go through but the antenna end wouldn't . Which means you would have to pull the whole 15m of cable through from the roof end every time
Antenna end is a 90º right angled aesthetically triangulated plug 32mm long x 25mm in height,

A break in the cable with plugs either side would be the best bet I guess - not sure what connectors I would need.

Not recommmended & why they only sell complete extended cables.

 

[stewartwebr]

What do you do in a campsite full of trees?

Mine is mounted at the rear so I can do a 180degrees and be 11m the other way. We are very rarely on campsites and avoid trees. But agree it is a downside to permanent mounting. It’s a bit like the satellite dish. I just prefer the ease of use.

 

[zac]

What do you do in a campsite full of trees?

Never been anywhere that has any to be honest but if i was then i would just use the MIFI as still have one and it works abroad just not a lot of data but enough for the odd night etc

 

[zac]

Not recommmended & why they only sell complete extended cables.

This is not correct as its just an ethernet cable and they are selling them in one length to try and accommodate for peoples individual circumstances. I have 2 breaks in my cable with no issues. 1 at the dish end and 1 in the cupboard so i can use it still on 240v but also when i eventually get around to converting it to 12v i don't need to cut the cable again. Also if i was to use it on 12v and there was an issue i can easily go back to 240v just by plugging the RJ45 connector in which would take 2 mins as opposed to rewiring it again.

 

[HillRunner]

I actually like having the Starlink available to place anywhere around the vehicle to be sure of a signal and modifying it for a roof mount doesn't really appeal.

The problem I have is that I need to leave a window slightly ajar for the cable to come in to the vehicle which can be a little draughty! (Currently on the coast in Northern Ireland - very wet and windy!!!)

Is anyone aware of something I can fit to the wall to allow me to pass the cable through as and when I want to that is weatherproof and straightforward?

Thanks in advance

I use one of these but you need to cut the cable and fit RJ45 plugs
Waterproof connector
I can use the antenna on different places on the roof (using glazier's triple suction clamp) or around the van. Most useful when in more wooded areas. Originally I was feeding through the door but I felt that eventually the cable could be damaged.

The one you posted above has the advantage of not cutting through the cable but naturally involves threading the cable through each time.

I have found that there are benefits in getting a better signal with a movable antenna but there is an increased set-up/take-down time.

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[ceejayt]

That waterproof connector looks ideal - I would then just need to split the cable, mount the router internally wired to one side of the connector and have an ethernet connection to the full length of cable for the outside.

Will definitely give it some thought. How easy to split the cable and add the ethernet connectors? Again, DIY not my forte!

 

[zac]

How easy to split the cable and add the ethernet connectors? Again, DIY not my forte!

Very easy to cut the cable and put on a shielded RJ45 end, plenty of options on amazon to do this very cheaply. Get the connectors that pass the cable through as much easier to crimp and can take out when cables are not sorted correctly before crimping. If passing Basingstoke i can do it for you as it will literally take 10 mins.

 

[HillRunner]

That waterproof connector looks ideal - I would then just need to split the cable, mount the router internally wired to one side of the connector and have an ethernet connection to the full length of cable for the outside.

Will definitely give it some thought. How easy to split the cable and add the ethernet connectors? Again, DIY not my forte!

Yes, I leave the router permanently connected on the inside. Crimping the cables is not difficult (as zac says). However, you do need a crimper (very easy to get). I already had one. It is a bit fiddly but not difficult. Pass through connector are the easiest and if you are buying a crimper then make sure you purchase one for pass-through that will cut the ends as part of the crimp. It is just critical that you connect the plugs with exactly the same pinouts each side. I used the T-568B pattern but it doesn't actually matter as long as they match. There is power on the wires and a mix up could result in permanent damage.

 

[ceejayt]

Very easy to cut the cable and put on a shielded RJ45 end, plenty of options on amazon to do this very cheaply. Get the connectors that pass the cable through as much easier to crimp and can take out when cables are not sorted correctly before crimping. If passing Basingstoke i can do it for you as it will literally take 10 mins.

Might take you up on that

 

[fred_jb]

I actually like having the Starlink available to place anywhere around the vehicle to be sure of a signal and modifying it for a roof mount doesn't really appeal.

The problem I have is that I need to leave a window slightly ajar for the cable to come in to the vehicle which can be a little draughty! (Currently on the coast in Northern Ireland - very wet and windy!!!)

Is anyone aware of something I can fit to the wall to allow me to pass the cable through as and when I want to that is weatherproof and straightforward?

Thanks in advance

I have put a mounting base on the roof - equivalent to the standard four legged base but smaller, so did not need to modify the dish at all, and importantly this retains the ability to use the orginal mount to deploy it on the ground at the end of a long cable where the van roof would be shaded. In my case it only takes a minute to put it on the roof via the large roof vent at the front of the van. Very pleased with the mount which is made by a company called Starvmount and has a plastic plug to close off the mount when the dish is not mounted and this also has a dummy waterproof socket to stow the end of the dish cable when the dish is not mounted.

Regarding the connection it is possible to get two part connectors where you mount the captive part in the wall of the van, albeit needing to cut a hole which I was not keen to do. To use these you do need to cut the cable and fit two standard RJ45 connectors, one to go into the captive part and one into the free end. I used one of these connectors, but decided to put the captive part on a bracket inside the toilet cassette hatch. I then cut the router end off a spare Starlink cable I bought for this purpose and put it through the roof via one of the waterproof cable glands used for solar panel wires and routed it internally through a cupboard and behind panels into the space under the dinette seat and from there into the toilet cassette space.

This is the connector I used: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BY9546ZH?tag=mhf04-21

This arrangement allows me to normally have the dish on the roof, but if shaded I have the option of instead putting it on its standard mount at the end of the long standard cable. To keep this completely standard I did not fit a plug directly to it but instead modified a Starlink ethernet adapter. This then plugs into the captive socket inside the toilet cassette space and the standard cable then plugs into that inside that space. The cable then exits this space and I have found that it is possible to close the hatch and lock it on one side with the cable exiting on the other side of the hatch.

The final and optional part of this was to convert the Starlink to DC operation. The parts needed for this were conveniently mounted inside the dinette seat next to where I fitted my inverter, taking a fused supply off the invertor connectors which go back to the leisure batteries via some very heavy cables. I used a POE injector which outputs the power on the non-standard pins used by Starlink so although it needs to connect to the dish via an RJ45 shielded connector, this can use the standard T568B pin outs and the output to my router can also be a standard cable. This setup then uses my own router to replace the Starlink one, giving me a lot more configuration options. I chose a compact travel router called the Beryl AX3000 which is powered by a USB-C connection and which I am very pleased with. This sits in the cupboard above the dinette seat.

Some pictures below if this is of any help, and I can provide more details of the parts I used if anyone wants them.

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[Orion]

Could you not use a waterproof RJ45 pass through connector mounted in a convenient location? Some available on eBay for as little as £5-£6 and would save having to splice cables etc.

 

[fred_jb]

Could you not use a waterproof RJ45 pass through connector mounted in a convenient location? Some available on eBay for as little as £5-£6 and would save having to splice cables etc.

View attachment 897229

That is exactly what I have used - see Amazon link in my post. The only difference is that I chose to mount the captive part behind the toilet cassette door rather than cut another hole in the outside of the van. Not sure what you mean about avoiding splicing cables? In order to use these pass though connectors you need to cut the Starlink cable and fit an RJ45 connector on each cut end. One end then plugs into the back of the captive part of the connector and the other end needs to be fitted inside the free plug part, so the cable needs to be passed through this before fitting the RJ45 connector. This connector then sits inside the plug and mates with the socket on the captive part when you plug the two parts together.

 

[Jabstatt]

Bullfinch bbqpoint without the bbq connector, can be cut to any size hole you need!

Tony

 

[fred_jb]

Recent experience at a campsite with lots of trees near the hardstanding pitch has shown me that retaining the ability to deploy the dish on the ground is important. I found that on the roof it was struggling to get online so I put it on the ground away from the van and got a download speed of 296 Mbit/s and upload of 19 Mbit/s using Starlink's own speed test. Later on I got 119 down and 19 up as measured by Ookla, still more than adequate.

I had been reluctant to find space in the van for the large and awkwardly shaped standard stand. After some thought and online research I found that some people have used a tripod type stand. These are a bit expensive, but I carry a Slik mini camera tripod around with me anyway, so decided to try using that. I found that the central part could be slid out and replaced with a length of 18mm aluminium rod and an aftermarket Starlink pipe mount from Amazon - total cost £35 and very easy to fold down and stow in the van.

 

[Bustup15]

Look at the Starlink ordered now thread my post 1040 ish I think

I fitted a hatch in the garage floor to allow cable access for starlink unmodified ends.

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