Starlink Mini on a boat
We've had a Gen 2 Starlink for over a year now, the hardware has been great, the ever changing contract less so!
We are now testing a Starlink Mini which only draws half the power of the standard unit, which is great on a boat, but sadly it's not just the straightforward plug into your 12v boat you might have hoped for.
But the question is, how will it work at sea, is it a viable alternative to the standard model ( the marine models use far too much power for an average yacht ) so should you buy one?
UPDATE 28Nov 2024
The video has just gone out to the public, but we had it up for the Patrons a couple of weeks ago and have tested the Mini on and off shore during that time.
The Unit is now fitted on the rear arch on the other side to the Standard dish we have. It's mounted Flat, the app complains that it's not aligned correctly but it doesn't seem to matter at all. We've had good solid uninterrupted connection all the time, just some very slight buffering during one or two of the very heavy rainstorms we have here to the San Blas.
The Wifi hotspot from the router in the antenna give excellent connection throughout the boat. I used the long lead supplied running from the arch down through where all the other cables go through a gland at the stern of Fair Isle, then it runs through the boat to the Nav Station midships. There was only just enough cable!
I'm powering from the small Victron Phoenix inverter I bought for the Standard Starlink. Not as efficient as staying DC and just ramping up the voltage but the Phoenix inverters are very efficient and I'm using half the power of the Standard, so very impressed with the set up.
We did go off shore sailing from Colombia to Panama and I realised the toggle for Priority service is still there, I had been told it had disappeared ( apparently it's about to) But I toggled on to Priority data for the two day crossing to Panama and the system worked fine. Just charging $2 /Gb for the data used while on Priority, we switched straight back to Standard (unlimited) data on the Roam package as soon as we reached the San Blas Islands and that works fine too.
We have now left our registered country (Colombia) so in theory the clock is ticking and I will be cut off in 60 days time. I will report back if that happens.
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Steve and Judy: The veteran BBC filmmakers navigating the globe aboard their Hans Christian 48, Fair Isle, blending broadcast-quality storytelling with blue-water grit.
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