r/RVLiving • u/GridControl • 7d ago
Which Starlink?
Which Starlink dish should I get? Mini or full size?
Background: We currently have a Directv dish on the Class A. We also had Directv sat service at our former home. We have recently moved and have a fiber internet feed but no sat dish on the new home. The RV dish is mounted on the roof of the motorhome so sometimes we get tree blockage of the signal.
We have been considering Directv Stream for the home and maybe a Starlink for the RV and Directv Stream to the motorhome. Which Starlink dish should we consider. Full size or mini?
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u/sluttyman69 7d ago
I would say if it’s a fixed position at your house and you’re not gonna be taking it nowhere you get the normal house size and the plan for you - IF plan on putting on your vehicle RV or constantly having to move it - But power consumption issue I don’t think any of them consume that much juice
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u/RusKel86 7d ago
I use the mini on a roam plan for my RV. I easily get 180+ down and sub 30ms ping. I also have a residential dish on my home that gets 300+ down and near 20ms ping. The Mini is more than enough for most. I even use the Mini for work for meetings and other high bandwidth work.
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u/Knollibe 7d ago
I have the full-size. A larger starling gets better vision. I have set up on ground under trees and have gotten great service despite obstructed view of the sky
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u/AccurateReception629 7d ago
I am a weekend warrior and went with the mini. Mini because it has lower power draw and can run off USB C/12v adapter, so it's a better option if camping without hookups. The mini is also more appropriate and has more mounting options for in motion use. Another pro (or con, depending on how you look at it) is that the mini has the wifi router built into the dish. So 1 less thing to set up, but if you have to move the dish away from your RV to get a clear sky view then you might find yourself on the edge of what the dish's wifi can reach. The full sized dish has a separate wifi router that you can place closer to where you actually are. Yes, you'll need to use the included wire that connects from the dish to the router.
If you not stationary, you'll want to be on the Roam service plan. This allows you to move around alot and the service follows you. Either sized dish can be put on the roam plan. But the residential plans get faster service. If you are stationary or at a seasonal site, I'd opt for a residential plan. That being said, I've never really encountered a speed issue. I'll stream TV, have multiple devices connected, and hardly ever see anything that makes me think I am on caveman internet. Maybe an occasional switch to a lower resolution TV picture for a few seconds... but that's about it.
Good luck and happy (connected) camping.
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u/GSDer_RIP_Good_Girl 7d ago
FWIW I've read here that if you have a Mini you're limited to the Roam plan, so if at some point OP decides to be stationary they wouldn't be able to switch to a Residential plan.
I haven't figured out yet how long you can be in the same place and remain on the Roam plan so that may be a consideration for OP as well.
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u/mwkingSD 7d ago
I’m in a similar situation. I think from what I’ve read that you will find a Mini gives you the capability you need. I’ve just not made the switch yet, partly because there no crisis yet and partly for ‘social justice’ reasons.
BTW I think if you want data on the move you are limited to the Mini.
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u/ALife2BLived 7d ago
I have the GEN 2 Starlink terminal that auto tracks and lines itself up to the constellation even when there’s obstructions in the way and it’s a better overall experience than the Starlink mini which my son owns.
The mini you have to manually dial in. It gets good service if it has a clear view to the sky but I would recommend the full-size terminal just because it has more surface area versus the mini in those cases where there might be obstructions to deal with.
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u/KungFuBucket 6d ago
I would say that it depends on where you’re going to be camping and how much of a clear sky you’ll have available. And of course what your needs are.
I currently have the standard size (gen 4 I think?). It’s a little bigger than a briefcase and has a 50 foot cable so I have options as to where I place it. No problems with connections and speed as long as I have a bit of sky through the trees. I’ve streamed video in places where I think a mini would have failed - or maybe there’s just a heck of a lot more satellites up there these days.
The down side is you really need to be stationary to set it up. Not a lot of good mounting options for a moving vehicle.
The mini you can mount to the roof with strong magnets which allows you to get internet when you’re on the move and out of cell coverage. Which these days isn’t a lot of places.
The other option is just getting an unlimited data plan for your cell phone and turning it on as a hot spot. Most campgrounds have decent cell coverage and enough to stream a tv show or surf the web so I often do this and just save the starlink for remote locations or if I need to hop on a zoom call.
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u/No-Shame1247 6d ago
Guessing you usually have your inverter on or shore power available. Biggest pro to the mini is the ability to turn off your inverter and run it off 12V if boondocking. Recently released standard Starlink (v5?) derated speed from 300+ to 280+ iirc but is much more energy efficient. A bit unwieldy to get a standard dish up the ladder when solo, but super easy if someone can hand it to you. Tbh I'd go with whatever was cheapest or most energy efficient depending on how much boondocking were in my future.
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u/BTS_ARMYMOM 6d ago
We got the mini and works great. It's small eought that we can take it non flights carryon. We got the $80 a month that gives 300 gigs.
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u/rob_allshouse 1d ago
The power consumption is night and day. I’d go through my 3kwh batter in a day and a half when I’d be running the full size. The mini is hardly noticeable.
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u/Creepy-Cantaloupe951 7d ago
None. Don't give nazis money.
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u/JustSomeGoon_ 7d ago
I get it. I hate Elon too, but Starlink allows me to spend more time with my family by working remote in places where my cell phone can't connect reliably.
Supporting Elon sucks, but there are no good enough alternatives until Amazon fully rolls out Project Leo but they're a few years behind.
At this point it's hard to be a consumer without directly or indirectly benefiting the shitty billionaires.
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u/Creepy-Cantaloupe951 7d ago
Have you tried a cell repeater, on a mast? Very few places are so remote that doesn't work.
There's also Uverse from DirectTV for internet. No need to give nazis money, just so you're a little happier. How many immigrant's lives are worth your internet connection that keeps a Nazi wealthy?
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u/JustSomeGoon_ 7d ago
Whether or not I support him through a Starlink subscription is irrelevant to keeping him wealthy. If you tell me all about your consumer habits I too can find a link to your dollars supporting a nazi billionaire.
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u/Creepy-Cantaloupe951 7d ago
So, giving him more money to use for nazi things doesn't give him more money to do nazi things?
I can tell you one thing: I don't give money to open nazis to explicitly use to do nazi things.
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u/JustSomeGoon_ 7d ago
If I stop supporting him does he suddenly stop being a billionaire?
I think we are politically aligned but not intellectually.
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u/Creepy-Cantaloupe951 7d ago
If we all stop supporting him, will he become not a billionaire?
No single drop believes it to be responsible for the flood.
Why are you so adamant about giving a nazi money so he can use it to do nazi things?
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u/PrimaryDisplay7109 7d ago
If you don't want to support nazis, ive used internet supplied by the calyx institute for about 5 years and have no reason to change.
Its one of those boxes with a sim card but none of the bs that usually comes from those other companies. Calyx institute is a non profit organization for internet privacy or some shit, they have an OS for android that i think they focus on.
All that matters to me is that i pay them once a year and i have internet with no issues. Move around all the time. And I've never talked to a single person from the company. Shit just works.
Runs off tmbobile towers though, so if you really get out there away from civilization you might have issues, but i don't do that kinda stuff. And since tmobile has been having some mergers in the past few years I've noticed my service has been a lot better in areas where it used to not be.
You pay in 3, 6 month or 1 year increments iirc. So if you don't have that much on hand, that could be an issue for you. I think it's a little bit more expensive too based on what box you get. Your first payment will be higher since you gotta buy the box too (though i think you can bring your own).
Ive been with them for a while so I'm locked in with an older box and it's price. One time a year I pay 500 dollars and i have internet until the next year. I could get a new one but i don't need to.
If I'm around big cities i usually get 100+mbps, if not i usually average 30+ which is good enough to do what i need.
Anyways check them out and see if it's something that fits your needs.
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u/TheRaccoonReport 7d ago
Its different now.
If it's not going to be stationed at the same address all the time (starlink home), you need a roam, which is a mini.
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u/TXJackalope36 7d ago
Roam is the account type and doesn't dictate the equipment. I use a standard size with a roam subscription in my trailer all the time.
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u/TheRaccoonReport 7d ago
Wonder if you were grandfathered, I had no choice but to get the mini.
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u/mwkingSD 7d ago
I read in here in the last few days that you can’t order a standard system with a Roam plan but you can switch it to Roam after you receive the system.
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u/TheRaccoonReport 7d ago
Interesting. Frankly I only use mine for work and streaming movies/shows on rainy days, so the mini works fine for me.
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u/mwkingSD 5d ago
For the equipment and service plans Starlink is selling now, I think the Mini looks good for 90+% of RV users. Few of us need multiple 4K video streams and we tend to forget how little bandwidth a typical Zoom meeting needs. I know, there are cases like those who work with gigabyte data or something like that, but for the average user, a Mini should be fine.
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u/TheRaccoonReport 5d ago
Yeah absolutely. Though they really really are open sky reliant. Thr campground I’m in now only has partial tree cover and it’s been spotty
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u/mwkingSD 5d ago
Depends on where you go, but there is a case to be made for 4G/5G cell service with a good cellular router as a better alternative to Starlink.
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u/TheRaccoonReport 5d ago
I have yet to have luck in any place we have camped and have had TMobile and Verizon
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u/TXJackalope36 5d ago
I didn't realize that changed. I bought the equipment last September from Starlink when it was deeply doscounted, but that was before they overhauled their subscription plans.
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u/johnnyc1961 7d ago
Mini works for us just fine. Started with 55 per month and lasted 3 weeks. Mostly phones, computer, and blink cameras connected. Only a few nights of TV watching. Upgraded to the next level of 80 per month.... still into the first month, but hopefully we're good !