3rd gen Starlink mobile tested in the canyon - mounted on MIC hard top! (Replacement equipped with magnetic bracket)

[Draughon]

THAT is damn cool and you're very brave for getting on the highway with that wing hanging on to your roof!

Driving up to 80 mph on the highway no problem!

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[Jmo0311]

I would feel better with it attached to a roof rack. Would be more secure for theft protection and I would constantly worry that I had a kite behind me at some point lol.

 

[rcl4668]

Thanks for posting! Curious, what is the monthly fee for this service?

 

[Tex]

I don't think it would be possible as Starlink uses KA band. If they are using Spot beam technology it might provide some interference protection, but due to the nature of satellite internet I'm pretty sure they use broad or wide beam, which is highly susceptible to interference. Rain and atmospheric moisture is highly degrading to KA band. When I used to work in the Army with had a Radome made of amorphous thermoplastics, specified to be invisible to the signal I don't thing the MIC would due to the core and sound deadening. I'm not 100% what the MIC is made of but knowing how the propagation of signal works, I highly doubt it would work.

I'm pretty sure the hardtop would offer minimal attenuation in KA band, but there would be some involved, so the question becomes whether the losses are worth the application. The top is essentially two thin plastic sheets sandwiching a paper honeycomb, and sound deadening material which is basically plastic thread made into a carpet of sorts. All the materials combined would likely offer similar attenuation to a 1/4" sheet of plastic or polycarbonate. The best option would be to have the antenna flush mounted as close as possible to the top itself in an area of the top as flat as possible. The further away you get from a direct obstruction such as plastic, the more it affects the signal, so if you can minimize the gap you can reduce what attenuation there is. I mean, it's not hard to test if you have the antenna, just set it on top, do an obstruction test and run a speed check , then do the same holding the antenna inside against the top to see what you'd be losing. I'd say it would be worth it just to protect the antenna, but a Bronco hard top would probably fail before the antenna would lol

 

[pillar406]

I'm pretty sure the hardtop would offer minimal attenuation in KA band, but there would be some involved, so the question becomes whether the losses are worth the application. The top is essentially two thin plastic sheets sandwiching a paper honeycomb, and sound deadening material which is basically plastic thread made into a carpet of sorts. All the materials combined would likely offer similar attenuation to a 1/4" sheet of plastic or polycarbonate. The best option would be to have the antenna flush mounted as close as possible to the top itself in an area of the top as flat as possible. The further away you get from a direct obstruction such as plastic, the more it affects the signal, so if you can minimize the gap you can reduce what attenuation there is. I mean, it's not hard to test if you have the antenna, just set it on top, do an obstruction test and run a speed check , then do the same holding the antenna inside against the top to see what you'd be losing. I'd say it would be worth it just to protect the antenna, but a Bronco hard top would probably fail before the antenna would lol

Yeah that's kinda what I was getting to because I like to have the best signal as possible. I'd like to keep all my data packets lol

 

[MayhemMike]

I can’t help but believe the attachment points will eventually cause stress failure on the MIC top. Other then that…nice.

 

[Tex]

Yeah that's kinda what I was getting to because I like to have the best signal as possible. I'd like to keep all my data packets lol

Starlink has so many lost data packets as it is, you probably wouldn't even notice a few here and there from a hard top. It would be like making a carbon fiber license plate mount in an effort to save weight on a semi truck lol

Fortunately it's a pretty robust network so it only manifests as a little bit of lag and randomly pixelated youtube videos, but I get the reason behind wanting to minimize that.

 

[ethanxy]

It looks cool, but in reality, it's not necessary and one big dishy on top will give you more wind noise and etc.

Since Bronco doesn't have a metal roof, so the Starlink antenna signal isn't affected by the Bronco's roof.

Every time I go to the mountains, I plug my G2 Starlink into a portable power source and put it in the trunk, and it always works fine. I'm not sure if the speed is affected, but I'm not too concerned about the maximum internet speed when I'm outdoors.

 

[EL in NH]

It looks cool, but in reality, it's not necessary and one big dishy on top will give you more wind noise and etc.

Since Bronco doesn't have a metal roof, so the Starlink antenna signal isn't affected by the Bronco's roof.

Every time I go to the mountains, I plug my G2 Starlink into a portable power source and put it in the trunk, and it always works fine. I'm not sure if the speed is affected, but I'm not too concerned about the maximum internet speed when I'm outdoors.

you have a trunk?

 

[MyDogGoldie]

internet everywhere

 

[HighVelocity]

Life is better without internet. But that being said, if it allows u to spend more time outdoors, then that's cool. The technology is great. But I do hate having youtube in the mountains. It kills the vibe.

I mostly agree, however tech like this has made it possible for me to "work from home" on my remote Montana property on occasion, which has vastly improved my life.

 

[KermitBronco]

Thanks for posting! Curious, what is the monthly fee for this service?

$250. Month-by-month for "mobile" (meaning you can have it working while driving). As OP said - driving 80 mph works like a charm.

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