Good job on this Kyle - if this was around when I was doing my 12v conversion I would have definitely considered it. It does everything you want. I'm surprised you used 48 WH with the original router, but I guess every case is different. I think the biggest savings for me is being able to shut off the main inverter in the trailer and still have starlink on - for times when I need to be available all night and we are out in the middle of nowhere :) Great job I think this video is going to help a lot of people!
Thanks Bob, yes I was actually surprised only used 48wh, i was expecting more. The thing I didn't want to try to account for is that I normally are running the Starlink off my 3000w interter so I actually think the conversion is saving me more power since that interter in the power stations is only a 600w. I do still have to keep the interter on because I run my fridge off of it as well. I have seen a significant power saving each day overall already. I have been putting it to "sleep" at night until the new smart switch arrives. Thanks for watching- K
@@thewanderingshores i think the power savings will largely depend on the efficiency of the inverter. Many lose 15% right off the bat so that's a huge win right there. Cheers - glad it's working well for you! This should be a popular video :)
Excellent, ours has been working fantastic ever since we installed it about 2 months ago. Glad the video was helpful and I actually didn't know that they had also created a version for the flat dish, so that's great news.
Was pepwave router powered with the portable battery along with starlink? If not that would skew the power savings on 12v with pepwave externally powered. Thanks.
In my original setup, the pepwave was powered via 12 volt off of my house battery, and the starlink router was powered off of my 3000 watt inverter. Since I will no longer be powering the factory starlink router off of the inverter, I actually probably am saving even more power since I'm not losing The conversion from 12 to 115 volt.
Great video. We don’t have starlink. But I would have thought with such portability it would have already had factory options for dc power. Pretty big savings in power. Especially if you boondock.
Any tips on using the Xtra-Link router as in setup. There are zero instructions for router setup. I’m on vacation in SW Colorado and installed everything inside a cabinet with a inline power switch.
Let me check, I think mine came with some basic instructions in the box, I'll look for them. Do me a favore and send me and email so I can email you what I find. thewanderingshores2020@gmail.com thanks Kyle (UPDATE I found the instructions and have photos I can send you)
Hi there- Really appreciate your video. I've purchased this conversion kit and I'm having trouble getting connected to my Starlink GEN 2 after setting up the XTAR-LINK device and the Router that came with the purchase. Any suggestions you can make? Fran Huntington Olympia, WA
Fran, thanks for touching base and I hope you find this to be as helpful as we have (well once you get it running). When you say you have not been able to get it connected, do you mean that the router is not finding the dish? issues with the router? Since I did not use the router they provided, I'm not sure how helpful I will be, I can say when I have reached out to the company they have been very quick in getting back to me. That might be the best route.- Kyle
Continues to work well, about 2 weeks ago though. My pepwave went out and I'm needing to replace the router. So currently I'm just running off of the factory router but had no issues with the 12-volt conversion. Looking forward to getting it reinstalled and up and running again to save the power during the winter especially
Great video on what looks like a great 12v conversion. Any reason you do not use the sleep schedule in the Starlink app to save power. Or does that not work once you remove the Starlink router. Hope to see you guys on the road sometime. We will be boondocking all summer in Colorado.
Hey Jeff, great to hear from you . So yes, you still have access to all the functions of the starlink app even though you're running it through a different router. What I have started doing right now is running it in sleep mode in the evening. The only real reason I don't do that normally is because I'd rather it be at 0 W than even a reduced amount that it takes when it is in sleep. I figure if in sleep mode it's not going to be providing internet anyway. I might as well just eliminate all power to it. But I've been using it now for a week since I haven't gotten the new Smart switch yet. And I've noticed a huge power reduction overall and it's definitely a great conversion. Have a fantastic time in Colorado. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out. We've done reviews of most all of the areas that we stayed in but not 100% of them.- Kyle
We are using the pepwave br1mk 2. We've had that for many years and works well with the starlink. Even though it's an older LTE version. We actually just used to rout our starlink Wi-Fi connection through it. Anyway, that way we can sometimes combine the signal with our hotspot. They did send me one of 12 volt routers with the kit but I haven't tried that one.
I had a 12v DC smart relay connected to my 12v converted starlink as well. But I find it to cause reliability issues. even though it is rated for 10A, the traces on those boards are usually too small and created some high resistance, voltage drop issues that made the dish reboot from time to time. I also eliminated as many connectors in between the dish and the power source as possible. Those WAGO connectors will also cause some voltage drop. I ditched as many of unnecessary components as I could and its been much more reliable since.
Thanks so much for that info. That is super helpful. I'll probably dig into the wiring again then and clean that up. I haven't gotten the new Smart switch so maybe I'll just leave it the way it is minus the Wago connectors. Thanks for the heads up
Mine came rather quickly I was a bit surprised. How long ago did you order it. I can confirm that it has still been working great for us and has saved us a lot of power in our batteries.- Kyle
@@thewanderingshores bought on the 22nd - tracking hasn't hit US shore yet. ;-) I thank you for this video - it confirms that I need to get it for boondocking. I'm currently running starlink on a portable battery, but it's nice to know even if I use it that way, I'll save whs! Thanks for putting this to the test!
Thanks so much, so I'm using the pepwave router with mine that I've had for several years now. I don't even know that they make that version anymore, but I can send you the link for the one I think replaced it
I want to convert my V2 to my house 24vdc system but I'm going to wait for reviews on the new Starlink Mini which is coming out in a few months. It will run directly off my 24v system without any conversion and has a built-in router. Power draw is supposed to average 25w. I'm sure there will be some performance compromise but my needs are pretty basic.
Yeah, I was watching a recap video from the mobile internet resource Center yesterday about the mini. Looks like a much more viable option than originally thought.
@@thewanderingshores My concern is performance in less than ideal conditions. (storms or obstructions) I'm in Grand Mesa now with some partial tree obstruction yet I still get good internet. Phone calls get dropped but that will happen with any obstruction. But 25 watts and a lower monthly charge looks very attractive.
@@chapter4travelsI'm sure a lot of people are going to take it through some real thorough testing and hopefully the price is right. If it's consistent and gets 100 down then it's pretty good for just about anything, especially with the small compact size automatically being able to run off 12 volt and having the Wi-Fi router built into it already.
I think for a fair comparison you would need your router plugged into the power station as well, as you have removed the routers power usage from the equation.
My router (Pepwave BR1 MK2) we used even with the factory setup of the starlink. Since we still use it now the power consumption of that portion of our setup would not change.
@thewanderingshores which is fair for your use, but an apples to apples comparison would include router power since that is the totality of the original starlink system. The power savings you seen at the power bank could be solely attributed to the removal of the router power. Would be interesting to see if there are any power savings at all when a router is included I the power consumption.
Interesting Video buddy. We currently run our Star Link off our 2000 Watt Go Power Inverter that is plumbed to our 4, 6 volt batteries. At night I stow starlink and shut off the power to the router as it does pull about 6 amps an hour if I leave it on all night. I happen to have a cigarette DC power plug in the panel behind our TV (I installed it as we run a DC fan using it frequently). $200 bucks ish seems pretty reasonable for the parts to convert our system over. Does your promo code work with the Amazon Link? Or would we need to order directly from the company so you can get that small kickback? If I do it I will probably pull the trigger next next month. I did see there was a $10.00 price savings from ordering off their website, however with our 5% Prime rewards that is moot. Anyways, great video buddy. Sean
Hey Sean, Thanks for checking and obviously watching the video. So the way things work is if you buy directly through their site you'll get the $10 discount for signing up for their mailing list and then a $20 discount using my discount code WANDERON. So the total should be around 169 before taxes etc.. The Amazon link that is in the video description is a affiliate link for our Amazon store, so if you use that link and purchase through Amazon then we'll get a small kickback. It's about half of what we would get if you went through their website, but feel free to use either. Whatever is best for your situation. We've had it working now for 2 weeks and I can confirm it's still doing really well and the power savings is very noticeable throughout the day and especially overnight. We still have to run our inverter because our refrigerator is on that, but we're not having to power our starlink router or the powered ethernet splitter that we also had running, but I didn't want to get into all of that in the video 🙂
Thanks Blair, really apprecaite you watching. I know it's hard to tell in that video, but the spot I secured it to the wall is in the corner of the RV. We actually have a rear slide so that area is tucked away behind everything and not in a walkway. It was thin enough also that the slide comes in with no problem without even getting close to it. Thanks- Kyle
I've no doubt Inverters, no matter how hidden, in electronics suck. I have 2, one is 400w and the other 2000w. The 400w is no longer hooked up an the 2000w is in the storage unit. The first thing I did was get a 12v power cord for the laptop. Instead of jumping from 12 to 110 and down to 18-20 (laptop v) it just steps up to 20v. Quite a savings in energy. I know that Starlink is a power hog. This can't do anything but help.
I agree Greg, so fair we are about 2+ weeks in on 12v and it has made a big difference. We decided not to install the smart switch but to just "put it to sleep" at night and we are still waking up in the moring wiht 15-20% more battery then we used to. It's been great for our setup.
If you wanted to verify this device you needed to use Everything they supplied. Most of us do NOT use more items then the normal Starlink stiff. Therefore we are not getting the real information from this test of the items you tested. Bummer.
Most people looking to convert to 12v are likely not planning to run their system with the basic router they provide. The website does offer a way to purchase the kit with out the router as well. I am more concerned with the power consumption of the modification so that was the focus of my testing.
Good job on this Kyle - if this was around when I was doing my 12v conversion I would have definitely considered it. It does everything you want. I'm surprised you used 48 WH with the original router, but I guess every case is different. I think the biggest savings for me is being able to shut off the main inverter in the trailer and still have starlink on - for times when I need to be available all night and we are out in the middle of nowhere :) Great job I think this video is going to help a lot of people!
Thanks Bob, yes I was actually surprised only used 48wh, i was expecting more. The thing I didn't want to try to account for is that I normally are running the Starlink off my 3000w interter so I actually think the conversion is saving me more power since that interter in the power stations is only a 600w. I do still have to keep the interter on because I run my fridge off of it as well. I have seen a significant power saving each day overall already. I have been putting it to "sleep" at night until the new smart switch arrives. Thanks for watching- K
@@thewanderingshores i think the power savings will largely depend on the efficiency of the inverter. Many lose 15% right off the bat so that's a huge win right there. Cheers - glad it's working well for you! This should be a popular video :)
Very cool Kyle! Great find
Thanks, it's been working really great so far and I can definitely tell the power savings each morning when I get up
Awesome. Thanks for your Video. I bought the version for the new flat dish but have not hooked it up yet. Gonna do that soon. :)
Excellent, ours has been working fantastic ever since we installed it about 2 months ago. Glad the video was helpful and I actually didn't know that they had also created a version for the flat dish, so that's great news.
Was pepwave router powered with the portable battery along with starlink? If not that would skew the power savings on 12v with pepwave externally powered. Thanks.
In my original setup, the pepwave was powered via 12 volt off of my house battery, and the starlink router was powered off of my 3000 watt inverter.
Since I will no longer be powering the factory starlink router off of the inverter, I actually probably am saving even more power since I'm not losing The conversion from 12 to 115 volt.
Great video. We don’t have starlink. But I would have thought with such portability it would have already had factory options for dc power. Pretty big savings in power. Especially if you boondock.
It's been working great for us, the power savings is well worth it. Thanks for your support, happy camping and wander on- Kyle
Any tips on using the Xtra-Link router as in setup. There are zero instructions for router setup. I’m on vacation in SW Colorado and installed everything inside a cabinet with a inline power switch.
Let me check, I think mine came with some basic instructions in the box, I'll look for them. Do me a favore and send me and email so I can email you what I find. thewanderingshores2020@gmail.com thanks Kyle (UPDATE I found the instructions and have photos I can send you)
@@thewanderingshores email sent
Is there any issue in remote mounting the POV, 10 feet?
Dave I'm not really sure if the answer, but customer service has been great at getting back to me quickly.
@@thewanderingshores thanks for the reply.
Hi there- Really appreciate your video. I've purchased this conversion kit and I'm having trouble getting connected to my Starlink GEN 2 after setting up the XTAR-LINK device and the Router that came with the purchase. Any suggestions you can make?
Fran Huntington
Olympia, WA
Fran, thanks for touching base and I hope you find this to be as helpful as we have (well once you get it running). When you say you have not been able to get it connected, do you mean that the router is not finding the dish? issues with the router? Since I did not use the router they provided, I'm not sure how helpful I will be, I can say when I have reached out to the company they have been very quick in getting back to me. That might be the best route.- Kyle
How has this been working?
Continues to work well, about 2 weeks ago though. My pepwave went out and I'm needing to replace the router. So currently I'm just running off of the factory router but had no issues with the 12-volt conversion. Looking forward to getting it reinstalled and up and running again to save the power during the winter especially
Great info!
Thanks Billy, it's been working well so far for the last week. Hopefully it continues to perform the same.
Great video on what looks like a great 12v conversion. Any reason you do not use the sleep schedule in the Starlink app to save power. Or does that not work once you remove the Starlink router. Hope to see you guys on the road sometime. We will be boondocking all summer in Colorado.
Hey Jeff, great to hear from you . So yes, you still have access to all the functions of the starlink app even though you're running it through a different router. What I have started doing right now is running it in sleep mode in the evening. The only real reason I don't do that normally is because I'd rather it be at 0 W than even a reduced amount that it takes when it is in sleep. I figure if in sleep mode it's not going to be providing internet anyway. I might as well just eliminate all power to it. But I've been using it now for a week since I haven't gotten the new Smart switch yet. And I've noticed a huge power reduction overall and it's definitely a great conversion. Have a fantastic time in Colorado. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out. We've done reviews of most all of the areas that we stayed in but not 100% of them.- Kyle
What router are you using? No longer need the Starlink Gen2 bulky router?
We are using the pepwave br1mk 2. We've had that for many years and works well with the starlink. Even though it's an older LTE version. We actually just used to rout our starlink Wi-Fi connection through it. Anyway, that way we can sometimes combine the signal with our hotspot. They did send me one of 12 volt routers with the kit but I haven't tried that one.
I had a 12v DC smart relay connected to my 12v converted starlink as well. But I find it to cause reliability issues. even though it is rated for 10A, the traces on those boards are usually too small and created some high resistance, voltage drop issues that made the dish reboot from time to time. I also eliminated as many connectors in between the dish and the power source as possible. Those WAGO connectors will also cause some voltage drop. I ditched as many of unnecessary components as I could and its been much more reliable since.
Thanks so much for that info. That is super helpful. I'll probably dig into the wiring again then and clean that up. I haven't gotten the new Smart switch so maybe I'll just leave it the way it is minus the Wago connectors. Thanks for the heads up
Waiting on mine- on a slow boat from China. 😎
Mine came rather quickly I was a bit surprised. How long ago did you order it. I can confirm that it has still been working great for us and has saved us a lot of power in our batteries.- Kyle
@@thewanderingshores bought on the 22nd - tracking hasn't hit US shore yet. ;-) I thank you for this video - it confirms that I need to get it for boondocking. I'm currently running starlink on a portable battery, but it's nice to know even if I use it that way, I'll save whs! Thanks for putting this to the test!
I just ordered the set through your Amazon link. Do you have a link for the router your using?
Thanks so much, so I'm using the pepwave router with mine that I've had for several years now. I don't even know that they make that version anymore, but I can send you the link for the one I think replaced it
amzn.to/4eSpecX
This would be a viable option without breaking the bank.
I want to convert my V2 to my house 24vdc system but I'm going to wait for reviews on the new Starlink Mini which is coming out in a few months. It will run directly off my 24v system without any conversion and has a built-in router. Power draw is supposed to average 25w. I'm sure there will be some performance compromise but my needs are pretty basic.
Yeah, I was watching a recap video from the mobile internet resource Center yesterday about the mini. Looks like a much more viable option than originally thought.
@@thewanderingshores My concern is performance in less than ideal conditions. (storms or obstructions) I'm in Grand Mesa now with some partial tree obstruction yet I still get good internet. Phone calls get dropped but that will happen with any obstruction.
But 25 watts and a lower monthly charge looks very attractive.
@@chapter4travelsI'm sure a lot of people are going to take it through some real thorough testing and hopefully the price is right. If it's consistent and gets 100 down then it's pretty good for just about anything, especially with the small compact size automatically being able to run off 12 volt and having the Wi-Fi router built into it already.
I think for a fair comparison you would need your router plugged into the power station as well, as you have removed the routers power usage from the equation.
My router (Pepwave BR1 MK2) we used even with the factory setup of the starlink. Since we still use it now the power consumption of that portion of our setup would not change.
@thewanderingshores which is fair for your use, but an apples to apples comparison would include router power since that is the totality of the original starlink system. The power savings you seen at the power bank could be solely attributed to the removal of the router power. Would be interesting to see if there are any power savings at all when a router is included I the power consumption.
Interesting Video buddy. We currently run our Star Link off our 2000 Watt Go Power Inverter that is plumbed to our 4, 6 volt batteries. At night I stow starlink and shut off the power to the router as it does pull about 6 amps an hour if I leave it on all night. I happen to have a cigarette DC power plug in the panel behind our TV (I installed it as we run a DC fan using it frequently). $200 bucks ish seems pretty reasonable for the parts to convert our system over. Does your promo code work with the Amazon Link? Or would we need to order directly from the company so you can get that small kickback? If I do it I will probably pull the trigger next next month. I did see there was a $10.00 price savings from ordering off their website, however with our 5% Prime rewards that is moot. Anyways, great video buddy. Sean
Hey Sean, Thanks for checking and obviously watching the video. So the way things work is if you buy directly through their site you'll get the $10 discount for signing up for their mailing list and then a $20 discount using my discount code WANDERON. So the total should be around 169 before taxes etc.. The Amazon link that is in the video description is a affiliate link for our Amazon store, so if you use that link and purchase through Amazon then we'll get a small kickback. It's about half of what we would get if you went through their website, but feel free to use either. Whatever is best for your situation. We've had it working now for 2 weeks and I can confirm it's still doing really well and the power savings is very noticeable throughout the day and especially overnight. We still have to run our inverter because our refrigerator is on that, but we're not having to power our starlink router or the powered ethernet splitter that we also had running, but I didn't want to get into all of that in the video 🙂
@@thewanderingshores sounds great, I will order it directly. 😁
Very nice review, hope you don’t take any of those components off the wall when you walk by them.
Thanks Blair, really apprecaite you watching. I know it's hard to tell in that video, but the spot I secured it to the wall is in the corner of the RV. We actually have a rear slide so that area is tucked away behind everything and not in a walkway. It was thin enough also that the slide comes in with no problem without even getting close to it. Thanks- Kyle
I've no doubt Inverters, no matter how hidden, in electronics suck. I have 2, one is 400w and the other 2000w. The 400w is no longer hooked up an the 2000w is in the storage unit. The first thing I did was get a 12v power cord for the laptop. Instead of jumping from 12 to 110 and down to 18-20 (laptop v) it just steps up to 20v. Quite a savings in energy. I know that Starlink is a power hog. This can't do anything but help.
I agree Greg, so fair we are about 2+ weeks in on 12v and it has made a big difference. We decided not to install the smart switch but to just "put it to sleep" at night and we are still waking up in the moring wiht 15-20% more battery then we used to. It's been great for our setup.
If you wanted to verify this device you needed to use Everything they supplied. Most of us do NOT use more items then the normal Starlink stiff. Therefore we are not getting the real information from this test of the items you tested. Bummer.
Most people looking to convert to 12v are likely not planning to run their system with the basic router they provide. The website does offer a way to purchase the kit with out the router as well. I am more concerned with the power consumption of the modification so that was the focus of my testing.