As a telecommunications technician that specialises in remote area connectivity, I can say that this is a very well-presented video and is a solution that most people would find easy to implement. The only thing I will add is that you should ensure that you use RJ45 plugs that are metal shielded to allow the Starlink cable shielding to be continuous (and much easier to use RJ45 metal pass through connectors) I note that you did use metal RJ45 connectors but did not state this to the audience. As a next step up, you could go for MIMO direction antennae (e.g. Blackhawk) instead of the omni directional antenna you have on your roof as this will vastly improve your 4G/5G signal strengths and therefore speeds.....but you will then also need a WiFi omnidirectional antennae to get your 100m WiFi range back.
Great to know, thanks! My understanding of the connections is pretty limited, I just followed the CowFish instructions. Thanks for the info. We've had a directional MIMO antenna previously when we used a Nighthawk modem, which worked well, but we like the no setup/pack up advantages to the roof mounted omnidirectional antenna.
@@TheLifestylePioneersYes, great video, but just be careful on simple concepts like bandwidth speeds which are quoted in megabits per second, not megabytes per second and the difference is significant. That had me immediately tempted to move on but I persevere and I’m glad I did.
You also need to be licensed to be terminating communications cabling. The other end of the Starlink cable is straight (not right angle) and pops straight out just like the other end. Starlink has an Ethernet (RJ45 connection) adaptor available.
@@paulkeehan8915 I do hold a cabling registration, but it would be debatable that you require one to modify the Starlink cable as it is not going to be connected to a Telecommunications Carriers network.....thereby negating the need to be a registered cabler IMO.
@@kadachiman7234 was meant as a general information comment for the TH-cam host and community. Would be concerned about breaking the shield/earth if there was lightning about as well as powered connections and shorting/destroying equipment. De skilling/watering down a trade IMO.
I'm not sure how you came to be as a possible page of interest, but I'm glad you did. We are currently looking in Starlink and you video gave inside into installation. Thank you.
Just stumbled across you in my feed. Great video mate, straight to the point no blah blah blah…. Love it, oh and I’m a sparkie…. Great explanation on the more technical stuff.
Man of great knowledge. You guys keep up the good work. All information is valuable, from wheel nuts to tyre pressure or wife annoying you tips😊. Always worth while watching every week.
Clouds & weather DO NOT reduce connectivity & also you DO NOT need 240v. Starlink comes with a power reducer (in the power brick) & actually runs on 48 volts! Therefore can be done from a 12v system WITHA $36 upscale 12v > 48v. Cow thingy only works IF you have mobile coverage! Starlink works EVERYWHERE. You don’t need a Cowfish router for hundreds of dollars.
In our experience the weather does affect it and there is no 'power brick' with our Starlink router, only a 240v cable which plugs directly into the router. We're not saying this is the only solution. There's been DIY 12v solutions around for a while, but for people like us who are looking for a pre-built solution, this is a great option. BTW, Starlink definitely doesn't work everywhere, we've been in dozens of locations where the connection is so unstable its unuseable.
@@TheLifestylePioneers I've been travelling with SL(StarLink) for nearly 18 mths now, and have found 1 place where it wasn't usable, and that was in my first week of travelling. Once I understood how the dish worked, I setup camp taking into account the need for access to clear view of the sky, by the way it doesn't need to be southern sky these days. Mostly camping off grid having access to clear sky also helps with the solar panels on the van. Having smartphones the need for 4g or 5g router connected with SL seems a waste of good money, just set up the hotspot on smartphone with the same credentials as SL and any device will connect to which wifi access point is currently active.
@@TheSith Yup, weather, especially thick stormy clouds DEFINITELY, affects connectivity. Bits of normal clouds in the sky that don’t carry rain or storm seem to be no problem although I could still see a drop in speed and an increase in latency.
@@TheLifestylePioneers starlink mini has an inbuilt router and will run on 12v , we've never had a problem with the weather or anything else for that matter
The Cowfish solution looks interesting. When we had our van built we ordered the RV Wifi unit to be installed during construction. It runs a 4G hockey puck style of external antenna. It performs poorly/ We had it updated but still not that great. We had a Telstra SIM in it and it's on a 5G plan. I'd love to know how the Cowfish unit compares with the RV Wifi product. I imagine that it'd be difficuilt for the Lifestyle Pioneers to conduct such a review. And for us, it'd be an expensive experiement to buy the product only to find that its performance isn't much better. But thanks for letting us know about the Cowfish unit. I can now do some research on it. As for Starlink, it's what anyone on the NBN fixed wireless or satellite networks should be moving to. I've experienced it and it's awesome.
This is great information Simon, thanks! Even though I am not up with all that technology I watched the whole episode. I even made hubby stop mopping to watch! 🤣 We trust your judgement and opinions. Great stuff! Cheers!
Great information that was well presented. Thanks, we are running starlink in nz on our ute, and theres very few moments where it drops out, even in motion, apart from traveling in the bush, obviously. From our experience in WA you guys get far better 4/5g connections than in nz.
Glad it was helpful! That's interesting to know. We'd love to travel in NZ one day, we did a short 2-week trip many years ago and would love to get back.
G'day loved the info you provided when you touched on stopping and starting your starlink subscription so you don't get charged double in a month can you expand on that please
You can pause the subscription any time for as long as you like. You need to be pausing for 4 weeks to make it worth it though with how the billing cycles work
When on Roaming with starlink, you can use it when in motion( as of this time), so it is having it on a perm mount on the van or car is worth it as it travels flatt as it knows its moving.I had mine on a towbar mount and made a phone call from Coober Pedy to Marla approx 2.5 hours without a drop. It is defenatlely worth trying to come up with a portable and mounted solution giving best of both worlds!
A great deal of thought was put into producing this video. But the Cowfish system seems to require physical modifications to your van, drilling lots of holes and finding someone who knows what they are doing to do the installation etc. Not to mention the cost of the system. I have been using Starlink everywhere in Australia and it is not that hungry with power. Yes, all the drawbacks mentioned in this video are correct but I was not really bothered by the occasional low speeds or poor receptions.
Great video and very informative. A lot of the technical language is a bit beyond my initial grasp being an older fella. Looks like your enjoying the good life in the outback. Done lots of that myself in days gone by
If I have my Gen3 setup for Residential in my home. Will it work if I take the dish and router and put it in my RV and camp in a different location than where I live? Does the app give you the ability to change locations temporarily. I dont want ROAM because I will use Starlink as my main internet at home. But I would like to take it with me the few times a year I go camping in my RV.
Thanks great information l can adapt both to my sail boat. I understand the Americans go to Mexico buy the star-link hardware and travel plan much cheaper than in the US?
I installed the same functionality in our van with seperate DIY hardware that gives better functionality than the Cowfish gear. As well I would not waste 40AH overnight by leaving Starlink running as you mentioned. BUT I do think if you're not tech savvy at DIY routers and networking, then an off the shelf kit like the Cowfish gear is a great solution. I used: - RUTX14 12V industrial router with a Telstra pre paid SIM - STARPOWER 12V - STARLINK DC POWER SUPPLY from SpaceTek - Cable adaptor Starlink RJ45 to normal POE RJ45 - Poynting Transit Cellular / WiFi antenna on the vans roof. Starlink connects to the WAN port on the RUTX14 The only thing I would disagree on is that you say converting to 12V Starlink lets you leave Starling running overnight. We have 400AH of Lithium. Leaving Starlink running needlessly overnight can use up to say a good 40AH of power. When trying to stay off grid, 40AH is a lot of power Unless you have a lot of solar and have no issues getting back to 100% charge each day, thats summer. In winter no way would we waste 40AH by just leaving Starlink running overnight needlessly. 40AH is a good 1 hour of run time for our IBIS 4 Air Con off battery at night.
I agree mostly with what you've mentioned. While there are other ways to create a DIY solution, as you mention, it's not for everyone. Generally, we can recover power quickly, as long as we get decent sunlight. We often need to keep our connection overnight to upload content, but understand that wouldn't be the case for moast people.
Are your speeds from Starlink in Megabytes (MBps) or Megabits (Mbps)...I have an ISP in New Zealand that is Mobile broadband that gives me an average of 100-130 Mbps and I don't consider that Lightning fast...
It depends what setup you go with. We already had the 5g router and the rooftop antenna in the van, so we only needed to add the Starlink Integration Kit which is $299 retail (before discount). If you need a router as well it's $548 total (before discount).
Hi guys, what measures do you take to protect your dish (from theft) when left out at night? I'd assume you pack it away when you're away from the van during the day?
Hi, thanks, Since looking into Starlink a bit more I believe its pretty pointless stealing a dish as it's serial number is locked to your account? So hopefully thats its best form of protection.@@TheLifestylePioneers
With Starlink roaming plan, in their a cap on pausing, like some companies have a time constraint like 6 months ect. Or is the Starlink pausing indefinite ?
Gr8 video and very informative. My ? is if i install the Cowfish router what happens to Cowfish antenna if i use the Starfish dish on a telescopic van mounted pole i have seen on several units so i presume that both antennas are connected to the Cowfish router is that correct?
Cheers. Yeah, that is correct. The cowfish antenna will still be used as an external wifi antenna when using Starlink and when you're not using Starlink it will also be your 4 and 5g receiver.
Found the info useful, as I’ve only just started looking at this setup. But please, for the love of signal continuity, fix that RJ45 termination! The cable sheath needs to go all the way into the boot of the connector. If it’s exposed, it will allow the wires to untwist, the twists are what maintain the ability for the cable to filter out interference. I used to be a cabler, when we tested connections with twist loss, the tester would almost always give a poor report back.
In 3 more years starlink will connect directly to your mobile phone you probably get like one megabit per second in a remote location doesn't sound like much but Netflix will operate on 0.3 megabits per second
Let’s just pull you up there at 0:30 , connectivity is hard to come by in remote locations, bro, 5 minutes outside any smallish town has dodgy or no connectivity (Qld), you sure don’t have to be remote. I am talking about Telstra cellular coverage too.
All good but as an unsponsored viewer if you tossed both in the air a sorted the wheat from the chaff I know which would be more effective. Starlink by a mile.
Hey mate, Any reason you didnt use the Starlink/RJ45 Convertor > Patch > Passtrhough > Patch? to elimnate the need to chop up your starlink cable? Cheers! Love the content
Each to their own, I guess but people buy flash over the top caravans, kitted out with more than they have at home, and say they are roughing it off grid.
We live off grid full time at home in the Barrington region and definitely not roughing it we run 7 person spa I weld etc etc.We just ordered our first caravan ,it's off road but not totally off grid.Looking forward to the first trip. t@@TheLifestylePioneers
I’m very surprised you don’t mention that fact that cowfish doesn’t boost the signal like a nextivity product. If I was going to invest 1k to improve my 4-5 g I would look for a booster first.
@@TheLifestylePioneers Well if you're looking for a data solution improving your wifi is in my opinion second after improving your mobile connection right? Apart from having external antennas the Cowfish isn't going to do a better job whereas a Booster will. In my opinion a booster and a mifi will serve you much better. The Cowfish box is just a glorified hotspot in my opinion.
@MichaGero a booster helps with phone signal, it doesn't do a lot for data and you'll still need a router of some kind (like the Cowfish). We know some people who run both but it's performance isn't much better with the booster.
Come to Australian outback You've got no choice in the outback but starlink. I get told I have got obstructions and a I game on it no problems. I ran my starlink through 1,000 mm of rain in a cyclone early this year and it worked the whole time. It was the only way to have phone calls and communications. Most people up here in North Queensland want starlink so they got internet in there house not the to go traveling
3:56 you’re talking megabytes and you’re measuring megabits. There is a significant difference. Speed test apps are measuring megabits. There are 8 megabits to a megabyte. Transfer speeds are measured in megabits.
all and good but starlink is cheapest and most effective way of travel. no need to add extra $1000 for very little gain using cowfish. i know this is sponsorship video talk but lets get real. after my lap doing australia wouldn't go back to 4-5g network for any internet thats for sure.
100% agree. Cowfish VanConnect 5g module is $1256 PLUS installation, additional $269 for starlink intergration box, knocking on the door of 2K installed, when you could just remember to turn off the inverter and/or starlink before going to bed..... Starlink hardware is $399 ($199 for refurb kit), $300 for a capable inverter and you are good to go. Chances are if you are looking at Starlink you already have an inverter.
Starlink is nowhere close to the cheapest. Mobile data is a fraction of the cost and by pausing our Starlink when it's not in use we can save hundreds of $$/year, which quickly pays for the Cowfish hardware. Nothing to do with sponsorship, it's what we think is the best solution.
Would take years to recoup the costs of cowfish, vanconnect and installation by pausing Starlink for the average unsponsored user. But I guess when someone else is paying your bills then of course thats the best solution.
Ok. Internet 4 and 5G is only good on East coast. Once you leave east coast driving into outback I would say good luck. Only places you will get reception is towns every few 100k km and when you do you are sharing internet with other 100 people on one tower. Even though it says 4G its slower than 3G. Ever since we left Townsville we did not get decent internet till Perth. Personally I would lower my phone service and just rely on starlink using internet and call with it. starlink pause is only for pay cycle. Unless you are planning to stay in big cities for over month, it doesn’t help you reduce the cost.
I'm wondering if a DJI drone runs off a satellite for nothing why do you pay so much for starlink, or am I barking up the wrong tree. Would like to know the difference
Yep… I’m moving off grid and the actual phone feature works pretty good … I will be moving there soon and will see how good that is… not sure if an internet connection affects the phone feature… but there is spotty internet connection which I’m willing to deal with… I will be going to the nearest town once a week at least and can plan time to conduct any necessary internet activities without worrying about the in and out issue at my property now. The previous owners had starlink and were very happy with it. But, until I start selling stuff on eBay or otherwise need the constant connectivity… I’ll manage without it… it will be good for me because I tend to spend too much time on analysis and it will prevent the paralysis that often ensues. As I’ve got a lot of physical work to do that I don’t need to analyze every step of the way. The only important thing is to be able to communicate the ‘old fashioned way’… with cell phone text and call capability.
It's 100 megabit not megabyte. It's actually a huge difference. There's 8 bits in a byte so you were saying the internet is 800Mbps and it's 100Mbps which is about 12.5MBps
Will be interesting to see what cowfish and spacetek bring out for starlink V4 due out soon in aus. Also, if telstra,optus, and others that are engaging with starlink for service coverage and mobile phone coverage via starlink bring out a solution for all devices. #down_wander
I think you'll find that Boost albeit a Telstra company, uses the Wholesale network (like Aldi and other resellers) and therefore does not have same coverage as the Telstra Retail network.
If you weren’t sponsored by cow fish, I very much doubt you would be advocating the extra expense not to mention forking out the extra $$$ yourself to install the cow fish.
I disagree, we spent a similar amount on our previous 4g/5g setup and it was nowhere near as good. For us, internet connection is critical to our lifestyle, but that's not the case for everyone.
Unfortunately the issue of Telstra's lack of infrastructure investment to provide the bandwidth to support its users is not mentioned. I have travelled the east coast working from my van for several years now, and areas where I could video conference and work on 4G and in later times 5G is no longer the case. TIO have confirmed that network congestion is no longer considered a service issue/fault so telcos are no longer responding to these issues. In more recent times the cases of having full 5G signal strength but not data bandwidth is increasing exponentially. It is now so common that I can no longer 'pause' my SL when travelling the east coast....as the 5G service is so poor in terms of bandwidth in so many places its unworkable and the SL is needed more often than not. Your video almost reads like an infomercial for the Telstra/Boost network. We have now gone the other way and significantly reduced our 5G plans as we simply cannot use it enough to justify its cost when a SL still need to be left connected as a backup. I have also done the 12v PoE and power supply conversion and have no power issues with the SL - average around 3.5 - 4amps draw
Here’s a simple experiment , to test your routers impact on fertility . Place some sprouting seeds on plate with wet kitchen paper , do it with two plates . Place one plate next to your router in the cupboard , place the other s fr way from the router , as possible . Maybe in the 4wd eg . You will see the plate of seeds next to the router , are killed , with next to no sprouts . While the ther plate will show heathy growth of sprouts , after about a week of keeping the paper on both plates wet , adding a little water occasionally . This is a grate experement , that educates the hole family , about the dangers of over exposure to this technology .
Why would i want everyone to be sitting around the campfire on their phones? I love camping in places where there's no reception with a bunch of mates.
No, what changed “the game” was some bastard stealing a ten year driver’s licence with MY name on it - and multiple organisations and agencies refusing to do ANYTHING to fix the issue!
As a telecommunications technician that specialises in remote area connectivity, I can say that this is a very well-presented video and is a solution that most people would find easy to implement.
The only thing I will add is that you should ensure that you use RJ45 plugs that are metal shielded to allow the Starlink cable shielding to be continuous (and much easier to use RJ45 metal pass through connectors) I note that you did use metal RJ45 connectors but did not state this to the audience.
As a next step up, you could go for MIMO direction antennae (e.g. Blackhawk) instead of the omni directional antenna you have on your roof as this will vastly improve your 4G/5G signal strengths and therefore speeds.....but you will then also need a WiFi omnidirectional antennae to get your 100m WiFi range back.
Great to know, thanks! My understanding of the connections is pretty limited, I just followed the CowFish instructions. Thanks for the info. We've had a directional MIMO antenna previously when we used a Nighthawk modem, which worked well, but we like the no setup/pack up advantages to the roof mounted omnidirectional antenna.
@@TheLifestylePioneersYes, great video, but just be careful on simple concepts like bandwidth speeds which are quoted in megabits per second, not megabytes per second and the difference is significant. That had me immediately tempted to move on but I persevere and I’m glad I did.
You also need to be licensed to be terminating communications cabling.
The other end of the Starlink cable is straight (not right angle) and pops straight out just like the other end.
Starlink has an Ethernet (RJ45 connection) adaptor available.
@@paulkeehan8915 I do hold a cabling registration, but it would be debatable that you require one to modify the Starlink cable as it is not going to be connected to a Telecommunications Carriers network.....thereby negating the need to be a registered cabler IMO.
@@kadachiman7234 was meant as a general information comment for the TH-cam host and community.
Would be concerned about breaking the shield/earth if there was lightning about as well as powered connections and shorting/destroying equipment.
De skilling/watering down a trade IMO.
I'm not sure how you came to be as a possible page of interest, but I'm glad you did. We are currently looking in Starlink and you video gave inside into installation. Thank you.
Welcome aboard!
Just stumbled across you in my feed. Great video mate, straight to the point no blah blah blah…. Love it, oh and I’m a sparkie…. Great explanation on the more technical stuff.
Ah, cool. Great to hear, thanks.
Man of great knowledge. You guys keep up the good work. All information is valuable, from wheel nuts to tyre pressure or wife annoying you tips😊. Always worth while watching every week.
😆😆Thank you!
Wow, leaving for six month trip in two weeks ordering now, thanks heaps, Simon!!! Game changer ❤❤❤❤
You're welcome!
Monkey see Monkey do HAHAHA🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
I wonder if you do a video on drawing a map on a white board,colour code texture pens on wire loom to battery etc etc,good video in talking.
Thanks, we'll look into it 👍
Clouds & weather DO NOT reduce connectivity & also you DO NOT need 240v. Starlink comes with a power reducer (in the power brick) & actually runs on 48 volts! Therefore can be done from a 12v system WITHA $36 upscale 12v > 48v. Cow thingy only works IF you have mobile coverage! Starlink works EVERYWHERE. You don’t need a Cowfish router for hundreds of dollars.
In our experience the weather does affect it and there is no 'power brick' with our Starlink router, only a 240v cable which plugs directly into the router. We're not saying this is the only solution. There's been DIY 12v solutions around for a while, but for people like us who are looking for a pre-built solution, this is a great option. BTW, Starlink definitely doesn't work everywhere, we've been in dozens of locations where the connection is so unstable its unuseable.
@@TheLifestylePioneers I've been travelling with SL(StarLink) for nearly 18 mths now, and have found 1 place where it wasn't usable, and that was in my first week of travelling. Once I understood how the dish worked, I setup camp taking into account the need for access to clear view of the sky, by the way it doesn't need to be southern sky these days. Mostly camping off grid having access to clear sky also helps with the solar panels on the van. Having smartphones the need for 4g or 5g router connected with SL seems a waste of good money, just set up the hotspot on smartphone with the same credentials as SL and any device will connect to which wifi access point is currently active.
@@TheSith Yup, weather, especially thick stormy clouds DEFINITELY, affects connectivity. Bits of normal clouds in the sky that don’t carry rain or storm seem to be no problem although I could still see a drop in speed and an increase in latency.
@@TheLifestylePioneers starlink mini has an inbuilt router and will run on 12v , we've never had a problem with the weather or anything else for that matter
@@trevorpridham5644 yeah, we're looking at the mini for our vehicle. It wasn't out yet when this video was made.
The Cowfish solution looks interesting. When we had our van built we ordered the RV Wifi unit to be installed during construction. It runs a 4G hockey puck style of external antenna.
It performs poorly/ We had it updated but still not that great.
We had a Telstra SIM in it and it's on a 5G plan.
I'd love to know how the Cowfish unit compares with the RV Wifi product. I imagine that it'd be difficuilt for the Lifestyle Pioneers to conduct such a review. And for us, it'd be an expensive experiement to buy the product only to find that its performance isn't much better.
But thanks for letting us know about the Cowfish unit. I can now do some research on it.
As for Starlink, it's what anyone on the NBN fixed wireless or satellite networks should be moving to. I've experienced it and it's awesome.
As you say, it's difficult for us to compare as we've never used the RV Wifi unit. Thanks for watching!
Just used the code and saved $125 on the 5G package! Thanks for the info!
Nice work!
This is great information Simon, thanks! Even though I am not up with all that technology I watched the whole episode. I even made hubby stop mopping to watch! 🤣 We trust your judgement and opinions. Great stuff! Cheers!
😆😆Great to hear!
Outback Comms have a Good 12V system as well. mounts ya Starlink all in one location.
Excellent overview Simon, many thanks. Have a great week, safe travels. Cheers
Thanks, you too!
Thanks
Great information that was well presented. Thanks, we are running starlink in nz on our ute, and theres very few moments where it drops out, even in motion, apart from traveling in the bush, obviously. From our experience in WA you guys get far better 4/5g connections than in nz.
Glad it was helpful! That's interesting to know. We'd love to travel in NZ one day, we did a short 2-week trip many years ago and would love to get back.
Fantastic info! Much appreciated for straight forward pros and cons.
Thanks, you're welcome.
Good to hear a real life review after your many months of experience
Cheers, Peter.
Telstra is about to retail Starlink too in March
Yes, we're looking forward to it being available as a mobile option.
Just a tip, leave a nightlight plugged into a gpo that will light up at night to signal inverter is left on .
That's a great one, cheers!
G'day loved the info you provided when you touched on stopping and starting your starlink subscription so you don't get charged double in a month can you expand on that please
You can pause the subscription any time for as long as you like. You need to be pausing for 4 weeks to make it worth it though with how the billing cycles work
When on Roaming with starlink, you can use it when in motion( as of this time), so it is having it on a perm mount on the van or car is worth it as it travels flatt as it knows its moving.I had mine on a towbar mount and made a phone call from Coober Pedy to Marla approx 2.5 hours without a drop. It is defenatlely worth trying to come up with a portable and mounted solution giving best of both worlds!
We've heard mixed reports about in-motion. It's something we might consider doing down the track, but for now we don't really need it.
A great deal of thought was put into producing this video. But the Cowfish system seems to require physical modifications to your van, drilling lots of holes and finding someone who knows what they are doing to do the installation etc. Not to mention the cost of the system. I have been using Starlink everywhere in Australia and it is not that hungry with power. Yes, all the drawbacks mentioned in this video are correct but I was not really bothered by the occasional low speeds or poor receptions.
Cheers. It's definitely not for everyone. It's a pretty straightforward DIY install if you're handy.
Great video and very informative. A lot of the technical language is a bit beyond my initial grasp being an older fella. Looks like your enjoying the good life in the outback. Done lots of that myself in days gone by
Cool, thanks. Glad it was helpful
My word.....what a clever clever chappie you are...and a hunk to boot..lol Great vid...Thanx!
Thank you kindly
If I have my Gen3 setup for Residential in my home. Will it work if I take the dish and router and put it in my RV and camp in a different location than where I live? Does the app give you the ability to change locations temporarily. I dont want ROAM because I will use Starlink as my main internet at home. But I would like to take it with me the few times a year I go camping in my RV.
I'm not 100% sure but I think without Roam you have to choose a new service address each time you move it.
Good info. How does it handle failover between 5G and Starlink?
I'm not up to speed with that side of the tech, you could reach out to Cowfish and they'd have all that info.
Thanks great information l can adapt both to my sail boat. I understand the Americans go to Mexico buy the star-link hardware and travel plan much cheaper than in the US?
Yes, exactly. Not too sure about the American/Mexico setup
Great video guy's i keep going back to you vehicle build can you tell me where you got the UHF under dash mounting bracket
Cheers, mate. The bracket is from Svnty Off Road - www.svntyoffroad.com.au/
I installed the same functionality in our van with seperate DIY hardware that gives better functionality than the Cowfish gear. As well I would not waste 40AH overnight by leaving Starlink running as you mentioned.
BUT I do think if you're not tech savvy at DIY routers and networking, then an off the shelf kit like the Cowfish gear is a great solution.
I used:
- RUTX14 12V industrial router with a Telstra pre paid SIM
- STARPOWER 12V - STARLINK DC POWER SUPPLY from SpaceTek
- Cable adaptor Starlink RJ45 to normal POE RJ45
- Poynting Transit Cellular / WiFi antenna on the vans roof.
Starlink connects to the WAN port on the RUTX14
The only thing I would disagree on is that you say converting to 12V Starlink lets you leave Starling running overnight.
We have 400AH of Lithium. Leaving Starlink running needlessly overnight can use up to say a good 40AH of power. When trying to stay off grid, 40AH is a lot of power Unless you have a lot of solar and have no issues getting back to 100% charge each day, thats summer.
In winter no way would we waste 40AH by just leaving Starlink running overnight needlessly.
40AH is a good 1 hour of run time for our IBIS 4 Air Con off battery at night.
I agree mostly with what you've mentioned. While there are other ways to create a DIY solution, as you mention, it's not for everyone. Generally, we can recover power quickly, as long as we get decent sunlight. We often need to keep our connection overnight to upload content, but understand that wouldn't be the case for moast people.
Really great video my friend, keep up the great content
Thank you 👍
Are your speeds from Starlink in Megabytes (MBps) or Megabits (Mbps)...I have an ISP in New Zealand that is Mobile broadband that gives me an average of 100-130 Mbps and I don't consider that Lightning fast...
Yeah, my bad. It's Megabits, not megabytes
It wasn't a criticism just an observation...Good videos...
All good, thanks 👍
Great video, sad thing is once you cut the Starlink cord you void your Starlink warranty.
That is true, but you don't need to tell them 🤔
Another question, aren't you paying for two systems eg: Telstra Cowfish and Starlink services itself which both have up front costs and monthly costs?
Yes and no. We can pause Starlink when we're not using it and by using an annual pre-paid plan for the Telstra connection we can avoid double paying.
Is the RJ45 plug that you fit to the starlink cable wired A or B ? Such a cool idea.
I can't remember to be honest. It's detailed in the installation instructions though.
Very comprehensive and informative video again!!! Thanks for sharing
Glad you liked it!
Just curious how much the Cowfish router, the special connector and the waterproof socket all cost you?
It depends what setup you go with. We already had the 5g router and the rooftop antenna in the van, so we only needed to add the Starlink Integration Kit which is $299 retail (before discount). If you need a router as well it's $548 total (before discount).
Hi guys, what measures do you take to protect your dish (from theft) when left out at night? I'd assume you pack it away when you're away from the van during the day?
If we're worried, we just pack it away, but to be honest, most of the time we just leave it out.
Hi, thanks, Since looking into Starlink a bit more I believe its pretty pointless stealing a dish as it's serial number is locked to your account? So hopefully thats its best form of protection.@@TheLifestylePioneers
With Starlink roaming plan, in their a cap on pausing, like some companies have a time constraint like 6 months ect. Or is the Starlink pausing indefinite ?
Good question! As far as we're aware, you can pause indefintely.
Gr8 video and very informative. My ? is if i install the Cowfish router what happens to Cowfish antenna if i use the Starfish dish on a telescopic van mounted pole i have seen on several units so i presume that both antennas are connected to the Cowfish router is that correct?
Cheers. Yeah, that is correct. The cowfish antenna will still be used as an external wifi antenna when using Starlink and when you're not using Starlink it will also be your 4 and 5g receiver.
@@TheLifestylePioneers Thanks for the info....very helpful Cheers and safe travels
Found the info useful, as I’ve only just started looking at this setup.
But please, for the love of signal continuity, fix that RJ45 termination! The cable sheath needs to go all the way into the boot of the connector. If it’s exposed, it will allow the wires to untwist, the twists are what maintain the ability for the cable to filter out interference. I used to be a cabler, when we tested connections with twist loss, the tester would almost always give a poor report back.
Hmm. that's interesting. Thanks for sharing.
It is a game changer. Thx for the honest info too! Phil
Cheers, Phil. You're welcome.
Is the cowfish 4/5g router antenna a mobile signal booster s well? Like cel-fi go
No, it's just an antenna. It's geared towards improving data, whereas celfi is geared towards phone reception.
Do you need to continue paying for starlink for this to work or does it just use the dish connectivity without a plan
You need a subscription to connect, but when you're not using it, you can pause the subscription if you're on the Roam plan
Does the Van Connect 5g external Antenna make a big difference to the internet connection.
We haven't done much testing with and without but it definitely out performs our phone's connection
Do you prefer the Zone or your newer van ?
We like them both for different reasons. The Titanium is built better and the layout suits us better.
Do both systems (5G and Starlink) run at once? What does that mean for devices choosing one over the other?
Starlink and 4g/5g will run through the same wifi network so no need to switch devices over. The router automatically switches over.
In 3 more years starlink will connect directly to your mobile phone you probably get like one megabit per second in a remote location doesn't sound like much but Netflix will operate on 0.3 megabits per second
It's moving so fast (no pun intended 😂) it's going to be interesting to see where it goes.
Great advice thank you 😊
Glad it was helpful!
Let’s just pull you up there at 0:30 , connectivity is hard to come by in remote locations, bro, 5 minutes outside any smallish town has dodgy or no connectivity (Qld), you sure don’t have to be remote. I am talking about Telstra cellular coverage too.
It depends a lot on where you are. Some areas, like you say, there's not much once outside town, but that's not the case everywhere.
@@TheLifestylePioneers which is why I put Qld in brackets. It is the case in Qld.
All good but as an unsponsored viewer if you tossed both in the air a sorted the wheat from the chaff I know which would be more effective. Starlink by a mile.
For most scenarios, probably. Still helps to run it on 12v though.
Hey mate, Any reason you didnt use the Starlink/RJ45 Convertor > Patch > Passtrhough > Patch? to elimnate the need to chop up your starlink cable? Cheers! Love the content
Only reason is the connection wouldn't be waterproof or dustproof. The Starlink/RJ45 needs to be installed somewhere out of the weather.
Is there a limit on how long you can pause Starlink for?
Not as far as I'm aware
Cowfish website not working, any other way in getting contact to buy?
Not sure, sorry. I'd try again tomorrow, it looks like they're doing some updates.
Do you need starling and cowfish
It depends on your situation and how important having a connection is to your lifestyle. For us, yes. But not necessary for everyone.
well presented video , interesting how you young people do things these days
Cheers!
@@TheLifestylePioneers , just wish I was 50 years younger and smarter🤣🤣🤣🤣
Each to their own, I guess but people buy flash over the top caravans, kitted out with more than they have at home, and say they are roughing it off grid.
We're not roughing it! We're living in a luxury home while travelling off grid, it's great.
We live off grid full time at home in the Barrington region and definitely not roughing it we run 7 person spa I weld etc etc.We just ordered our first caravan ,it's off road but not totally off grid.Looking forward to the first trip. t@@TheLifestylePioneers
Yes , Rough camping off grid was exciting as a young person ..but once over 60 years of age , Glamping in a no brainer ❤
Great video and info , Guys ❤
Awesome thanks for you sharing this information 👌👌
Our pleasure!
Thanks for the " Game Changer" . I'll be contacting my electrical guy @ lifestyle Auto Electrics and 4wd .
You're welcome 😄
I’m very surprised you don’t mention that fact that cowfish doesn’t boost the signal like a nextivity product. If I was going to invest 1k to improve my 4-5 g I would look for a booster first.
It's not what it's designed to do. This is purely a data solution, not for boosting phone signal.
@@TheLifestylePioneers Well if you're looking for a data solution improving your wifi is in my opinion second after improving your mobile connection right? Apart from having external antennas the Cowfish isn't going to do a better job whereas a Booster will. In my opinion a booster and a mifi will serve you much better. The Cowfish box is just a glorified hotspot in my opinion.
@MichaGero a booster helps with phone signal, it doesn't do a lot for data and you'll still need a router of some kind (like the Cowfish). We know some people who run both but it's performance isn't much better with the booster.
Cool Ep and great info thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Bloody good review,, I’m off to the shops.
Have fun!
what a great idea need to check this out for sure.
We think so, too.
yeah mate My only option for internet phone etc. Game changer
Excellent video learnt heaps.
You're welcome!
Awesome bit of kit... now to decide between 4/5G or Zero 🤔🤔
Thanks! Good luck.
@TheLifestylePioneers ... decided to go for the 4G as we won't get 5G in most places anyway
Great info Cheers
Glad you enjoyed it
Sounds excellent. 👍
Many thanks!
Come to Australian outback You've got no choice in the outback but starlink. I get told I have got obstructions and a I game on it no problems. I ran my starlink through 1,000 mm of rain in a cyclone early this year and it worked the whole time. It was the only way to have phone calls and communications. Most people up here in North Queensland want starlink so they got internet in there house not the to go traveling
Spot on. If you're remote all the time then SL is the best option.
3:56 you’re talking megabytes and you’re measuring megabits. There is a significant difference. Speed test apps are measuring megabits. There are 8 megabits to a megabyte. Transfer speeds are measured in megabits.
Cheers, thanks for the correction. I've since realised I say it wrong in the video.
Awesome, i've been looking at which way to go regarding internet and this has definitely help in my decision ;)
Great to hear!
Thanks for sharing the info..
No worries!
all and good but starlink is cheapest and most effective way of travel. no need to add extra $1000 for very little gain using cowfish. i know this is sponsorship video talk but lets get real. after my lap doing australia wouldn't go back to 4-5g network for any internet thats for sure.
100% agree. Cowfish VanConnect 5g module is $1256 PLUS installation, additional $269 for starlink intergration box, knocking on the door of 2K installed, when you could just remember to turn off the inverter and/or starlink before going to bed.....
Starlink hardware is $399 ($199 for refurb kit), $300 for a capable inverter and you are good to go. Chances are if you are looking at Starlink you already have an inverter.
Starlink is nowhere close to the cheapest. Mobile data is a fraction of the cost and by pausing our Starlink when it's not in use we can save hundreds of $$/year, which quickly pays for the Cowfish hardware. Nothing to do with sponsorship, it's what we think is the best solution.
Starlink hardware is definitely cheaper, but the ongoing cost is significantly more.
Would take years to recoup the costs of cowfish, vanconnect and installation by pausing Starlink for the average unsponsored user.
But I guess when someone else is paying your bills then of course thats the best solution.
Ok. Internet 4 and 5G is only good on East coast. Once you leave east coast driving into outback I would say good luck. Only places you will get reception is towns every few 100k km and when you do you are sharing internet with other 100 people on one tower. Even though it says 4G its slower than 3G. Ever since we left Townsville we did not get decent internet till Perth. Personally I would lower my phone service and just rely on starlink using internet and call with it. starlink pause is only for pay cycle. Unless you are planning to stay in big cities for over month, it doesn’t help you reduce the cost.
What a rough termination lol @12:55
Not sure what you mean. It works a treat.
@@TheLifestylePioneers High resistance joints always cause dramas. You should know that though?
I'm wondering if a DJI drone runs off a satellite for nothing why do you pay so much for starlink, or am I barking up the wrong tree. Would like to know the difference
I think they're very different. In the same way you can use GPS satellites with your phone, you still pay for data, etc.
@@TheLifestylePioneers
Ok, thanks for the information 👍
A $300 12v to 48v 100W POE injector?
No idea what that is. This does the job.
Great Video
Glad you enjoyed it
Remember kids, it’s okay to not have internet sometimes 👍🏻
For sure!
Yep… I’m moving off grid and the actual phone feature works pretty good … I will be moving there soon and will see how good that is… not sure if an internet connection affects the phone feature… but there is spotty internet connection which I’m willing to deal with… I will be going to the nearest town once a week at least and can plan time to conduct any necessary internet activities without worrying about the in and out issue at my property now. The previous owners had starlink and were very happy with it. But, until I start selling stuff on eBay or otherwise need the constant connectivity… I’ll manage without it… it will be good for me because I tend to spend too much time on analysis and it will prevent the paralysis that often ensues. As I’ve got a lot of physical work to do that I don’t need to analyze every step of the way. The only important thing is to be able to communicate the ‘old fashioned way’… with cell phone text and call capability.
These days, some people need access to the internet for their business/es???
No business = no income to travel!?😅😅😅
It's 100 megabit not megabyte. It's actually a huge difference. There's 8 bits in a byte so you were saying the internet is 800Mbps and it's 100Mbps which is about 12.5MBps
Cheers, I've learnt about this recently (since releasing a video where I said it wrong 😂👍)
Had one look at the price and left
Pays for itself in the long run if you use it as much as we do
@@TheLifestylePioneers keep telling yourself that and you will figure it out soon enough
Great content :). Many thanks
Glad you liked it!
The captions appear to be provided by a team of typists just off camera who you can hear typing away in the background
But seriously, please don't confuse megabytes with megabits. You're quoting speeds 8x faster than they are.
Yep, I've learnt that now. Cheers
I was thinking of getting a star link but it's so expensive 😫 to buy and per month 😮
Yeah, it can be. We like that it can be paused when you're not using it. That saves a lot.
Will be interesting to see what cowfish and spacetek bring out for starlink V4 due out soon in aus.
Also, if telstra,optus, and others that are engaging with starlink for service coverage and mobile phone coverage via starlink bring out a solution for all devices.
#down_wander
Yeah, we agree. It's a quickly moving industry.
I think you'll find that Boost albeit a Telstra company, uses the Wholesale network (like Aldi and other resellers) and therefore does not have same coverage as the Telstra Retail network.
No, Boost uses the entire network. It has a lot more coverage than the other re-sellers.
Starlink needs to come down on its monthly fees and be a 12volt system
That would be great! Can't see it happening any time soon though, it's not like they have much competition in the market.
@@TheLifestylePioneers that's the problem 😕gives an opportunity for others to come up with something tho
If you weren’t sponsored by cow fish, I very much doubt you would be advocating the extra expense not to mention forking out the extra $$$ yourself to install the cow fish.
I disagree, we spent a similar amount on our previous 4g/5g setup and it was nowhere near as good. For us, internet connection is critical to our lifestyle, but that's not the case for everyone.
Unfortunately the issue of Telstra's lack of infrastructure investment to provide the bandwidth to support its users is not mentioned. I have travelled the east coast working from my van for several years now, and areas where I could video conference and work on 4G and in later times 5G is no longer the case. TIO have confirmed that network congestion is no longer considered a service issue/fault so telcos are no longer responding to these issues. In more recent times the cases of having full 5G signal strength but not data bandwidth is increasing exponentially. It is now so common that I can no longer 'pause' my SL when travelling the east coast....as the 5G service is so poor in terms of bandwidth in so many places its unworkable and the SL is needed more often than not. Your video almost reads like an infomercial for the Telstra/Boost network. We have now gone the other way and significantly reduced our 5G plans as we simply cannot use it enough to justify its cost when a SL still need to be left connected as a backup. I have also done the 12v PoE and power supply conversion and have no power issues with the SL - average around 3.5 - 4amps draw
That's interesting. Thanks for sharing your experience. It's been quite different to ours
Nice hat
Thanks 👍
Imagine travelling remote to get away from all the 🤔
... all the people and be able to work and home-school form whereever we want in the world! I know, right?!
Here’s a simple experiment , to test your routers impact on fertility .
Place some sprouting seeds on plate with wet kitchen paper , do it with two plates .
Place one plate next to your router in the cupboard , place the other s fr way from the router , as possible . Maybe in the 4wd eg .
You will see the plate of seeds next to the router , are killed , with next to no sprouts .
While the ther plate will show heathy growth of sprouts , after about a week of keeping the paper on both plates wet , adding a little water occasionally .
This is a grate experement , that educates the hole family , about the dangers of over exposure to this technology .
An aluminium foil hat will help, maybe some foil undies for the kids? 😂
The new Huawei mobile with satellite connection is a possibility.
Sounds interesting.
I go camping to get away from the connection.
Fair enough. For what it's worth, we don't call how we travel camping. It's our home.
@@TheLifestylePioneers i live in a cave ,I'm not sure what its called ,
A bit of everything living
Starlink works out way more cheaper and effective for me!
Just a heads up for next time - It's megabits per second, not megabytes per second
Good to know, cheers!
Internet was supposed to be free.
Yet we all pay rediculas amounts for a product that was promised to be free.
Ummm, ok. I think I missed something
The internet is free to use you are paying for your connection to it!😅
Its megaBITS per second!!!!! Big differance!!!
Cheers, I learned about that after shooting this video 👍
Is being off grid -- being on grid
It’s not really off grid
If your plugging into a satellite
Off-grid simply means, not connected to 'the grid' or to power essentially.
Why would i want everyone to be sitting around the campfire on their phones? I love camping in places where there's no reception with a bunch of mates.
Go do that then, and enjoy it!
bits not bytes
lol when u look at your speed is it Mb or MB.. Mb is megabits MB is megabytes 8Mb=1MB
Yeah, it's Megabits. I said it wrong in the video 😆👍
No, what changed “the game” was some bastard stealing a ten year driver’s licence with MY name on it - and multiple organisations and agencies refusing to do ANYTHING to fix the issue!
Sorry to hear.