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dbsb3233

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My plan to use my Starlink Mini suction cupped to the inside of the 2nd row window didn't work very well. When I tested it for a few minutes around home it seemed to work fine, so I thought that would suffice. But I just got home from a 2-week road trip and it's clear that that isn't a good enough for a consistent signal. In clear skies, it would only stay connected for a few minutes, then disconnect and reconnect every minute or two. Then in another stretch through Utah where there was a lot of wildfire smoke in the air, it would rarely connect at all. Through multiple drive days, I just couldn't get it to stay connected consistently. Aimed at that angle must be teetering right on the edge of it's ability, especially while moving.

I've tried every other interior glass surface with no consistent success. The Gravity has some sort of coating on the windshield and roof that completely blocks the signal through those, and the liftgate glass was just as bad as the side window. I was hoping to avoid an outside mount. Concerned about aerodynamic impact, securing it so it won't fly off cruising down the interstate at 80 MPH, running a cord for power, etc. But it looks like that's the only viable choice now. After checking a bunch of options I settled on the frame and mounts from VeritasVans...


I wasn't sure if a power cable could be reasonably run through the top of the liftgate roof gap (between the roof glass and the spoiler), but it seems to work ok. It's a snug fit (the width of the cable is almost exactly the same size as the gap), but it fits and the seal seems to have enough give in it. Drove around a little and didn't notice any extra wind noise. I know you can get a battery but they only last 4 hours. Our road trips days are up to 12 hours. Anyway, the cord seems like it would work so I just placed an order for the frame/mounts.

I'm debating on whether I should use the suction cups or the magnets. I ordered both. All the user videos show that these heavy duty suction cups are rock solid, so I'll probably try those first. Gotta clean the glass then pump them down. I won't need to worry about long-term air leakage because I'll remove the dish at the end of the day so someone won't steal it. Every day of use would be a new clampdown. Still though, they say the magnets are even stronger so I might end up using those. There's no metal on the Gravity roof, so they offer metal disks with a super stick-em for the magnetic feet to stick to. The disks would stay on the car permanently, then the dish just sticks right to them when you wanna use it. If I ended up going that route, the disks could either be stuck to the roof glass or the spoiler itself. Since the roof has some curve to it, I also got the swivel bolts so the feet could be mounted slightly angled to be more flush for the strongest grip.

Anyway, it should all arrive next week. Then we have another road trip the week to see how well it all works. The Starlink is a luxury, but so is the Gravity I suppose. :cool:
 
dbsb3233 said:
My plan to use my Starlink Mini suction cupped to the inside of the 2nd row window didn't work very well. When I tested it for a few minutes around home it seemed to work fine, so I thought that would suffice. But I just got home from a 2-week road trip and it's clear that that isn't a good enough for a consistent signal. In clear skies, it would only stay connected for a few minutes, then disconnect and reconnect every minute or two. Then in another stretch through Utah where there was a lot of wildfire smoke in the air, it would rarely connect at all. Through multiple drive days, I just couldn't get it to stay connected consistently. Aimed at that angle must be teetering right on the edge of it's ability, especially while moving.

I've tried every other interior glass surface with no consistent success. The Gravity has some sort of coating on the windshield and roof that completely blocks the signal through those, and the liftgate glass was just as bad as the side window. I was hoping to avoid an outside mount. Concerned about aerodynamic impact, securing it so it won't fly off cruising down the interstate at 80 MPH, running a cord for power, etc. But it looks like that's the only viable choice now. After checking a bunch of options I settled on the frame and mounts from VeritasVans...


I wasn't sure if a power cable could be reasonably run through the top of the liftgate roof gap (between the roof glass and the spoiler), but it seems to work ok. It's a snug fit (the width of the cable is almost exactly the same size as the gap), but it fits and the seal seems to have enough give in it. Drove around a little and didn't notice any extra wind noise. I know you can get a battery but they only last 4 hours. Our road trips days are up to 12 hours. Anyway, the cord seems like it would work so I just placed an order for the frame/mounts.

I'm debating on whether I should use the suction cups or the magnets. I ordered both. All the user videos show that these heavy duty suction cups are rock solid, so I'll probably try those first. Gotta clean the glass then pump them down. I won't need to worry about long-term air leakage because I'll remove the dish at the end of the day so someone won't steal it. Every day of use would be a new clampdown. Still though, they say the magnets are even stronger so I might end up using those. There's no metal on the Gravity roof, so they offer metal disks with a super stick-em for the magnetic feet to stick to. The disks would stay on the car permanently, then the dish just sticks right to them when you wanna use it. If I ended up going that route, the disks could either be stuck to the roof glass or the spoiler itself. Since the roof has some curve to it, I also got the swivel bolts so the feet could be mounted slightly angled to be more flush for the strongest grip.

Anyway, it should all arrive next week. Then we have another road trip the week to see how well it all works. The Starlink is a luxury, but so is the Gravity I suppose. :cool:
Click to expand...
Please follow up, because I will do whatever you decide <3
 
I wonder if those tall suction cups have it dropped down too much, thereby limiting the field of view.
Can you rearrange it otherwise to press it against the glass? Like underside 3D mounts? Worth a duct tape test, at least.

Those satellites pass pretty quickly and I believe it benefits from steering the beam horizon-to-horizon if possible, but you are in a bit of a well.
 
drb3333 said:
I wonder if those tall suction cups have it dropped down too much, thereby limiting the field of view.
Can you rearrange it otherwise to press it against the glass? Like underside 3D mounts? Worth a duct tape test, at least.

Those satellites pass pretty quickly and I believe it benefits from steering the beam horizon-to-horizon if possible, but you are in a bit of a well.
Click to expand...
The cheaper (interior) suction cup mount I have now measures just 1.25" from surface to glass. And I mount it in center of the side window, which leaves a few inches of clearance on either side. Starlink specs say it has a 110° field of view (so 55° either side of perpendicular off the dish surface), so a 1.25" gap shouldn't come close to blocking that. There's also plenty of videos showing it working find in other cars where they just set it flat in the dash, so the angle or distance from the glass doesn't seem it impact it (as long as the glass doesn't have the offending coating, that is).

What I never did try, however, is rigging up a test to angle the Starlink upward more on a side window (i.e. anchor the bottom of the dish on the door sill and tilt it inward some). Wouldn't be able to get a lot of tilt before the roof gets in the way, but maybe an extra 15° or something could make a big difference?
 
Well damn, maybe it was just that simple all along. I rigged up a test to hang the Starlink in the side window at about a 45° angle and it worked almost flawlessly. Drove around my neighborhood making constant turns and it stayed connected (mostly) the whole way. Then hopped on the interstate to do a moving fast test. No problems. I had my Superbox streaming live NFL football (a fairly hefty bandwidth load) plus the car was connected to the Starlink streaming Spotify at the same time. The real test was the video, and it never cut out once in over 15 minutes. Spotify didn't either but it just kicks over to cell when it drops so that doesn't mean anything. But I did keep an eye on the car's wifi/cell indicator. Twice it kicked over to cell from wifi for about 5 seconds, which usually indicates the Starlink lost signal. But the video was perfect so who knows.

I used my existing Neewer silicon suction cup mount, leaving the bottom 2 cups in place, but I loosened the screws so it could bend back easier. Took the top 2 off completely then ran a string through the holes and to each cup. Found the approx slack point to get to around 45°, which looked like about as much as I could get without the roof getting more in the way.

Maybe I won't even need that $200 outside mount I just ordered, but too soon to tell. If nothing else it'll be the backup. Inside is still preferable if I can get it to work. I'll know more in 2 weeks (road trip).

PXL_20260822_222659220.webp
 
Nice! I am glad you persisted with your testing, and thanks for sharing the results.
(I guess I am now wondering if there is a conductive/metallic coating on the overhead window.)
 
drb3333 said:
Nice! I am glad you persisted with your testing, and thanks for sharing the results.
(I guess I am now wondering if there is a conductive/metallic coating on the overhead window.)
Click to expand...
Yes. This is why the front passenger side has a small area that's uncoated for fastpass/ezpass type transponders.
 
drb3333 said:
Nice! I am glad you persisted with your testing, and thanks for sharing the results.
(I guess I am now wondering if there is a conductive/metallic coating on the overhead window.)
Click to expand...
The roof glass is definitely coated and blocks it. Tried that many times as have others. The rear side window is tinted but not with the metallic coating that interferes.

Thanks for your post wondering about pressing it up against the glass. While I knew putting flush wouldn't change anything, it did get me to thinking again about trying to get more angle to the sky. I had this idea months ago but dismissed it when the normal mount *seemed* to work. Only to find later it wasn't good enough to maintain a consistent signal.

I thought of one more improvement I'll try tomorrow. If I remove the bottom 2 cups too, widen them out, then run a string or a dowel between them, I can wedge the bottom of the dish right up to the window and gain a few more degrees of angle.

I could just rest it on the window sill for a little more angle but the window goes up and down that inch when opening/closing the door and I don't want the silicon grabbing the glass and screwing it up. Even if I took it off it would still scrape along it. I don't wanna risk it. I want it all hanging on the glass free from that movement.
 
Picture two of something like this with a bar between them that would be bungee'd to the door handle. No suck-ion cups to fall off, lowest possible location for max angle. The height would be adjusted to just past the antenna's cg. Gives you something to put in that huge glovebox.
Screenshot 2026-08-23 115432.webp

Here's a wimpy two layer test of only the fit. The window is unaffected. Opening the shade might be interesting.
1787513835205.webp

Still think the antenna could be mounted inside the huge horizontal wing in the rear door. I don't have an antenna to check the possibility.
 
bicycleguy said:
Picture two of something like this with a bar between them that would be bungee'd to the door handle. No suck-ion cups to fall off, lowest possible location for max angle. The height would be adjusted to just past the antenna's cg. Gives you something to put in that huge glovebox.
View attachment 40645
Here's a wimpy two layer test of only the fit. The window is unaffected. Opening the shade might be interesting.
View attachment 40646
Still think the antenna could be mounted inside the huge horizontal wing in the rear door. I don't have an antenna to check the possibility.
Click to expand...
Something like that could work, as long as that lip doesn't interfere with the window automatically going up/down an inch when opening/closing it. Probably need some lateral support too (a piece between the two of them). I don't have a 3D printer to test it out. I'm not too worried about the shade since someone would have to explicitly hit that button, but I want to be able to open/close the door (and the window moves). I'll have to be careful not to hang excessive weight on that glass and put a strain on it when the door is open. The dish is only 2.5 lbs alone so it's pretty light now.

In the mean time, I just made a little sling of sorts with 12 ga electrical wire. The bottom edge sits flush against the glass now for the maximum vertical angle I can get while still clearing the roof obstruction. Fortunately the window itself is angled inward a fair amount to help.

The cheap Neewer suction cups actually seem to work pretty well. But when I get the Veritas Vans kit, I may use those stronger cups instead. Depending on how well this works on the next road trip, I may find I want the option of cupping to to the roof. That means encasing the dish in their frame. That only takes 5 minutes but I need to decide whether to keep it that way or reassemble any time I need to mount it to the roof. Adds 3.3 more pounds and I may not want 7 lbs hanging on the window.

I'd like to hang it all from the grab handle but that's just too far inward in order to get the bottom of the dish pressed up against the glass for maximum sky view. And I don't want a giant box sitting in the seat to put it on. This lightweight suction cup method may be as good as it gets for now.

PXL_20260823_201710137.webp
PXL_20260823_201636105.webp
PXL_20260823_201347365.webp
 
bicycleguy said:
Still think the antenna could be mounted inside the huge horizontal wing in the rear door. I don't have an antenna to check the possibility.
Click to expand...
You mean the 3rd row triangle shape windows? No, I tried that. Too small. The dish is roughly 10"x12" square. Won't even fit flush in that window, let alone have the extra space to angle upward. It's a pretty tiny window.

I tried the liftgate window too, but no go. Barely fits flush, but that didn't get a good signal. Not a lot of angle, and the spoiler gets in the way. Plus the heating wires likely introduce additional interference.
 
Another idea...

When I get the new frame, it has screws on both sides for mounting the feet in either direction. That means I can put bolts in each corner to use as stoppers. If I don't want to "hang" the dish from upper suction cups (which leverages some weight on the upper part of the window), I can keep the lower ones (with the wire or a dowel) in place as an anchor ledge. Then I can make a little "T" easel that rests it's foot on the door handle.
 
I have the veritas van kit with suction cups but I have an EV9 and I used to have it connected to moonroof and not my pano roof. Worked great when they used to let standby mode work in motion.
I would be curious if the magnet solution they do would work and mount on the outside of the gravity.
 
RandomDesign said:
Just an example one but what about a couple of these kind of adjustable phone mounts to lengthen the top instead of string? https://www.amazon.com/Voinap-Suction-Mirror-Holder-Rechargeable/dp/B0GSV6B6TD/
Click to expand...
That could work, although the string does have the benefit of being able to place the suction cups wider and out of the field of view so it doesn't interfere with the signal. I think something like that would have to be placed closer.

The string I used is actually one of those nylon eyeglass neck strings. It already had the loops on the ends and looks cleaner. Totally unplanned, but they have a slight elastic stretch in them, which works out well by taking a little stress off when closing the door or the car hitting a rough road.
 
Update... just completed a 2500 mile road trip with the Starlink mounted in the side window at about 45 degrees as shown above. Results were positive, but not perfect. Speedtest was usually in the 45 Mbps area. Good, but still degraded from perfect. 45 is plenty for all practical needs, except it wasn't always consistent. I don't know whether heavy clouds interfere, or certain areas of the country and weaker than others, but that kinda seemed like what was happening.

For instance, on the final 400 miles of the drive yesterday from Evanston WY to Denver (mostly I-80), it was almost perfect. We watched live TV the whole way (well, passenger watched while I listened) and only had 2-3 short blips where it cut out for a minute. 98% success. At the start of the trip it seemed good through most of CO too. But then through UT and NV, it was more hit&miss. We put away the TV monitor for that stretch, but I have the car wifi connected to it and I can watch the cell/wifi symbol at the top of the car screen. It was jumping back and forth quite a bit between wifi and cell, suggesting that it was losing Starlink for those stretches. It was still working most of the time but would cut out for like a minute (or less) every 10 minutes, type of thing. And for most of that there was no clouds or smoke in the air.

I looked for reports of Starlink being spotty in that part of the country but I couldn't find anything that suggested that. So I'm still unsure whether the inside mount is the problem, or Starlink is weaker there, or just isn't that consistent when roaming in general. Maybe that's the norm?

For people using Starlink in the car for something other than video streaming, they would probably barely notice the short outages (often just 10 seconds before it reconnects). It's probably perfectly fine for most other purposes. Video streaming just needs constant connection and lots of bandwidth.

My VeritasVan roof mount shipped while I was gone so I haven't tried it yet. I probably will next month on another trip, although I'd still much prefer the inside mount. No matter how reassuring their videos are, I'm still concerned about it safely staying attached to the roof.
 
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