Starlink needs to hire you as a maritime consultant Shawn - awesome - actually it’s incredible - 👍

Elizabeth & Shawn Another interesting project for sure ! Shawn is always very methodical in his approach to any and all projects on board MV Freedom. I have always been amazed that no matter the project, he determines how he wants to do the project and then gets it done in fine style !! Bravo Shawn as you have endured all things such as cold, heat and snow to complete your projects and Elizabeth is always there assisting with a smile on her face. Can't wait to see the install of Starlink in the upcoming video. Enjoy your weekend and be safe !

First comment, woohoo. Staying up late in Australia to watch the Spanish F1 race but getting an MV Freedom video is a nice bonus

In a past life I was a TV repairman, telephone exchange techie, electronic cryptographic systems repairman, electronics tech working on spy satellites, field tech for early modems, a field tech for Tektronix, and a creative for Apple. Oh and I own and operate a 65’ Fleming on the east coast from the Bahamas to Canada. That said you are a tech God. Tearing the Starlink apart, testing, engineering a new waterproof mount, replacing the KVH antenna and getting this all to work puts you in a class with Wil Proust the KZfaq God of electrical power. Kudos. You are truly a gift to one another. You are one of the few that I would trust with my life at sea. I have a Starlink on Joy our Fleming65. Currently mounted to our aft rail when we are at anchor. Works great. I can foresee replacing the KVH domes and ditching DirecTV altogether. We now get weather, news and entertainment just like being at home. All of our gear is connected. Russound for video and music, AppleTVs, iPads and iPhones, Furuno chartplotters all on line. Placing an order for a second Starlink for our home in Utah. Thanks for the video.

Great modification !! Look good and we’ll done!! Fair winds ⛵️

Starlink is a game changer for remote areas. We get 210M in the middle of nowhere Texas. How do you think I'm watching this episode? Lol

Man I love this. Thinking outside the square. Just so good to see someone work it out, design and build a solution. Well done sir!!

That took a fair amount of guts to cut that open. Well done! As always, thanks for taking us along on the journey.

Shawn's plane flight was awesome!....looked like it was going backwards lol

Class A job! My favorite boat channel ever!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as an engineer, I definitely would not permanently mount this antenna. The ability to remove it while traveling and when the boat is unoccupied seems like a plus and avoids exposure to elements and thieves.

Awesome video! Yes, part two, please.

Great job. Very impressive conversion. Cant wait to get your test results.

I don't understand how this is any uglier than the rest of the stuff on top of the pilothouse.

Sweet! You have been addressing my wants and needs these last couple of weeks. If it works for you the it will be installed on my soon to be new to me boat. Cool. Thank you. Be safe.

So awesome to see the Captain Shawn in his professional environment!!!

Yes. Part two please. Im confident that you did your homework and all worked as planned. But, lets wait and see.

Amazing ingenuity!

Another good one Shawn. I do enjoy the technical shows as much or more than the pure scenic episodes, all are great though, have not missed one.

My new favorite channel!!!

its a gamechanger !! We put one on our boat using the roam feature they just launched. we bought a pole mount for the antenna that made it look better. we now can work and surf from anywhere. we love ours !

Fantastic work on the modification. A PA Starlink appreciates it.

Great episode this week. 👍

i had no idea that you knew your way around a milling machine

Lol... If aesthetics are so important you would think that all of the other equipment up there would be held to the same standards. Not to mention that the boat has more of a tug boat vibe than a super yacht. But it's interesting to see the results of this experiment. 👍🏻

I like the video a lot ! I am a elect / mech engineer and this is good work. Thanks for sharing.

Excellent adaptation...very cool well done!

I'm curious about how much bandwidth is lost by the lack of tipping ability, and whether rocking and heeling from waves causes the antenna issues.

Let’s go summer!

On your starlink account page click outside your service area it's an extra $25 a month. Works great on our boat in SF Bay area

Did starlink technical support provide any advice? I was surprised that your test of horizontal mounting worked, thinking that if so why do they even have an aiming motor. So I’m going to be wondering all week to see your next show to see if this works. PS: Thank you for three “technical” shows in a row. Music and video very well done.

Sweet job.

Heya so happy you are now having stable and reliable internet connection!

How can you be bothered about cosmetics when your roof is covered in antennas? Some folk are never happy

Kudos for cutting in Four Christmases lol - that is a must watch for me over the holidays!

Nice to be a Machinist! I do lots of brackets and such for my toy hauler. Great job! We sure enjoy your videos!

Awesome ! Paving the way for a boat version of starlink !

This is an amazing idea, really hope it works.

Must have nerves of steel, great job.

interesting video thank you Shawn and Elizabeth

I was in the middle of thinking about this myself! Ha great minds!

Very good stuff!!!!!!

Well....007 is also MacGyver too. LOL. Shawn's skills never cease to amaze me. Congrats on a Pro Install. I'll be interested to see how it works in a cove with hills or mountains on three sides. I know for a fact that the Starlink does not like trees. Nice work Captain.

nice job waiting for part 2

Nice video! Pretty interesting! Stay safe Freedom crew! 👍👍

Awsome video guys!

Great work

Considering all of the equipment on the boat's overhead, the Starling looks slick: shower, thinner, smaller, ...

If Elon Musk sees this video, he's going to fire half of the design department for producing an antenna with unnecessary costly elements. The new design proposed by Shawn reduces the production cost of the antenna by at least 30%.

Jeebus! Those are better DL/UL speeds than I’ve EVER had at either of my homes on CA and OR! I’m hella jealous. 🤪

Amazing.

Great job as always. Ty for sharing:)

Another Awesome video, true engineering genius. at least if it works it will. Not sure how it will like not being about to move it's motors.

Very nice work!

Brilliant

This is super dope! Waiting for part 2. I am in the process of purchasing a Nordic Tug 44’ and was going to try to devise a dome solution for Dishy. It will be interesting to see how well the top of Dishy will hold up to the UV rays mixed with ocean conditions.

I am curious as to how well it will work in Desolation Sound and inlets along coastal BC. I'm not sure if my memory is working but I seem to recall you were going to do a North to Alaska type trip before you sailed away to warmer climes in your future. StarLink should get a good work out there.

NEAT! 14:00 for watching multiple times

I'm surprised that Starlink doesn't offer a marine solution already.

The key here is your location. The first gen Starlink Sats that were launched must communicate directly with a land relay station (due to their LEO orbit they have a limited range). The newest sats that are being launched can relay between themselves to reach the closest land relay. This means that this should work as long as you are within range of the relay (say along the coast). If you go out say crossing the pacific this wont work (yet). The good news is that most of the Bahamas and Caribbean should be covered by end of 2023.

The title brought here. "We're going to fabricate a new mount' got my undecided attention. Then the 3 axis milling machine showed up - Subscribed! That algorithm might know me too well.

10:22 Love the milling part where the safety squint sign is over Sean's shoulder the whole time. Intentional I am sure.

Pro tip - Starlink is designed for a min elevation angle of 25 degrees. By defeating the phased array’s gimbal mechanism, you’re limiting your field of view to satellites passing 25 to 155 degrees overhead. The impact is that your terminal will see fewer satellites (reducing connection opportunities) and reduce the average duration of your connection.

waiting for part II... looks good so far. one of the operation screens displays the dynamic RSSI number... it'd be interesting to see the rssi with/without the dome on top the antenna as a comparison. i know you're not planning on using it but there are some looking in that direction for their existing domes. tks.

It's ugly? The FLIR, the radar and every other antenna is ugly. O-f'ing-well IMO. Doesn't look out of place even on it's original pole.

Nice

Aarrgghhhh. now I have to wait for part two dammit. Smashing vid thank you.

If Elon were smart, he'd get his team designing a marine purpose satellite dish. Of course, Shawn should get a portion of the sales profits :)

Ugly in this case is definitely in the eye of the beholder. To me that area of the boat is for communication and sensor antenna’s and the Starlink is smaller than the big simrad antenna that rotates when in use. But everyone is different only an issue if Starlink enforces its terms of use policy and shuts you off based on unauthorized modifications to the dish. I haven’t heard of them doing this though

Nice project. Surprised that Starlink didn't already have a solution

Nice Work Shawn, really well done ! 👍 Starlink does make a lot of sense, and I was planning to go that route when I got a motor yacht (thinking managing another Sailboat due to disability was now out of the question), but now I've found a Sailboat I can easily ma age single handed, plus can get it with twin keels, so it an dry out safely - this ability can massively reduce the costs for de sliming the bottom, changing Anodes, checking the bow thruster properly, plus keeping a close eye on the protective finish on the Volvo Saildrive, enabling rapid and easy touch up if necessary. It's a Deck Saloon, so a bit like a Trawler inside, but much better hand holds etc, for safe moving around inside.My disability is a bit like having a wooden leg, without the firm support of a wooden leg. Arrr Jim Lad Lol. A worry though, being a Sailboat, is if a suitable dish becomes available, will the extra electric load ended, be manageable. Solar and Wind should produce useful amounts, but the Space for a House Battery Bank appears limited, so I'm following your Lithium Battery Bank experience going forward with great interest. tbh, I don't like Lithium, apart from the difficulty with recycling them, there are potential issues from rapid charging, plus phone ones, at the end of their service life pretty much dissolve into a destructive liquid that takes out the circuitry inside the phone or tablet, such that batteries should be changed between 4 and 5 years old Maximum, if they have beenbtreated right, with no fast charging - it's actually why Apple put such h low amperage Chargers with their phones, to maximise their service lives (Samsung fast chargers are similarly low power) . Thankfully Lithium Battery Technology is improving, so fingers crossed, but as I plan on traveling to far away exotic places with my boat, I'm hoping to get away with enough Carbon AGM batteries, so that if I get a failure in the middle of nowhere, getting AGM replacements should be available to tide me over, and be an easy, though heavy drop in. There are many benefits that come with having a Nordhavn, and having enough electrical power, and the space for decent sized Battery Banks, are among them. Happy Wakes to you both, and fuss to both dogs. Keep up the great work, and Best Wishes. Bob. Maybe see you out there somewhere in a couple of years. 👍🙂

Just because you can do something and you enjoy experimenting; doesn't mean you do it. Your pilothouse "roof" is festooned with antenni and the addition of a fully functional Starlink antenna would not be ugly or distracting. Most people use a short pole mount.

Get a patent! This is terrific…

The Starlink unit works in Alaska. I think it might rain a lot up there. Snow falls on these units, freezes and then melts. Maybe not good on a submarine. I use the unit on the hardtop on my 45' sport fisher in storms and still get reception in a non-prime coverage location.

Hello, you guys are great. Love watching your show. I just don't understand why you guys don't get more subscribers or views. I hope for the best in the future. Can't wait till you guys retire and head for the Wide Open Seas. I wish you guys all the luck in the world, the world at sea.

Cool

There is a reason it it has the ability to adjust it's angle - likely to get a more direct path to the available satellites. Making it fixed will likely degrade its performance.

hey man! nice project you have here! i have a question, how did you take off the stick from the dish?

Ok, so I've always been impressed with Shawn's skills, but this takes it to a whole new level. I think I'm developing a man crush. (Not that there's anything wrong with that. 😂) So since most of us aren't at Shawn's level nor have that kind of equipment at our disposal I'm assuming if this works you will be selling conversion kits? I want to be at the top of the list. I won't be able to sleep at night if you have something on Freedom that I don't have on Edonismo. Oh wait, you have Elizabeth. I lose again. 🤦🏻‍♂

I am so waiting to see how this turns out for you!!!!

stumbled upon this - youtube algorithm right. fantastic machining, 'dishy' looks cleaner after you removed the base then before. i was dubious in regards to how this would go speed wise considering it cannot steer itself, shy of the phazed array, but i watched your install and it looks like good download speeds still. Are you able to download something largeish and graph the speed over time, i'd be curious to know when a starlink sat moves in and out of the observable sky how much effect it has considering it cant move. the only reason i say this, is considering the high speeds you got, why would they add the remote base, its just a wearable part that adds cost and complexity, why not install all dishes directly up,. either which way, nice work. very clean

i need a ''SHAWN'' IN MY LIFE!!! i wish I was smart like him!!!

How did you remove the pipe to expose the wire like that?

I appreciate a person willing to adventure a bit outside the box if you were. Rules only apply for those who live by the rules and obviously that's not your thing and that's impressive. I have only one question is the Bridgeport onboard? Nicely done, a slitting saw might have cut with less tool pressure but that's not ment as criticism it's just a thought.

Would the antenna fit into a 24 inch empty dome? The flat roof mount was a great idea though!

very nice project. What plastic did you use for the base that bonds good with 5200 and light weight? how thick. Thank you for sharing

FCC approves Star Link to be used on vessels!! ☺️

Well done bro! Yer not just a pretty face... Nice mill.

What did you make the base from? What adhesive did you use? Thanks for sharing

Honestly I didn't think it looked that bad on the roof with all the other things already up there. Hope it works out for you in the long term after all the effort.

bravo

Lekker man lekker 🇿🇦

How did you fabricate the replacement cover? That would have been interesting to see. Thanks for the videos.

Shawn, do you have a CAD model or CNC file you'd want to share for the base plate?

Love this video! I hope that antenna rotation isn't used for cross-polarization commissioning during unit startup. If you have bad crosspol isolation you can cause interference on the network, and your transmit might be remotely inhibited by Starlink (aka banned). Subjectively I'd guess starlink is a circular polarized system and this shouldn't be a problem at all. I'm most interested in how the phased array keeps up with vessel motion even while you are at anchor.

Hi guys. Just stumbled across your channel.Great viewing. I am living aboard a slightly smaller boat in Australia. Was wondering about fitting starlink here. Have the coverage. Like the idea of mounting the dish flat. Didn’t think you could. How is it working for you. Cheers from down under. Norm

FWIW, it looked like you made the new mounting plate from HDPE (like King Starboard). 5200 doesn't really bond with that well. Not much does other than a few purpose made adhesives however some cyanoacrylates (superglue) and epoxies do. Will be watching closely to see how this works for you as I know plenty of people in the Bay area who would like to try it even if only for stationary(ish) use and not underway.

Just subscribed. We just bought a 51 foot cruiser. We’ve been enjoying your videos for awhile. How did you fabricate that backplate?

Sean, this will be your #1 video for views in no time. You know EVERYONE will want your flat mount, you should think about selling them?? All the Best TK

Sorry second question was a question about initiation. I didnt quiet understand are you meant to set up at the place you have it delivered to thanks guys keep up the great videos