Starlink Mini coming late 2024

[Neal]

This may be the answer to airplane camping as well as other uses such as backpacking, hiking, and more. It seems this new device about 12 inches in length can be powered by USB C so something like a Jackery many have, including self, will give you Internet in remote locations. Good for checking weather, flight planning, and more when out of cellular range.

 

[ve6yeq]

From the leaked documentation, it appears that it is very much a static location device and probably not suitable for in motion use. Definitely very useful for trip planning and general back county use but it appears that we will have to wait for a next generation of in flight Sirius XM Weather, over the horizon ADS-B, etc…

 

[Neal]

Personally I don’t intend to use it inflight. Just for camping use etc.

 

[ve6yeq]

I just noticed there is now a Starlink Mini - Car Adapter, so you no longer need the 60 W USB-C PD supply, which requires a DC-DC converter if you do not have a 28V battery.

However, I think the idea of a power bank as an accessory battery that can be charged from the alternator while the engine is running, without leaving you with a flat starter battery, is a great idea (I think that Trent Palmer is using this setup). The concept of an "accessory" battery is what RVs, boats, and now even some cars have adopted. Mike Patey even added it with Solar charging in his "Scrappy" build, and I am thinking about it for my Cub, as I am always worried about running down the starter battery.

 

[Neal]

I have the various adapters but don't think my TA-202 has enough power and would need to be replaced. The 12V "cigarette" adapter I optioned for at the seat base, aft side may work but I'd have to remove the stick cover to access it. Ironically I watched a video last night of a guy outfitting a gen3 Cirrus with Starlink Mini. Good info, but the short of it is you'd need a higher power USB setup from mid-continent which I'm probably going to order to replace the one in my left wing root. I need to check dimensions and see if the higher power ones will fit. I do believe it's on a 5A circuit so that should work fine if it fits.

USB Chargers

www.mcico.com

As we only have 12V supply vs Cirrus and others with 28V we are limited to the 45W option, I'd love to get the 100W but we can't power it from the aircraft supply. So it looks like for us these are our best upgrades over the TA-202.

USB Charger

USB-C (45W at 3A) / USB-A (36W at 3A), 12–32 VDC in, Rear connector, Lighted

www.mcico.com

USB Charger

USB-C (45W at 3A), 12–32 VDC in, Rear connector, Lighted

www.mcico.com

As to portable battery solutions, I suggest looking at the Jackery products. They recently came out with the safer LiFePO4 versions of the battery chemistry so they are safer vs the former Lithium Ion such as I bought with their Jackery 300 and solar panel setup.

https://www.jackery.com/

 

[Neal]

I ordered the -13 variant (dual C's) from Aircraft Spruce. It was 481 when added to the cart, not price as shown on the page below. It's backordered.

True Blue Power Dual USB Charging Ports TA245 FAA-TSO | Aircraft Spruce ®

True Blue Power Dual USB Charging Ports TA245 FAA-TSO Charge your personal electronic devices faster with TA245 Series USB Chargers.

www.aircraftspruce.com

 

[ve6yeq]

The installation manual for the new Dual USB-C PD/PPS with internal DC-DC converter lists a 105W max power requirement (10 A breaker and wiring), so it's not exactly a drop-in upgrade for the older, lower-power units from back when my plane was built. Also, I think the Starlink Mini requires a 65 W port, not a 45 W one, but from what I can tell, if you disable the "heating" function, it might not need the full 65 W.

 

[Neal]

Probably going to not do this. I'm MOD'd out

 

[Neal]

Fortunately it was backordered so easy to cancel with Aircraft Spruce. I'll probably just use my Jackery if I use SL in flight.