DC Powered Starlink

Converting Starlink to DC power

Decreasing inverter usage is key to preserving power

while off grid. I try to convert as many services as possible to utilize Direct Current (DC). Wifey and I both work from the home/road, IE: We live at work. Having reliable network connectivity is a requirement. Converting network services in Olive to not need Alternating Current (AC) is ideal. Using DC as the primary power method for phones, laptops, router, wifi, starlink, monitors, googleTV, etc.. speeds setup/teardown and improves usability. Below is my parts list for converting starlink to utilize DC power.

Notes on DC vs AC equipment

Modern day electronics utilize DC power. This means that your computer, TV, phone, etc.. all have a transformer that converts AC to DC. In order to turn DC into AC, Airestream utilizes an inverter. A non-trivial amount of loss is had when converting DC to AC power. The factory supplied inverter claims > 90% efficiency. Then the transformer(wall wort) efficiency is between 80%-99%. At any given time a minimum of ~10% and maximum of ~30% is being lost to unnecessary transformations.

Customer Premise equipment (CPE)

Starlink CPE is a white box that supplies a Power Over Ethernet (POE) and router/wifi service. The white box is ideal for home use, it plugs into the wall and allows for quick and easy setup, allowing devices to get online quickly. The power supply consumes AC power from the wall and converts it to 48v Direct Current (DC). The DC voltage trverses the cable and powers Dishy, allowing the unit to receive and send RF packets to the satellites enabling your internet service. The cabling for my Gen2 starlink (square Dishy, with motor) is ethernet with proprietary connectors supplied by starlink. The cable can be easily cut and terminated with standard ethernet T568B. Using a smartplug ethernet jack enable plug and play into the side of Olive

Smart Plug