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@darconeous
Last active September 19, 2023 16:01
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Hacking the Rectangular Starlink Dishy Cable
@MooreDoing
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@darconeous thanks for the really awesome write-up here! It's already proven very helpful, but had one more q. Am I correct in understanding that, if I use a hacked PoE injector (52v), I can plug the rectangular dishy into any router? Dishy has the brains to manage communication and alignment, as well as interface with the app?

My goal is to cut out the 120V req for a campervan install so as to improve power efficiency.

I have the same use case but you’re probably pushing the boundaries with that implementation. I would expect most of the logic to be managed by the router in light of the dish being subject to the elements and possible physical damage. They obviously want to keep costs down so limiting that risk by putting all the brains in a safe place like the router makes sense. If you’re curious to see a fellow camper vaner’s solution, check out my channel/vid. I’m no YouTuber but I try to share.

https://youtu.be/UCimJixTxTI

@MikeRowand
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My understanding is that the "brains" are all in Dishy, the Starlink router is basically just a POE power supply and a Wifi access point with custom Starlink Ethernet and 120V power plugs on it.

I don't think the app will work if you do this, but you should be able to access the built in web server on the dish to do most of what the app does. It should be http://dishy.starlink.com/ if you are connected to the network you have Starlink connected to, if you have your network set up correctly.

@MooreDoing
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Very interested to hear the outcome if this is tried. 🤘🏼

@tuckdog
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tuckdog commented Jul 14, 2022 via email

@MooreDoing
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That’s amazing! Starlink install 2.0 for me at some point. 🍻

@maxengel
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What connector...

Neutrik NE8FDY-C6 and NE8MC6. I'm using them with a travel trailer and I repurposed an existing port (I made the round, aluminum plate inwhich the panel-mount connector sits):

Outside_port_cropped

This is great! @oetkb: I have a newer Dishy McFlatface and have read it needs Cat8 and that some people have experienced issues. Have you found that the NE8FDY-C6-B works without issues?

@oetkb
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oetkb commented Jul 28, 2022

It's extremely unlikely that you'd need Cat8 since the stock cables are Cat5e. The Neutrik connectors work great; no issues.

@maxengel
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It's extremely unlikely that you'd need Cat8 since the stock cables are Cat5e. The Neutrik connectors work great; no issues.

Got it! That's great to know. I'm going to try that setup with my camper. Out of curiosity, are you using foam or something else to form a seal? FWIW, I was looking at using this.

@oetkb
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oetkb commented Jul 28, 2022

Out of curiosity, are you using foam or something else to form a seal?

Since I repurposed the cable/satellite inlet most of the seal is supplied by the rubber gaskets for the inlet. Neutrik makes an optional gasket for the panel mount connector that I found and purchased on eBay.

@jmartin83
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jmartin83 commented Aug 18, 2022

Hi ,
Regarding the excess cable and coiling, on regular Ethernet word seems to be that it doesn't put out enough power to create a strong magnetic field, but seeing that this is PoE could this be a factor ?
I need to do more testing but, I basically had the dish on the ground level, lots of obstructions but cable uncoiled, 125 to 270 Mbps , average in the high 180 Mbps ( 13 samples )
I've moved the antenna to the roof this week, no more obstructions, but cable is coiled nicely ... and speeds are 96 to 188 Mbps , average in the 140 Mbps. ( 13 samples )
I guess a lots of factor are at play like network jitter and possibly weather . But what used to be my average dl speed , is now just the max it reaches on occasion .
Thoughts ?

@Missoulajeff
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Hello All, Thanks for the detailed and expert comments. Total newb here. Sorry in advance!

Problem Set: I need to mount my Starlink Gen 2 Dishy approximatley 195' from the ideal router location inside our cabin. As you all know, the longest pre-made Starlink cable is 150'

Potential Solution One:- Place Starlink Router in weather proof box <75' from Dishy location, then use Starlink ethernet adaptor and run 23 gauge Cat5e from Router box all the way to cabin router location and install a third party router there.

Does anyone have corrections or comments on this strategy? Can someone give me good links to high quality ethernet cable? This is going to be running underground, in a 3/4" schedule 40 PVC conduit, about 6" from a 110v electrical cable buried in second conduit.
I'm assuming this ethernet needs to be shielded. Correct? And do I need to ground one end of it?

Potential Solution Two: Cut custom 90 degree Starlink cable termination off, use weather-proof cable coupler to join the cut end of the Starlink cable to new 23 Gauge Cat5e cable, then attach the cut-off starlink termination to the far end of the Cat5 cable and plug that into the Starlink router located in the cabin.

Does anyone have corrections or comments on this strategy? Is this coupler recommended and appropriate for this situation?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FLY7233/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A130RVB6PSAL46&psc=1
What ethernet connectors / terminations do you suggest for the cut starlink cable and the Cat5 ethernet cable at the location of the coupler?
Do you have any advice on how a novice like me can get the wiring correct? I see reference to "type B" wiring but have no reference. Are ther diagrams out there?
And will the POE that is required from Starlink router to Dishy work in this arrangment?

Thanks so much for any and all assistance. My preference is to go with Potential Solution Two because it eliminates the extra energy used by the second router and eliminates the need to stash the starlink router out in the outdoors.

Jeff

@jfpdazey
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jfpdazey commented Oct 25, 2022

@oetkb Planning on doing basically the same setup in the "wet bay" of our RV with the components you've mentioned. After a lot of searching, it seems like yours is the best option to get quality components, full shielding, and a measure of waterproofing/dust resistance - at a reasonable price.

Looking at the instructions on the NE8FDY-C6 (on the Neutrik website), step "J" indicates a "Grounding Option" where you are instructed to "Insert contact only if screen should be connected to front panel". See the screenshot included below.

My question is, if I'm aiming at maintaining the full shielding from Dishy to router by using these Neutrik components, letting the router/power cable take card of ground, should I skip this "Grounding Option"? My gut says 'yes', but I'd like to be certain.

Thanks in advance!
John

image

@oetkb
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oetkb commented Oct 25, 2022

@jfpdazey: The short answer is, "Yes, skip the panel grounding".

It's unlikely to actually make a difference with the types of mounting we're using (i.e., non-conductive "panels" unconnected to any possible ground path) but better to be safe than sorry.

@jfpdazey
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@oetkb Perfect! Thanks for your quick reply. Makes sense given your point about the “panel” itself not being connected to ground.

@francc01
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francc01 commented Oct 26, 2022

Hello All.
I want to do a similar thing.
To remove the starlink router, as i find it to limited in terms of configuration.
Besides that, i want to be able to connect most equipment via cable.

One issue, i am unable to order the provided PoE injector, as amazon does not list it anymore for sale.
Would the following one be a good option?
(ps i can only order from Amazon spain due to my location).

its 90W output, and has a power supply integrated.
A bit more€€€ but thats ok.

The idea is to put dishy V2 more or less 150 to 200 meters from my main house on a high support.
The PoE injector will only be used for powering Dishy V2. No other devices.

I have for that a uws-litle-16-PoE switch and a edgerouterx.
I am aware of the switching of the pairs to match up as well dishy and as well the PoE injector.

Trying to avoid bricking first connection of dishy ;) would be a shame after waiting so long...
Thank you

EDIT: I have at the moment the following injector:
48V 0.5A 24W PoE adapter from tp-link (TL-POE4824G). Its a passive 1 GB injector
If i can use this one, then it should be ok and i do not need to buy the more expensive mentioned.

@WIMMPYIII
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Hello All. I want to do a similar thing. To remove the starlink router, as i find it to limited in terms of configuration. Besides that, i want to be able to connect most equipment via cable.

One issue, i am unable to order the provided PoE injector, as amazon does not list it anymore for sale. Would the following one be a good option? (ps i can only order from Amazon spain due to my location).

its 90W output, and has a power supply integrated. A bit more€€€ but thats ok.

The idea is to put dishy V2 more or less 150 to 200 meters from my main house on a high support. The PoE injector will only be used for powering Dishy V2. No other devices.

I have for that a uws-litle-16-PoE switch and a edgerouterx. I am aware of the switching of the pairs to match up as well dishy and as well the PoE injector.

Trying to avoid bricking first connection of dishy ;) would be a shame after waiting so long... Thank you

EDIT: I have at the moment the following injector: 48V 0.5A 24W PoE adapter from tp-link (TL-POE4824G). Its a passive 1 GB injector If i can use this one, then it should be ok and i do not need to buy the more expensive mentioned.

There has to be less then 100 meters between each switch. So to get 200 meters you need an inline switch in the middle of your run.
This run will just be for getting data to your dishy. ( this can be done for several 100m jumps)
https://www.amazon.com/Cudy-POE15-Waterproof-1000Mbps%EF%BC%8C1-Wall-Mount/dp/B085S1R5NX/ref=sr_1_38?crid=2NZHHBO1DZL4U&keywords=PoE+Extender+outdoor+gigabit&qid=1666769394&sprefix=poe+extender+outdoor+gigabi%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-38&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840#customerReviews

You need to run power on a 2nd run of wire. ( I don't think cat6 wire is going to be good on more than 100 meters)
snip the end and tie in half the pairs to negative and half to positive on a power pack. (For 200m i think you would need proper DC awg 12 wire) and possibly a higher voltage then this listed below like 56v you would want to use a voltage calculator and also voltomenter the end before attempting to power it.
(If you can get AC power at the dishy end you could run the stock router in bypass mode in an enclosure and just do the above for data to a router into the house)
https://www.amazon.com/Reolink-Adapter-Compatible-RLN16-410-RLN8-410/dp/B07WL7R26Z

You will need this at the dishy side
Option 1 (needs pins set properly) https://www.ispsupplies.com/McCown-Technology-Corporation-800-GIGE-POE
Option 2 (needs an enclosure) https://dishypowa.com/

@ptwohig
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ptwohig commented Dec 2, 2022

Which of the wires on the Dishy actually supply power to the dish, and which are data?

I tried this injector and I think I cooked my Dishy - https://bit.ly/3H5ImH9

  1. Data
  2. Data
  3. Data
  4. 48V+
  5. 48V+
  6. Data
  7. GND
  8. GND

Is that correct? Or do need to order a replacement dish?

@jesuschris
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Did you swap the Green/Blue in and out of the PoE? See this diagram. https://postlmg.cc/NKnyQNcy

If not you may need a new one.

Also I've just become aware of this cool piece of kit out of NZ... https://canhaz.dishypowa.com. Maybe this is an easier solution for all you DIY'rs not wanting to risk your dishy. :)

@WIMMPYIII
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WIMMPYIII commented Dec 2, 2022

Did you swap the Green/Blue in and out of the PoE? See this diagram. https://postlmg.cc/NKnyQNcy

If not you may need a new one.

Also I've just become aware of this cool piece of kit out of NZ... https://canhaz.dishypowa.com. Maybe this is an easier solution for all you DIY'rs not wanting to risk your dishy. :)

Yes dishypowa works great but so does the McCown 800-GIGE-POE. The McCown is cheaper considering you have to by a 4x4 sealed box for dishypowa. Dishypowa could be more compact for a mobile option also they are making a new revision that can run off a wide range of voltage and output the correct voltage to the dishy. That makes it ideal for vehicles and such and may open up cheaper options of power bricks.

@WIMMPYIII
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Which of the wires on the Dishy actually supply power to the dish, and which are data?

I tried this injector and I think I cooked my Dishy - https://bit.ly/3H5ImH9

  1. Data
  2. Data
  3. Data
  4. 48V+
  5. 48V+
  6. Data
  7. GND
  8. GND

Is that correct? Or do need to order a replacement dish?

How far are you trying to go after the power injector and how far and what wire are you running to the injector? What power brick are you using?

@torrmundi
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Oops, I think I broke my Dishy. I powered up my hack 48V system and plugged Dishy in for the first time. The Tycon PoE smoked. Then I coupled Dishy back to my SL router and logged in with my phone. The app says "Offline" and "Starlink disconnected". That's why I think the Dishy is toasted. Regarding my wiring, I have pos 48Vdc on pins 1,2,3,6 (orange/white, orange, green/white, green) and negative (48V ground) on 4,5,7,8 (blue, blue/white, brown/white, brown). Can anyone tell me my mistake?

@WIMMPYIII
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Oops, I think I broke my Dishy. I powered up my hack 48V system and plugged Dishy in for the first time. The Tycon PoE smoked. Then I coupled Dishy back to my SL router and logged in with my phone. The app says "Offline" and "Starlink disconnected". That's why I think the Dishy is toasted. Regarding my wiring, I have pos 48Vdc on pins 1,2,3,6 (orange/white, orange, green/white, green) and negative (48V ground) on 4,5,7,8 (blue, blue/white, brown/white, brown). Can anyone tell me my mistake?

That sounds to be right wire config. How far did you try to go with only 48v?

@torrmundi
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torrmundi commented Dec 3, 2022 via email

@WIMMPYIII
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WIMMPYIII commented Dec 4, 2022

It's about 35 ft from PoE to dish.

On Sat, Dec 3, 2022 at 3:53 PM WIMMPYIII @.> wrote: @.* commented on this gist. ------------------------------ Oops, I think I broke my Dishy. I powered up my hack 48V system and plugged Dishy in for the first time. The Tycon PoE smoked. Then I coupled Dishy back to my SL router and logged in with my phone. The app says "Offline" and "Starlink disconnected". That's why I think the Dishy is toasted. Regarding my wiring, I have pos 48Vdc on pins 1,2,3,6 (orange/white, orange, green/white, green) and negative (48V ground) on 4,5,7,8 (blue, blue/white, brown/white, brown). Can anyone tell me my mistake? That sounds to be right wire config. How far did you try to go with only 48v? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4390584 or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AU7AEMGEKLVL4QLSCZDV7ELWLOXNTBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF . You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 or Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub .

How far from the 48v power brick plugged into 110AC to the POE injection point?

@torrmundi
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torrmundi commented Dec 4, 2022 via email

@WIMMPYIII
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It's a 12V battery bank, fed about 8ft from the breaker panel to the 12-48 converter on 10 awg. Then 48V fed 27ft to the PoE on 14 awg.

On Sat, Dec 3, 2022, 9:07 PM WIMMPYIII @.> wrote: @.* commented on this gist. ------------------------------ It's about 35 ft from PoE to dish. … <#m_8102826963808532048_> On Sat, Dec 3, 2022 at 3:53 PM WIMMPYIII @.*> wrote: @.** commented on this gist. ------------------------------ Oops, I think I broke my Dishy. I powered up my hack 48V system and plugged Dishy in for the first time. The Tycon PoE smoked. Then I coupled Dishy back to my SL router and logged in with my phone. The app says "Offline" and "Starlink disconnected". That's why I think the Dishy is toasted. Regarding my wiring, I have pos 48Vdc on pins 1,2,3,6 (orange/white, orange, green/white, green) and negative (48V ground) on 4,5,7,8 (blue, blue/white, brown/white, brown). Can anyone tell me my mistake? That sounds to be right wire config. How far did you try to go with only 48v? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4390584 or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AU7AEMGEKLVL4QLSCZDV7ELWLOXNTBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF . You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 or Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub . How far from the power brick plugged into 110 to the POE injection point? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4390754 or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AU7AEMFGPAZBIGAJSRSKI23WLP4GTBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF . You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 or Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub .

That sounds perfectly fine to me. Maybe something was wrong with the 48v converter did you try a voltmeter on it? What amps did the 48v converter put out?
Maybe someone else has some ideas as to what may have happened?

@torrmundi
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torrmundi commented Dec 4, 2022 via email

@torrmundi
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torrmundi commented Dec 4, 2022 via email

@torrmundi
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torrmundi commented Dec 4, 2022 via email

@bghira
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bghira commented Dec 5, 2022

you killed the router

@WIMMPYIII
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WIMMPYIII commented Dec 5, 2022

I measured the DC voltages on all the wire pairs after connecting back to the SL router. Every one is zero! Does the SL router have a 'dormant' mode that power off the dishy? Or does this indicate a dead SL router??

On Sat, Dec 3, 2022 at 10:42 PM John Morfit @.> wrote: BTW, thank you for responding! As you might guess, I'm an unhappy camper right now, so it is great to have someone that I can speak with about it. On Sat, Dec 3, 2022, 10:31 PM John Morfit @.> wrote: > I only checked voltage, before connecting SL - after connecting, as soon > as I saw smoke, I disconnected. If I venture to try again, I'll measure > current. I assume that since I've not found anything needing change, the > condition will continue (more smoke). > > On Sat, Dec 3, 2022, 9:42 PM WIMMPYIII @.> wrote: > >> @.* commented on this gist. >> ------------------------------ >> >> It's a 12V battery bank, fed about 8ft from the breaker panel to the >> 12-48 converter on 10 awg. Then 48V fed 27ft to the PoE on 14 awg. >> … >> <#m_-1420044019847022546_m_1579301424341436564_m_-4331165555688670339_> >> On Sat, Dec 3, 2022, 9:07 PM WIMMPYIII @.> wrote: @.** commented on >> this gist. ------------------------------ It's about 35 ft from PoE to >> dish. … <#m_8102826963808532048_> On Sat, Dec 3, 2022 at 3:53 PM WIMMPYIII >> @.> wrote: @.** commented on this gist. >> ------------------------------ Oops, I think I broke my Dishy. I powered up >> my hack 48V system and plugged Dishy in for the first time. The Tycon PoE >> smoked. Then I coupled Dishy back to my SL router and logged in with my >> phone. The app says "Offline" and "Starlink disconnected". That's why I >> think the Dishy is toasted. Regarding my wiring, I have pos 48Vdc on pins >> 1,2,3,6 (orange/white, orange, green/white, green) and negative (48V >> ground) on 4,5,7,8 (blue, blue/white, brown/white, brown). Can anyone tell >> me my mistake? That sounds to be right wire config. How far did you try to >> go with only 48v? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub >> https://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4390584 >> or unsubscribe >> https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AU7AEMGEKLVL4QLSCZDV7ELWLOXNTBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF >> . You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. Triage >> notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS >> https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 >> or Android >> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub >> . How far from the power brick plugged into 110 to the POE injection point? >> — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub >> https://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4390754 >> or unsubscribe >> https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AU7AEMFGPAZBIGAJSRSKI23WLP4GTBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF >> . You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. Triage >> notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS >> https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 >> or Android >> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub >> . >> >> That sounds perfectly fine to me. Maybe something was wrong with the 48v >> converter did you try a voltmeter on it? What amps did the 48v converter >> put out? >> Maybe someone else has some ideas as to what may have happened? >> >> — >> Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub >> https://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4390776 >> or unsubscribe >> https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AU7AEMFBX22SHX5ILIMV65LWLQAIPBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF >> . >> You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. >> >> Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS >> https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 >> or Android >> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub >> . >> >> >

Well if it is just the router fried and not the dishy, the router is half useless anyway and not need for functionality, if power injection is done properly. I would get the components that i listed above McCown 800-gige-poe or dishypowa and a ReoLink 52v power brick. Run to a basic linksys or whatever you got router on the data side of the McCown.
Can you give us a very in depth view of what you where trying to accomplish and why you where trying to run this of a battery rather then power brick. Not that it cant be just wondering why you went this route. I am not sure what dishypowas status is on there next gen unit that can run off a large battery voltage range but that might be the route you need if you have to have battery power.

@torrmundi
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torrmundi commented Dec 5, 2022 via email

@WIMMPYIII
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I don't believe that is correct. I borrowed another router and it behaves identically. Both routers allow login via WiFi, both report that the dish is not powered up, or is rebooting. Why do you say the router is dead?

On Mon, Dec 5, 2022, 12:36 AM Bagheera @.> wrote: @.* commented on this gist. ------------------------------ you killed the router — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4391733 or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AU7AEMFTD3C4A2BL7ZIH4SDWLV5M7BFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF . You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 or Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub .

Not sure at all that is the case that was just bghira thought.

@torrmundi
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torrmundi commented Dec 5, 2022 via email

@WIMMPYIII
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WIMMPYIII commented Dec 5, 2022

I found today, that my router and the borrowed router have pos voltage on pins 1,2,3,6. I may have not connected properly in my prior test.

On Sun, Dec 4, 2022, 8:14 AM John Morfit @.> wrote: I measured the DC voltages on all the wire pairs after connecting back to the SL router. Every one is zero! Does the SL router have a 'dormant' mode that power off the dishy? Or does this indicate a dead SL router?? On Sat, Dec 3, 2022 at 10:42 PM John Morfit @.> wrote: > BTW, thank you for responding! As you might guess, I'm an unhappy camper > right now, so it is great to have someone that I can speak with about it. > > On Sat, Dec 3, 2022, 10:31 PM John Morfit @.> wrote: > >> I only checked voltage, before connecting SL - after connecting, as soon >> as I saw smoke, I disconnected. If I venture to try again, I'll measure >> current. I assume that since I've not found anything needing change, the >> condition will continue (more smoke). >> >> On Sat, Dec 3, 2022, 9:42 PM WIMMPYIII @.> wrote: >> >>> @.**** commented on this gist. >>> ------------------------------ >>> >>> It's a 12V battery bank, fed about 8ft from the breaker panel to the >>> 12-48 converter on 10 awg. Then 48V fed 27ft to the PoE on 14 awg. >>> … >>> <#m_8097072046401898973_m_7125348294402308776_m_-1420044019847022546_m_1579301424341436564_m_-4331165555688670339_> >>> On Sat, Dec 3, 2022, 9:07 PM WIMMPYIII @.> wrote: @.** commented on >>> this gist. ------------------------------ It's about 35 ft from PoE to >>> dish. … <#m_8102826963808532048_> On Sat, Dec 3, 2022 at 3:53 PM WIMMPYIII >>> @.> wrote: @.** commented on this gist. >>> ------------------------------ Oops, I think I broke my Dishy. I powered up >>> my hack 48V system and plugged Dishy in for the first time. The Tycon PoE >>> smoked. Then I coupled Dishy back to my SL router and logged in with my >>> phone. The app says "Offline" and "Starlink disconnected". That's why I >>> think the Dishy is toasted. Regarding my wiring, I have pos 48Vdc on pins >>> 1,2,3,6 (orange/white, orange, green/white, green) and negative (48V >>> ground) on 4,5,7,8 (blue, blue/white, brown/white, brown). Can anyone tell >>> me my mistake? That sounds to be right wire config. How far did you try to >>> go with only 48v? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub >>> https://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4390584 >>> or unsubscribe >>> https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AU7AEMGEKLVL4QLSCZDV7ELWLOXNTBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF >>> . You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. Triage >>> notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS >>> https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 >>> or Android >>> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub >>> . How far from the power brick plugged into 110 to the POE injection point? >>> — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub >>> https://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4390754 >>> or unsubscribe >>> https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AU7AEMFGPAZBIGAJSRSKI23WLP4GTBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF >>> . You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. Triage >>> notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS >>> https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 >>> or Android >>> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub >>> . >>> >>> That sounds perfectly fine to me. Maybe something was wrong with the >>> 48v converter did you try a voltmeter on it? What amps did the 48v >>> converter put out? >>> Maybe someone else has some ideas as to what may have happened? >>> >>> — >>> Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub >>> https://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4390776 >>> or unsubscribe >>> https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AU7AEMFBX22SHX5ILIMV65LWLQAIPBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF >>> . >>> You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. >>> >>> Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS >>> https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 >>> or Android >>> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub >>> . >>> >>> >>

Ya that why we have been going the route of the McCown and dishypowa. It is less wire crossing and areas for things to get mixed up then trying to mod a POE that is wired with power on the wrong pins. When we do these every day it is just asking for trouble.

@WIMMPYIII
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I found today, that my router and the borrowed router have pos voltage on pins 1,2,3,6. I may have not connected properly in my prior test.

On Sun, Dec 4, 2022, 8:14 AM John Morfit @.> wrote: I measured the DC voltages on all the wire pairs after connecting back to the SL router. Every one is zero! Does the SL router have a 'dormant' mode that power off the dishy? Or does this indicate a dead SL router?? On Sat, Dec 3, 2022 at 10:42 PM John Morfit @.> wrote: > BTW, thank you for responding! As you might guess, I'm an unhappy camper > right now, so it is great to have someone that I can speak with about it. > > On Sat, Dec 3, 2022, 10:31 PM John Morfit @.> wrote: > >> I only checked voltage, before connecting SL - after connecting, as soon >> as I saw smoke, I disconnected. If I venture to try again, I'll measure >> current. I assume that since I've not found anything needing change, the >> condition will continue (more smoke). >> >> On Sat, Dec 3, 2022, 9:42 PM WIMMPYIII @.> wrote: >> >>> @.**** commented on this gist. >>> ------------------------------ >>> >>> It's a 12V battery bank, fed about 8ft from the breaker panel to the >>> 12-48 converter on 10 awg. Then 48V fed 27ft to the PoE on 14 awg. >>> … >>> <#m_8097072046401898973_m_7125348294402308776_m_-1420044019847022546_m_1579301424341436564_m_-4331165555688670339_> >>> On Sat, Dec 3, 2022, 9:07 PM WIMMPYIII @.> wrote: @.** commented on >>> this gist. ------------------------------ It's about 35 ft from PoE to >>> dish. … <#m_8102826963808532048_> On Sat, Dec 3, 2022 at 3:53 PM WIMMPYIII >>> @.> wrote: @.** commented on this gist. >>> ------------------------------ Oops, I think I broke my Dishy. I powered up >>> my hack 48V system and plugged Dishy in for the first time. The Tycon PoE >>> smoked. Then I coupled Dishy back to my SL router and logged in with my >>> phone. The app says "Offline" and "Starlink disconnected". That's why I >>> think the Dishy is toasted. Regarding my wiring, I have pos 48Vdc on pins >>> 1,2,3,6 (orange/white, orange, green/white, green) and negative (48V >>> ground) on 4,5,7,8 (blue, blue/white, brown/white, brown). Can anyone tell >>> me my mistake? That sounds to be right wire config. How far did you try to >>> go with only 48v? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub >>> https://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4390584 >>> or unsubscribe >>> https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AU7AEMGEKLVL4QLSCZDV7ELWLOXNTBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF >>> . You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. Triage >>> notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS >>> https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 >>> or Android >>> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub >>> . How far from the power brick plugged into 110 to the POE injection point? >>> — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub >>> https://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4390754 >>> or unsubscribe >>> https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AU7AEMFGPAZBIGAJSRSKI23WLP4GTBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF >>> . You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. Triage >>> notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS >>> https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 >>> or Android >>> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub >>> . >>> >>> That sounds perfectly fine to me. Maybe something was wrong with the >>> 48v converter did you try a voltmeter on it? What amps did the 48v >>> converter put out? >>> Maybe someone else has some ideas as to what may have happened? >>> >>> — >>> Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub >>> https://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4390776 >>> or unsubscribe >>> https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AU7AEMFBX22SHX5ILIMV65LWLQAIPBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF >>> . >>> You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. >>> >>> Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS >>> https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 >>> or Android >>> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub >>> . >>> >>> >>

I think you are stuck trying to RMA or ebay shopping for one.

@WIMMPYIII
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I would love you to RMA without any explanation and see what you get back. and how soon. please let us know if you do.

@torrmundi
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torrmundi commented Dec 6, 2022 via email

@WIMMPYIII
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Images did not come through on gethub for some reason. but your explanation makes sence. It makes me a little nervous to try the tycon but the McCown is not stocked well atm and dishypowa is only batch runs.

@torrmundi
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torrmundi commented Dec 7, 2022 via email

@torrmundi
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torrmundi commented Dec 7, 2022 via email

@torrmundi
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What do you think about NOT having a grounded cable & RJ45 connector from the Dishy? That is my case. All currents must be carried on the wire pairs.

@bghira
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bghira commented Dec 7, 2022

the FCC requires shielding continuity and the CAT5e+ specs require it to avoid ground loop interference

@WIMMPYIII
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What do you think about NOT having a grounded cable & RJ45 connector from the Dishy? That is my case. All currents must be carried on the wire pairs.

You should ground and use a proper grounded Rj45 connector on the dishy side and data to router avoid grounding. So that it is not being grounded in 2 places.

@torrmundi
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Agreed; I should have shielded cable outside, terminating the ground at the lightning surge protection device. Further cabling may be shielded, but should not be allowed to terminate to ground again.

@WIMMPYIII
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WIMMPYIII commented Dec 7, 2022 via email

@WIMMPYIII
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Agreed; I should have shielded cable outside, terminating the ground at the lightning surge protection device. Further cabling may be shielded, but should not be allowed to terminate to ground again.

Any new updates on your situation? Do you have a new dishy on the way?

@torrmundi
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torrmundi commented Dec 16, 2022 via email

@OleksandrSimakov
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OleksandrSimakov commented Jan 14, 2023

Can I use the setup on the diagram, but with the original Starlink router? The aim in my case is just to extend the cable. I am asking because I thought that there is already one POE (48V) in original Starlink router and what would happen if I bring the Tycon one (52V powered) right after it. Would that work?

C725C2A2-AAB8-4A4F-BA6D-0C4A77C95910

@WIMMPYIII
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WIMMPYIII commented Jan 14, 2023

Can I use the setup on the diagram, but with the original Starlink router? The aim in my case is just to extend the cable. I am asking because I thought that there is already one POE (48V) in original Starlink router and what would happen if I bring the Tycon one (52V powered) right after it. Would that work?

C725C2A2-AAB8-4A4F-BA6D-0C4A77C95910

Yes you can. But I think dishypowa or Mcown injector is a better option.

@OleksandrSimakov
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Thanks

@WIMMPYIII
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Thanks

With dishypowa or the Mcown you are not crossing pairs back and forth you are just terminating standard 568b.

@OleksandrSimakov
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OleksandrSimakov commented Jan 17, 2023

After the setup is done as described (with blue-green swaps on cables to poe and power adapter 52v as recommended), Starlink router lamp is off and the app says „connect to starlink wi-fi“. What could be the reason? When I remove poe and power adapter and connect straight back to dishy the Starlink router lamp becomes on, but the app says starlink is disconnected (probably because of lack of poe). Cat5e extension length is 180‘ and original cable 75‘.
What is I try to use a standard passive poe?

@WIMMPYIII
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After the setup is done as described (with blue-green swaps on cables to poe and power adapter 52v as recommended), Starlink router lamp is off and the app says „connect to starlink wi-fi“. What could be the reason? When I remove poe and power adapter and connect straight back to dishy the Starlink router lamp becomes on, but the app says starlink is disconnected (probably because of lack of poe). Cat5e extension length is 180‘ and original cable 75‘. What is I try to use a standard passive poe?

What power supply are you using? What is it's specs. What injector are you using and what are it's max throughput specs?

@OleksandrSimakov
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WL7R26Z
and
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P8WNWFD
I plug router cable to injector‘s socket „data and poe“ and dishy cable to the socket „data“ and the adapter starts to make beep sound each several seconds.

@WIMMPYIII
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The dishy should be the poe port the router data only.

@OleksandrSimakov
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Your question revealed my mistake. I used poe with a different pinout. Not this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P8WNWFD
But this one
FFEEF693-00C3-4A9B-B267-D2C8C5B3E809

Can I swap the wires to go with this one or I need to buy the exact one above?

@WIMMPYIII
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As long as you get the right + - on the right wires you should be fine. But if you mess it up it can definitely fry the dishy.

@WIMMPYIII
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Your question revealed my mistake. I used poe with a different pinout. Not this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P8WNWFD But this one FFEEF693-00C3-4A9B-B267-D2C8C5B3E809

Can I swap the wires to go with this one or I need to buy the exact one above?

Did you get it working?

@OleksandrSimakov
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Your question revealed my mistake. I used poe with a different pinout. Not this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P8WNWFD But this one FFEEF693-00C3-4A9B-B267-D2C8C5B3E809
Can I swap the wires to go with this one or I need to buy the exact one above?

Did you get it working?

Not with this poe I mentioned above.
Will wait till a proper one.
At least the dishy is not fried. Works with original cable

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Jan 23, 2023

This seems to be a more detailed breakdown of the pinouts; it's a breakdown of the ethernet dongle but there is a lot of information about the power and a little more in the comments. Of course I don't know whether any of it is correct:

https://olegkutkov.me/2022/03/07/reverse-engineering-of-the-starlink-ethernet-adapter/

The two things I find significant (if, of course, they are correct) is that the G O pairs are doubled on the pins but the B BR pairs are not. The author suggests that power is not present on the B BR pairs; the diagram of the pinout states this, and it would make sense, sort of, to do it that way.

The second is @POE_Guys comment about the snow melt; search for "185W". That's what happened to me a couple of days ago; it started snowing and something got fried. Once again I don't know of the 185W figure is correct (I haven't looked at the router teardown to see if there is any chance it can deliver that) but it would seem to make sense to put a pretty damn powerful PoE right next to the antenna.

EDIT: is the data wiring half-duplex? Back in the day we used to run two ethers down one set of 4 pairs using a splitter; the green-orange pair gave the first connection, the blue-brown pair the second (which a splitter had to map back to green-orange on the output). It would make sense not to duplicate the wires for the real data lines, and half duplex is more than enough for StarLink.

@jsharper
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EDIT: is the data wiring half-duplex? Back in the day we used to run two ethers down one set of 4 pairs using a splitter; the green-orange pair gave the first connection, the blue-brown pair the second (which a splitter had to map back to green-orange on the output). It would make sense not to duplicate the wires for the real data lines, and half duplex is more than enough for StarLink.

It's true, 10mbps and 100mbps only use two pairs. But for 1000mbps (gige), you need all four pairs. Starlink definitely needs gige and uses all four pairs. (Note - when using 2 pairs for 10 or 100, it's still capable of full duplex; one pair is for data flowing in each direction)

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Jan 23, 2023

But for 1000mbps (gige), you need all four pairs.

Half duplex 1000mps is apparently part of the gigabit standard:

https://networkengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/34196/has-half-duplex-gigabit-ethernet-ever-been-used

Gigabit is 1000mbps per double pair, so full duplex is 1000mbps download and 1000mbps upload (on the other pair). StarLink control both ends of the cable; one in the antenna, the other the router, so they could implement half duplex sharing the 1000mbps between upload and download and they would have well over their approximately 200mbps+20mbps peak. Even for business with 200+200 that's still way less than 1000.

The only way to know is to split out the mangled USB-C connectors using a couple of breakouts and experiment. What happens if the antenna is plugged directly into a managed switch? A managed switch is the easiest way I know to debug the other end of an ethernet cable because the management UI says precisely what is happening.

This is what I would actually like to do; my system is fried and I'm on hold with StarLink support (perhaps for ever). I don't know if the antenna, the router, or the cable is the problem but regardless given the number of reports of this problem on r/StarLink it would be nice to remove all but the antenna. All the same it isn't clear to me from this conversation or others what results people have got, if any, from plugging the StarLink ethernet into a managed switch; does it work, is it full duplex and is it reliable?

The negotiation is apparently half-duplex:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabit_Ethernet

So another possibility is that the antenna negotations the download side to the BL-BR pairs, where I'm guessing the transmission is more reliable, and puts up with failures on the duplicated OR-GR pairs.

Yet BL and GR have been swapped; that's weird too. I guess it means that, in fact, each half of the duplex has one pair of lines which are doubled and another which are single?

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Jan 23, 2023

The whole shebang looks like 802.3bt, as someone observed on Oleg's teardown. It's easy to find with a breakout; just look for "rsig" across the various pairs. The way the wiring works:

https://www.microsemi.com/document-portal/doc_view/136209-next-generation-poe-ieee-802-3bt-white-paper

The rsig connects each of the pair of pairs across which the power must be delivered. The catch is that there is a bridge rectifier in front of each rsig. If the pairs are not matched correctly in the "dual signature" mode bad things are likely to happen. Otherwise, single signature, it should be possible to make any arbitrary pair of the pairs positive and the other pair of pairs negative and, because of the two bridge rectifiers, it seems to me positive will end up on positive and negative on negative from both supply channels. This is assuming the power source on the other end has cojoined positive and cojoined negative.

The first test is to check the antenna rsig to see if it is single signature or dual signature or, maybe, neither (in which case ignore all this post). In "single" it's not possible (I think) to deduce which pairs connect to which bridge rectifier. Indeed if the circuit is rearranged it is easy to see that there are no bridge rectifiers as such; just a pair of diodes to connect each pair to either positive or negative as appropriate (but I guess that is a bridge rectifier, just a four lane bridge ;-)

The transformers burn out if the individual wires from the pairs are mis-wired. This puts the full 48V with it's massive current capability across just a couple of small transformers (well, 50% of the time I think).

So far as I can see any 802.3bt injector should work, such as this one:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08D3CKBMS

I.e. I'm saying that the actual polarity does not matter if it really is 802.3bt and, if it is single signature, neither should the polarity on any pair just so long as two are positive and two negative.

@WIMMPYIII
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The whole shebang looks like 802.3bt, as someone observed on Oleg's teardown. It's easy to find with a breakout; just look for "rsig" across the various pairs. The way the wiring works:

https://www.microsemi.com/document-portal/doc_view/136209-next-generation-poe-ieee-802-3bt-white-paper

The rsig connects each of the pair of pairs across which the power must be delivered. The catch is that there is a bridge rectifier in front of each rsig. If the pairs are not matched correctly in the "dual signature" mode bad things are likely to happen. Otherwise, single signature, it should be possible to make any arbitrary pair of the pairs positive and the other pair of pairs negative and, because of the two bridge rectifiers, it seems to me positive will end up on positive and negative on negative from both supply channels. This is assuming the power source on the other end has cojoined positive and cojoined negative.

The first test is to check the antenna rsig to see if it is single signature or dual signature or, maybe, neither (in which case ignore all this post). In "single" it's not possible (I think) to deduce which pairs connect to which bridge rectifier. Indeed if the circuit is rearranged it is easy to see that there are no bridge rectifiers as such; just a pair of diodes to connect each pair to either positive or negative as appropriate (but I guess that is a bridge rectifier, just a four lane bridge ;-)

The transformers burn out if the individual wires from the pairs are mis-wired. This puts the full 48V with it's massive current capability across just a couple of small transformers (well, 50% of the time I think).

So far as I can see any 802.3bt injector should work, such as this one:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08D3CKBMS

I.e. I'm saying that the actual polarity does not matter if it really is 802.3bt and, if it is single signature, neither should the polarity on any pair just so long as two are positive and two negative.

No, it absolutely does not work!
You may be able to get by with it if you turn the heater off and never use heat, if you can even get it to boot. But if its mounted 150ft somewhere you probably don't want to go without heat.
It is not nearly enough power to handle the load spikes it demands. You need more than 100w if you are going to go over 150ft.
Not all stock routers are 100% stable at 150ft with the 48v internal power unit when it is freezing out.
I think starlink is pushing it very close to the threshold of what awg 23-24 stranded pairs can handle.
Slightly higher voltage takes a little stress off the cable too so depending on your distance it should be at least 52v or higher going over the 150ft mark.
That puts you ahead of the cable failure statistics. The last thing you want is the cable close to the edge of failure on a tree or tower or burried 150+ feet out in the yard or field.

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Jan 23, 2023

You may be able to get by with it if you turn the heater off and never use heat, if you can even get it to boot. But if its mounted 150ft somewhere you probably don't want to go without heat.

If I do this I will be mounting the PoE injector about 3ft cable length from the antenna. I could probably even drop it to 1ft. The data-only side of the PoE will then sit approximately 18ft from the router (a Synology RT2600ac) and since that doesn't shielded ports I can just run a standard SFTP or, indeed, a cheap 18ft CAT7 (shielded plugs but really thin wire).

I spent a lot of time thinking about it and it is weirding me out that the Orange Brown pairs have doubled contacts. It looks like 802.3bt with a dual-signature PD and then the orange-brown pairs are used for the high current load and the blue-green for the voltage sensitive side. In that case the orange brown could be directly connected to the heating elements (at 48V, or whatever volage ends up at the dish). Having two independent PoE injectors would make sense.

But I suspect that's not what they engineered; I can's see why so many people are suddenly ending up with fried systems just after a snowfall. This is, of course, why I'm investigating this; I can save $50/day on my backup internet (AT&T) if I can fix this without having to wait for StarLink customer support.

@WIMMPYIII
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You may be able to get by with it if you turn the heater off and never use heat, if you can even get it to boot. But if its mounted 150ft somewhere you probably don't want to go without heat.

If I do this I will be mounting the PoE injector about 3ft cable length from the antenna. I could probably even drop it to 1ft. The data-only side of the PoE will then sit approximately 18ft from the router (a Synology RT2600ac) and since that doesn't shielded ports I can just run a standard SFTP or, indeed, a cheap 18ft CAT7 (shielded plugs but really thin wire).

I spent a lot of time thinking about it and it is weirding me out that the Orange Brown pairs have doubled contacts. It looks like 802.3bt with a dual-signature PD and then the orange-brown pairs are used for the high current load and the blue-green for the voltage sensitive side. In that case the orange brown could be directly connected to the heating elements (at 48V, or whatever volage ends up at the dish). Having two independent PoE injectors would make sense.

But I suspect that's not what they engineered; I can's see why so many people are suddenly ending up with fried systems just after a snowfall. This is, of course, why I'm investigating this; I can save $50/day on my backup internet (AT&T) if I can fix this without having to wait for StarLink customer support.

But the amazon poe you listed is $70. Why not just get the injection hardware you know works? Like 800-GIGE-POE or dishypowa and REOLINK 52V 2.88A power adapter.

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Jan 24, 2023

But the amazon poe you listed is $70. Why not just get the injection hardware you know works? Like 800-GIGE-POE or dishypowa and REOLINK 52V 2.88A power adapter.

Because then I have to buy McCown PoE injector or similar (the NZ product) AND the REOLINK or similar and that's a lot more than $70, or, indeed, $50 for this, which I now have on order:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08MJJTH2B

(I cancelled the Cody order, which had not even been processed.) The above product is clearly documented as having surge suppression and it has a guaranteed delivery date (as did the Cody prodcut). The Cody product has a ground screw as well but the Amazon add doesn't document surge protection.

I couldn't find the 800-GIGE-POE available anywhere; this is the "outdoor" model installed in a weatherproof case. I did find the 800-GIGE-POE-APC (the rack mount model) for $75, including shipping from just one supplier, I have that on order; no confirmation of any delivery time, they said "in stock" but it won't be the first time I've ordered an "in stock" item to have only have it after it was in stock by the retailers supplier. I also have several of the other possibilities on order from Amazon.

The cost is immaterial; as I said I was bleeding $50 (maybe more)/day. I've now got a Plan B that will cost me around $100 per month (continuously) but gives me a failover link.

So what I'm looking for now is a way to fix StarLink and that means understanding the PoE stuff; this is why I am posting here.

What I want is the most reliable solution I can hack and that would seem to mean leaving StarLink out as much as possible and, at the same time, understanding the PoE going into the antenna. I don't want to just hack it (though I will if I have to) I really want to understand it, at least for the next few days.

@WIMMPYIII
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But the amazon poe you listed is $70. Why not just get the injection hardware you know works? Like 800-GIGE-POE or dishypowa and REOLINK 52V 2.88A power adapter.

Because then I have to buy McCown PoE injector or similar (the NZ product) AND the REOLINK or similar and that's a lot more than $70, or, indeed, $50 for this, which I now have on order:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08MJJTH2B

(I cancelled the Cody order, which had not even been processed.) The above product is clearly documented as having surge suppression and it has a guaranteed delivery date (as did the Cody prodcut). The Cody product has a ground screw as well but the Amazon add doesn't document surge protection.

I couldn't find the 800-GIGE-POE available anywhere; this is the "outdoor" model installed in a weatherproof case. I did find the 800-GIGE-POE-APC (the rack mount model) for $75, including shipping from just one supplier, I have that on order; no confirmation of any delivery time, they said "in stock" but it won't be the first time I've ordered an "in stock" item to have only have it after it was in stock by the retailers supplier. I also have several of the other possibilities on order from Amazon.

The cost is immaterial; as I said I was bleeding $50 (maybe more)/day. I've now got a Plan B that will cost me around $100 per month (continuously) but gives me a failover link.

So what I'm looking for now is a way to fix StarLink and that means understanding the PoE stuff; this is why I am posting here.

What I want is the most reliable solution I can hack and that would seem to mean leaving StarLink out as much as possible and, at the same time, understanding the PoE going into the antenna. I don't want to just hack it (though I will if I have to) I really want to understand it, at least for the next few days.

I have used the rack mount versions as well for the same stocking reason. It is very easy to solder a ground wire lead on the metal tab section and is easier to get 100% waterproof in a 4x4x2 electrical box from home depot then the ones made for outdoor.

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Jan 24, 2023

https://www.neobits.com/mccown_technology_800_gige_poe_apc_mccown_technology_p10399422.html

Yep; that's where I got it from. Here's the text from my orders page. I chose the cheapest shipping option that was offered:

NW568174 Shipped Complete 01/22/2023 $72.33

And, according to FedEx they did it (so that is a ++ for neobits.com):

Monday, 1/23/2023	
3:59 PM
Shipment information sent to FedEx
5:18 PM
Picked up
WEST CHESTER, OH

This is github, not facebook; you asked me to justify investigating PoE injectors and I did, but that was an ad hominem attack from the gitgo.

I'm still simply trying to find the best way to do an end run round what I consider to be a necessary restriction (given that I don't dispute the power rating exceeds that allowed by RJ45) done by StarLink yet implemented in a way that doesn't seem to quite work.

I suggest we discuss why RJ45 is limited to 90W in 802.3bt. It's not simply ISO/IEC 60950, even the white paper for 802.3bt states:

[T]his compliance means that power cannot exceed 100W per port.

Yet my reading of 60950 suggests that the actual limit is 240W per cable; the spec places a hard limit of 60V and 240VA for more than 200ms. But bt has a limit of 960mA per pair so, combined with 60V (bt says 57.6V at the PSE, but close enough) that would only be 120VA max at the PD, given that the current goes out and comes back on the same cable.

I take the Chuck McCown point of using all four pairs for delivery and ground for return (so 4A out and 4A back via the ground) but I actually once owned a house where someone had done something like that (the neutral to a socket was broken so someone jacked it to the nearest available neutral) and that struck me as the most scary piece of wiring I have ever seen.

Addendum to what I said before: the Cody spec sheet (PDF) does actually say it has surge protection, but it doesn't include a spec of the rating.

@WIMMPYIII
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https://www.neobits.com/mccown_technology_800_gige_poe_apc_mccown_technology_p10399422.html

Yep; that's where I got it from. Here's the text from my orders page. I chose the cheapest shipping option that was offered:

NW568174 Shipped Complete 01/22/2023 $72.33

And, according to FedEx they did it (so that is a ++ for neobits.com):

Monday, 1/23/2023	
3:59 PM
Shipment information sent to FedEx
5:18 PM
Picked up
WEST CHESTER, OH

This is github, not facebook; you asked me to justify investigating PoE injectors and I did, but that was an ad hominem attack from the gitgo.

I'm still simply trying to find the best way to do an end run round what I consider to be a necessary restriction (given that I don't dispute the power rating exceeds that allowed by RJ45) done by StarLink yet implemented in a way that doesn't seem to quite work.

I suggest we discuss why RJ45 is limited to 90W in 802.3bt. It's not simply ISO/IEC 60950, even the white paper for 802.3bt states:

[T]his compliance means that power cannot exceed 100W per port.

Yet my reading of 60950 suggests that the actual limit is 240W per cable; the spec places a hard limit of 60V and 240VA for more than 200ms. But bt has a limit of 960mA per pair so, combined with 60V (bt says 57.6V at the PSE, but close enough) that would only be 120VA max at the PD, given that the current goes out and comes back on the same cable.

I take the Chuck McCown point of using all four pairs for delivery and ground for return (so 4A out and 4A back via the ground) but I actually once owned a house where someone had done something like that (the neutral to a socket was broken so someone jacked it to the nearest available neutral) and that struck me as the most scary piece of wiring I have ever seen.

Addendum to what I said before: the Cody spec sheet (PDF) does actually say it has surge protection, but it doesn't include a spec of the rating.

Sorry it came across as an attack I just didn't want to see you or anyone else go down a path of supplying lower wattage then the router itself supplies as it is already underpower to handle the dishy demands.

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Jan 24, 2023

I just didn't want to see you or anyone else go down a path of supplying lower wattage then the router itself supplies as it is already underpower to handle the dishy demands.

Well yes; I'm certainly not disputing the high power requirements of the antenna. What is more if the antenna is a purely passive PD then, as I understand it, none of the 802.3 PSEs will work at all; my understanding is that if the PSE cannot detect the 'signature' resistance on the PD then it can't put any voltage across the conductor pairs in the first place. If I can use an 802.3bt (which means iff the antenna does the negotiation) then I'd want to find a wiring method that didn't cause the PSE to drop the connection on heater overload and I suspect that isn't possible (the PSE has to drop both the channels, not just the one that overloads). Nevertheless I can turn the snow melt off (I don't need it) and 802.3bt has much better protections.

StarLink are bound by 60950-SELF and by the other cable rating standards (NEC, UL etc). If they put a consumer accessible RJ45 on the cable they also get limited by spec and limitations on RJ45, in particular a consumer connection to existing cabling (CAT5 and earlier) infrastructure. So far as I can make out that is where the 90W comes from. Using a proprietary connector removes the possibility of a consumer connection; either the cable has to be cut or the ends have to be ground off a USB-C socket (I intend to do the latter next). Presumably this is enough to remove the 90W/cable limit and, most likely, allow the router to put 120VA or more into the connector.

@WIMMPYIII
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I just didn't want to see you or anyone else go down a path of supplying lower wattage then the router itself supplies as it is already underpower to handle the dishy demands.

Well yes; I'm certainly not disputing the high power requirements of the antenna. What is more if the antenna is a purely passive PD then, as I understand it, none of the 802.3 PSEs will work at all; my understanding is that if the PSE cannot detect the 'signature' resistance on the PD then it can't put any voltage across the conductor pairs in the first place. If I can use an 802.3bt (which means iff the antenna does the negotiation) then I'd want to find a wiring method that didn't cause the PSE to drop the connection on heater overload and I suspect that isn't possible (the PSE has to drop both the channels, not just the one that overloads). Nevertheless I can turn the snow melt off (I don't need it) and 802.3bt has much better protections.

StarLink are bound by 60950-SELF and by the other cable rating standards (NEC, UL etc). If they put a consumer accessible RJ45 on the cable they also get limited by spec and limitations on RJ45, in particular a consumer connection to existing cabling (CAT5 and earlier) infrastructure. So far as I can make out that is where the 90W comes from. Using a proprietary connector removes the possibility of a consumer connection; either the cable has to be cut or the ends have to be ground off a USB-C socket (I intend to do the latter next). Presumably this is enough to remove the 90W/cable limit and, most likely, allow the router to put 120VA or more into the connector.

Please update us on how that goes.

@proavnerd
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Forgive me if this has already been covered. What if I'm just trying to splice the proprietary ends onto existing category cable? Can I just hack off both ends, terminate them with RJ45 plugs and connect to the length of cable routed through my walls? I presume this will work out just fine, assuming I'm terminating everything 568b. No injectors. Cat6 cable length under 150'. Anyone here done this before?

@WIMMPYIII
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Forgive me if this has already been covered. What if I'm just trying to splice the proprietary ends onto existing category cable? Can I just hack off both ends, terminate them with RJ45 plugs and connect to the length of cable routed through my walls? I presume this will work out just fine, assuming I'm terminating everything 568b. No injectors. Cat6 cable length under 150'. Anyone here done this before?

Yes that will work but keep in mind this will be more resistance then you are going to get with a stock 150ft cable with 2 plugs what you are talking about will be 6 plugs the 2 original and 4 between. And stranded rj45 plugs suck and passing power compared to solid conductors. The stock power supply in the router is already underpowered and undervolted for the power demand the dishy is putting on it. You are probably better off using k2 double blade cable connectors for you splices. But if you are staying under 150ft why not just use the stock cable?

@proavnerd
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Thanks for the reply. The distance is probably 60-80' end to end. While I have no doubt that power would pass better through gel bean K2 connectors, these are more for telephone signal. Data is susceptible to interference and other issues if the twist and shielding is not properly maintained.

You do ask a valid question though. Why not just use the stock cable? This is going on the roof of an ultra high end residence for internet failover. There are cables routed from the roof to the equipment racks already. Putting a new proprietary cable in place would require a tremendous amount of work, as silly as that sounds.

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Jan 29, 2023

This is going on the roof of an ultra high end residence for internet failover.

This gist is very much for people who are living on the edge. The RJ45 is limited to 90W, and then only with PSEs which meet the requirements of the IEC specs, the StarLink antenna requires more than that.

I just wouldn't do it that way. Run the infrastructure wiring as close as possible to the place the antenna will go, run power too. Put the router there; I'm guessing the installation uses the ethernet dongle because otherwise doing failover is, well, complex. (I have an installation with failover, but mine is the other way round; my local ISP is providing the failover for StarLink.)

Don't splice, or mod, the StarLink kit; just coil the 75ft cable up in the loft or wherever the router ends up. This is what I ended up doing, it worked just fine until the StarLink kit failed, but I own the house so I'm looking at getting rid of the router completely. Believe me when I sell this place that kind of stuff will be removed before the place even goes on the market (I live in the US.)

@proavnerd
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Tonight I replicated the setup at my client's house. The 75' proprietary cable was cut about 15' from the modem end. The signal path is now modem > Ethernet adapter > 15' of proprietary cable with RJ45 jack > 25' of Cat6 with plugs on both ends > 100' of Cat6 with jacks on both ends > 60' of proprietary cable with a plug on the end > dishy.

I'm running through a total of 200' of cable with 2 different cable skews and 3 junctions and it works fine. To validate my results, I pulled out the FLIR camera to take some photos of the connectors. The chatter here and elsewhere indicates that Starlink is using the modified USBC connectors to accommodate the amperage required by dishy. I expected the RJ45 junctions to be the weakest link in the chain and to see some heat generated there. That was not the case though. All the connectors are at room temperature, regardless of whether the heater is on or off.

The cables do appear to be about 3° warmer than room temperature, but that trivial amount of heat could still be residual from me coiling the cables after cutting them off the spool.

Reality here is that you could fill the ocean with things I don't know about how this actually works. How many watts does dishy actually draw when the heater is on? Is it different when the heater is in auto mode vs pre-heat? The cable I used isn't shielded. Does it matter? Should I have eaten that whole burrito? The list goes on forever. But I suspect that this the power supply is designed for the worst case scenario, taking into account voltage drop for the 150' proprietary cable and all the things (heater, servo motors, etc) operating at the same time. Likely for a more sustained period of time than will ever actually happen.

Should you do this? Absolutely not, as noted in the disclaimer at the top of the thread. Can you do this? Probably. Am I actually going to void the warranty on my client's backup satellite internet hardware just to make the cables pretty? -Yup.

@WIMMPYIII
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Tonight I replicated the setup at my client's house. The 75' proprietary cable was cut about 15' from the modem end. The signal path is now modem > Ethernet adapter > 15' of proprietary cable with RJ45 jack > 25' of Cat6 with plugs on both ends > 100' of Cat6 with jacks on both ends > 60' of proprietary cable with a plug on the end > dishy.

I'm running through a total of 200' of cable with 2 different cable skews and 3 junctions and it works fine. To validate my results, I pulled out the FLIR camera to take some photos of the connectors. The chatter here and elsewhere indicates that Starlink is using the modified USBC connectors to accommodate the amperage required by dishy. I expected the RJ45 junctions to be the weakest link in the chain and to see some heat generated there. That was not the case though. All the connectors are at room temperature, regardless of whether the heater is on or off.

The cables do appear to be about 3° warmer than room temperature, but that trivial amount of heat could still be residual from me coiling the cables after cutting them off the spool.

Reality here is that you could fill the ocean with things I don't know about how this actually works. How many watts does dishy actually draw when the heater is on? Is it different when the heater is in auto mode vs pre-heat? The cable I used isn't shielded. Does it matter? Should I have eaten that whole burrito? The list goes on forever. But I suspect that this the power supply is designed for the worst case scenario, taking into account voltage drop for the 150' proprietary cable and all the things (heater, servo motors, etc) operating at the same time. Likely for a more sustained period of time than will ever actually happen.

Should you do this? Absolutely not, as noted in the disclaimer at the top of the thread. Can you do this? Probably. Am I actually going to void the warranty on my client's backup satellite internet hardware just to make the cables pretty? -Yup.

How much more stress is this putting on the internal power supply and how will the dishy handle the voltage and amperage drop over a long period of time is the question.

@OleksandrSimakov
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Should I activate bridge mode if I want to use my own router in this setup?

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Jan 31, 2023

Should I activate bridge mode if I want to use my own router in this setup?

So far as I can see bridge mode is only required if IPv6 is required. If you are happy with the StarLink router as an IPv4 failover then I believe it should be possible to plug the dongle ethernet into the WAN port of a router with failover support but would result in triple NAT.

It seems much more simple to use "bypass" (i.e. bridge mode); having two routers just complicates the configuration and, indeed, the StarLink router wifi can't be switched off or hidden so that complicates the user experience as well. Bypass mode isn't perfect because the traffic still goes through two ethernet systems and, most likely, the MCU but I don't know if the antenna will boot without the ethernet connection; with PoE from a separate injector.

@OleksandrSimakov
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Should I activate bridge mode if I want to use my own router in this setup?

So far as I can see bridge mode is only required if IPv6 is required. If you are happy with the StarLink router as an IPv4 failover then I believe it should be possible to plug the dongle ethernet into the WAN port of a router with failover support but would result in triple NAT.

It seems much more simple to use "bypass" (i.e. bridge mode); having two routers just complicates the configuration and, indeed, the StarLink router wifi can't be switched off or hidden so that complicates the user experience as well. Bypass mode isn't perfect because the traffic still goes through two ethernet systems and, most likely, the MCU but I don't know if the antenna will boot without the ethernet connection; with PoE from a separate injector.

Thanks for insights. I would better stick to original Starlink router. For me there is no particular reason to use my own wi-fi router. Original one would suffice for my my needs

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Feb 1, 2023

For me there is no particular reason to use my own wi-fi router.

The terminology has evolved over the years and become confusing as a result. Both StarLink and my local ISP provide a bridge, in the form of the antennae, and then what is now called a router but used to be called a gateway is required afterward. Setting "bypass" mode on the StarLink router bypasses the gateway functionality of the router and means that another router (well, another gateway) is required.

Setting the StarLink router into bypass mode is not something anyone needs to do unless they already know then need to do it.

@morehardware
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Ive had some difficulty converting my Starlink to 12 volts. I terminated my stock cable and built my own POE using the typical components described in youtube vids and Reddit forums confirmed to be working - 12 volt to 48V 3amp step up powersupply , Tycon POE injector. I put the Starlink in Bridge mode, hooked everything to a GL-Inet Beryl router wan port with the properly terminated ends (one swapped and the other not) and powered it up. The Starlink would attach for 30 seconds and then disconnect. I left it in this cycle for 3 hours and still no IP. I am mounting this on the roof of my van and my cable runs are extremely short. My gut feeling was that my power supply was too weak. I am plugging it into 15amp fused cigarette lighter socket. I bought a Mean well DDR120c and cranked it up to 50 volts and tried again but I am getting the same error. I was about to give up when I found a person using a 120volt to 48 volt stepdown transformer. I bought one and hooked it to a brand new Tycon POE Injector and it attached and acquired an IP successfully. There is obviously a difference in the 48 volts 3A coming from the 120 volt Power transformer and the Mean Well Converter at 48 volt 2.5 amps (besides the .5 amps) . The Mean Well has seemed to be a pretty dependable power supply for this MOD. I even tried to hook the Mean Well directly to a 12 car battery. Using 12 gauge wire all around. Any ideas about why my 12 volt to 48 volt system wont stay connected. but my 120 volt to 48 volt system works great?

![Screenshot 2023-02-01 at 9 18 33 PM](https://
Screenshot 2023-02-01 at 8 39 25 PM
user-images.githubusercontent.com/124229469/216238183-446fe523-4a24-413c-9be1-24a14363dda8.png)
IMG_0876

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Feb 2, 2023

I bought one and hooked it to a brand new Tycon POE Injector and it attached and acquired an IP successfully.

One potential weak point is the ethernet transformer chip used inside the PoE. There are a lot of these chips around but most of them only have a "30W" or "60W" capability. So far as I can see the transformer must be one of the newest ones designed for the highest power (class 8) 802.3bt; these have to support a continuous 99W at the PSE and I think that means 960mA/pair or 480mA/conductor. Even then, if the numbers are right, the transformer is being run over-powered. You seem to have the right Tycon injector, but they may use that box for lower power devices. Check what you have against the Tycon data:

https://www.tyconsystems.com/PoE-Injectors_c_172-1-2.html

(Search for the actual model number on that page.) I intend to double check the McCown and the Tycon (I have both) but the number given above for the McCown injector seems to correspond to a Pulse Electronics 30W (802.3at) transformer.

It would be a useful test to swap the old Tycon injector back without changing the setup to see if this has failed or not.

The likely failure point is startup of a cold dish. If "snow melt" is turned on this will draw maximum power. It's not clear to me that higher voltage helps here; heaters are normally purely passive so a higher voltage increases the current requirement in proportion. There are cheaper testers on Amazon that can test the actual power delivery:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08B46PMV3

But if the current goes over the limit something is likely to break... Check the output voltage of the two 48V supplies under load; at 2.4A. I do have one of those supplies (the first, switching, 3A/48V PSU) so I'm going to try to test that. It would be interesting to know which of them generates the lower voltage. The regular (non-switching) PSU will probably also have considerable ripple; who knows, that might help!

I couldn't work out which systems you have working. It seems the 48V/3A didn't work and neither did the Mean Well initially. They are both switching PSUs. Then there was a step down transformer system which seems to be the approach in your picture. Those are pretty hard to come by these days and the peak voltage one would deliver is almost 68V; the actual output depends on the voltage regulator inside the PSU, if there is one.

I've also encountered one 12V high current (10A or something like that) switching PSU which could not supply a low current (below 1A); it would just stop working. This seems to be a feature of high current PSUs, but it may be just a fault in the one I was trying to use.

In any case I have snow melt turned off; it's a persistent setting on the StarLink antenna (the dish). I might experiment with turning it back on but only if I have it powered through the StarLink kit (i.e. from the router). I want to find out what the actual current draw is first and I want to compare it with "preheat". There's no pre-heat only setting though, so if "snow melt" draws the kind of current people are suggesting it's pretty much useless without special ethernet transformers. I've seen 185W quoted, but that is almost twice what Oleg Kutkov quotes the router PSE as being able to output (120W):

https://olegkutkov.me/2022/04/10/initial-analysis-of-the-starlink-router-gen2/

It may be that the router has a slow turn-on or, indeed, maybe it is doing full 802.3bt with LLDP to negotiate power with the antenna? I'm still at the stage of needing to make test leads (SPX to RJ45) before I can find out more.

@torrmundi
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McCown 800-GIGE-APC transformer data sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CN1s0zdzvzn7WFps7vP6IgSC8o0_H3rV/view?usp=share_link
Dishpowa transformer data sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10vF1zdiZoWkZGcegcOFoDLXQ6KCrkKwQ/view?usp=share_link

I blew out a Tycon POE-INJ-1000-WT transformer (unmarked part) and it shorted 1,2,4,5 to 7,8 and killed my dishy permanently. I could not find any fault in my wiring - I think the transformer chip simply overloaded.

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Feb 2, 2023

Note that Tycon make two of these:

https://www.tyconsystems.com/poe-inj-1000-wt Gigabit Passive PoE Injector/Splitter with LED Indicator. Injects or splits DC power on all 8 wires. 1245(+) 3678(-). Wire terminal connector. 2.25A. VIN=VOUT. Ubiquiti airFiber

https://www.tyconsystems.com/poe-inj-1000-wtx Gigabit Passive PoE Injector/Splitter with LED Indicator. Injects or splits DC Power on all 8 wires. 1278(-) 3645(+). Wire terminal connector. 2.25A. VIN=VOUT

The first (without the "x") is the standard 802.3af etc approach which puts the power across the transmit/receive pairs of a single channel; 12-36 (orange green) is the first channel used in half-duplex (4 conductor) pairs and 45-78 is the second channel for full duplex

The second one puts the positive on the middle four pins, 4536 (red, green pairs) and the negative on the outer (1278, orange brown) pairs. So plugging a WTx injector into any regular device with 4 pair PoE put a positive and a negative together on the pairs which normally supply either the positive or negative. On a diode protected PD this is no problem; the diodes route the positive or negative to the right place. On something with no diodes there is a short circuit that will instantly blow out the ethernet transformers in one or both ends (or a mixture of the two).

The StarLink is, I believe (DO NOT RELY ON THIS STATEMENT - check yourself) 1236+, 4578- Note that the WTs both put useable power on each half-duplex but that StarLink does not. The Tycon WT has 12(+)36(-), 45(+)78(-) and the Wtx has 12(-)36(+), 45(+)78(-) the latter corresponds to T-568A where green/orange (12, 36) are swapped relative to T-568B. Whereas StarLink has 12(+)36(+) 78(-)45(-) One half-duplex pair-of-pairs is wired positive, the other negative. Presumably there is some benefit to this...

The obvious protection is to wire four IN4005 diodes in the right direction from the PSU to the center taps of the transformers in the PoE injector. That protects both ends (PD and PSE) except that the PD might end up with positive and negative supply rails swapped. Better is to protect the PD, but that increases the power requirement at the PSE injection point (until if the diodes are in the PSE, before the injection point).

EDIT (important): diodes in the PSE will not help. The diodes have to be in the PD to prevent miswiring at the PSE or PD end from connecting the PSE + directly to the PSE -. Given that @OleksandrSimakov apparently fried at least the PSE with the Tycon WTX it certainly sounds like the Dish does not have protection diodes. Aargh; they should have put protection diodes in and gone with a higher voltage; at least 57.6V. the diodes will output a small number of watts, but only if pre-heat or snow-melt is on when, surely, it doesn't matter...

@morehardware
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morehardware commented Feb 2, 2023 via email

@torrmundi
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torrmundi commented Feb 3, 2023

I purchased a POE Tester (Noyafa NF488S) from Amazon. There were issues:

  1. cannot test Starlink non-standard 4PPoe
  2. does not measure standard 4PPoe power correctly
  3. does not indicate positive or negative voltages on 4PPoe wires

Results:
With 4pair PoE injecter, Tycon, 1,2,4,5 (V+) 3,6,7,8 (V-)

  • the tester showed midspan with all 8 lines as active, but not which are positive or negative. Voltage was measured.
  • the tester, with no PD connected, showed that 15W was being dissipated
  • the tester, with a PD connected (Peplink Max BR1 Mini), showed that 19W was dissipated

With Starlink cable, midspan, 1,2,3,6 (V+) 4,5,7,8 (V-)

  • "unknown" was displayed, and no lines as active. Voltage was measured.
  • 0.0W power measurement
  • The cable was able to be used for data transmission, with the tester inserted midspan

@jbowler did you use the TRENDnet Inline PoE Tester, TC-NTP1 successfully?

@morehardware
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morehardware commented Feb 4, 2023 via email

@WIMMPYIII
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Didn't even know there was such an instrument. I was thinking that another way to decrease the power draw of Dishy besides turning snow melt off would be to disconnect the motors . I plan to flat mount it anyways . It’s works very dependably on the 120 volt to 48 volt transformer direct to Tyco Poe. Seems the Poe is working. Maybe there are different qualities of Poe that may only work with certain “types” of 48 volt dc power. I’m puzzled why 48 volts doesn’t work with 12 volt sources switch the TYCO in my situation and works for others. Get Outlook for iOShttps://aka.ms/o0ukef

________________________________ From: torrmundi @.> Sent: Friday, February 3, 2023 3:04:39 PM To: torrmundi @.> Cc: Comment @.>; Manual @.> Subject: Re: darconeous/rect-starlink-cable-hack.md @torrmundi commented on this gist.
________________________________ I purchased a POE Tester (Noyafa NF488S) from Amazon. There were issues: 1. cannot test Starlink non-standard 4PPoe 2. does not measure standard 4PPoe power correctly 3. does not indicate positive or negative voltages on 4PPoe wires Results: with 4pair PoE injecter, Tycon, 1,2,4,5 (V+) 3,6,7,8 (V-) * the tester showed midspan with all 8 lines as active, but not which are positive or negative. Voltage was measured. * the tester, with no PD connected, showed that 15W was being dissipated * the tester, with a PD connected (Peplink Max BR1 Mini), showed that 19W was dissipated with Starlink cable, midspan, 1,2,3,6 (V+) 4,5,7,8 (V-) * "unknown" was displayed, and no lines as active. Voltage was measured. * 0.0W power measurement * The cable was able to be used for data transmission, with the tester inserted midspan @jbowlerhttps://github.com/jbowler did you use the TRENDnet Inline PoE Tester, TC-NTP1 successfully? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHubhttps://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4459194 or unsubscribehttps://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/A5TZOXIDUMW7QZVRA4RYSMDWVWFIRBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF. You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOShttps://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 or Androidhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub.

Did you compare exact voltage and amperage numbers as well as fluctuation between the 12 vs 120 converter? My guess is the 12 to 48 is not holding high enough volts or amps for the dishy's power regulator. And if you are running close to the edge on that power regulator that potentially creates more heat and stress.

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Feb 4, 2023

@jbowler did you use the TRENDnet Inline PoE Tester, TC-NTP1 successfully?

@torrmundi: I haven't received it yet, it should come early next week. I did also order one of the NF488 testers, possibly a slightly different revision since mine is NF-488 not NF-488S. Mine seems to work better than yours; I've done limited testing and it correctly identifies 802.3af and at, mode A (4 pairs, channel 1) and AB (both channels). It doesn't support 802.3bt and plugged into a bt switch it reports it as 802.3at with "4 pairs". The power rating when used with a PD on the PoE "Out" RJ45 seems credible. I suggest testing the accuracy of the DC out and DC in ports if you have a load tester (not that they are necessarily that accurate ;-). It's certainly a return if that doesn't work. On mine the "loopback" port doesn't seem to work but that might be my managed switches rejecting a loopback connector.

I believe the polarity of the channels is reported by the voltage; plugged into a switch with 802.3af I get a negative voltage but into the 802.3bt capable switch the voltage was positive. It would be much better if the pins were displayed with "+", "-" or " " underneath. I haven't tested with passive injectors yet; I've only had the tester 12 hours.

With Starlink cable, midspan, 1,2,3,6 (V+) 4,5,7,8 (V-)

I'm not surprised that gave "unsupported"; channel 1 is (all) positive and channel 2 negative. I haven't hacked the test leads for StarLink together yet but my default would be to fabricate swapped 36/45 pairs at both sides then I would expect to see the tester report something; the swapping makes the tester see 1,2,4,5(V+) 3,6,7,8(V-) which corresponds to the POE-INJ-1000-WT that I have and 802.3a[ft] modes A and B. BTW Tycon sells these injectors direct for $10 each and currently has 2683 (or so) in stock. Shipping is $6 USPS; cheaper than anything on Amazon.

As for the McCown I couldn't access your links; Google Drive shareable links normally work just fine for me so I think they might be something else (like the thing on the address bar when a shareable link is created?) I did get home and eyeball my own McCown 800-GIGE-POE-APC (i.e. the Cat5e APC version, not the Cat6 APC version). The transformer is a LINK-PP LP6062ANL:

http://www.link-pp.com/?product/201408082292.html

From the datasheet the current rating (for PoE) is "720mA continuous over 4 pairs", further described on the second page as "[e]xceeds 802.3at requirements with up to 720mA DC supply current over 2 or 4 pairs". This is better than the Pulse Electronics H6062NL component which it claims it's a clone of:

https://productfinder.pulseelectronics.com/part/h6062nl

The datasheet for that states, "DC CURRENT/VOLTAGE RATING 350mA MAX @57V (CONTINUOUS)", I assume that is per pair so a total current delivery/return of 700mA for 39W. So this is not an 802.3bt capable part. The maximum using 60V would be under 45W at the PSE (less at the dish of course).

I assume the Tycon parts, despite being so cheap, are using 802.3bt capable transformers; the input is up to 2.25A at 80V which means that can handle 180W at the PSE. I haven't worked out how to pop the Tycon box open yet but I think I will use the McCown for testing since the jumpers allow testing on individual pairs and I have Snow Melt off, then use a Tycon and probably order a couple more for disassembly/testing.

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Feb 4, 2023

@morehardware:

Maybe there are different qualities of Poe that may only work with certain “types” of 48 volt dc power. I’m puzzled why 48 volts doesn’t work with 12 volt sources switch the TYCO in my situation and works for others.

I find it very puzzling too. I second @WIMMPYIII's recommendation to check the voltages under load in both cases. The NF-488 has DC barrel jacks for testing a PSU connected to "DC In" and a powered device, in this case the Tycon PSE, connected to "DC Out". It can also be tested using two Tycons back-to-back (POE IN/OUT connected together) and a load tester on the "DC IN/OUT" of the second, but load testers may be more difficult because of the higher powers involved; you need to know the approximate current load in the failing system first, or just wing it and hope you don't destroy the load tester.

You are chaining a "boost" converter (12->48V) to one or more "buck" converters in the dish/antenna. The latter converts the 48V back to electronics levels, typically 3.3V or 5V these days. The snow melt may also use a buck or even boost converter but is more likely IMO to just use the original 48V switched on and off as required (possibly using PWM). There should be no problem with any of this, e.g:

https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/231668/chaining-buck-converters

The connection, via the PSE and the ethernet transformers, ends up being just a pair of conductors stranded out of four of the eight 24AWG Cat5e conductors each. There's no net inductance in the leads and relatively small capacitance from the high frequency RC filters (resistor->capacitor->ground) used to remove spurious in-phase signals on the conductor pairs.

Buck and boost circuits are pretty much identical, e.g. see the circuit diagrams here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck%E2%80%93boost_converter

You could try checking the capacitor on the output side of your boost converter. It has to be sufficient to support the peak load current but, since it is feeding into a boost converter which has its own output capacitance excessive ripple may only cause a drop-out intermittently. To test a system under load put an AC voltmeter across the output of the boost converter. Better use a multi-meter that supports display of AC and DC voltage at the same time (Flukes do, others do too). Best is to find peak-peak of the AC but RMS x 1.4 (sqrt(2)) is probably enough for this. If the AC can reduce the DC below some critical voltage the buck converter on the other end might be unable to keep up the output.

It's also possible to use a Fluke or other multimeter with "fast min-max" to try to detect the minimum voltage over an extended period, but I don't know if that would be fast enough to see a significant dropout in the voltage.

@WIMMPYIII
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I ordered this 10-20VDC to 52v booster i will try when i get some free time.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803129874148.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt&_randl_shipto=US

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morehardware commented Feb 5, 2023 via email

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Feb 6, 2023

More on the NF-488 and also on the StarLink router/antenna, though I will enter that separately.

My NF-488 is one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GK7CGGD

I've done more extensive testing including, finally, putting it between the router and the dish. I did see the strange wattage behavior @torrmundi reported but I still find the device useful. No doubt one of the Fluke testers would be a lot better but that is comparing something that costs $36 with something that costs $1400. I hope to receive the TRENDNet tester on Monday and that may better handle the protocol stuff than the NF-488 because supposedly it recognizes 802.3bt.

On the NF-488 most of the stuff works just fine; cable continuity is clear and precise, though it doesn't recognize a cross-over cable (it does correctly display the cross-over). DC power tests seems fine, as I said before. The loopback is apparently non functional; I can here a relay clicking on when I activate it but none of the switches I've tried give any indication of a loopback.

The device uses different RJ-45 jacks for different tests, which is ok, however the PoE tests use the same two ports and this can create wackiness; entering the PoE test mode starts the "inline test", pressing "OK" does the PSE test. Pressing OK during an "inline" test, i.e. while a PD is connected to the PoE out jack, somtimes, often, messes things up. It's not just the tester that gets messed up, well, probably it's not the tester at all, but the PSE and the PD can end up behaving weirdly.

The tester displays a "wattage" in both PSE test and in-line mode. In the PSE test mode it's not clear what the wattage is, maybe it's some guess at the PSE supported wattage because sometimes the number is very high even though there is no load (other than the tester). E.g. 8.4W with one PSE (consistently) but only a couple of watts with others. The number is not useful.

The tester correctly identifies 802.3af and 802.3at PSEs. If correctly detects Mode A and Mode B, though it incorrectly calls Mode A (power on the data pairs) "End Point" and Mode B (power on the "spare" pairs) MidPoint. It seems from the Amazon page that the TRENDNet uses the same incorrect terminology though it does also include the Mode. It doesn't identify endpoint or midpoint PSEs, how could it? It also identifies "4-pair" PSEs and this is how 802.3bt supplies are listed (unless they swap into af or at mode).

With inline testing the power seems approximately right at least with the range of splitters I have; I don't have an 802.3bt capable splitter or, for that matter, a device that I can test with (except, maybe, the StarLink antenna). I get a credible, higher, value from the tester compared to what I get from my load. All my test splitters are buck converters; the test load gives me about 80% of the tester, which is reasonable for a cheap buck converter.

The NF-488 powers off after a while. This is fine because inline test just keeps on working; the NF-488 seems to appear as a purely passive implementation so it looks, so far as I can tell, like one of the back-to-back RJ-45 female-female connectors.

My best guess as to how the PoE inline measure is done is that the device uses a single Hall effect sensor (like in a DC current clamp ammeter). These devices have the problem of needing to be zeroed and there is no zero interface in the NF-488. They are also not very accurate at low current; 1W at 50V is only 20mA. It is conceivable that the device includes an ethernet transformer, I haven't tested whether it does, but given the apparently low accuracy this doesn't seem likely.

If my assumption is correct the NF-488 requires a "standard" arrangement of PoE on either one or both Ethernet channels. The StarLink trick of putting positive on channel 1 and negative on 2 will just cancel out in the power sensor and cause the NF-488 to see an unconnected PSE. I tested StarLink using reversed green/blue pairs and I got credible (though very interesting) results from the NF-488.

I can't wait 'til Monday when I get the TRENDNet 802.3bt capable tester. Almost as good as getting an ActionMan with an FGMP-15.

@WIMMPYIII
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This is great stuff. Thank you. I will measure the amp draw on both the power supplies ( working and non working) to try to discern the difference . I found this in a Reddit thread that is also discussing the inadequacies of third party power supplies to Starlink . This 12 volt one seems to work better than the Mean Well. DC-DC Converter Module Boost DC Step Up Voltage Regulator CV Stabilizer Power Supply Module 10-60V to 12-97V 1500W 30A https://a.co/d/8AmKplF This worked where a mean well did not.

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I wonder how much heat these things produce at max dishy power? Is the fan needed with this level of draw? And what are people putting this into? An enclosure?

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Feb 6, 2023

I tested the StarLink router PoE using the NF-488 PoE (et al.) tester which I described in my previous comment. I have the tester inserted into an Ethernet Dongle cord; this was simply the quickest way of doing it. I'm not going to describe how to put the tester inline here, it seems off topic, suffice to say that I took a mighty cleaver to the Ethernet Dongle cord, chopped it in two, sewed two shielded Cat5e jacks on the exposed ends and put the tester between them. The Cat5e jacks have the blue/green pairs reversed; so pins 4,5 are swapped with pins 3,6 (keep the striped/solid conductors alternating, though it doesn't matter much).

When this is done the NF-488 correctly recognizes the StarLink router as providing "4-pair" PoE and reports voltages and "wattages" which I believe. The "wattage" may well actually be a VA but it doesn't matter with regard to the load on the connections.

The reported wattages vary between around 20W and 66W. I don't know the averaging period, indeed these might be instantaneous values, but they consistently stick within that range and the voltages vary in proportion; pretty much a peak of 48V down to 47V (this is at the PSE of course).

When used as a tester for the router PSE, i.e. with the dish disconnected, the NF-488 cannot identify the PSE. It ends up saying that it is non-standard. During these tests the router maxes out at 2.8V; i.e. with the dish disconnected it supplies no power indicating that it is an active PSE. It may be 802.3bt, as Oleg KutKov suggested, but with wacky wiring; it may even be doing LLDP. This is part of the reason I want to test the setup with the TRENDNet product which, supposedly, handles 802.3bt.

With just the antenna connected and a break-out cable I was able to find the connectivity between the pairs and, most likely, a fault in my StarLink antenna. I measured the Ethernet Transformer resistances. This is across the StarLink 75ft cable, so the resistances I say included the cable. Three of the four pairs sat at around 7.5ᘯ, the fourth pair (78, brown) was an open circuit. I then measured the resistances between the windings. These were around 3.5ᘯ for the positive and negative pairs and around 33kᘯ between those pairs. It turned out that the brown-white connection is broken somewhere; so the brown is continuous and that supplies the DC power (so the negative is over three conductors, not four) but the second ethernet channel is broken. The StarLink antenna debug data backs this up:

{ "dish": { ... "ethSpeedMbps": 100,

There is no other information anywhere that I can see showing that the ethernet is half duplex! Nevertheless that is specific to my, broken, StarLink system. EDIT: it was my error, I had not completely punched down the brown-white wire in the Cat5e jack. I'm back to "ethSpeedMbps": 1000 now.

It is absolutely clear that the PD, the antenna, is an active PoE device. It's implementing some protocol, perhaps 802.3bt with modified wiring. It also doesn't have diode protection against reverse circuit; I was using a Fluke 183 to do the resistance tests and it did not show a diode in the wiring. The router does not implement 802.3af or 802.3at; I'm confident that the tester can detect that and my test was independent of the broken dish conductor/ethernet transformer.

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Feb 7, 2023

A quick note on the TRENDnet TC-NTP1:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B46PMV3

It measures the two ethernet channels separately, so when I put it in my system with blue/green pairs swapped it gets mismatched channels. It still works, but it breaks the StarLink antenna data connection; my router reports that the WAN cable is not connected. It does seem to be more accurate on wattage than an inline NF-488 (compared to the DC port measurements from the NF-488). It would probably not work at all with the McCown setup (because the two channels have no net current flow each). Bottom line is it is probably not the right product for this thread. It does apparently manage to identify 802.3bt, however it is not able to get the StarLink router to offer power most likely because it draws power from the PSE and the router only offers 2.8V or so at startup.

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torrmundi commented Feb 7, 2023 via email

@morehardware
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morehardware commented Feb 7, 2023 via email

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Feb 7, 2023

@morehardware: Would it not be because the Dishy always engages the motors when you plug in as it boots up.

This is my best guess too. My second best guess is that it fires up the antenna array trying to find all the satellites. If it is the motors that is an inductive load and it is pretty much certain that the NF-488 is outputting VA, not W. This doesn't matter from the point of view of frying the ethernet transformers; that depends on the amperage, but the currents I've seen are well within the range the Tycon supports. Since the peak seems to happen around 30s after boot it may be the cause of your problem.

I can't find any wisdom online about using a switching PSU with an inductive load. There is lots of stuff about switching the load itself of course, but I'm sure the antenna is set up to deal correctly with that. I also don't know from my experiments what the true maximum load, minimum voltage and maximum amperage are. Today's exciting job is to wire one of these into the power supply:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGPG9NVR

This has minimum/maximum readouts with sub-second sampling; apparently below 0.4s. It's main display is an "instantaneous" reading, actually the average over the last 0.4s but it retains averages since start-up as well.

@WIMMPYIII
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@morehardware: Would it not be because the Dishy always engages the motors when you plug in as it boots up.

This is my best guess too. My second best guess is that it fires up the antenna array trying to find all the satellites. If it is the motors that is an inductive load and it is pretty much certain that the NF-488 is outputting VA, not W. This doesn't matter from the point of view of frying the ethernet transformers; that depends on the amperage, but the currents I've seen are well within the range the Tycon supports. Since the peak seems to happen around 30s after boot it may be the cause of your problem.

I can't find any wisdom online about using a switching PSU with an inductive load. There is lots of stuff about switching the load itself of course, but I'm sure the antenna is set up to deal correctly with that. I also don't know from my experiments what the true maximum load, minimum voltage and maximum amperage are. Today's exciting job is to wire one of these into the power supply:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGPG9NVR

This has minimum/maximum readouts with sub-second sampling; apparently below 0.4s. It's main display is an "instantaneous" reading, actually the average over the last 0.4s but it retains averages since start-up as well.

It would be awesome to have these numbers documented. Warm boot up, sub 0 boot up, boot up simulating ice or physical block resisting the motor. Heater pre heat, heater auto. Heater off then back on after deep freeze.

@WIMMPYIII
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I would be nice to have something that could to an actual log.
Saw this, i don't know of there are any cheaper options available.
https://powerwerx.com/west-mountain-radio-pwrcheck-plus-usb

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Feb 7, 2023

@WIMMPYIII; there is this too:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I2XI8P6

But, yeah, the dataloggers seem to be expensive. My Fluke 189 can log one channel (pretty much just logging A is sufficient) but I don't have the dongle/FlukeView sw. IRC my oscilloscope has some support for a serial connection and it has two channels. For the moment I'm logging by eye. This is what I have so far, just using the NF-488. First column is with it in in-line PoE mode, second is measuring the DC port to the Tycon. It has no min/max and the numbers change pretty fast. I'm tempted just to take a time lapse series of photographs, or a movie :-)

StarLink antenna power consumption    
Tester NF-488 NF-488 DC
Boot 0~15s 15W 2-7W
Boot 15s+ 20-82W 15-90W
Boot around 30s for several s 82W 80W
After boot 20-60W 15-80W
External temperature (celsius) -1C -1C
With pre-heat 55-81W  
Snowmelt no change  

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morehardware commented Feb 7, 2023 via email

@jbowler
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jbowler commented Feb 7, 2023

I think disconnecting the motors might be a lower draw … can you test again with motors unplugged ?

0.35A, 16.8W flat after stowing. No detectable power/current increase using the NF-488 while stowing or while unstowing. The NF-488 readings jump around continuously while the dish is unstowed. I'm not going to take the antenna apart; if something goes wrong with it I want to be able to ask StarLink for a replacement. Curiously I got the replacement router today and they didn't ask for an RMA of the old one, presumably it is as cheap and unrepairable as it looks. So I need to test that as well then I'll put the new tester inline after that, along with data logging the startup costs with a camera. With any luck the output will be more stable, if not it may be necessary to use an oscilloscope to make sense of the power draw.

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jbowler commented Feb 9, 2023

Here's the current consumption in A for the first five minutes. The horizonal axis is seconds; blue is the average every 5s and orange should be the maximum in the same period (Fluke 189 normal min-max). Note that the two lines come from different boots:

image

I've got average values out to 1200s; twenty minutes, but it's just more of the same.

Here's another boot but showing the average current over each 1s period for the first three minutes:

image

The voltage delivered by the PSU is in the same range as above; within 0.5V of 48V. The PSU is a 3A PSU so isn't near the limit. I got these numbers using the data logging of a Fluke 189, typing them into Excel by hand. The "high precision watt meter and power analyzer turned out to be not very useful. It records a peak current of 14A as soon as it starts up... This was worrying so I used the fast min-max on the Fluke 189 to check the inrush; it was actually 6A!

The problem was that I was powering up/down by pulling the barrel connector on the DC (48V) side. DO NOT DO THIS! It causes a massive inrush. The Fluke fast min-max samples across a time of something like 250us, but all the same that kind of current could cause sparking and maybe damage something. The antenna magnetics are apparently some kind of custom Würth Elektronik 4PPoE++ device; they don't list the part number but other magnetics in the series can go up to 1500mA/pair (per centre tap); so that's a 3A/150W supply. All the same 6A is too much.

I changed my methodology to powering up/down on the AC side; pull the plug on the PSU. This results in a soft start; fast min-max does not register a surge. The initial startup current is around 55mA for the first 5s, it then jumps to around 150mA for the next 30s then goes to the highs seen immediately afterward; 1A at 38s 1.5A at 45s. The long term average is 700mA but as can be seen from the first graph it swaps between around 600mA and 900mA for intervals of maybe 30s.

To get wattages at the PSE multiply by 48. At the PD, the antenna, there will be a 75ft/18AWG drop forward and back; four 24AWG 7/32 conductors in parallel have the same cross-section as 1 18AWG 7/26. The total resistance is about 0.9ohm, so assume 1.5V drop at the PD at 1.5A; multiply by 46.5

This is without pre-heat but the pre-heat didn't seem to add more than 0.25A. Everything seems to be well within the rating of the router PoE; 2A at 48V. I don't know where all this stuff about massive power requirements comes from, maybe the V1 and V2 dishes? Certainly the rectangular dish (V3) does not need more than 96W at the PSE, i.e. more than 2A, whatever the custom magnetics in the dish do.

I also ran the system from boot with fast min-max on the Fluke 189. This gave me an average over an hour of 0.7A and a transient peak of 3.4A. Bear in mind that this is a transient; it's coming out of the PSE capacitor which, as my do not do this above demonstrates is perfectly capable of delivering 6A in a single transient. There does always seem to be a transient in the first minute; presumably the 45s peak above. It varies between boots, one gave me 2.98A the other 3.34A. There was a second transient after about 17m of 3.39A so my assumption is that these transients happen irregularly. I suspect the dish should have bigger capacitors to avoid these transient current surges from the PSE.

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Here's the current consumption in A for the first five minutes. The horizonal axis is seconds; blue is the average every 5s and orange should be the maximum in the same period (Fluke 189 normal min-max). Note that the two lines come from different boots:

image

I've got average values out to 1200s; twenty minutes, but it's just more of the same.

Here's another boot but showing the average current over each 1s period for the first three minutes:

image

The voltage delivered by the PSU is in the same range as above; within 0.5V of 48V. The PSU is a 3A PSU so isn't near the limit. I got these numbers using the data logging of a Fluke 189, typing them into Excel by hand. The "high precision watt meter and power analyzer turned out to be not very useful. It records a peak current of 14A as soon as it starts up... This was worrying so I used the fast min-max on the Fluke 189 to check the inrush; it was actually 6A!

The problem was that I was powering up/down by pulling the barrel connector on the DC (48V) side. DO NOT DO THIS! It causes a massive inrush. The Fluke fast min-max samples across a time of something like 250us, but all the same that kind of current could cause sparking and maybe damage something. The antenna magnetics are apparently some kind of custom Würth Elektronik 4PPoE++ device; they don't list the part number but other magnetics in the series can go up to 1500mA/pair (per centre tap); so that's a 3A/150W supply. All the same 6A is too much.

I changed my methodology to powering up/down on the AC side; pull the plug on the PSU. This results in a soft start; fast min-max does not register a surge. The initial startup current is around 55mA for the first 5s, it then jumps to around 150mA for the next 30s then goes to the highs seen immediately afterward; 1A at 38s 1.5A at 45s. The long term average is 700mA but as can be seen from the first graph it swaps between around 600mA and 900mA for intervals of maybe 30s.

To get wattages at the PSE multiply by 48. At the PD, the antenna, there will be a 75ft/18AWG drop forward and back; four 24AWG 7/32 conductors in parallel have the same cross-section as 1 18AWG 7/26. The total resistance is about 0.9ohm, so assume 1.5V drop at the PD at 1.5A; multiply by 46.5

This is without pre-heat but the pre-heat didn't seem to add more than 0.25A. Everything seems to be well within the rating of the router PoE; 2A at 48V. I don't know where all this stuff about massive power requirements comes from, maybe the V1 and V2 dishes? Certainly the rectangular dish (V3) does not need more than 96W at the PSE, i.e. more than 2A, whatever the custom magnetics in the dish do.

I also ran the system from boot with fast min-max on the Fluke 189. This gave me an average over an hour of 0.7A and a transient peak of 3.4A. Bear in mind that this is a transient; it's coming out of the PSE capacitor which, as my do not do this above demonstrates is perfectly capable of delivering 6A in a single transient. There does always seem to be a transient in the first minute; presumably the 45s peak above. It varies between boots, one gave me 2.98A the other 3.34A. There was a second transient after about 17m of 3.39A so my assumption is that these transients happen irregularly. I suspect the dish should have bigger capacitors to avoid these transient current surges from the PSE.

That is where the mystery is, as 100w at 48v will not run reliably. And will not run at all much past 200ft. But 52v 2.88a will run perfectly at 330ft. Perhaps the factor is less the heater and more the motor? Motor could be hitting gear spots with more resistance causing micro spikes in power. Look at video cards in a PC, you can have a power supply with way higher average watts then it's requirement and yet you can still have problems with it not handling spikes when another brand can have lower average watts but does fine as it handles spikes better.

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jbowler commented Feb 10, 2023

That is where the mystery is, as 100w at 48v will not run reliably. And will not run at all much past 200ft. But 52v 2.88a will run perfectly at 330ft.

You need to log the failures as @morehardware did; their system failure did not depend on "watts" or "feet", rather the nature of the PSU. That failure seem to correspond to the high average current right at the start. I've not seen failures with my 48V PSU, even using the StarLink cable. Clearly different PSUs have different characteristics. StarLink sell a 150ft cable for use with a 96W 48V PSE.

It's entirely believable that the very short transients are sufficient to bring down the system if the PSU does not have capacitance to buffer the transient! Step down transformers necessarily have BFCs, as they say, to deal with the relatively low frequency of the supply; 120Hz or 100Hz. I haven't seen a teardown of the StarLink router which gave the characteristics of the capacitors in the PSE.

Classic power supply is to run the high voltage as close to the point of delivery as possible, so even though the StarLink 75ft cable only offers an ohm of resistance (assuming I got my arithmetic right) it's still always possible to run feeder mains voltage cable with any underground CAT5e+ cable to a PSU in an outdoor box. This is better than trying PoE over arbitrary distances, there are simply fewer engineering challenges. At least in the US it meets the code requirements just so long as there is only one outlet at the end of the feeder; it's not even necessary to earth it at the end though I have done so in the past and probably would in this hypothetical case.

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morehardware commented Feb 10, 2023 via email

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torrmundi commented Feb 10, 2023 via email

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Hi, I've replaced my POE after burning up the Tycon. I now have the McCown POE. Connectivity/wiring checks out perfectly using 23AWG cables and 56V 3A DC-DC converter. - Starlink Dish Neutrik through hull connector Lightning Arrester McCown POE Peplink router. Yes, I know I don't need swapped pins with the McCown, but the cables were built for the Tycon. So I've jumpered the McCown to act like the Tycon (+ 1,2,4,5, - 3,6,7,8). Starlink is working with the unmodified cable and Starlink router, using AC power, of course. - network and statistics are available in the app when I connect to SL router wifi. Here's the tricky bit: - with or without bypass mode turned on,& using the POE, - my Peplink router won't recognize that an ethernet cable is connected. It sometimes shows "Connecting..." and sometimes "No Cable Detected". (see attached screenshots) Possible causes: a) dishy is not powering up? - I purchased the Starlink ethernet adapter, and inserted it into the stock setup. So I'm using the SL router for power. Peplink is still showed "Connecting...", forever. b) Peplink router cannot work with data or phy layer of dishy? - I switched to a different WAN device in place of the dishy (a Mikrotick GrooveA) and the Peplink router connects and uses it immediately. - As noted above, with stock SL power, the Peplink won't connect. c) data is not flowing through the custom cables+POE+lightning arrester? - I've inserted both a Tycon and a McCown POE as a passive coupler into the working alternate WAN arrangement above. Both passed data just fine. - I've used a commercial cable to connect from SL ethernet adapter <> Peplink router. Still not connecting. Any thoughts?

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Sorry I am struggling to get my head around your setup. If you kept the wiring the same as for the tycon but switched the jumpers to match it the power would be correct but your data would be crossed. Just crimp 658b and set the 800-gige pins to the 4 corners accordingly and see if that fixes it.

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torrmundi commented Feb 10, 2023 via email

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This wiring: - Starlink Dish Neutrik through hull connector Lightning Arrester McCown POE Peplink router. is the standard setup for a Tycon POE. It has two connectors with swapped pins, with the result that it is unswapped (only one connector with swapped pins would create the situation you envision, with swapped data). Furthermore, now that I've tested with - Starlink Dish Starlink ethernet adapter <> Starlink router ^-- Peplink router I have the same result ("connnecting....")

On Fri, Feb 10, 2023 at 12:42 PM WIMMPYIII @.> wrote: @.* commented on this gist. ------------------------------ Hi, I've replaced my POE after burning up the Tycon. I now have the McCown POE. Connectivity/wiring checks out perfectly using 23AWG cables and 56V 3A DC-DC converter. - Starlink Dish Neutrik through hull connector Lightning Arrester McCown POE Peplink router. Yes, I know I don't need swapped pins with the McCown, but the cables were built for the Tycon. So I've jumpered the McCown to act like the Tycon (+ 1,2,4,5, - 3,6,7,8). Starlink is working with the unmodified cable and Starlink router, using AC power, of course. - network and statistics are available in the app when I connect to SL router wifi. Here's the tricky bit: - with or without bypass mode turned on,& using the POE, - my Peplink router won't recognize that an ethernet cable is connected. It sometimes shows "Connecting..." and sometimes "No Cable Detected". (see attached screenshots) Possible causes: a) dishy is not powering up? - I purchased the Starlink ethernet adapter, and inserted it into the stock setup. So I'm using the SL router for power. Peplink is still showed "Connecting...", forever. b) Peplink router cannot work with data or phy layer of dishy? - I switched to a different WAN device in place of the dishy (a Mikrotick GrooveA) and the Peplink router connects and uses it immediately. - As noted above, with stock SL power, the Peplink won't connect. c) data is not flowing through the custom cables+POE+lightning arrester? - I've inserted both a Tycon and a McCown POE as a passive coupler into the working alternate WAN arrangement above. Both passed data just fine. - I've used a commercial cable to connect from SL ethernet adapter <> Peplink router. Still not connecting. Any thoughts? … <#m_5425950872894804033_> — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4466945 or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AU7AEMHP6UQCL5AIKFPSJWDWWZMLHBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF . You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 or Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub . Sorry I am struggling to get my head around your setup. If you kept the wiring the same as for the tycon but switched the jumpers to match it the power would be correct but your data would be crossed. Just crimp 658b and set the 800-gige pins to the 4 corners accordingly and see if that fixes it. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://gist.github.com/8c7899c4d2f849b881d6c43be55066ee#gistcomment-4467108 or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AU7AEMHYBDGR35PB2HRIKZDWWZ4YXBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVEYTCNBSGQ2TCMRTU52HE2LHM5SXFJTDOJSWC5DF . You are receiving this email because you commented on the thread. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675 or Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub .

Do you have another basic router you can test with other then the peplink to rule it out as a factor? Or a switch to put between.

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torrmundi commented Feb 10, 2023 via email

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jbowler commented Feb 10, 2023

my Peplink router won't recognize that an ethernet cable is connected. It sometimes shows "Connecting..." and sometimes "No Cable Detected". (see attached screenshots)

The screen shots aren't there, so far as I can see. This is a cable continuity problem; "no cable connected" means one or other pair is intermittent or open circuit or maybe the channel pairs are swapped.

In this case test end-to-end, or rather end-to-middle. I.e. use an ethernet cable connector from the Neutrik to the RJ45 that goes into the McCown and make sure it's showing the right connection. In this case that is 1-2, 7-8 straight through and 3-6/4-5 swapped; the tester needs to be one of the ones that shows the actual connections, not just pass/fail. Then check from the McCown data in/out RJ45 back to the RJ45 that goes to the router; the connections should be identical to those on the other side. A simply way of doing this in one shot is to take the RJ45's that go into the McCown and plug them into an ethernet pass-through connector. Then the two ends (Neutrik-router) should show straight through. The shield should be continuous in all cases.

Most likely this will be fine; if it isn't fix the problem by testing segments of the link. My original design was like yours; I swapped blue/green pairs before and after the PoE. I came to the conclusion that I don't like this because the wiring of the PoE connections to the antenna is just plain deadly for any normally wired passive PD so I am moving to swap blue/green as soon as possible out of the antenna (that would be the cable to the Neutrik in your case) then back again immediately after the data in/out port of the injector. That's just so much safer.

You can also check the McCown jumper setup; for some reason mine was shipped with the StarLink power arrangement so it had to be changed for "normal". If you plug the McCown in with the PSU disconnected then use a tester on RJ45s at each end (e.g. plug the end RJ45 into the RJ45 port on the NF-488 and do a continuity test) you should see each pair shorted. If you pull all four jumpers off the McCown that should be the only shorts. With the jumpers in the correct positions IRC 1236 should be shorted together along with 4578 (so both pairs are connected in each channel). Once again don't quote me on this - check very carefully!

If you have a good straight-through connection all the way then you need to suspect that the SPX connector into the antenna is fried. This is what happened to my original 75ft cable; I've split and tested the thing all the way back to within 10cm of the connector and orange is shorted (30ohm) to ground, apparently somewhere inside the connector at the cable end. My test kit consists of a broken open StarLink ethernet dongle with the cable cut and an RJ45 plug crimped onto the thick wires. I can plug the SPX connector from the antenna end into this then take the RJ45s on the two ends and do a continuity/cable test. Once again the connection should be straight through in your setup; in mine it is too but that is because I have both RJ45s with blue pair/green pair swaps.

I had cabling problems all the time I was doing this; my error mostly. I found that I can verify the cable setup correctness by plugging the RJ45 that goes into the router into a switch. If everything is wired correctly the switch detects a 1000MBit connection to the antenna about 5s after the power is connected. In fact the router can then be plugged into the switch and it should all work; the switch gives you access to 192.168.0.0/16 so it's possible to see what is out there...

You can also check the resistance of each pair while connected to the antenna with a suitable breakout RJ45 and testing with the PSE disconnected. This helps if there is some poor connection in there. I can't find the core resistances of the Wurtz electromagnetics but you should see each pair with a resistance just a few ohms. When I measured I was seeing maybe three ohms across correctly connected pairs. You should also see a low resistance between the two pairs corresponding to + and the two corresponding to - and around 30kohm between + and -

  • I purchased the Starlink ethernet adapter, and inserted it into the stock setup. So I'm using the SL router for power. Peplink is still showed "Connecting...", forever.

That sounds exactly like my original problem! My 75ft cable antenna connector was fried and the router was fried. With a new cable, a new dongle and the original router I had an internet connection but no ethernet on the dongle. Somehow the short in the SPX connector had killed something in the router that makes the dongle work. Once again plug the RJ45 from the dongle into a switch and see if the lights come on. It took me about 2 weeks to persuade StarLink customer support to send me a new router. At the end I'd already bought a new cable and they didn't respond to my request to refund that cost.

The SPX connector is pretty much garbage. In my case I plugged it in in summer and it failed in winter. I can only assume that the very small amount of water vapour in the sealed chamber that is created when the plug is inserted condensed and shorted enough out to fry the plug. The jack in the mast can apparently be pried out; I'm very tempted to pull it out, cut it off and solder cable directly to it with a swapped RJ45 at the end.

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torrmundi commented Feb 10, 2023 via email

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jbowler commented Feb 10, 2023

the hAP is operating in Bridge mode, between WAN and WiFi. the WAN port status is "Link OK, running, not slave", but no significant traffic is flowing over this port.

Connect to the WiFi then connect to http://192.168.100.1 (HTTP, not HTTPS). This will give you the antenna web page. Go to Settings/Advanced/Debug Data, scroll down to "DISH" then scroll down even further until you find "EthSpeedMbps"; it should be 1000, but if there is a cable wiring problem it still works but at 100Mbps or maybe lower. I had orange-white disconnected on an RJ45 jack and I got 100... The debug data can be copied by clicking on the weird pages icon at the top right; this makes it easier to read.

You may need to add a static route to 192.168.100.x on your router to get to the page, though it will probably work just changing your machine IP to 192.168.100.42

EDIT: for that matter, given that there are four LAN ports, just plug both the StarLink and the Peplink router into two of the LAN ports (in bridge mode they should all be LAN ports, but to be safe use the ones that are marked as such.) The MikroTik:

https://mikrotik.com/product/RB962UiGS-5HacT2HnT

is just a switch in that mode and if the switch can get packets in it should have no problem sending them out to the router.

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torrmundi commented Feb 10, 2023 via email

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torrmundi commented Feb 10, 2023 via email

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jbowler commented Feb 10, 2023

I measure any of (1,2,3,6) to any of (4,5,7,8) as 3.4 to 3.6 ohms, on cable connected only to dishy.

That's correct if the cable is not swapped, i.e. you are checking the surge-suppressor connection, not the jack to the McCown (since you put the swap between the two). On regular PoE wiring groups (1245) and (3678) are connected together (via the centre taps of the electromagnetics, and ideally some diodes). In either case the resistance between conductors from each of the two groups should be the PoE signature resistance, I measured it at around 30k.

I no longer have any switches :(

A bridge is a switch and the two LAN ports on the Peplink are too. I'm suspicious of ethernet channel 1 (1236, unswapped) because the Peplink ports are apparently only 10/100Mbps, so they only use channel 1. Hence my suggestion to check the debug data and to try dish->MikroTik->Peplink

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torrmundi commented Feb 10, 2023 via email

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torrmundi commented Feb 10, 2023 via email

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torrmundi commented Feb 10, 2023 via email

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jbowler commented Feb 10, 2023

I very briefly got access from PC<>SL ethernet adapter<>Dishy with 2nd SL router and original cable. 40Mbps Up/.04 Mbps down. I could see two devices (PC and cell phone) attached via my cellphone Starlink app. Then the app showed 0 devices attached and all data stopped! Now the app shows my cell phone attached, but not the PC.

There are three ways of getting information from the dish; the router if it is connected to the dish, 192.168.100.1 (dishy.starlink.com) which may not work if the StarLink router is connected (so far as I can determine) and, most useful in this case, the StarLink app on your cell connected via the internet; not via the StarLink router.

The latter connects to the antenna via the satellite. No working local network and no StarLink router required. It should display "ONLINE" and the debug data ("THIS DEVICE") should show "Non-StarLink IP address", though if your are connected to the internet via the dish it will show "Starlink IP address". At this point you can "COPY DEBUG DATA" and paste it into something useful, like an email. This is the only way other than 192.168.100.1 of getting the full debug data; the StartLink App displays a sanitised version and it has to be copied out of the app.

Even so the only information in th