Dish Alignment

This utility is provided in order to get coordinates needed when aligning a satellite antenna (dish) to a satellite for the purpose of receiving a signal.

When aligning an antenna to a satellite, there are three (3) very important variables that need to be adjusted in order to properly receive the signal.

1. Elevation - Angle between the Earth and the satellite above the horizon. This is also referred to as the up or down movement (position) of the satellite antenna.

2. Azimuth - Compass direction the antenna is pointed towards, relative to a magnetic north. This is also referred to as the left or right movement (position) of the satellite antenna.

3. Polarization - Correction between where the antenna is relative to the curvature of the Earth and the satellite’s signal beam. The satellite signal is either Horizontal or Vertical polarized, but due to the longitude of the antenna location, the antenna’s feed horn must be rotated to correctly match the beam's polarization.The following illustration will better show the relationship between azimuth, elevation, and polarization.

This alignment utility will allow customers to calculate the three criteria associated with aligning a satellite dish. We have designed two versions of the utility:

• The first version is for customers who know the coordinates of their city and the satellite in question. The information that you will need to provide is:

1. Longitude for the Satellite
2. Latitude and Longitude for the Site Location (in decimal format)

• The second version is for customers who don’t know the coordinates of their city and the satellite in question. The satellite and city will be selected from a list.

If you would like to find out the coordinates for your site, you can access the U.S. Census Bureau’s web site and search by either zip code or city name. Please note however, the True Azimuth calculation is relative to the geographic North Pole. On the earth’s surface, a compass points to the magnetic North Pole rather than the geographic North Pole. The angular difference between these two directions is called Magnetic Declination. If you don't account for magnetic declination in your azimuth setting, the azimuth calculation for your antenna location will be less precise. Use our Magnetic Declination Map to find out the declination value for your site.

If you have any questions, please contact our webmaster.