How to Point a TV Satellite Dish
Satellite TV providers such as Dish Network use a TV satellite
dish to bring customers there services. Here are a few factors
involved in pointing a TV satellite dish.
In order to enjoy maximum results from your TV satellite dish,
you need to be sure it's receiving the best possible signal.
Where you point your satellite then becomes an all-important
step in getting great reception. But how does one point a
satellite dish?
In truth, pointing your TV satellite dish isn't as hard as you
might think, but you will need to know a few things:
Azimuth which refers to the horizontal measurement of a
direction from North to East. In terms of your TV satellite
dish, it tells you how far left or right your satellite should
go.
Your altitude or elevation, gives your TV satellite dish its
heading, telling it how far above the horizon it needs to go.
And finally, the polarization. Also known as the "skew",
Polarization refers to the adjustment needed for the curvature
of the Earth. This rotational adjustment compensates for the
Earth's curvature between the dish and the beam of the
satellite.
The good news is that you can usually find this information with
the help of your satellite provider. DISH Network for example
features a Point Dish/Signal option in their on-screen menu to
assist you in the adjustment of your TV satellite dish. Using
your zip code, you can determine the azimuth, elevation and
skew. Pointing your dish is normally part of the installation
process so plan to do your install when you have time to follow
through.
Your skew should be set before you mount your dish. Using the
adjustment number from your service provider, rotate the dish
horn to match the recommended coordinates.
With your azimuth and elevation numbers in hand, grab your
compass and go outside. Standing close to your TV satellite dish
but at least one foot away, rotate your compass until the needle
points North, or zero degrees. Starting from this point, locate
the azimuth number on the compass and turn to face that point
without moving the compass itself. East is 90 degrees, South is
180 degrees and West is 270 degrees. If your azimuth number is
240 for example, you would face a direction that fell between
South and West on your compass.
Now that you've found your direction, estimate the angle of
elevation. With the ground representing zero, calculate the
distance going upwards using the elevation number provided by
your provider. Straight up would be 90 degrees so if your
elevation number was 45, your elevation would be halfway between
the ground and looking straight up into the sky. Got it? Good...
There's your satellite!
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