Finally, there is an update to the Sky/Freesat alignment calculator which helped you so far installing or setting up your satellite dish. Not only can you now enter your address, postcode, city or geocode for any location on earth but you can also choose the satellite you wish to point to, making this version of the satellite alignment calculator a global tool (you can now use it in e.g. Spain, France, USA to find Hotbird, Astra 1, DirecTV etc.)
But the coolest thing is that it will show you on a close-up satellite image on which wall to fix your satellite dish and where to point it! Just try it out!
For the UK, only the first part of the postcode is considered, the second part disregarded. So don’t be suprised when the marker is a few miles away from your home. But you can click and drag the marker.
| Your Location | Satellite Data | Dish Setup Data |
|---|---|---|
|
Latitude:
Longitude:
|
Name:
Distance:
|
Elevation:
Azimuth:
LNB Skew:
|
Elevation is measured from the horizon upwards. If it gives a negative value then the satellite is below the horizon, i.e. it’s physically not possible to receive that satellite.
Azimuth is positive clockwise and measured from True North. If (and only when) using a compass, you will need to adjust the azimuth by the magnetic variation for your location.
LNB skew is positve anti-clockwise when facing the dish and is a theoretical value, in practice it may differ (e.g. for Sky UK add 7.5°).
I’ve tested the virtual satellite image alignment on a few real installations and must say that the accuracy is amazing.
Here’s how to use it:
Choose a satellite (default is Sky UK), enter your location and hit go. If it has found your location correctly, zoom in closer and then switch to the satellite map view. Then click and drag the icon where you want to install your dish. The blue line will show you the direction in which you need to point the dish.
You will need a fast internet connection such as T1, ADSL, cable broadband or satellite broadband as the tool downloads about 1MB of satellite images. I’d recommend a minimum download speed of 1Mbps. If you don’t have broadband and are on a dial-up, you can still use the old calculator.
Update 21.08.07: I’ve added the elevation and LNB skew calculation results just underneath the map. These are calculated and displayed in real time as soon as you move the marker or change the satellite. The old calculator should be really obsolete now.
Update 05.09.07: Within two weeks, the calculator has been used about 40,000 times making this one of the fastest growing satellite tools ever. That’s why I decided to place the calculator on a single, separate site called www.dishpointer.com. The calculator will be available on both sites with the same versions (I’m going to keep only Dishpointer.com up-to-date) but I believe the dishpointer.com site will be more suitable for non-UK visitors. There will be also various language versions of this tool on the dishpointer.com site, so if you feel you could help me out with translating a few lines of text into any language, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
If you don’t speak another language but still want to contribute, then please spread the word, buy from the partner-shops or make a small donation (see paypal button on the right - remember, calling a Sky installer to re-align a dish costs £70, and no amount is too small to be donated here).
Update: Latest version with many new features on www.dishpointer.com
Entries (RSS)
August 16th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
[…] There is a new version of the dish alignment calculator here. Need to know what your compass bearings and alignment data are for your dish at your specific […]
August 24th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
[…] Ca se passe par ici. […]
August 24th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
Align a satellite dish with Google Maps…
As someone who has struggled with a satellite dish self-installation just for fun, I have to ask: WHERE was this killer service when I needed it? Hit up this page over at UKSatelliteHelp, enter your street address and then pick from the lengthy lists o…
August 24th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Is there any way you could add the Echostar6,7, & 8 satellites to your locator. I think it is a very useful tool and would appreciate it.
August 24th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
@Tony P.: They are already in the list. EchoStar 6 and 8 are at 110W, and EchoStar 7 is at 119W.
August 25th, 2007 at 6:58 am
[…] Satellite Alignment Calculator 2.0 A unique tool which calculates the dish angle based on user location and then draws a line on the Google Maps satellite image. You can actually see your house, mark the dish position and then see where to aim the satellite dish. (tags: Satellite) […]
August 25th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Is there an offline version of this as it would be useful to set up sat when remote (e.g. camping)
Thanks. Great tool
August 25th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
@Ryan: No, unfortunately not. The satellite images and the maps are coming directly from Google; I reckon the offline-version would be several gigabytes of data.
August 25th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
[…] Google Maps Satellite Alignment Calculator - Link […]
August 26th, 2007 at 9:02 am
Could this be modified to provide point to point pointing info. For example for homebrew wireless fun?
Anthony
August 27th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Brilliant. Set up a new SL65 kit with no problem at all. Realised the original location I had planned for the dish was directly in the path of next doors roof so was able to locate in new position without wasting time and effort (and too many holes in the wall etc.).
Do you know of a similar calculator for terrestrial transmitters. I live in west Lancashire and want to use freeview to pick up some welsh channels that are not yet on freesat, as the distance is great the alignment will be critical.
Great tool for dish alignment. Thanks again.
August 27th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
[…] it out over at UKSatelliteHelp. « Seam Carving - Chopping Up your Images in […]
August 28th, 2007 at 5:51 am
@Anthony: Sure it could be done, maybe in a new application.
@Gary: Thank you for your kind comment. I’m not aware of any calculator for terrestrial transmitters but it sounds like a good idea…just need the location of the transmitters and then it could be easily done.
August 28th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
I am unable to locate the Dish Network sat #’s 119 & 110
August 28th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
[…] SAC’s accuracy. Can anyone out there confirm SAC’s usefulness? Share in the comments. Satellite Alignment Calculator 2.0 […]
August 28th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
[…] Satellite Alignment Calculator 2.0 (SAC) es un sistema que utiliza Google Maps para ayudarnos a orientar correctamente nuestra antena parabólica al satélite que queramos. Es muy simple, solo seleccionamos un el satélite y la ubicación de la antena en el mapa. El sistema nos dirá los parámetros necesarios para orientar la antena. […]
August 28th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
A lot of us here in North America try to get 2 satellites with 1 dish. Is there a way to do 2 birds?
Thanks
August 28th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
I press go and nothing happens. Possible Safari incompatibility?
August 28th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
there Is a terrestrial transmitter location tool, unfortunately its only for the US ..
http://www.antennaweb.org/ it seems to work pretty well just enter zip code then move the map to you location… the reception calculation are spot on for my location … oh yay. 3 channels =(
August 28th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
@Greg Smith: Does Google Maps (http://maps.google.com) work for you? If not, you need to enable Javascript in Safari and then my calculator should work too.
August 28th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
@Lipwah Louie: The two satellites work for me. You mean you can’t get your location to show up? Then try entering your city and country alone and then zoom to your location.
August 28th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
@Gundu Thadiyan: When trying to get two satellites with one dish, you would usually align the dish to the weaker satellite and then adjust the second LNB to receive the stronger satellite. So, the calculator will also work for two satellites, you just need to know which one will be your primary satellite.
August 28th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
[…] Thanks to uksatellitehelp.co.uk and the Satellite Alignment Calculator 2.0! […]
August 29th, 2007 at 2:42 am
maps.google.com work fine. It’s weird. The Go button has no effect at all.
August 29th, 2007 at 5:17 am
[…] UKSatelliteHelp.co.uk » Satellite Alignment Calculator 2.0 (tags: tools lifehacks gis google reference) […]
August 29th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Very nice BUT in Perth, Western Australia selecting 64.2E satalite the line is draw in correct dir NW but labelled wrong as Az 112o not the correct 282o (ie 180 deg out in writing but line shown correctly). Think you have a hemisphere ono bug. Else well done.
Peter.
August 29th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Could you add Radiosat 1, 2, 3 for Sirius Satellite Radio. The Sirius satellite listed is for a Swedish satellite company and the settings are invalid for the US.
August 29th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
@Peter McMullen: Thanks for letting me know of this bug, you’re absolutely right! I’ll fix it as soon as I get round to it.
August 29th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
@Dave: Radiosat 1, 2, 3 are non-geostationary satellites which orbit North and Southamerica in an eliptical shape. That system also works completely different than normal broadcasting satellites as they use terrestrial repeaters. Therefore, they can’t be and shouldn’t be listed here.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:33 am
Thanks for the speedy reply Alan. Look forward to it. Cheers
August 30th, 2007 at 7:22 am
@Peter McMullen: Just fixed it. Everything should display and read ok now. Thanks again.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
“Works” but does give a -ve Azimuth angle. Not wrong, but an “if smaller than 0 then +360″ line may be wanted to put it in the range 0 to Az to 360
Well done for fixing it.
Your Location Satellite Data Dish Setup Data
Latitude: -31.865°
Longitude: 115.928° Name: 64.2E Intelsat 906
Distance: 39187km Elevation: 23.8°
Azimuth: -67.4°
LNB skew: -51.6°
p.s. Did you know the using the “less than symbol” in the message kills the message from that point forward.
August 30th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
I would like receive czech channels from Astra 3A (Northern Ireland - Newcastle, BT33 0BE) What is size dish I have to buy? Thank you Robert
August 31st, 2007 at 1:46 am
[…] UKSatelliteHelp.co.uk » Satellite Dish Alignment Calculator 2.0 (tags: satellite tools googlemaps calculator google reference mapping maps interesting lifehacks **) […]
September 1st, 2007 at 10:04 pm
[…] Google Maps tool to align your Satellite Dish - The creator of this maps tool explains: “..Basically, anyone who ever installed a satellite dish knows how frustrating it is to point the dish at the satellite somewhere in the sky. I’ve created a unique tool which calculates the dish angle based on user location and then draws a line on the Google Maps satellite image. You can actually see your house, mark the dish position and then see where to aim the satellite dish.” (This tool works for anyone worldwide) […]
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:58 am
in safari on mac nothing happens!
it works in firefox on mac though… but having to switch s*cks…
must be a bug!
September 2nd, 2007 at 8:31 pm
This is spectacular! I just found out why I couldnt get a signal whilst on holiday! As I suspected too many damn trees! Oh well, just have to choose a different location next year! Brilliant tool and I expect I’ll use it for months to come!
September 3rd, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Just got back from short break. Thanks for your response regarding terrestial transmiter alignment.
The transmitters I was particularly interested in was Moel-Y-Park in the Wirral at OS Grid Ref SJ 123 701 (GPS: 53.2207,-3.31496) and Winter Hill in Lancashire at OS Grid Ref SD 660 144 (GPS: 53.625,-2.51554).
Are you able to help.
September 4th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
Thanks to the help of smokeonit and Greg Smith, the calculator now works on the Safari browser, too. There was a small bug which I couldn’t get rid of without their help as I didn’t have Safari (now I do as they pointed out that it’s available on Windows too) or don’t have a mac. Thanks, guys!
September 4th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
@Gary: It’s actually quite easy to do. Can you email me your email address and I’ll put something up for you sometime this week. My email is all the way below.
September 5th, 2007 at 4:12 am
[…] I have wicked awesome RSS feeds, I came across the Satellite Dish Alignment / Setup Calculator 2.0. You basically pick the satellite you need (that might take some work on your part to find out […]
September 5th, 2007 at 4:31 am
Alan,
What a great tool for RV’ers. Thank you so much for your work, this is truly the type of thing an open internet was ment to be used for.
September 5th, 2007 at 6:28 am
[…] Satellite Dish Alignment / Setup Calculator 2.0 Not only can you enter your address, postcode, city or geocode for any location on earth but you can also choose the satellite you wish to point to. Courtesy UKSatelliteHelp.co.uk (tags: resources.google.mashups resources.satellite) […]
September 5th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Is the azimuth calculated from true north, or is it adjusted for magnetic north?
September 5th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
The azimuth is calculated from True North. Should you want to use a compass in order to verify the blue line you will need to add or substract the magnetic variation for your location. You don’t need to do that if you are not using a compass, the blue line is correct as it is.
September 9th, 2007 at 11:04 am
Hi, I am trying to find Atlantic bird 3 5w, I have a 57cm dish but can’t find it.
I have been using a Lacuna mk4 sa meter. Do I need a larger dish?.
Great website btw
September 12th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Alan, thanks for your reply again on 4th Sept. re terrestial transmitters. Can’t find your email address ‘all the way below’ as you say, or even anywhere on the page. My email address is in the ‘E-mail’ text box of this form - can you not access this?
Gary
September 15th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Gary, I’ve just sent you an email with a link to a tool showing you the transmitter lines. Hope it helps.
Alan
September 18th, 2007 at 1:11 am
Recently One chanel of Bangladesh named “EKUSHEY TV” changed their tech data. We the UN peacekeepers from Liberia(GBARNGA) earlier cud see it by PAS 10. New Tech Data: Telstar10, Freq:3.787 MHz, Symb Rate: 4600, FEC:2/3.Pol:H, Earlier Data: Sat-PAS 10/c, 4.164,4600,2/3,H. On ground we faced our DIsh on 100 deg East, Pol: V and could recieve the channel. What we should do now to get the channel with new data? Please tell about Dish angle, LNB angle and other requied details.
* Is it possible to get “Eurobird1 satelite” footprint from Liberia by which we can watch two Bangladeshi Channel “Channel I” and “ATN BANGLA” ? If possible what are the suggested reciever we should use?
Thank you.
September 22nd, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Very nice tool. Used it to do site survey work for a possible new office. We do a lot of VSAT testing and we needed to make sure we had LOS to the birds we use.
Thanks
September 25th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Does this show the size of dish needed?
I have a spare 80cm and am trying to work out what Satellites I can pick up e.g 33e, 23.5e, etc?
Thanks
September 26th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
@Bal: You’ll be able to do that on www.dishpointer.com. I’ll probably finish off the dishsize feature this coming weekend.
September 30th, 2007 at 7:54 am
[…] Satellite Alignment Calculator 2.0 calcule l’angle idéal pour capter le bon satellite avec une parabole. […]
October 31st, 2007 at 5:40 pm
[…] read more | digg story […]
December 7th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
Hello, I’m about to buy the Sky Freesat dish and was wondering if someone would know whether we can get the Spanish and Catalan satellite channels with it.
I’m a real novice at this and advice would be most appreciated.
Thanks.
December 10th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Richard,
Do you have any particular spanish channels on mind? Go to www.dishpointer.com, enter your address and then click on the satellites tab underneath the map to see what satellites you can receive and what dish size is required. Then choose the satellite from the drop down box and click on the channels tab. You can see all the available channels there and whether they are encrypted or not.
December 11th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Hi Can you also add the new international satellite that is going to replace 121w, I believe it is 118.75W. I know its only a few degrees off 119W, and they sell LNBs that will work for both sats but it would be nice to know. That would be great. Thanks.
January 10th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Is the function of moving the pin still active? I was able to move it before, but can not move it now
January 13th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Hello there
I am from Ireland.
I want to get satellite channels from following satellite and then want to tune it into INSAT 2E APR1.
Intelsat Satellite at 83 degrees East (APR-1)
Would you please advise me the size of dish which are needed? Is 90cm dish quite enough? Please advise
regards
Ajish
January 14th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
This is the best satellite pointing tool I’ve ever used!
The DirecTV 5 LNB option is amazing.. but would really like to see this setup: 82, 91, 101, 110, and 119 (that’s ExpressVU 1/2, DirecTV in the middle, and Dishnet 1/2).
btw, where did you get your formulas from?
January 14th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
@Ajish
It’s not possible to receive a satellite located at 83 East in Ireland, not even with a 30m dish.
January 16th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Can anyone tell me where to get footy channels from Plesae!!!!
January 25th, 2008 at 1:54 am
[…] 1 (91.0 W)" but your dish has to be point align to "91.0W Galaxy 11/Nimiq 1" UKSatelliteHelp.co.uk
January 28th, 2008 at 2:02 am
may i try to dowlond files
January 29th, 2008 at 11:43 am
is it possable to pick up uk sky,s sat astra in iraq, basrah, if so what size of dish would i need and can i use my sky digi box from my uk home.
many thanks
dave kerr
January 30th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Hi Alan
This is an awesome dish pointing software. I had to do a site survey in downtown Boston,MA and this was a great help. You are one smart person to come up with this. Thanks
Julian Puma
January 30th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
David:
Basrah is certainly outside the official footprints. With a very very big dish (several meters) it *might* be possible but no guarantee on that. Should it work, then you could use your existing digibox. Best is to ask people who are already down there. Would be great if you let us know if you find out.
Alan
January 30th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Julian:
Many thanks for your kind words, much appreciated.
February 7th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Post code for my address seems to be incorrect. It shows a location 3 miles North.
February 7th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Fred:
UK postcode search is done for the first 3 letters only.
February 16th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
[…] Originally Posted by flash Whats the compass direction for DN from barrie ON I like this site - hhope no trouble posting this as it shows your house and where it needs to be pointed! I liked it and seems to help out alot! Thanks UKSatelliteHelp.co.uk » Satellite Dish Alignment / Setup Calculator 2.0 […]
March 4th, 2008 at 6:52 am
Great website, and great communication.TY Keep up the good work.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:00 am
The compass direction for DN in Barrie ON are.
119=230
110=220
March 14th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Its a fantastic tool to find the bird, which took hours to find the direction from un familier places.
March 18th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I have a 90cm offset dish that I wish to receive tv finland on thor 2 3. Do i need to obtain the subscription-smart card to sort the conax encryption before i can align the dish correctly, or should i be able to receive some unencrypted channels first? I am new to this and have been trying to locate the correct satellite without much luck. Could the dish be too small?
March 18th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
@Ray
You should be able to receive the unencrypted channels. You can get an indication of the dish size on www.dishpointer.com Just click on the channels tab underneath the map after you’ve selected the Thor satellite.
April 9th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Forgive me for being ignorant or technically minded, but I’ve just used your Satelitte Dish Alignment tool and it has come back with the figures: -
d=49.9m
h=32.2m
What does this mean ?
What does d and h refers to ?
Regards
John
April 11th, 2008 at 11:19 am
The Satellite Dish Alignment Calculator did not locate the area covered by my post code. EH48 3DU
April 11th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
John:
d is the distance to an obstacle and h the maximum height the obstacle can be without interfering with the signal (measured from the base of the dish). You can click and drag the obstacle marker.
Andrew: Only the first part of the postcode is considered, i.e. EH48 will put you on the same spot.
April 18th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
great tool alan, how do i set up a h to h mount for maximum coverage ,just bought a fortech passion (for HD) and a motor , i have an 80cm dish i am south facing but have buildings in close proximity on my west , un opposed views east, but live in a conservation area ! , is it poss to run a long length of co-ax (180 ft) and mount dish on the floor at the bottom of the garden , would their be too much loss of signal for such a long run? , this is my first system.
kind regards,
steve.
April 28th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Hello,
Wondered if you are able to answer a question for me. On my way into work I pass quite a big satellite dish on the front of house which appears to be pointing downwards by quite a few degrees. The others in the same row of houses are all pointing fairly well upwards.
Is there a logical explanation for this?
Regards
Tony Cooper
April 28th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Tony:
Most dishes are offset dishes where the LNB is not diretly at the center of the dish a bit closer to the bottom. That means that the dish itself can’t point directly at the satellite (only when the LNB would be in the middle like with prime focus dishes). The offset angle is usually around 26 degrees. So, say, the elevation for a particular satellite is 26 degrees then the dish would be actually horizontal. If the elevation is 10 degrees then the dish would be pointing downwards by 16 degrees.
Hope this clarifies it a bit. So, I guess your neighbour doesn’t point his dish at the same satellite as all the others.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:52 am
[…] for Sky Digital says: … &8230 Thanks to uksatellitehelp.co.uk and the Satellite Alignment …http://www.uksatellitehelp.co.uk/2007/08/12/satellite-alignment-calculator-v2/Bruce turns action hero in BBC HD ad - guardian.co.ukThis article was first published on […]