[SBE] sat finder

[Urban, Brian L]

On 4/30/08 5:22 PM, "Bob Reite" <br at telcen.com> wrote:

I just put in a C band dish for a client and by using an inclinometer
and this site,
http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Installation/Satellite-Heading-Calculator.htm
  I was on Galaxy 11 (the bird I wanted) the first try.  Just needed
fine adjustment for maximum signal.  But then again, maybe I was just
lucky.

The cool thing about the above mentioned site is that it brings up
Google maps, which lets you see landmarks near your proposed
installation site that you can use to set the azimuth.  The site also
tells you what "skew angle" to set the feed at as a starting point to
set the polarization.  It turned out to be right on.


Cool application-thanks for the link.

I looked up my address, the pointing angles were close enough to actual to get a signal to peak up on.  A hint for you guys who didn't spend several years pointing dishes on a transportable uplink:  Set the elevation first, then swing the azimuth.  You will find the desired bird with minimum fuss-with narrow beam dishes you'll only see one bird, with wide beam dishes, maybe 3, the bird east, the bird you want and the bird west.

--
Brian Urban
Chief Operator
KUT Radio
The University of Texas at Austin
TEL 512-471-1085