What is my true SOUTH satellite?

[crankbooster]

We get this question quite often.

Basically your True South satellite is the one that has the same Longitude as your location or the closest one to your location.

For example, if you live in New York, NY, then your Longitude is 74 W. Taking a look at the satellites list here Satellites List for Free To Air Channels, American, Arabic, Chinese, Persian, Turkish, Kurdish TV you will find that SBS6 is the satellite located at 74 W. So that is your True South satellite.

Then based on that, you should consider the magnetic deviation for that location when looking at the compass to establish True South direction for your motorized dish. The Magnetic deviation for New York is +14. That means the True South direction should be equal to 180 +14 = 194 degrees on the compass.

What is the magnetic deviation for Houston Texas 95, 38.630' WEST from my phone GPS system and 29, 39.172' North

[pmb1010]

What is the magnetic deviation for Houston Texas 95, 38.630' WEST from my phone GPS system and 29, 39.172' North

-4 degrees.

So to line up a motor at "0" put it at 180-4 = 176 deg on a compass.

[wejones]

-4 degrees.

So to line up a motor at "0" put it at 180-4 = 176 deg on a compass.

You're correct about the 176 on the compass, but that's usually referred to as a "PLUS" declination, not a minus.

[pmb1010]

Yeah, trying not to confuse things as much as possible.

I really think the lines on the cart, and then the description below - make folks baffy

Satellite Look Angles Satellite Heading Calculator Azimuth Elevation Skew Tilt LNBF Latitude and Longitude values

[mlove30]

Hi Guys.

My lat is 32.78, Long is 97, az is 180 and elevation is 40 for Irving TX. My signal strength is 80 but Quality is 0. I live in an apartment with a south facing balcony. I am not able to point west, I can point S to SE. Any ideas?

[crankbooster]

Hi Guys.

My lat is 32.78, Long is 97, az is 180 and elevation is 40 for Irving TX. My signal strength is 80 but Quality is 0. I live in an apartment with a south facing balcony. I am not able to point west, I can point S to SE. Any ideas?

be sure of your elevation and declination angle

[boroda1]

Have you tried to aim your dish using Sun?
hxxp://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/AltAz.html
For example, tomorrow, if you aim your dish at Sun exactly at 12:41 PM CST, set motor declination to specs and play a little bit with Dish elevation, you should have a signal from IA-5. Also, make sure to set LNB type in receiver to match your actual LNB type.
For balcony, it would be easier to use sun as a guide instead of compass, because there might be too many metal objects.

[manaman]

Can any one help me finding SBS 6? I am not sure if SBS6 pointing straight to my true south or do i have to move the dish to get it. (really confused). The only reason im trying to find it is beacause some body suggested finding my true south bird first before any other bird, but i don't understand why.I am using a SG 2100 motor with a Mercury II reciver. My lat is 41.5 my longitude is 74. But bird that I am really interested in is Hispasat 30W. My true south should be 193 ,my dish elevation should be 23 degrees and motor latitude should be 42. Please correct me if i have anything wrong. Almost forgot, when the reciver asks me for the kind of positioner, should I use USAL or DiSEqC 1.2? I was told to use USALS, but I want to know what you guys say.

[wejones]

Can any one help me finding SBS 6? I am not sure if SBS6 pointing straight to my true south or do i have to move the dish to get it. (really confused). The only reason im trying to find it is beacause some body suggested finding my true south bird first before any other bird, but i don't understand why.I am using a SG 2100 motor with a Mercury II reciver. My lat is 41.5 my longitude is 74. But bird that I am really interested in is Hispasat 30W. My true south should be 193 ,my dish elevation should be 23 degrees and motor latitude should be 42. Please correct me if i have anything wrong. Almost forgot, when the reciver asks me for the kind of positioner, should I use USAL or DiSEqC 1.2? I was told to use USALS, but I want to know what you guys say.

Since your longitude is 74, the sat that is due south of you is the one which is located at that same longitude, and that is SBS6. When you install a motorized system it is recommended to first find your true south sat even if that isn't what you are looking for, because finding that sat allows you to accurately adjust your dish elevation. Setting the motor elevation to a bit over 42 is fine, and a starting point for dish elevation would be a bit more than 24 deg (not 23), but dish elevation can be off considerably, and to accurately set the dish elevation, you need to peak on your due south satellite.

Re USALS or DiseqC1.2, either will work with your hardware, but USALS will certainly be much easier to get you started. You may eventually find that DiseqC might give you better results, but I wouldn't recommend using DiseqC1.2 until you have the system aligned.

[manaman]

Since your longitude is 74, the sat that is due south of you is the one which is located at that same longitude, and that is SBS6. When you install a motorized system it is recommended to first find your true south sat even if that isn't what you are looking for, because finding that sat allows you to accurately adjust your dish elevation.

Wejones thank you for you response. But im still a bit confused as to weather I have to move the dish to get SBS6. The reason I say this is since I have it pointing at 193 which is my true South, doesn't moving the dish disaline it from my true south??? I also understand that you told me to try 24 for my dish elevation. Thanks for the help Wejones