Stationary satellite dish pointing pointers

[spongella]

I recently got into stationary satellite dish reception, bought a package from Sadoun Sales. Man oh man did I have problems aiming at birds. Well I have pics that may help others, both new and old-comers.

The first picture is an idea of Ron Dexter's, "the Pauper's Transit," (www.rondexter.com). Do a Google search and see his version of a cheap and simple azimuth finder. I made one according to his directions, from a 4" plastic coffee can lid and a $1.99 protractor from Staples. First off I align the protractor as good as possible using a compass. Next, I place a marker made of a magnet hot-glued to a piece of stiff wire on the mast, aligned with the dish's center and set at 180 deg, magnetic south. Then using the satellite tables I align the azimuth on the protractor with the magnetic azimuth of the bird I am trying to find. This to me is much better than guesstimating using a compass.

The second picture is an idea I got by hot-gluing a piece of a protractor just above and in line with the stamped dish angle degree markings on the dish bracket. I found that the angles stamped are exactly the same as the protractor markings. This makes it easier to be accurate when setting dish angles or when making small changes when optimizing signal quality. Sorry about the blurry picture, but you get the idea.

The last pic is my rendition of a stiff rod (a wire will do) that is hot glued to the upper bracket of my LNB bracket. I centered the wire and bent it a bit so I can set the skew angle a little more accurately. I have easily hit Telestar at 15w, Hispasat, and sats at 85, 87, 97, 101, 121, and West using these little helpers.

These three things all together have made a great difference in my ability to accurately locate satellites. I am not one who can easily "eyeball" things, and guestimate, so these little ideas may help someone out. Many thanks to Ron Dexter for his Pauper's transit.

Hopefully this will help someone out.

Spongella