For adjusting dish elevation, I use a Sears Craftsman "Magnetic Universal Protractor". This in the tool department at Sears and is under $15. It is round with two flat edges, has about a 3" dial with numbers on it, and has a red indicator hanging down. Gravity makes the indicator point down.
If your dish is straight up and down, you should get a reading of "0" on the protractor. Then as you point it toward the sky, you will get elevation degree amounts of 10, 20, 30, 40, etc.
If you use the wrong edge of the protractor, the readings will be different from those above. So be sure you are using the correct edge.
Find out from the dish manufacturer *where* on the dish you would measure elevation.
Also if you have an offset dish, you need to get the "dish offset" amount from the dish manufacturer or dealer. This amount is subtracted from the elevation a "dish pointing calculator" says to point the dish.
Using the below dish pointing calculator, you would enter the manufacturers dish offset amount in the "Antenna Offset angle" field, then use "Offset antenna Elevation" for the actual elevation setting for your dish. (The calculator just subtracts the offset amount from the actual satellite elevation.)
An offset dish is called offset because it is not pointing where it seems to be pointing. It is actually pointing higher. This is because the LNB is not in the center of the dish. Pretend the dish is a mirror, the LNB would reflect upward.
I had a very hard time finding tools for setting my dish elevation. I heard reference to an "inclinometer", but when I searched the internet, I could not find any for sale.
Dish pointing calculator...
http://home.online.no/~jensts/Satellite/lookangles.htm
Degrees and minutes to decimal converter...
http://vancouver-webpages.com/META/DMS.1.html
Convert from feet to meters...
http://www.qsl.net/w4sat/metconv.htm
Dish Alignment..
http://www.satellite911.com/html/install.html
http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Installation/Installation.htm
Linear Mode
