Satellite dish pointing calculator: USA

Choose longitude: Choose satellite:

Choose the wanted satellite geostationary orbit longitude position using the pull down menu.

Drag the map slightly to get the calculations redone and the new blue azimuth line drawn. The initial orbit position shown is 110 deg west.

Quick reference:

For Dish network satellite direction, select the -110 West or -119 West orbit position. Channel list 110W Channel list 119W

For DirecTV network, select -95, -99 or -103 orbit position. Channel list 95W Channel list 99W Channel list 103W

To put your site location in the middle, drag the map. I have removed the Geocoding option to enter your ZIP code or your town name to save money.

To refine the accuracy, click on the plus sign in the navigation boxes at the upper left side of the map. The scale will magnify so that you can home in accurately on your location. Repeat. If Google type map is shown, choose the Map, or Satellite version to see the satellite photo image of the ground or even your house !

This page is not free of charge. Google charges went up massively in mid 2018. To keep costs down I removed the option to centre the map by typing in your place name (called geolocation). I also removed the street view option (an orange peg-man icon). I had Google maps with a daily quota and when this ran out the page stopped working for the rest of the day. For some while I changed to from Google Maps to Mapbox leaflet raster maps charged on a per tile basis, but these are to be made obsolete on 1st June 2020. I have therefore done a big software update and changed the page to Mapbox GL JS with vector type maps. Mapbox have a free allowance of page loads per month, and I get charged when this runs out. If I get into trouble I will cease the page till the end of the month. For cost reasons, please do not reload this page.

This page now includes more advertisements.

Dish pointing (Azimuth and elevation mount):

Set the dish elevation angle first. This is the up/down angle. Use the elevation scale on the back of the dish. Set the polarization or skew angle also. This involves either rotating the LNB or the entire dish assembly. There may be a polarization rotation scale on the feed throat or behind the dish. Face the satellite, clockwise is positive. Polarisation must be set to 1 deg accuracy for transmit dishes and this normally involves talking to the VSAT hub. For the azimuth bearing use a compass or just think where the sun is and the time of day and boldly swing the dish sideways. You should find the satellite on the first swing, then spend half an hour peaking up. Peaking up is really important for long term service quality and minimum outage time during rain fades.

Dish pointing (Polar mount):

This particular map page includes additional data for setting up polar mounts. Only your latitude matters. You set up you polar mount head aimed due south and the set two up/down angles on the mechanism. You need to set the main motor axis angle and the small downward tilt of the dish. With the motor central align the dish towards the nearest to due south satellite. Motor rotation angles to the east are positive, to the west negative. There is more information on polar mount setup and one of several examples of setting up a polar mount satellite dish.

Disclaimer and Safety Warning:

The results of this page may be in error. The latitude and longitude are not intended for the blind navigation of aircraft, ship or other vehicle purposes. Dish pointing angles may be wrong. Magnetic azimuth bearings are approximate or may not be available, particularly towards the polar regions.

Use is entirely at your own risk.

Apply common sense and don't believe every number that comes out of a computer system. Take care with satellite dish pointing to not injure others by dropping tools or hurting yourself by falling down. Latitude and longitude may not be accurate. Use GPS as an alternative.

Please tell me: eric@satsig.net of your comment and feedback on technical errors or problems with this page.

I spent several days improving this page in early May 2014 in order to try and make it display an acceptable output on small screens, such as on mobile phones and tablet devices.

If you notice that any of the satellites listed in the pull down menu list are in the wrong place, with wrong name etc or you want additions or deletions please say. Thanks. The last time I updated the list was 26 April 2020. I do updates every year or so. For most up-to-date information go to my list of geostationary satellites.

Page started 1 June 2006, amended 25 May 2017 small screens, amended HTML5 16 May 2018. Updated list of satellites 19 Dec 2018. Facebook button 14 June 2018. Mapbox option added 13 Mar 2019. Mapbox/Open Street map mode 10 May 2021. 7 June 2021. Updated 27 Oct 2021 Mapbox version 2.5.1 for IOS15 compatibility, privacy update 28 Feb 2022. 28 July 2023. Minor amendment: 9 Feb 2024.