Setting and Adjusting the Antenna

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  1. To aim the satellite dish correctly, you need to calculate or look up the azimuth and elevation angles for your site. Use DishPointer.com for assistance in calculating your angles.
  2. Set the elevation first, attach the receiver, and slowly sweep the sky in the expected quadrant until the signal is acquired. Know the receiver’s expected acquisition time. You may need to sweep in small increments to give time for the receiver to acquire at each new position.
  3. Once a signal is found, slowly sweep five degrees on each side. If signal is acquired at three points, use the middle one. Don’t get tricked into tuning to a sidelobe. The sidelobes may not be detectable, so if you get only one point where any reception occurs, use that point. Peak the incoming signal using both the azimuth and elevation adjustments on the dish.
  4. Determine the correct polarization by rotating the feed element 360 degrees to find the best signal strength and minimum cross-polarized interference. Westwood One services on SES-11 are vertically polarized.
  5. Adjust the focal length.
  6. When you are done, repeat all the above steps. Peak up the azimuth, elevation, polarization and focal length a second time.