Direct TV-Clear View of the Sky?

[CacheClone]

We have Direct TV with a Winegard Trav'ler roof-mounted dish. We are new to the RV/Direct TV thing, so I have never had to manually aim a dish.

When everything is working correctly, the control box for the dish inside the camper reads "*101 *110 *119". I'm assuming those are the longitudes of where in the sky the satellites are located, with 110 being the center one.

When we pull into a campsite, I try to keep track of which way is south. However, when we get set up, I sometimes find that I have misjudged, and an open area of the sky is in the wrong place.

I dug out my old Boy Scout compass to be a little more scientific, but now I'm not sure what I need to do.

Assuming I'm in the midwest, longitude 93-ish. Where on the compass do I need the open area of the sky do be? And now wide?

My guess is that since 110 degrees (the middle satellite) is 17 degrees west of where I am, I would need to add 17 degrees to 180 (due south) on the compass and make sure the area at 197 degrees (southwest) is clear plus 9 degrees on either side for two outlying satellites.

Does this make sense, or am I doing this wrong? Making it too complicated?

Thanks for your help.

[Bill_Satellite]

SparkDr wrote:
Devil's advocate question here. If you have an app such as DishPointer AR and are boondocking in an area without cell service, will the app still work?

Yep!. You will still have GPS which is all you need.

[2oldman]

You can also key in your location, which is what I normally do. Actually, I rarely use my smartphone sat finder since I've been doing this for years and am getting pretty good at it!

The learning curve is rather steep however.

CacheClone wrote:
The numbers on the display panel of the control box inside the camper are locations in the sky (101, 110 and 119 west longitude) rather than satellite numbers. I shouldn't concern myself too much with 110 and 119, since these are alternates that won't do much for me.

I guess all systems are different, but on my DTV HD-DVR box I don't even see the 110 or 119. It's 101, 99, and 103.

[CA_Traveler]

My guess is that many/most phones use GPS for Location Services so as long as GPS is turned on in Location Services the phone knows it's location.

[CacheClone]

SparkDr wrote:
Devil's advocate question here. If you have an app such as DishPointer AR and are boondocking in an area without cell service, will the app still work?

I'm guessing not, since the app would need access to the ephemeris real-time to be accurate. That's when you would use a compass as a backup.

[SparkDr]

Devil's advocate question here. If you have an app such as DishPointer AR and are boondocking in an area without cell service, will the app still work?

[CacheClone]

To summarize what I think I have learned.

The numbers on the display panel of the control box inside the camper are locations in the sky (101, 110 and 119 west longitude) rather than satellite numbers. I shouldn't concern myself too much with 110 and 119, since these are alternates that won't do much for me.

I found a really slick web site that shows where all of the satellites in the sky are located at any given time. https://in-the-sky.org/satmap.php. Go to the Select Satellite dropdown, then select Communications > Geostationary. This shows that there is a cluster of three Direct TV satellites (DirectTV 4S, DirectTV 9S, and DirectTV 😎 at around longitude 101. Longitude 101 runs about midway between Lubbock and Abilene, Texas, which agrees with what a number of posters have said, which is to point a dish toward central Texas.

I have downloaded a couple of the suggested apps on my phone. I played with them a little, and they look like they will be a big help the next time we camp. I the absence of an app, I will just use a compass to eyeball an open patch of sky at about 101 longitude, which is about eight or nine degrees west of due south at my home location.

Feel free to correct any of this.

[CA_Traveler]

Pirate wrote:
I have been told the true angle of satellite view to the dish is not the same as eyeballing it. Apparently the angle is 20deg upwards or something like that.

20 degrees sounds about right. The dish is designed so that the reflected sat signal is concentrated on the LNB.

The sat elevation is exactly that - ie the number of degrees above the horizon. The dish elevation markings will reflect the same sat elevation - if the elevation is say 45 degrees then you set the dish for 45 degrees on it's scale. If you then measure the dish face angle it will be different.

[Bobbo]

The app just shows you where the satellite is. It is up to you to figure the proper angle, therefore the proper placement, of the antenna.

[Pirate1]

I have used satellite ar app. Anyone know if that is just as good as dish pointer pro? Trying to figure out how the $20 vs free matters for this type of app. The other thing I am wondering if these give a clear view based on your exact antenna type. I have been told the true angle of satellite view to the dish is not the same as eyeballing it. Apparently the angle is 20deg upwards or something like that. So, if I use those apps, do they really take into account my dish?

[PamfromVA]

This is why our traveller is off the roof. We were at Watogo State Park on the Greenbrier River. Directly across the river was a ridge that went straight up. I walked around with the app open and found a clear spot and soon had all three satellites locked in.

btw, the dish is on the left side of the photo about 1/4 up from the bottom.

Pam

[CA_Traveler]

Seneca 35GS wrote:
You guy's get way to technical. When I pull into a park I just look where the other RV's have their Direct Dish pointed and then I park accordingly, keeping away from trees. Work's every time.

Excellent method for finding a single SD bird. Place the dish on the ground - no need to level, point it to the left of other dishes or east and set the elevation to the last elevation. There is no need to use a new elevation unless you have traveled a considerable distance north/south. Rotate the dish clockwise until the $25 signal meter at maximum gain finds a bird and then do a rough aiming using the meter. If there is no receiver signal then it's the wrong bird so rotate some more. Lock in the signal.

We used radios to determine that we had the right bird which eliminated lack of cell coverage.

Used this process for many years with up to 150' of coax.

[CA_Traveler]

brirene wrote:
Looks like the other one is for iphones? You can pick the system you're looking for, point southwest, there's your satellites.

If you are referring to the picture in my post then yes that was on my former iphone. The app is also available for android phones. It is pricey at $20 but works very well.

The flexibility of whatever phone app you want is what's important. You can check out the site before setup or before you register. We've even checked sites for a future camping date.

For anyone not familiar with AR - that stands for Augmented Reality which means the satellites are displayed dynamically onto the camera view as you walk around. It just doesn't get any easier to check...

I'd say point towards Texas which is SE for us...

[sdianel_-acct_c]

we have a roof mounted dome satellite. You need a clear view of the southern sky. When we check into a campground we ask for a satellite friendly site.

[brirene]

Acampingwewillgo wrote:
.......gizmo's ...dealie-bob... 🙂

Hey, quit showing off! Save that tech speak for the nerd conventions! :B

To the post: I use the SatelliteAR app on my android phone. Free. Looks like the other one is for iphones? You can pick the system you're looking for, point southwest, there's your satellites.