Satellite dish pointing angle calculator for Australia and New Zealand

Choose orbit longitude and satellite: Choose longitude:

You need to move the map slightly after selecting the orbit position.

Instructions for people in Australia and New Zealand

Select your wanted satellite in the box above. Optus at 156 deg east longitude is just an example. Update Feb 2024: It appears that Optus satellites do not have their linear polarisation angles aligned with the equator and north/south. The offset appears require 45 deg to be subtracted from the polarisation adjustment result provided. If more people can comment and clarify this it would be much appreciated.

Put your cursor at your location and drag the map.
The map display will move so that the selected point is in the centre. The latitude and longitude of the centre of the map is then shown below the map, together with your satellite dish pointing azimuth, elevation and skew (feed or LNB rotation or polarisation) angles.

To refine the accuracy, click on the plus sign in the map scale changing device at the upper left side of the map. The scale will change so that you can home in accurately on your location. Repeat. Choose the Street Map or Satellite view. Satellite view will show you a photo image of the ground may enable you to see your house ! Use the + zoom button to expand the scale as far as it will go.

Dish pointing (Azimuth and elevation - sideways and up/down movement)

Set you dish elevation angle first. This is the up/down angle and there may be a scale on the back. An inclinometer may be of use.

Set the feed polarisation angle also. This involves rotating the LNB. Note that satellite such as Optus D3 may have their polarisation turned 45 deg. Try turning for minimal signal and the adjusting by 90 deg. There may be polarisation rotation scale on the feed throat. With you facing towards the satellite in the sky, a clockwise polarisation angle is positive.

For the sideways azimuth bearing note the blue line, 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. Lyngsat listing of TV programmes on Australian Optus satellite at 156E

The abbreviations on the map refer to: NT Northern Territory, WA Western Australia, SA South Australia, QLD Queensland, NSW New South Wales, TAS Tasmania and VIC Victoria.

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 and are not available in 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.

List of satellites

The list of satellites embedded in this page was updated 12 Feb 2024.

Maps not working ?

I used to use Google map images on this page but it cost me so much money each time they were clicked I had to implement daily quota usage. Around half way through the day this page ran out of its daily usage allowance. So I changed the page to use Mapbox instead for some or all of the time. This has been difficult. I started using raster maps but this mode is soon to be deprecated. I have therefore updated to Mapbox GL JS to be ready for the change on 1st June 2020. If you are looking for better resolution satellite images then Google Earth is worth considering. You can use in on the web or download for Mobile or Desktop.

Please tell me feedback on technical errors or updates to satellite names and orbit location with this page. eric@satsig.net Many thanks to those who have contributed.

Page started 1 June 2006, last updated 6 Jan 2019, HTML5 and with option to turn off. 25 Jan 2020. the blue direction line. Updated 9 March 2019. Updated to Mapbox GL JS 27 May 2021. Updated 27 Oct 2021 to Mapbox version 2.5.1 for IOS15 compatibility. 28 Feb 2022. 28 July 2023. 12 Feb 2024, 16 Dec 2024.