How to Determine Satellite Dish Coordinates With a Zip Code (6 Steps)

By Adrian Grahams

Use your ZIP code to get the correct coordinates for accurate satellite dish alignment.
i Thinkstock/Comstock/Getty Images

Precise alignment of your satellite dish is vital for satisfactory reception of all available paid and free-to-air digital satellite television channels. Different broadcast satellites transmit different bouquets of channels, so you need to ensure the dish points at your preferred satellite broadcaster. To determine satellite dish coordinates with a ZIP code, use an online dish pointer website. The site uses your ZIP code to locate your position and provide the correct bearing and reception angle coordinates for your preferred satellite.

Step 1

Launch your Web browser. Navigate to your preferred satellite dish pointer website, such as Dishpointer.com, Satellite Signals or Satcalculator.

Step 2

Type your ZIP code into the location input field at the top of the page.

Step 3

Click your preferred broadcast satellite from the drop-down list. Some services also offer a list of the most popular broadcast satellites at your location, so click the satellite from this list if it's available. On some services, you'll also need to click the check box beside your dish setup type, for example, "Single Satellite System" or "Multi-Satellite System."

Step 4

Click the "Go" or "Submit" button. This calculates the correct coordinates for your location.

Step 5

Scroll down the page to view the correct coordinates for positioning your satellite dish in the "Dish Setup Data" section. This shows the compass direction coordinates, reception angle coordinate and the Low Noise Block skew coordinate.

Step 6

Write down the coordinates on a slip of paper so that you can read them easily while aligning the satellite dish.

×