How to Align a TV Dish
Even if you install a top of the line satellite dish on your home or elsewhere on your property, the dish -- and the images you see on your television screen -- are only as good as the signal it receives. Properly aligning your dish is the key to maintaining the strongest, clearest signal possible. Aiming your television's satellite dish involves removing physical obstructions as well as pointing it in a very specific direction.
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Instructions
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Survey the area around your satellite dish to see if there are any physical obstructions. Most satellites are located south of Texas at an angle of elevation between 30 and 60 degrees above the horizon; any obstructions, such as tree branches, in this general direction should be removed.
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2
Look at your dish to see what make and model you own. DISH Network and DirecTV, the two top satellite service providers in the U.S., sell numerous styles of satellite dishes; the type of dish has an impact on the direction it should be pointed.
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3
Consult the installation manual for your dish to obtain the angle of elevation and azimuth. These angles are determined based on your zip code, and vary depending on your satellite provider, type of dish and even which of your provider's satellites with which you are aligning your dish.
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Use an adjustable wrench to loosen the bolts at the base of your dish's mast. Rotate the dish to the correct azimuth -- this is the angle of the dish in reference to true north, which is zero degrees. If your dish's base does not have the angles listed on it, use a compass to locate the correct azimuth.
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5
Loosen the bolts where your dish's mast connects to its reflector -- the circular part of the dish. Tilt the reflector forward or backward until it aligns with the correct angle of elevation over the horizon. If the angles are not listed on this moveable part of your dish, use a protractor to ensure correct alignment.
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Tips & Warnings
Contact your satellite provider if you are unable to correctly align your dish. A customer service representative will walk you through troubleshooting steps before determining if a technician needs to come out to your property to realign or in some cases relocate the dish.
Elevation and azimuth vary depending on several factors. For example, a Boston, Massachusetts, resident using DirecTV would need to point his dish at an elevation of 32.6 degrees and an azimuth of 236.2 degrees. However, if that same resident were a DISH Network customer trying to align a DISH 500, the angles would be 24 degrees elevation and 250 degrees for azimuth.
References
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