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Aiming a satellite dish with a compass?
Correct for declination first

Most dish alignment calculators give you a true-north azimuth. Put that number straight into a compass and, depending on where you live, you can miss by more than 10°. For a dish, that is not a small miss.

NFM Apps guide · 2026-10-01

Example azimuths and elevations

Location → satelliteAzimuth (true)Azimuth (phone compass)Elevation
London → 28.2°Eabout 145°about 144°about 25°
Denver → 101°Wabout 174°about 166°about 44°
Chicago → 101°Wabout 200°about 204°about 40°
New York → 101°Wabout 218°about 230°about 35°
Los Angeles → 101°Wabout 151°about 140°about 46°
Seoul → 116°Eabout 198°about 207°about 45°
Calculated from the satellite’s orbital longitude and city-centre coordinates, with WMM2025 declination for the compass column. Your provider’s installation instructions take priority, and your exact address shifts these by a degree or two.

Converting to a compass reading

Compass bearing = true azimuth − declination. In New York (declination about -12.5°), 218° true becomes about 230° on a compass. In Los Angeles (+11.3°), 151° true becomes about 140°. In London the correction is only about a degree.

Aiming order

  1. Pick the direction away from the dish. The dish, bracket and railing are metal and will throw off a compass held next to them. From 3 to 5 m away, find a landmark that sits on the compass bearing.
  2. Rough-point the dish at that landmark.
  3. Set the elevation on the bracket scale.
  4. Fine-tune by signal. Watch the receiver’s signal screen and nudge left and right a degree or two until it peaks, then tighten.

Finding the direction in Compass Camera

The Android app "Compass Camera" overlays the bearing on the live camera view, so you can see exactly what lies in the direction you need.

Capture settings with the Target field, 8-direction button and lock-current-bearing button
The Target field
1

Enter a target bearing

Type the compass bearing (for example 230) into the Target field. As you turn, the green "Aligned" appears when you match it; when you are off, an arrow at the edge and the remaining angle show which way to turn. Tolerance goes down to ±1°.

Camera screen with the compass dial and bearing tape, 186° S
Bearing over the live view
2

Photograph the landmark

While aligned, turn on Pin to mark the building or hill in the centre and take a shot. Back at the dish, aim at that landmark instead of trusting a compass surrounded by metal.

FAQ

Can the phone measure elevation too?

The level in this app shows whether the phone is level and facing straight ahead; it is not built as an inclinometer. Use the bracket scale or an angle gauge.

My calculator differs by a degree or two.

That is the difference between a city-centre and your address, or calculation details. You finish by signal strength anyway, so a degree or two does not matter.

Compass Camera

No sign-up, no location permission, and your photos stay on your phone. Free on Android.

Get it on Google Play