Satellite Director NG Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions then please use the "Mail develloper" option in Google Play.

1. The app does not work. I get the "No Compass" message.
   The market page may state it is compatible with your device but
   I have learned that that is not always the case.
   The only sensor you need is orientation (compass).
   Use app "Andro Sensor" to verify that your device has it.
   Download here from the market.
   Or install a compass app

   

2. I can not find my satellite in the list.
   What can you do:
   - you could sort the list East-West, West-East, ABC, ZYX (Go to the Settings menu)
   - if no satellite is selected the app scrolls automatically to the satellite closest
   to your longitude so scrolling forwards or backwards should have solved it.
   - You could enter the desired satellite position yourself:
   Select checkbox "Satellite position" then tap on the white input field and
   enter for example -114.9 for 144.9 West or 55.5 for 55.5 East.
   Check www.lyngsat.com for your satellite.

3. The new 'Echostar 17' satellite is not in the list.
   Satellite Director has its own build-in satellite list but you can overrule it (payed version only) with your own satellite list.
   What do you have to do ?
   - a SdCard must be present in the phone
   - take a screen snapshot. That creates a directory named 'SatDir' on the SdCard.
   - in directory 'SatDir' create a sats.csv file with the following contents
   ( 2 entries as example or this complete one):

   DIRECTV 1R;7.8E
   Msat M1;106.4W
   EchoStar 17;107.1W

   - that is all. When Satellite Director NG is started it loads, if present, sats.csv instead of the build-in list. To edit sats.csv you can use from the store the free apps "ES File Explorer" or "Jota Text Editor".

4. How do I use Satellite Director ?
   A) You have to know the name and position of the satellite you want to receive. See your Satellite subscription contract (or there website) or check on the following sites:
   www.satbeams.com ,
   www.kingofsat.net ,
   www.lyngsat.com or
   http://www.similarsitesearch.com/alternatives-to/satbeams.com .

   B) Finding the satellite depends on the quality of the compass. Make sure the compass is calibrated before you start because a bad compass results in pointing to a wrong location. Check youtube how to do that.

   C) When you use a tablet (landscape oriented display) make sure you have set "swap roll and pitch" (if needed) and have entered a compass offset value (if needed). When you use a phone (portrait oriented display) you do not need to that. It is however possible that you have to enter a rotation angle for the camera. I am still working on a kind of setup for that.

   D) Enable the GPS on your phone or enter your GPS location.

   E) Optional: reduce the satellite list because it contains 280 satellites to a list that is more appropriate to your GPS location.
   - On the Settings tab check "Show reduced satellite list"
   - Enter in "Show from satellite" <your longitude minus 30 degrees>
   - Enter in "Show until satellite" <your longitude plus 30 degrees>
   Restart the app and check the above values are in their fields. The 30 degrees is just an example value, take more or less if you want. NOTE: the angle values are decimal degrees !

   F) Go to the Satellite tab and select the desired satellite.

   G1) Go to the Director tab. Skew, elevation and azimuth values are displayed on the left side. Set your dish to the displayed elevation value.

   G2) Go to the Director tab then turn around on your feet until the cyan ball is in the cyan circle. Now your phone is on the satellites azimuth. Align the dish arm in parallel to the phone (cyan arrow). If you have checked "Camera background" on the Settings tab you can look through the phone's screen and see if the dish arm is in parallel to the cyan arrow. NOTE: stay always 10-15 inches or 30 centimeters away from the iron dish or arm because otherwise the compass goes wild.

   G3) Use the signal strength page of your satellite receiver to fine tune the azimuth and elevation.

   H) Optional: you can also find the satellite elevation by balancing/tilting the phone until the white ball is in the white circle but the cyan ball must stay in the cyan circle. You can not use it to set the elevation of the dish. The required satellite elevation is displayed on the screen (as is azimuth).

   I) Optional: tilt your phone more and more, the white ball rolls over the cyan line towards the arrowhead and then the screen changes into a small cyan circle and a cyan horizontal and vertical line. When both lines cross within the circle then the crossing is where about the satellite is positioned in the sky. You can use this view to see if there are any obstructions for a clear signal receiption.

5. After I restart the app nothing has changed.
   When you start the app you should always see the opening screen with the text Satellite Director. After you quit/exit the app wait 5 seconds before you restart it. Within the 5 seconds wait your phone has time to clean its memory. If you do not wait then it is possible that the 'old' app settings are still present and the app will open directly with the settings screen.

6. How or where should I hold the phone ? On the dish ?
   The best position is to hold the phone 30 cm above the dish so that the camera sees the dish arm.

7. My tablet indicates the satellite is in the West when it's meant to be North.
   On several tablets the screens and sensors are landscape oriented but on phones they are portriat oriented. Almost at the bottom of the Setttings screen there are 2 settings "Swap roll and pitch" and "Compass offset in azimuth" which are intended to make corrections on these tablets.

8. Wrong direction indicated with all satellites.
   - The compass is very sensitive to metal (iron). Remove any metal objects, jewellery (rings, watch, bracelets, etc) from your body. Stay at least 30 cm away from the dish (parabole) or its pole.
   - It is also possible that the compass is not calibrated. Calibrating is done as follows: wave your phone in a horizontal figure 8 using your wrist and rotating your arm. For some phones it may also help to roll the phone along its length axis.

9. Needs option inbuilt to stop screen from going to sleep.
   The option is already in the app. Its called "Continuous mode".

10. The camera on my phone (Garmin Asus) shows a rotated 90 degrees picture.
    You can adjust the camera rotation angle. Almost at the bottom of the Setttings screen there is a setting "Rotate camera". In this case you should use 0.0 degrees. An all other phones it is 90.0 degrees.

11. It is Totaly off for vertical position.
    The app is designed to find the satellite in azimuth. It is not designed to find it in elevation although it points to where the satellite should be in the sky.

12. It really needs a way to select the sats you want to use and save them
    You can reduce the total list of satellites to those between a start azimuth and end azimuth. The option is called "Show reduced satellites". To get a feeling how it works try the values: start 90 and end -90; and then start -90 and end 90 With Satellite Director NG it is possible to create satellite lists with individually selected satellites.

13. This apps does not support .... !!!!!!! My location is always (0,0)
    It can at take several minuts before a GPS fix is made. Check the GPS status on the settings screen. Disable any battery saving app's or phone power settings. Use app "Andro Sensor" to verify that your device has GPS and Orientation.
    Install "GPS Status & Toolbox" by EclipSim and reset the GPS data. Verify that "GPS Status & Toolbox" can get a GPS fix at the location of the satellite dish.
    Or disable the GPS and enter the location latitiude, longitude and altitude. Or use the Map screen to find your location (requires internet connection/Wifi).
    

14. The satellite list shows no satellites.
    You can reduce the total list of satellites to those between a start and end azimuth. The option is called "Show reduced satellites". This option is checked and the start and end azimuth values are probably equal.

    

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