Satellite Director  

Report a problem

At some point you came to the conclusion that Satellite Director is so wrong, so bad, so stupid it doesn't know where north is, it points to the wrong satellite position, etc. The main causes are almost always in the area of the GPS location and or the compass, and sometimes there is a problem. There are over 8100 different Android device compatible with Satellite Director. Its not possible to test all of them thus you may own one, or more, that does something different.

What can go wrong or what can be repaired ?

Do you use a fake GPS location and forgot about using it ?
Did you wait long enough until the GPS location had green background color ? A GPS location takes sometimes time when you inside your home, in a forest, surrounded by buildings or trees. Often the phone cannot receive the signal from GPS satellites. The solution is to go to an open field.
Do you calibrate the compass with every usage of the app and even frequently while using the app ? Iron interferes with the compass and causes it to run away. A phone case with magnetic closure interferes with the compass and magnets can damage the compass sensor of the phone. The compass can become unstable or show a strange offset. And some of the available settings might be wrong.

1. Have you checked that the displayed GPS location on the Location screen is where you really are ?
   Check it by entering the displayed latitude and longitude in for example: https://latitude.to/ or https://www.latlong.net/.
   Starting with Satellite Director 2.5.5 the app uses the Google Play Service way (very fast) of getting your GPS location but the Android way (can be very slow) can be used if you want. See the Settings for the Location, checkbox "Use Google Service location" when checked it uses the Google's way and when unchecked the Android way.

2. Do you use a phone case with magnetic closure ? Or many rings on your fingers ?
   If YES, then maybe the magnets interfere with the phone's compass. Remove the phone case, calibrate the compass of phone and try again. The magnets can cause real damage to the magnetic sensor in the phone.
   How about the rings on your hands ? Does the 'golden' ring stick to a magnet ? Iron inside ? And your watch ? It can interfere with the compass.

3. Is the phone's compass sensor wrong ?
   Install one of the free compass apps. Example King Compass 2022. Verify with this free compass app and with a real compass that the compass needles are in 'line' and both point towards the same direction North-South.
   Note that there can be differences of a few degree and if you are lucky then both differ not more then 1-2 degrees.
   Its also possible to use Satellite Director for this. How to do that is described below in the next section.
            

4. Compass azimuth offset.
   This is a settings option of the Director. Normally it should be 0.0 degree. Its used to compensate a steady compass deviation. See the above left screenshot of the Director Settings. The above middle screenshot shows this situation, both compass needles point in the same direction. If you see a steady deviation then estimate the value in degrees and enter a plus or minus value in the Compass azimuth offset field to compensate it.

5. Calibrating the compass.
   Sometimes waving in a figure 8 is just not good enough. You can also rotate the phone slowly 1-2 times around its axis, especially its 'length' axis. See this video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1EPbAapaeI&.

6. Check roll and pitch.
   Select from the Settings menu "Check roll and pitch". A window opens where you can roll a ball into a black hole. That should feel natural: the ball should roll to the lower sides of the phone. If it rolls to the higher sides or feels unnatural then roll and pitch could be swapped and or inverted. These swap or invert options depend on the used compass sensor. In the Settings of the Location you cantry a different compass 'sensor', see above right screenshot.
   Android can use up to 3 different ways to create a compass and it depends on the phone manufacturer which ones are available.

7. You can verify if Satellite Director calculated the satellite position in Elevation and Azimuth correctly.
   Your GPS location is displayed on the Location screen. Enter the GPS location and selected satellite into one of these internet pages:
   https://www.dishpointer.com/ or
   https://www.satellite-calculations.com/Satellite/lookangles.htm or
   https://www.satsig.net/ssazelm.htm or
   https://arachnoid.com/satfinder/index.html or
   Satellite Director displays the calculated Elevation and Azimuth value in the lower left corner of the Director screen. See picture above. Verify the values with the values displayed on the internet page. You will find small differences (less then 0.5 degrees), even amongst these internet pages.

How to report a problem with Satellite Director ?

From my home I cannot see what goes wrong on your phone.
To understand what goes wrong I need information.
A problem can only be solved if I can reproducible it or when it demonstrably wrong.
Send me the following information:

1. Compass
   A screenshot of the Director screen with in the 'look through' to a real compass. See the examples below.
   - On the Settings for the Director: Activate the screenshot feature by selecting "Take a screenshot"
   - (optional) "Shutter sound" so you can hear the screenshot is taken.
   - increase the "Minimal Line with" to a 5+ value for a 'fatter' compass needle.
   Then its just a matter on tapping on the screen when the Director screen is displayed. The screenshots are stored in \Internal shared storage\Android\data\zekitez.com.satellitedirector\files. Attach the screenshot to your report/mail.

2. Check roll and pitch.
   - Select on the Settings menu "Check roll and pitch".
   A window opens where you can roll a ball into a black hole. This should feel natural: the ball should roll to the lower sides of the phone. If it rolls to the higher sides or feels unnatural roll and pitch could be swapped and or inverted. This depends on the used compass sensor. See Settings Location for the used compass sensor and try a different one.
   Try to describe what happens here because I can not see your phone. Add the description to your mail.

3. Starting with Satellite Director 2.5.5 the app can record data into a readable file named LogThis.txt.
   Normally errors are recorded in this file but it can record the calculated data. The recorded data is not shared via internet and stays within the phone unless you send it in a mail to me.
   - To activate data recording you must tap 15+ times on the satellite dish of the Location screen.
   - Go to the Location screen andwait for the GPS location.
   - Go to the Satellite screen and select a satellite (with problems).
   - Go to the Director screen and calibrate the compass.
   - On the Director screen find the satellite by turning the phone.
   - Optional: tap on the Director screen when the problem is visible. This adds a "marker" to the recording and helps finding the problem.
   - Close the app
   The data is saved in a file named LogThis.txt and is located in
   \Internal shared storage\Android\data\zekitez.com.satellitedirector\files .
   Attach the file to the mail. I hope it contains all data that I need to reproduce the problem and to further investigate it.
   The "Test mode" will be present again the next time you start the app.
   To de-activate the recording repeat the 15+ taps or deselect the "Test mode" option on the Location Settings screen (see above screenshot).

4. Describe the problem. I cannot see from my home what goes wrong on your phone. Something as "Its wrong and the other app's are OK" does NOT help to understand the problem. Try to describe what is wrong, example "It points north while the satellite is in the south." or "the compass is 15 degrees off." or "the app stops after the welcome screen." .