1. Setup Procedure
Start the setup procedure by clicking on the link on the main page or on the main menu above. First, you set your location; this can be done in three ways:
1. By manually entering latitude/longitude in degrees and minutes.
2. By searching for a city name.
3. By setting your location using a world map.
Next, you define the frequency band you are interested in, C or Ku. The final step is to set a parameter which defines a receivable beam, here you can choose between entering the dish size (enter the width if you are using an offset dish) or the minimum signal strength (EIRP) required by your equipment to receive a satellite beam. Please note that if you select dish size and do not enter any value, the system will estimate the required dish size for each beam. When you have finished the setup procedure, the selected location, frequency band and dish size/minimum EIRP will be displayed on the main page. The selected location will also be indicated by a red dot in the small world map.
2. Search Procedure
If you have successfully completed the setup procedure, you can search for satellite beams covering your location. Here you can select three search modes:
1. Beams covering my location that might be receivable
This mode displays satellite beams where the official coverage area ("footprint") covers the selected location and also has, or might have, sufficient signal strength (EIRP).
2. Beams that might be receivable
This mode is as above but will also include beams where the official coverage does not cover your location but might in some cases have enough signal strength to be receivable anyway. E.g. if your location is very close to the edge of the official coverage and you have a large enough dish.
3. All beams above horizon
This mode will display all satellite beams above horizon at the selected location regardless if they are receivable or not.
Please note that if you have selected estimation of dish size in the setup procedure, search mode 2 and 3 will yield the same result. To start the search, enter the security code and click the Run BeamFinder button.
3. The BeamFinder Search Result
The search result will give you a list of satellites, sorted by position, and below each satellite you will find a list of available beams. If you click on the satellite name, the corresponding satellite page will open in a new window where you will find detailed technical information about the satellite. Below the satellite name you might find the following text "Beam information not provided by satellite owner or currently not available", indicating that there is no coverage information at all available for this particular satellite. You might also find this text "One or more beams are missing", indicating that the satellite have one or more beams for which there are no coverage information available, e.g. some beams might be fully leased to a content provider who do not want to reveal this information.
For each satellite the corresponding azimuth, elevation, obstacle factor and LNB skew will be calculated. Azimuth, elevation and LNB skew are used to aim your dish at the satellite according to the picture below:
If the value for LNB skew is negative, you should tilt the LNB this number of degrees in clockwise direction when facing the dish. If LNB skew is positive, the LNB should be tilted in counterclockwise direction when facing the dish. Please note that there is no need to tilt the LNB for satellites using circular polarisation and for the Astra satellite fleet, the calculated LNB skew have the taken into account the special polarisation offset used by these satellites.
The obstacle factor is used to determine if an obstacle is in the way of satellite reception. Measure the distance to a possible obstacle and multiply it by the obstacle factor. If the result is less than the obstacles relative height, according to the picture below, the obstacle is in the way.
Please note that there is a slim chance of receiving satellites with very small obstacle factor/elevation.
For each satellite beam, you will get the beam status and signal strength (EIRP in dBW) and, if you have selected this in the setup procedure, an estimated dish size interval in cm. If you click on the beam name, a detailed and overview footprint map will be displayed in a new window and your location is indicated by a red dot.
The reception status is indicated by a colour icon and if your selected location is inside the official beam coverage area, it will be indicated by a filled square. A green reception status icon indicates that according to the official coverage information you should be able to receive the beam, do however not take this for granted. If the reception status icon is orange, there is not enough information for the system to determine if the beam is receivable or not. Click on the beam name to study the detailed map and see if there might be a chance to receive the beam. As a ground rule, always assume that beams with orange reception status are not receivable. A red reception status icon indicates that according to official coverage information, the beam is not receivable at your location with your equipment. However, in some special cases, these beams might be receivable anyway, e.g. some satellite beams are known to "leak" into areas not officially covered.
If you have selected estimation of the required dish size, please consider the calculated interval only as a rough estimate. Talk to your local satellite dealer or satellite users in your area to get information about the actual dish size you need.
To see which TV or radio channels you might be able to receive on a particular beam, click on the satellite name to open the corresponding page for the satellite. Please note that you must check the "beam" column on the page to see which transponders are transmitting on the beam you are interested in.
If you are logged in, you might have permission to access the complete BeamFinder demonstration which also indicates receivable TV channels with the possibility to control an ACU (Antenna Control Unit) and a satellite receiver (based on Enigma 1/2 OS).
and TV guide data from the internet.
We now introduce to the market a very competitive, flexible and reliable TV listings service for virtually any channel worldwide, from small local broadcasters to the big international channels.
If you would like to download sample listings data files for a selection of TV channels, please contact us at sales@satstar.net or log in with the username and password for your listings account.
