TEST REPORT

Satellite Dish Installation Software

This is exactly the problem that Alan recognized. He decided to make his calculation features compatible with mobile telephones. But what mobile phone manufacturer should he focus on? There was no need to even ask the question; Alan from the very beginning had opted for the Apple iPhone. It wasnt because it has a large display, a touch screen and the necessary programming interface, but it also has the advantage that any associated development costs can be held to a minimum in that the iTunes store would be used. The iTunes store is an Apple operated website on which every programmer can at offer a their iPhone settable applications freely

DishPointer

The Apple iPhone Satellite Antenna Installation Aid

Mobile telephones have become part of our everyday lives and it is a tool that we can no longer do without. In addition to telephony, mobile phones have now become mini PCs and come with a multitude of other functions such as e-mail, Internet access, an alarm clock, an MP3 player, a camera, a memo pad, an address book, a calendar, etc.
DishPointer Maps - Road Map
These were actually ideal requirements, thought Alan, head of the www.dishpointer.com website, to make something more of it. DishPointer is an exceptionally practical Internet site that users can use to calculate the azimuth and elevation settings for any satellite around the world. The site also shows approximately what direction to point the antenna with the help of Google Maps. TELE-satellite reported in detail on DishPointer in the 02-03/2008 issue. But there has always been one disadvantage that has existed from the beginning: it involves an Internet site and that means its necessary to enter information in a PC in order to calculate the correct alignment angles for an antenna. All of the required values must be calculated, printed and brought to the installation site before work can even begin. If there should be any problems or if data is needed for another satellite, then another trip back to the PC would be necessary.

price. Thanks to the iTunes software and the synchronization interface between the iPhone and a PC or MAC, end users can search for their desired applications, buy them with one click and then load them directly into the device. DishPointer currently has two

iPhone applications available in the iTunes store. One of them is DishPointer Maps, a version of the popular website calculation tool, and the other (available in a Pro and Lite version) is a completely new application that can be used to determine what satellites can be received at a particular location before the antenna installation work is even started. Before we devote some time to the DishPointer Maps application, we wanted to take a closer look at the DishPointer Augmented Reality Pro application.

DishPointer Augmented Reality Pro Application

Augmented Reality is a technology that Apple rst introduced into their iPhone operating system with the version 3.0. It has to do with a

12-01/2010
DISHPOINTER IPHONE APPLICATION Its never been this easy to check satellite reception!

56 TELE-satellite Global Digital TV Magazine 12-01/2010 www.TELE-satellite.com

www.TELE-satellite.com 12-01/2010 TELE-satellite Global Digital TV Magazine

57

process in which information is blended into the users eld of view. This could, for example, be altitude, speed and direction in the cockpit of an airplane. In the case of the iPhone the integrated camera is used to show an image on top of which additional information is blended in to the current camera image. With the help of this technology and the new iPhone integrated 3GS compass, it is now possible through the DishPointer application to nd out exactly which satellites can be received at a specic location. In this way, for example, it is easy to identify a tree that might be too high and block the eld of view of the antenna or if the satellite is above the tree and nd out that despite a suspected blockage the satellite can be received. We put this application immediately to the test and were pleased with the results. As soon as the DishPointer Augmented Reality program was started in the iPhone, the user is taken directly to the Main Menu. The rst step is to select each satellite that later is to be blended into the camera image. The included list covers nearly every satellite between 180 east and 177 west (including those that instead of satellite signals transmit weather data such as METEOSAT 8 at 9.4 east). Because there are some orbital slots where a number of satellites are located very close to each other, it makes sense to reduce the size of this list to only those satellites that you are really interested in. If the satellite you want is not in the list, it can easily be added with one touch of the touch screen. The Update button downloads an up-to-date satellite list from the providers server. Once all of the necessary satellite entries have been marked, the camera can be started that immediately shows the targeted area in the display. With the help of the GPS receiver in the iPhone, the current location is conrmed while the integrated compass

in the iPhone 3GS provides information on the direction the user is looking as well as the horizontal positioning of the iPhone. At this point it is recommended to hold the iPhone in the direction of due south. Simply observe the Status bar in the application. If it shows Heading 180, the iPhone is pointing directly south. After only a few seconds needed

DishPointer Augmented Reality - Display of

Useable Satellites

DishPointer Maps - Calculation for

EUTELSAT W2 at 16 east

DishPointer Maps - Hybrid View

to conrm all the data, the application blends into the display on top of the camera image all of the satellites in this direction that can be received; even the Clarke Belt is graphically displayed. In this way it can easily be seen if houses, trees or other obstacles would get in the way of reception or if a satellite is below the horizon and cant be received at all. With every vertical or horizontal movement the satellite data and Clarke Belt displayed through the DishPointer application is automatically updated. If a particular satellite

DishPointer Augmented Reality - Manually

Entering a Satellite

has been found by vertically adjusting the position of the iPhone, the compass

58 TELE-satellite Global Digital TV Magazine 12-01/2010 www.TELE-satellite.com

Download this report in other languages from the Internet:

Arabic Indonesian Bulgarian Czech German English Spanish Farsi French Hebrew Greek Croatian Italian Hungarian Mandarin Dutch Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Swedish Turkish

TELE-satellite World

Indonesia esky Deutsch English Espaol Franais Hrvatski Italiano Magyar Nederlands Polski Portugus Romnesc Svenska Trke

www.TELE-satellite.com/...

function can be turned off so that the display doesnt change due to any unintentional movement. The above-mentioned operation only works with the iPhone 3GS since this is the only one with an integrated compass. But if you have an iPhone 3G without a compass, you can still use this application although you would need to manually control the direction of the iPhone using an external compass or a previously installed satellite antenna and enter these values manually into the DishPointer application. In our tests, the DishPointer application functioned perfectly, displayed correct values and became a guide that we could not do without. And its not even just the experienced end users that would miss it, but its also an invaluable installation aid for professional installers. How often do you have only a few minutes to make a decision on whether a specic satellite can or cannot be received because of local conditions?

version also gets the nod when new features are developed. The second DishPointer application carries the name DishPointer Maps and has to do with

Available online starting from 27 November 2009

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/ara/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/bid/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/bul/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/ces/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/deu/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/eng/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/esp/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/far/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/fra/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/heb/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/hel/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/hrv/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/ita/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/mag/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/man/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/ned/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/pol/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/por/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/rom/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/rus/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/sve/dishpointer.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/tur/dishpointer.pdf

the incorporation of the same calculation functions found on the www.dishpointer.com website into the iPhone.

cation if necessary. In the blink of an eye, the correct parameters can be set up for the antenna and with the help of the display, the correct position can be found in just a short time. If for some reason the automatic location function doesnt work, the current address can be manually entered by the user. For a better overview, all of the map styles from Google Maps are available (satellite, street maps and hybrid view). If the position of the antenna should move slightly, the marker on the blended-in map can easily be moved to a different position with a nger on the touch screen. This application also functioned during our tests to our complete satisfaction. Especially surprising was the fact that the application managed to calculate all of the necessary values faster than the website in a browser. Just keep in mind that for these calculations the iPhone needs to have an active Internet connection via UMTS/GPRS or WLAN.

DishPointer Maps
What thousands of professional installers and nearly every satellite uplink truck have been using to quickly align an antenna, can now also be used by a mass of satellite enthusiasts for very little money via an iPhone. Since a PC is no longer necessary to control the application and since all of the calculations as well as all of the familiar website features have been integrated, DishPointer Maps is extremely user friendly and exible. Immediately after starting the appli-

The DishPointer Augmented Reality application vices. provides invaluable serThe DishPointer application is

cation, the current location is conrmed using a GPS signal, UMTS/GPRS Internet connection or WLAN and shown on Google Maps. Next you simply enter in the position of the desired satellite in the upper edge of the application and the correct values for azimuth, elevation and skew are automatically calculated. displayed A thick green line is also showing the approximate

available in the iTunes store in a Pro version and a standard version. According to the manufacturer, the only difference between the two versions is that new satellites can be manually added in the new version whereas in the standard version you have to wait for the next manufacturers update. The Pro

Putting it All Together

With both the DishPointer Maps and DishPointer Augmented Reality applications Alan managed to bridge the gap between professional test equipment costing thousands of dollars and all the unbelievable possibilities that the Internet and the Google Maps services have to offer. Both applications are not only an invaluable installation aid for installers but should also be added to the iPhone of every hobby DXer. We had a lot of fun testing both of these applications and Alan told us that quite a few satellite friends invested in an iPhone based solely on these two applications.

alignment direction of the antenna. As we have come to expect from Google Maps, it is possible to zoom in or out of the image for clari-

DishPointer Augmented Reality - Satellite List

60 TELE-satellite Global Digital TV Magazine 12-01/2010 www.TELE-satellite.com

 DishPointer Augmented Reality - Status Bar

DishPointer Augmented Reality - Main Menu

DishPointer Augmented Reality - Compass

Mode Selection

www.TELE-satellite.com 12-01/2010 TELE-satellite Global Digital TV Magazine

61