An iPhone App For Setting Up Your Satellite Dish

How many times have you wanted to throw your satellite dish and tripod stand into the nearest lake and go back to cable TV or even crank up your rooftop antenna? In my own experience, and watching others do it, it can be amazingly simple some times and excruciatingly painful the next.

But now there is hope on the horizon thanks to an incredible new iPhone 3GS application called DishPointer Augmented Reality that allows you to see exactly where the satellites are in the sky. Point your iPhone anywhere towards the sky and see all the satellites lined up, on the live video screen! At a glance, you’ll see where the satellite is and whether any trees or buildings are blocking the line of sight. How cool is that?

Just point your iPhone to the southern sky and see all the satellites line up

Doing a site survey and setting up a dish should be a piece of cake with this app. The app uses the GPS, accelerometer, and the compass of the new iPhone 3GS. Just move the phone up and down and left and right and the satellite arc will follow the live video on the display. How much does this ingenious little piece of software cost? All of $9.99 at the Apple iPhone online store. Pretty amazing!

A second display gives the actual names and location of all the satellites

Here are the main features of this app from Apple & DishPointer:

• see the satellites on the iPhone display
• works world-wide at any location with any satellite
• select the satellites to be displayed from a list
• displays satellite settings(azimuth, elevation, skew)
• displays current magnetic as well as true heading
• Clarke Belt(satellite arc) is shown from east to west – all geostationary satellites are along this arc
• when moving the iPhone laterally, or vertically, the arc and satellites move in real time with the live image
• ability to lock the compass, i.e. the arc won’t move laterally anymore

Using the iPhone and this new app seems pretty simple too:

1. Switch the iPhone on and tap the AR view button
2. In ‘camera’ mode, look at the bottom label and rotate the iPhone until it heads toward the south
3. Lift the iPhone and watch the satellites appear
4. Move the iPhone laterally and see the satellites moving too
5. When you find your satellite, just lock the compass

The application uses the video camera built into the iPhone 3 GS and with DishPointer’s “augmented reality” feature(watch YouTube video demo here) allows for their software to overlay satellites in the skies as you aim your iPhone to the sky. The application is able to predict where the satellites are by using the iPhone 3GS built in compass and inclinometer to show you in the sky where the satellites should be.

The Apple iPhone 3GS – Notice the neat compass display too! There’s an old saying that goes “if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is”. However, we’ve all seen enough amazing new technology over the past few years to know that saying isn’t always true anymore – at least when it comes to new gizmos and gadgets. Is this the real deal? I guess some RV’er with an iPhone 3GS is going to have to try it out and let us know for sure.

I don’t have an iPhone as I’ve never felt I really needed one. All I use my current Motorola Razr for is making phone calls – period. This new satellite app, plus a few other interesting ones, just might mean I have to revisit this question. I think I see a new iPhone in my future!