How to Watch Multiple Satellites with a Motorised Dish System

Why Go Motorised?

A fixed dish can only receive one orbital position. If you want channels from Astra 19.2°E and Hotbird 13°E and Türksat 42°E, you'd normally need three separate dishes. A motorised system lets one dish sweep across the entire visible arc of geostationary satellites from a single mounting point.

This opens up access to potentially hundreds of satellites and thousands of channels with a single dish.

How Motorised Systems Work

A polar mount is the key difference from a standard fixed azimuth/elevation mount. A polar mount rotates around an axis that is parallel to the Earth's rotational axis — meaning a single rotational movement tracks the entire geostationary arc.

The motor is controlled by your receiver via the coaxial cable using DiSEqC signalling (no separate control cable needed on modern systems).

DiSEqC 1.2 vs USALS

DiSEqC 1.2

The original motorised dish standard. Your receiver tells the motor to move a certain number of steps east or west. You manually park the dish on each satellite and store the position as a memory. Precise but requires manual setup for each satellite.

USALS (Universal Satellites Automatic Location System)

USALS is far easier to use. You enter your geographic coordinates into the receiver once, and the receiver automatically calculates the correct motor position for any satellite by orbital position. You never need to manually park the dish on individual satellites.

USALS is strongly recommended for new motorised setups. As long as your polar axis is aligned correctly, USALS will find satellites automatically with sub-degree accuracy.

Setting Up the Polar Axis

This is the critical alignment step that everything else depends on. The polar mount's rotation axis must point exactly at the celestial pole (true north in the northern hemisphere, true south in the southern hemisphere) and be inclined at an angle equal to your geographic latitude.

1. Point the mast exactly due North/South (use a compass corrected for magnetic declination)
2. Tilt the polar axis to your latitude angle above horizontal
3. Fine-tune by aligning on a known satellite, then checking two satellites at opposite ends of the arc — if both are correct, your polar axis is set

Setting Motor Limits

Always set east and west travel limits on your motor to prevent it from driving beyond the physical stops and damaging itself. Set limits just beyond the most extreme satellites you can receive (typically where the dish approaches the horizon).

Programming Satellite Positions

With USALS, you simply enter each satellite's orbital position (e.g., 19.2E, 13E, 28.2E) and the receiver drives the motor automatically. With DiSEqC 1.2, manually park on each satellite and save the position to a memory slot in your receiver.

Recommended Dish Size for Motorised

Because you're receiving satellites across the arc (not just the central, strongest ones), you need a larger dish than for a fixed installation. A minimum of 90cm is recommended for Europe; 1.2–1.8m gives access to weaker satellites at the edges of the arc.

Practical Tips

• Mount the motor where it won't be obstructed by the dish at extreme positions
• Grease motor gears annually for smooth, reliable operation
• Use DishTuner to verify theoretical satellite visibility from your location before purchasing
• A rain cover for the motor prolongs its life significantly in wet climates