[Tech-Assist] STL problem now critical

[RichardBJohnson at comcast.net]

True north, magnetic north, isogonic lines, variation, declination, etc., etc. The Google "signting," where you draw a line between two points is an excellent idea if you are lucky enough for the line to go through or near visible landmarks.
However, you can extend that idea to where the RX and TX sites can see a distant landmark like a mountain. Mark the direct course
as usual. Then mark a course from the RX site to the mountain. Use a protractor to obtain the angle between the "mountain" course and the TX/RX course. Do the same for the TX course.

The result will be that both the TX and RX may be sited dead-on without using a compass at all. You just need to
accurately measure the angle from the mountain.

Cheers,
Richard B. Johnson
Book: http://www.AbominableFirebug.com/

----- Original Message -----
From: "KKTY" <kkty at netcommander.com>
We used Google Earth for both... used the ruler function, setting one end on 
transmit and the other on the receiver. It draws a line over the satellite 
photo, and over local landmarks... which you can use to aim the xmit dish. 
We nailed both dishes on the first shot.

And yes, my 950 was very obviously on a side-lobe... where it was aimed 
would have been several miles off by the time it reached the receive dish.