What is the relation with skew and alignment.quote]
The birds are located directly above the equator which will put them in a southerly direction to receivers in the northern hemisphere. This will be where the alignment comes in, your dish must be pointed DIRECTLY at the satellite (with only slight allowance for deviation, though the more accurate, the better) noting that MOST dishes are offset and appear to be pointing below the satellite. The orientation of the transmitting antenna on the bird is probably perpendicular (across) to the equator. I haven't seen data on this, it may, in fact, be oriented parallel to the equator. In any case, the receiver antenna won't be directly below the satellite (possible, but EXTREMELY doubtful), therefore it entails a compounded angle to set the receiving antenna to the same polarization as the transmitting antenna. This is where the SKEW comes in. For an example, stand off from a power line pole and not be under the wires or directly to the side of the pole. Look at the cross-member (better to use a photo) and you'll see the angle of the cross-member is not straight at you or even straight across your vision, but is at a wierd angle -- same for the signal polarization, known as skew.
Clear as expresso coffee, eh?
