The above illustration shows a typical view for the commonly used Ku satellites.  For most of Manhattan, the "north-south" avenues are parallel, so the view is much the same.  Avenue widths do vary, however, and the narrower avenues such as Lexington or Madison narrow the field of view.  This generalization typically works well above 14th Street; below 14th Street avenues tend to skew at slightly different angles.

Manhattan lies northeast-to-southwest, so when looking "south" on an avenue, the actual azimuth is 209 degrees.  As the illustration shows, Telstar 6, Galaxy 3R and Telstar 5 are well-placed for use from most any avenue.

Much depends both on the actual location and which side of the avenue the truck is parked on.  Depending on the width of the avenue, the height and setback of buildings, and the truck's actual parking location, additional satellites to either side may be usable.  But note that SBS-6, which is due south of New York and therefore at the highest point on the arc, is generally hidden by buildings as is the DirecTV satellite located between Galaxy 4R and AMC1 to the right.  DirecTV is often requested for a network return signal when uplinking for broadcasters or cable/satellite networks.

DBS has extensive experience from most commonly-used venues, including hotels and major office buildings, and has an extensive database of satellite usage from many known locations.  Whenever a new venue is requested, we will provide a site survey or test at no additional cost* to verify which satellites are usable.

*There is a nominal charge for surveys or tests for projects that do not materialize.
  Satellite data as of October, 2002.