What is an antenna alignment tool?

It is a tool that tells an installer where to point a wireless antenna: which tower or sector serves the address, the compass bearing to it and the up or down angle. ISPbox derives all three from the sectors on your own network map, then guides the aim on the phone camera view.

How does ISPbox check line of sight?

It samples ground elevation along the path between the mast and the install point, adds the antenna height at each end, corrects for earth curvature with the standard four thirds factor, and compares the radio path against both the terrain and 60 percent of the first Fresnel zone. The result is reported as clear, marginal or blocked, with a profile chart and the lowest clearance.

Does it account for trees and buildings?

No. The check uses ground elevation, so it catches hills and ridges, not tree lines or rooftops. Treat a clear result as a path worth trying and a blocked result as one to avoid, and confirm on site with the signal reading.

Do I need special hardware?

No. It runs on the installer phone in the ISPbox Field app, using its GPS, compass and tilt sensors. The sector data comes from the network map you already maintain.

What happens to the sector the installer picks?

It is written to the subscriber service together with the install coordinates and the CPE antenna height, so the office sees which sector serves the customer and the next technician starts from the real setup.

ISPbox

01 Feature Spotlight

Aim Every CPE at the Right Sector, First Time

Installers stop guessing which tower serves an address. ISPbox ranks the sectors that cover the spot, checks the terrain along the path, and guides the dish onto the correct bearing and tilt.

Sectors ranked by beam coverage, distance and line of sight
Terrain profile with earth curvature and Fresnel clearance
Bearing and elevation guidance on the phone camera view

Create Account View Pricing

app.ispbox.net

ISPbox network map with wireless sectors, mast height and ground elevation

// In the product

From the map to the mast

Real screens from the product - the network map your engineers plan on and the field app your installers carry.

Sectors carry the numbers the field needs

Every wireless sector on the map stores azimuth, beamwidth, downtilt, antenna height and range. ISPbox adds the ground elevation under the mast from terrain data, so the height above ground is never confused with height above sea level.

app.ispbox.net

Network map with wireless sectors, azimuth, downtilt, antenna height and ground elevation at the mast

The installer sees which sector actually covers the address

From a GPS fix or the service address, the app ranks sectors that cover the spot first, then the rest by distance. Each row shows the bearing to aim at, the elevation angle and whether the terrain leaves the path clear, blocked or marginal.

app.ispbox.net

What the installer chose lands on the service

The chosen sector, the install coordinates and the CPE antenna height are written straight to the subscriber service, so support and the next technician see which sector the customer is on.

app.ispbox.net

Service edit form with the connected map point and CPE antenna height field

→ Under the hood

How the sector finder works

Wireless installs fail for boring reasons: the dish points at the wrong tower, or at the right tower through a ridge. ISPbox turns the sectors you already drew on the network map into an antenna alignment tool your installers carry, with a terrain line of sight check on every candidate path.

Ranking sectors from a position

Give the app a position - the phone GPS, the saved install coordinates or the client address - and it measures the distance and bearing to every sector mast, compares the direction against each sector azimuth and beamwidth, and checks the configured range. Sectors that cover the spot with a clear path come first, then covering sectors with a marginal path, then anything else by distance. Each row carries the frequency, the mast antenna height and the bearing the CPE should point at.

Terrain line of sight, not a straight line on a map

For each candidate ISPbox samples ground elevation along the great circle path, lifts both ends by the real antenna heights, and applies the standard four thirds earth curvature correction. Where the ground rises into the path the link is reported as blocked; where it stays clear of the ground but eats into 60 percent of the first Fresnel zone it is reported as marginal. The app draws the profile so the installer can see the ridge, with the lowest clearance and where along the path it sits.

Aiming on the roof and on the mast

The aiming view puts the target bearing and elevation over the phone camera with a compass tape and a tilt bar, and turns green inside the tolerance. It works in two directions: aim a subscriber CPE at a chosen sector, or stand on the mast and set a sector antenna or a point to point dish to its planned azimuth and downtilt. Phone compasses drift near metal, so the screen shows the compass accuracy and the reading stays a starting point that signal readings confirm.

Works with Network Maps, Network Monitoring, Mobile Apps

02 Why this feature matters

Built for high-speed ISP operations

Fewer Repeat Truck Rolls

A path that terrain blocks is visible before the ladder comes off the van, not after an hour on the roof.

Consistent Installs From New Hires

The bearing, tilt and sector choice come from your own network data, so a new installer works like your best one.

Network Records That Stay True

Every install writes back the sector and antenna height, so the map keeps matching what is on the roof.

Faster Support Calls

When a subscriber drops out, support already knows the sector, the distance and the clearance on that path.

03 Use cases

Where ISP teams put this to work

Check at the door which sector covers a new subscriber address.
Decide between two towers by clearance instead of by distance.
Align a CPE onto the correct bearing and elevation on the roof.
Set a sector or a point to point dish on the mast to its planned azimuth and downtilt.

// Related

What ISP and WISP teams search for

antenna alignment tool antenna aiming app wireless line of sight tool line of sight map wisp installation app sector coverage

04 FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is an antenna alignment tool?: It is a tool that tells an installer where to point a wireless antenna: which tower or sector serves the address, the compass bearing to it and the up or down angle. ISPbox derives all three from the sectors on your own network map, then guides the aim on the phone camera view.
How does ISPbox check line of sight?: It samples ground elevation along the path between the mast and the install point, adds the antenna height at each end, corrects for earth curvature with the standard four thirds factor, and compares the radio path against both the terrain and 60 percent of the first Fresnel zone. The result is reported as clear, marginal or blocked, with a profile chart and the lowest clearance.
Does it account for trees and buildings?: No. The check uses ground elevation, so it catches hills and ridges, not tree lines or rooftops. Treat a clear result as a path worth trying and a blocked result as one to avoid, and confirm on site with the signal reading.
Do I need special hardware?: No. It runs on the installer phone in the ISPbox Field app, using its GPS, compass and tilt sensors. The sector data comes from the network map you already maintain.
What happens to the sector the installer picks?: It is written to the subscriber service together with the install coordinates and the CPE antenna height, so the office sees which sector serves the customer and the next technician starts from the real setup.

05 Explore more

Related features

All features

Network Maps

ISP mapping the way operators need it: build your network map on an interactive Mapbox view, place towers, OLTs, splitters, ONTs and fiber, coax and wireless links as real geographic features, trace PON optical budget, and export to KML.

Learn more

Network Monitoring

Monitor your ISP network in real time: ISPbox pings every router each minute, tracks PPPoE and DHCP client sessions, and fires alerts to Discord, Slack, email or webhooks with flap damping so you hear about real outages fast.

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MikroTik Integration

MikroTik billing software for ISPs and WISPs: ISPbox provisions PPPoE and DHCP clients over the RouterOS API, applies per-client simple queues, and authenticates over RADIUS or direct API. Replace MikroTik User Manager with real billing, plus an optional WireGuard tunnel for routers behind NAT.

Learn more