Pointing accuracy is the precision with which the main lobe axis of the antenna's receiving pattern points at the actual (not nominal) position of a satellite. In practical situations an earth station cannot be guaranteed to achieve its maximum gain due to pointing errors. These can occur due to various factors including: the satellite being slightly off station, imprecision in the original pointing of the dish, ground movement, effects of wind. The loss of gain due to mispointing can be calculated by the relation below.
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