I had a situation tonight where my opponent set his dials face down on the game map. I set mine down.

I had the lowest PS ship. I announced that I wanted to check that dial before I moved.

I picked it up to verify the maneuver I wanted to perform and someone watching the game called foul.

Was I in the wrong?

I had a situation tonight where my opponent set his dials face down on the game map. I set mine down.

I had the lowest PS ship. I announced that I wanted to check that dial before I moved.

I picked it up to verify the maneuver I wanted to perform and someone watching the game called foul.

Was I in the wrong?

You were in the clear.

The core rules expressly permit looking at your own dials as much as you want in the Planning Phase.

The FAQ says you have to inform your opponent before you look at your own dials during any other phase at Competitive and Premier-level tournaments -- and you did that. They do not say you need your opponent's permission. Presumably, you can look at your dials freely at Casual-level tournaments and in casual play.

You just need to announce it to your opponent and let them watch you pick it up to view it and not have them away from the table or some such possibility.

There were 2 German players who recently got put on the naughty list for changing their dials so some players may be under the impression that looking at your dials is wrong but it is not. Changing your dial during the Activation phase after you have set it is wrong (barring any legal ability that would allow you to).

Yes. I clearly stated my intention was to check the dial before we went onto in the activation phase. The timing just seemed odd for the spectator. I clearly stated that I wanted to check the dial before moving to the next phase. My exact words were, "Let me check this before we start to move."

Spectators also need to remember they're not playing the game, and should shush.

If this was a tournament game, then the spectator has breached the new tournament rules (which come into effect tomorrow)

I had a situation tonight where my opponent set his dials face down on the game map. I set mine down.

I had the lowest PS ship. I announced that I wanted to check that dial before I moved.

I picked it up to verify the maneuver I wanted to perform and someone watching the game called foul.

Was I in the wrong?

The rules are explicit about when the Planning phase ends:

The phase ends when each ship has a dial assigned to it and neither player wishes to change one of his chosen maneuvers.

Additionally,

Players are allowed to change their selections on their dials as long as the phase has not ended.

So until the Activation phase starts--that is, as long as the first ship hasn't revealed its dial yet--it's perfectly legal for either player to say "No, wait, let me think about this again for a minute." The spectator was not only wrong about the rules, but as godofcheese correctly points out, interfering in the game is also in violation of those rules.

Can check your dials at any time prior to reveal so long as you inform your opponent.

If this was the first ship to go during the activation phase you could even claim it was still in the planning phase and change it. This would only apply to the first ship being moved and your opponent may then want to change some dials as well since you're still in the planning stage.

Can check your dials at any time prior to reveal so long as you inform your opponent.

If this was the first ship to go during the activation phase you could even claim it was still in the planning phase and change it. This would only apply to the first ship being moved and your opponent may then want to change some dials as well since you're still in the planning stage.

Assuming that there are no start of activation phase abilities that have already triggered.

Such as Intelligence Agent and Decloaking I presume. I'll admit I guess that was assumed as it means things already have progressed into the Activation phase even if nothing has moved yet.

Can check your dials at any time prior to reveal so long as you inform your opponent.

If this was the first ship to go during the activation phase you could even claim it was still in the planning phase and change it. This would only apply to the first ship being moved and your opponent may then want to change some dials as well since you're still in the planning stage.

Assuming that there are no start of activation phase abilities that have already triggered.

Both of these. During the planning phase, you can put down and pick up your dials as much as you want.

Good thoughts about abilities at the start of the Activation phase.

Personally, my practice is to verbally check with my opponent at the end of every Planning phase--for example "Okay, I'm ready if you are." That gives both of us a moment for a sanity check and a chance to say "Wait!" If we both agree that we're done planning, we move on to whatever happens first in the Activation phase.