60
TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine
— 1 -12/2012
options available in the
spectrum mode (LOF, fre-
quency, DiSEqC, etc.) are
available here as well.
Once the selected fre-
quency is keyed in manually
or selected from the pre-
programmed list a window
pops up with two bars that
visualise signal level and
signal quality. In addition,
the meter provides the sig-
nal level, the C/N ratio and
the Bit Error Rate (BER) as
numerical values.
Now we realise why the
WS-6936 wanted to know
the coordinates of the loca-
tion right at the start in the
initial settings menu. The
meter shows the correct az-
imuth and elevation values
of the antenna for reception
of the desired satellite. An
acoustic aid is also provid-
ed, which is a high-pitched
signal beeping in increasing-
ly short intervals, the better
the signal quality becomes
(
with a permanent signal
indicating optimum antenna
alignment). This allows an-
tenna alignment even with-
out a direct line of sight.
Once the antenna is posi-
tioned in a way that the sig-
nal quality and signal level
bars show sufficient values
(
both of which can also be
zoomed into a full-screen
mode, complete with nu-
merical values), users can
start a scan on the currently
selected transponder or on
the entire satellite.
We tested the full satel-
lite scan with Hotbird at 13°
East and had to wait some
EPG data of a channel for up
to seven days in advance.
If you make use of the AV
output of this handy little
meter you can easily turn
it into an excellent receiver
on your next camping trip,
for example. Thanks to this
one-stop solution you can
use the device for correct-
ly aligning your antenna at
first, and for SD TV recep-
tion later.
The range of functions in
DVB-T mode is identical to
DVB-S mode, with the ex-
ception of pre-stored fre-
quencies, which obviously
are different. We did appre-
ciate that the manufacturer
has thought of power supply
for an external signal ampli-
fier – 5V, 12V or 24V can be
selected to accommodate
virtually all solutions.
Thanks to specifying the
country in which the meter
is being used the frequency
list is adjusted to reflect the
local situation. Like for DVB-
S, the Quick Search func-
tion is available for DVB-T
as well, and the same is true
for spectrum display. It re-
acts just as swiftly to signal
changes as in DVB-S mode
and therefore provided
great help in correctly align-
ing a UHF antenna for test
purposes. The cross-shaped
navigation buttons can be
used in spectrum mode to
either select a specific fre-
quency or particular chan-
15
minutes for its comple-
tion. Thanks to blind scan,
however, all active tran-
sponder were found and
we ended up with a total of
1891
TV channels and 567
radio stations. In case you
wonder why a signal meter
comes with an integrated
channel search at all we
should like to draw your at-
tention to the second oper-
ating mode of the WS-6936,
namely that of a combo re-
ceiver with all features and
functions you would expect
for DVB-S/T reception.
Simply press the OK but-
ton or the F1 function key
for the channel list to open,
and every time you select
a new channel an info bar
shows information on the
new channel. The overall
channel list can be restrict-
ed to a certain channel, or
the technical parameters
of an entry can be called
up with the help of func-
tion keys. If you’re look-
ing for editing functions
you have become used
to from DVB-S/T receiv-
ers you will find them
in the WS-6936 as
well – channels can
be deleted, moved
or renamed at the
touch of a button.
The F3 function
key takes care of
language selec-
tion, while F4
calls up the
28.
The MP3 player reproduces
the directory structure of our
USB memory stick
29.
Using the function keys the
entries on the channel list can
be restricted to specific satelli-
tes or DVB-T channels
30.
Selecting an audio track
31.
EPG presentation for up to
seven days in advance
32.
Comprehensive channel
information, including signal
level and signal quality
33.
Signal measurement on
BADR 26° East (11919H)
34.
Signal measurement on
BADR 26° East (11919H) with
professional reference meter
35.
Signal measurement on
TURKSAT 42° East (11096H)
36.
Signal measurement on
TURKSAT 42° East (11096H)
with professional reference
meter
37.
Selecting a new satellite or
transponder list