1. TEST REPORT Optical Meter
Global Invacom OptiScan
The First Signal Analyzer
with an Optical Input
TELE-satellite has already reported many times on the
British company Global Invacom. It started many years
ago with a report on a 0.3 dB LNB and most recently with 12-01/2010
a report on their newest product - an optical LNB; see GLOBAL INVACOM OPTISCAN
Future-proof satellite signal analyzer
for optical and
TELE-satellite issue 04-05/2008 and 08-09/2009. It’s easy coaxial LNBs
to see that Global Invacom takes a leading roll that others
need to follow when it comes to innovative products. And
to show that this is true, the engineers recently added one
more thing: similar to the optical LNB, the first satellite
signal analyzer with an optical signal input is making its
appearance in the market.
As we unpacked the unit, without background lighting
everyone in the test labora- whereas as holding the ON
tory was impressed with the button down longer will start
overall appearance of the it with background lighting.
OptiScan; not too heavy, not
too light. It sits perfectly in The signal analyzer is oper-
your hand and thus helps to ated using the nine clearly
prevent you from accidentally labeled buttons underneath
dropping it. the display; it’s easy to feel
when the button has been
But even if that does properly pushed plus they
happen, the manufacturer are large enough to make the
incorporated the OptiScan in analyzer easy to use.
a very sturdy plastic housing.
On the upper side there are On the side is the
two signal inputs, one of them connection for the
is the optical input while the included 12V power
other is in the form of a BNC supply which
connector for typical coax
cable signals.
The eight-digit LCD display
is easily readable even in
direct sunlight. The display’s
background lighting is per-
fectly suited for use in an attic
or other location with poor
lighting.
The background lighting can
be turned on or off depending
on how the unit itself is pow-
ered up. A short push of the
ON button starts the OptiScan
44 TELE-satellite — Global Digital TV Magazine — 12-01/2010 — www.TELE-satellite.com

2. Satellite scan of ASTRA 19.2° east - one signal was found
charges the internal recharge- Everyday Use the OptiScan can be used for 19.2° east, EUTELSAT W2
able battery. According to the manufac- up to five hours even when 16° east, HOTBIRD 13°
a standard LNB needs to be east, EUROBIRD9 9° east,
turer, the internal battery of
Accessories include a prac- supplied with power. But since EUTELSATW3A 7° east,
the OptiScan needs roughly
tical carrying case with car- our test analyzer was already SIRIUS 5° east, THOR 1°
12 hours to fully charge;
rying strap, the 12V power fully charged, we were able to west, ATLANTIC BIRD3 5°
supply, a car charger, a protective circuitry prevents get right to work. west as well as NILESAT 7°,
detailed user manual and a the battery from being over- ATLANTIC BIRD2 8° west,
BNC to F adapter. charged. Once fully charged, The OptiScan operates with ATLANTIC BIRD1 12.5° west,
a real-time spectrum dis- TELSTAR12 15° west and
play that covers 950 - 2150 HISPASAT 30° west. Thanks
MHz (zoomable to 160 MHz) to this large assortment of
and works with signal levels satellites, there should be
between 40 and 90 dBµV no problems setting up any
(coaxial) as well as +10 to -25 antenna in Europe.
dBm (optical).
For other continents, the
The following values can be m a n u f a c t u r e r/ d i s t r i b u t o r
set up individually for each can naturally set up the list
desired transponder: MER based on local requirements
(Modulation Error Rate), BER and preprogram the analyzer
(Bit Error Rate) as well as accordingly.
signal levels in dBµV for coax-
ial signals and dBm for optical Installation
signals. For our tests we loosened
the mount on one of our
The OptiScan operates via a antennas so that we could
very practical Favorites func- align it with HISPASAT 30°
tion which can be used to west. After holding down the
store one or more reference ON button for a moment,
transponders for each desired the OptiScan came to life and
satellite that ultimately makes immediately displayed the list
it easy to access them at a of Favorites.
later time.
We first accessed the main
As many as 99 of these so- menu so that we could take
called Favorites can be set up care of all the settings. The
in the signal analyzer; 24 of Main Menu is divided into six
these have already been set submenus. To start with you
up by Global Invacom with can select whether the Opti-
transponders from the follow- Scan should work with coaxial
ing European satellites: or optical signals based on
which input is in use.
ASTRA2 28.2° east,
EXPRESS AM22 53° east, The second submenu con-
TURKSAT 42° east, HELL- tains the stored Favorites
ASSAT 39° east, EUROBIRD3 while the third submenu
33° east, BADR 26° east, serves to store new tran-
ASTRA3 23.5° east, ASTRA1 sponders as Favorites entries.
46 TELE-satellite — Global Digital TV Magazine — 12-01/2010 — www.TELE-satellite.com

3. Spectrum display in vertical low band with highest zoom level Favorite Selection
Setup Menu Storing a new Favorite
Spectrum display without zoom Selecting the LNB power and the desired band
Satellite scan of ASTRA 19.2° east - one signal was found DiSEqC Menu
Main Menu Storing DiSEqC 1.2 Limits
www.TELE-satellite.com — 12-01/2010 — TELE-satellite — Global Digital TV Magazine 47

4. Submenus 4 and 5 contain For our tests we chose
multiple LNB power settings, entry 13 in the Favorites
frequency band settings as menu in which transpon-
well as DiSEqC settings. der 11554 V is stored. After
pressing the enter button,
The OptiScan can provide the OptiScan switches to
LNBs with 13V and 18V as its graphical signal display
well as a 22 kHz signal to where the spectrum is shown
switch between low band in the range between 11473
and high band. and 11635 MHz.
DiSEqC is naturally also Next we moved the antenna Signal lock of HISPASAT 30° West
supported including version around until a signal peak
1.0 and also 1.2 form con- became visible on the dis-
trol of a DiSEqC motor. In play at the preprogrammed
this mode the antenna can frequency.
not only be moved around
during a measurement, but With the help of the two
it is also possible to store Gain buttons, the scale of the
limits and positions directly display could be changed. If
in the motor. the signal is very strong and
the peak is no longer visible
For more experienced on the display, the scale can
users, there’s also the abil- be raised so that the test
Spectrum display HISPASAT 30° West
ity to manually enter DiSEqC transponder can be more
commands but this requires easily seen. Ideally, the
some specialized knowl- signal peak should take up
edge and above all experi- roughly 2/3 of the display.
ence with DiSEqC’s technical
specifications. These can be With the help of the Up
found, for example, at www. and Down buttons, seven
eutelsat.com. different Zoom levels can
be utilized so that the entire
The sixth submenu “Setup spectrum can be viewed
Menu” allows you to reset all or only a small portion just
the Favorites back to fac- around the transponder.
tory settings and also lets
you determine how the audio Last but not least the left/
signal level tone can be acti- right buttons can be used
vated or deactivated. he to modify the entered fre-
user can also select whether quency. This lets you adjust
the BER (bit error rate) the preprogrammed fre-
should be displayed by Vit- quency directly on its center
erbi before or after a correc- or you can choose a com-
tion. pletely different frequency.
If the Viterbi display is If the analyzer shows a
selected, the OptiScan mea- peak on the dotted line, a
sures the error rate as it is simple push of the Enter
transmitted from the satel- button puts the OptiScan in
lite. The measurement of measurement mode in which
the BER gives you a reliable it begins reading in the
indication of the quality and selected transponders.
alignment of the antenna.
With the help of the NIT
If you display the BER data (if available), the actual
after the Viterbi correction, satellite, its position and
the signal has undergone a bouquet are confirmed. The
mathematical correction and user can thus immediately
does not contain as many see which satellite is cur-
errors as before. rently aligned to.
48 TELE-satellite — Global Digital TV Magazine — 12-01/2010 — www.TELE-satellite.com

5. At this point the measure- This problem became evi- TECHNICAL
ment of MER and BER takes dent during our tests of the DATA
place; the graphical and optical LNBs from Global Inva- Manufacturer Global Invacom, Winterdale Manor, Southminster Road,
Althorne, Essex CM3 6BX, ENGLAND
numerical display of the signal com in the 08-09/2009 TELE-
Tel +44 (0) 1621 743 440
level also begins here. satellite issue. Invacom found
the perfect solution in the Fax +44 (0) 1621 743 676
OptiScan thanks to which even Email sales@globalinvacom.com
If the analyzer recognizes
optical LNBs can be properly Model OptiScan
a transponder, „LOCK“ is dis-
adjusted. Frequency range 950(160)~2150 MHz
played in the upper edge of
Range RF input level: 40 dBuV to 90 dBuV
the display while „PASS“ indi-
Optical range: +10 to -25 dBm
cates that there are accept- There‘s one small issue:
Accuracy Typically +/- 1 dB
able levels of MER and BER In order to keep the price of
Measuring MER and BER
and that the transponder was OptiScan reasonable, Global
DiSEqC 1.0 and 1.2 compatible plus any DiSEqC command can be generated
recognized. If „MARGINAL“ or Invacom decided to restrict
Uptime Up to 5 hours
„FAIL“ is displayed, it indicates the analyzer to show only the
Charge time Up to 12 hours
that the antenna is not cor- vertical low band in the spec-
Items included Carry case, BNC/F adaptor, mains charger, car charger, manual
rectly aligned and that recep- trum. Adding the other bands
Dimensions 210x110x70mm
tion is not possible. would have made the OptiScan
Weight 0.70kg
too expensive.
This is where the installer
begins the fine tuning of the All in all, the OptiScan ana- TELE-satelliteother languageswww.TELE-satellite.com/...
Download this report in
World from the Internet:
antenna in order to obtain lyzer comes with all the nec-
Arabic ‫ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/ara/optiscan.pdf
optimal levels. Once the maxi- essary features and for the Indonesian Indonesia www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/bid/optiscan.pdf
Bulgarian Български www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/bul/optiscan.pdf
mum has been reached, the installer it is a future-proof Czech Česky www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/ces/optiscan.pdf
German Deutsch www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/deu/optiscan.pdf
screws on the antenna should alternative to his previous English English www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/eng/optiscan.pdf
Spanish Español www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/esp/optiscan.pdf
be tightened. equipment. Farsi ‫ﻓﺎﺭﺳﻲ‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/far/optiscan.pdf
French Français www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/fra/optiscan.pdf
Hebrew ‫עברית‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/heb/optiscan.pdf
Thanks to the complete It is extremely lightweight, Greek Ελληνικά www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/hel/optiscan.pdf
Croatian Hrvatski www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/hrv/optiscan.pdf
spectrum analyzer display it sits perfectly in your hand and Italian Italiano www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/ita/optiscan.pdf
Hungarian Magyar www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/mag/optiscan.pdf
is easily possible to discover operates with a high-capacity Mandarin 中文 www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/man/optiscan.pdf
Dutch Nederlands www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/ned/optiscan.pdf
defective cable using the Opti- rechargeable battery that can Polish Polski www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/pol/optiscan.pdf
Portuguese Português www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/por/optiscan.pdf
Scan since all transponders in last up to five hours without Romanian Românesc www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/rom/optiscan.pdf
any external power source. Russian Русский www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/rus/optiscan.pdf
several frequency ranges and Swedish Svenska www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/sve/optiscan.pdf
Turkish Türkçe www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/tur/optiscan.pdf
levels are displayed.
Conclusion Available online starting from 27 November 2009
If a satellite has been Global Invacom, with its
sighted that is not yet in the new OptiScan has shown
preprogrammed list, it is rec- once again that this company
ommended that this entry is always a step ahead of the
be stored as a new Favorites competition in the develop-
entry so that it is available ment of new products.
with the next scan.
It remains to be seen what
We thoroughly tested the the future holds but one thing
OptiScan using both optical is clear: optical signal trans-
and coaxial signal inputs. We mission will sooner or later
were especially thrilled that in become more standard and
the future it is no longer nec- Global Invacom with its optical
essary to bring along an opti- LNBs and OptiScan analyzer
cal-to-coaxial signal converter are providing the necessary
to the installation site. prerequisites.
Expert Opinion
+
Unit sits perfectly in your hand, it is shock-
resistant and operates with a long-life. It is future-
proof for coaxial LNBs as well as for the new
optical LNBs
- Thomas Haring
TELE-satellite
only one satellite polarization is displayed Test Center
Austria
with optical reception
50 TELE-satellite — Global Digital TV Magazine — 12-01/2010 — www.TELE-satellite.com