1) The document tests and reviews the SatCatcher Digipro Excel-TV satellite signal meter. 2) It finds the meter to be easy to use, accurate, and have a brilliant display, long battery life of 5 hours, and robust carrying case. 3) The meter can be used to accurately align a satellite dish by monitoring signal strength and quality indicators in real time on its LCD screen.

1. TEST REPORT Satellite Measuring System
08-09/2008
SATCATCHER DIGIPRO EXCEL-TV
Easy to use, extremely accurate
and with a brilliant display
0.56
58 TELE-satellite & Broadband — 08-09/2008 — www.TELE-satellite.com

2. SatCatcher
Digipro Excel-TV
Small signal meter
with TV display
Until a few years ago it was relatively easy to align a new
antenna to a desired satellite positions. All that was needed was
an analog receiver and you then slowly moved the dish until one
of the analog channels came in clearly. These days, however, this
method doesn’t work any longer because most satellites almost
exclusively transmit digital signals. From an economic point of view
this development is only natural because with the same capacity
that was taken up by a single analog channel, today up to ten digi-
tal channels are beamed back down to earth. So we’ve ended up The Digipro Excel-TV comes with
with a virtually non-existent analog offering and thus no easy way a robust carrying case made
of aluminium and with all the
to adjust our dishes.
accessory parts you will ever
need.
Some of our readers might an interface for connecting the
argue that digital receivers are device to the PC being located usage. Before starting to align installation site. Both can be
perfectly suitable for this task on the bottom. When using the the dish we recommend install- set very conveniently using the
thanks to their signal strength Digipro Excel-TV outside for ing the software of the CD-ROM SatCatcher software. Dozens of
and signal quality meters, but adjusting the antenna a sturdy because in order to fulfill all its cities worldwide are pre-stored
all we can reply to them is: Try protective cover with viewing promises the Digipro Excel-TV so that in many cases it is not
it out for yourself and you’ll find window protects it from the needs a current transponder necessary to look up your own
that it is extremely difficult to elements. A charger for the and satellite list as well as the location and enter it manually.
reach an optimum alignment battery pack that is built into exact geographic position of the Of course the list can be edited
because these digital meters the Digipro Excel-TV, an adap-
only react very slowly to signal tor for charging the meter in
changes, whereas profes- your car, a connecting cable for SatCatcher’s Digipro Excel-TV in
sional devices (and also analog use between the Digipro Excel- use: aligning an offset antenna to
receivers) provide feedback in TV and the PC, a CD-ROM with ASTRA 2B
real time, which is what really software and a comprehen-
counts. sive user manual with numer-
ous illustrations which will also
For exactly that reason TELE- please laymen are all included
satellite presents signal meters in the package.
for the alignment of satellite
dishes every once in a while. The standard of workmanship
Some of them cost about as leaves an exceedingly positive
much as a used small car, while impression and all buttons have
others are designed for more a nice feel to them. The LCD
budget-conscious buyers. Brit- display can be read well even
ish company SatCatcher has under direct sunlight.
just launched its new Digipro
Excel-TV to prove all those
wrong who say inexpensive Everyday use
equals inefficient. When we had a look at the
technical specifications of the
Their signal meter comes in Digipro Excel-TV during our
a very robust carrying case tests we were surprised to read
made of aluminium and safely that the meter is operational
rests inside with foam padding for up to five hours before the
all around, together with all the built-in battery needs to be
accessories that are part and recharged. When compared
parcel of the overall package. to many competing meters –
whose batteries usually last no
The Digipro Excel-TV unit longer than two to three hours
itself features a 3.5-inch LCD – this is a remarkable achieve-
display and a total of 22 but- ment, and one that we were
tons plus arrow buttons on able to verify in our test too. In
the front panel to operate the order to ensure this long bat-
meter. On the top you find the tery power the meter should be
satellite IF input socket, with charged from the mains for at
the socket for the charger and least four to five hours before
www.TELE-satellite.com — 08-09/2008 — TELE-satellite & Broadband 59

3. Spectrum display
the meter simply by listening to use the quick route:
the changing pitch of the sound. - press finding button
That way you always have imme- - select satellite needed
diate feedback telling you if - press F4: this goes to spec-
antenna movements improve or trum to make the install
deteriorate the incoming signal. - press F4 again: this goes to
In case a signal does not come signal screen for fine tune
in right away you may decide to - another press F4 to down-
select a different transponder load tv channel for ultimate ver-
out of the pre-stored list. As ification of the satellite found.
soon as the best possible signal
strength has been found you Each measurement result can
can press the TV button so that be saved for later analysis with
the Digipro Excel-TV reads out the touch of a button. This is a
the NIT of the chosen transpon- very handy feature in situations
der and displays the channels when you need to align a moto-
transmitted on that transpon- rised or multi-feed antenna
der. and you need to have recep-
tion data of all available satel-
to add new entries and free to the measuring device in a If you were skeptical whether lites for reference once setup is
online services such as Dish- breeze. all that bars and pitching completed.
Pointer.com for example are sounds actually led to some-
very handy tools for determin- thing, now that you can actually Apart from pre-stored tran-
ing precise location data. The Antenna watch TV on the Digipro Excel-
TV signal meter you have proof
sponder data or those edited
on the PC it is also possible to
European software version
includes an extensive list of 64 alignment that the antenna points to the
right satellite. Any FTA channel
add new transponder param-
eter directly in the meter. LOF,
pre-stored satellite positions
Before you can go about can be displayed and using the LNB power supply and the 22
and whenever several satellites
aligning your antenna you need arrow buttons you can even zap kHz signal may just as well be
are co-positioned at the same
to load the desired satellite on between channels. adjusted right with the signal
orbital spot, each satellite is
the meter first. All you need to meter. That way you can use
listed separately and can also
do for that is press the FIND- A more experienced user will Digipro Excel-TV both for the Ku
be selected individually.
ING button which calls up the
satellite list which before was
This is an important feature Done! The dish points to the right
shown by the PC software as satellite and the Digipro Excel-TV now
because even though several
well. From that list you need becomes a miniature TV.
satellites often share the same
to select your desired satel-
position they frequently have
lite. Each satellite on the list is
different footprints which means divided into its horizontal and
that depending on the reception vertical polarisation and low
region only signals from specific and high band, because even if
satellites might come in strongly we are dealing with one satel-
enough. ASTRA2D at 28.2° East lite only, chances are that one
is a classic European example polarisation or band targets a
for that: in the UK and Ireland different market than the other
its signals can be received with and thus not all signals can be
dish sizes of no more than 70 received at all locations.
cm, while in Eastern Austria a
diameter of three meters would With the FINDING menu and
be required to receive the exact the ORIENTATION sub-item the
same signal. On the other hand, meter calculates the elevation
ASTRA2A and ASTRA2B share and azimuth settings required
the same position and can be to correctly point the antenna
received with small antennas all to the chosen satellite. A virtual
over Central Europe. compass shows the approxi-
mate orientation of the antenna
Each satellite comes with during the alignment process.
a list of several transpon- Generally, your antenna should
der entries, which can also be show first signs of life as soon
edited or extended if the need as the settings suggested by
arises. An updated list is made the meter are implemented on
available for download by the the antenna.
manufacturer in regular inter- Once that stage is finished
vals, or you can always turn to the Digipro Excel-TV switches
www.SatcoDX.com for up-to- from finding mode to align-
date data or at the “World of ment mode and displays signal
Satellites” software delivered strength and signal quality with
on CD-ROM with each issue of the help of two extremely sen-
TELE-satellite. sitive bars. C/N, BER as well
as signal strength are perma-
Once all required parameters nently measured and indicated
are entered or selected the in dB and/or dBµV. There is
meter needs to be hooked up to even an acoustic indicator rep-
the PC with the included cable resenting the current measure-
(serial COM port) so that all ment so that changes can be
information can be transferred noticed even without looking at
60 TELE-satellite & Broadband — 08-09/2008 — www.TELE-satellite.com

4. 1
DigiPro Excel TV Screenshots:
2 5 10 15
3 6 11 16
4 7 12 17
1 – Main menu, menu item
FINDING for aligning the
antenna
2 - Main menu, menu item
DOWNLOAD for exchanging
data with the PC
3 - Main menu, menu item SPECTRUM ANALYZER 8 13 18
4 – Saving spectrum photo
5 – Downloading data to the PC
6 - Main menu, menu item PLAY TV
7 - Main menu, menu item LOAD SAVED DATA
8 - Main menu, menu item UTILITY
9 - Main menu, menu item CONFIGURATION
10 – Saving satellite configuration
11 – Spectrum photo (high zoom)
12 - Spectrum photo (medium Zoom) 9 14 19
13 - Spectrum photo (low Zoom)
14 – Satellite configuration (Ku band)
15 - Satellite configuration (C band)
16 - Satellite configuration (C band)
17 – UTILITY menu
18 - Display shot for aligning based on signal strength,
C/N and BER
19 – Saving spectrum photos
and C bands, or any other and signal quality indica- shuts down automatically
available band for that tors for antenna alignment to save valuable battery
matter. you may decide to switch to capacity.
The Digipro Excel-TV can spectrum mode with three
also be operated when con- different zoom levels, which During our tests we
nected to a multiswitch is used to move the antenna aligned a number of anten-
since it supports DiSEqC until the spectrum that cor- nas and one DiSEqC rotary
1.0 (for up to eight LNBs). responds to the chosen sat- dish with the help of Digipro
The manufacturer has ellite is displayed. Excel-TV and in each case
also equipped its latest were impressed with the
meter with DiSEqC 1.2 as To facilitate this process a ease of use and intuitive
well as USALS (DiSEqC 1.3) number of spectrum photos interface of this measure-
which the manufacturers are pre-stored in the meter ment device. We particularly
USB interface for connecting the device to the PC claims is the only meter in or can be added at a later liked the perfectly readable
next to the socket for power supply.
the world with USALS. stage so that current mea- LCD display and the acous-
surement results can be tic signal indicator. Thanks
With its front panel but- compared to default spec- to the sturdy carrying case
tons the motor can move the trum photos. and its protective cover
antenna to position 0 with this meter is the perfect
a single touch of a button The UTILITY menu allows match for any satellite dish
and with the SET button the customising the Digipro installer, no matter whether
motor can be commanded Excel-TV according to per- it’s up on the roof or down
to rotate the dish directly to sonal preferences. If you in the back yard.
the position of the currently cannot or do not want to The provided PC software
selected satellite. Similar to use the provided PC soft- can be used to update the
the measurement results, ware for whatever reasons Digipro Excel-TV’s internal
all changes to the satel- you can enter your actual database at any time and
lite list can also be saved geographic location there. the manufacturer offers
directly in the meter for Furthermore, you can set relevant data for down-
F-socket for connecting the LNB on the top side. later use. As an alternative a specified period of time load from its website in an
to using the signal strength after which the signal meter exemplary way.
62 TELE-satellite & Broadband — 08-09/2008 — www.TELE-satellite.com

5. TELE-satelliteother languageswww.TELE-satellite.com/...
Download this report in
World from the Internet:
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Available online starting from 25 July 2008
PC application for selecting one’s location and for calculating the
required angles. Expert Opinion
+
Ease of use, very precise measurement
results and the perfectly readable display are
some of the strengths of the Digipro Excel-TV.
It offers numerous useful features and can
almost be classified as a must-have for the Thomas Haring
professional engineer and enthusiast alike. TELE-satellite
Test Center
May even be used as mini TV set. Austria
-
None
TECHNIC
DATA
Distributor SatCatcher, Unit 7 Salvesen Way Hull, East Yorkshire,
UK HU3 4UQ, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 148 222 15 77
Location database
Skype 02088167171 or satcatcher1
Email sales@satcatcher.com
Model Digipro Excel-TV
Frequency range 930~2150 MHz
Signal measurement -65 dBm ~ -25 dBm
Input resistance 75 Ohm
Symbol rates 2~45 Ms/s
DiSEqC yes (1.0, 1.1 and 1.2)
Battery up to 5 hours of operation,
charging cycle 4~5 hours
Included charger, charger for car power outlet, protective case,
RS232 cable, CD with software, sun shield, manual
Dimension 250x120x60mm
Weight 0.8kg
Weight incl carrying case 1.6kg
Operating temperature 0°C ~ +40°C
Satellite and transponder database Display 3.5“ LCD colour display
ENERGY
DIAGRAM
Apparent Power
Active Power
Mode Apparent Active Factor
Active 23 W 13 W 0.56
Downloading saved data
Power supply pack charging the built-in battery
64 TELE-satellite & Broadband — 08-09/2008 — www.TELE-satellite.com