Satlink

TEST REPORT Combo Meter for DVB-S and DVB-T

Satlink
WS-6936

• suitable for measuring DVB-S and DVB-T
signals
• integrated blind scan for satellite signals as
special treat
• can be used as receiver as well, if required
• suitable for alignment of motor-controlled
antennas
• very precise presentation of measuring
results

50 TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine — 1
1-12/2012 — www.TELE-satellite.com 1-12/2012 — TELE-satellite International — 全球发行量最大的数字电视杂志
www.TELE-satellite.com — 1 51

TEST REPORT Combo Meter for DVB-S and DVB-T

The ‘One-Stop’ Meter
When it comes to launch- meter. Baotong has even in battery of the WS-6936, monitor, which forms the
ing signal meters, most packed a fully-featured a charger for in-car use, as centrepiece of the meter. As
manufacturers have always DVB-S/DVB-T combo receiv- well as an AV cable for con- our test revealed, the man-
opted for one of the follow- er into such a small device. necting the device to an ex- ufacturer did not only go for
ing two marketing strate- Thanks to its size and er- ternal monitor. sheer size, but chose a truly
gies: Either the meter is gonomic shape the Satlink Look at the new Satlink excellent LCD panel too. It
particularly small and easy WS-6936 sits nicely in your WS-6936 for the very first can even be read in direct
to carry along, with only a hand, with a foldout pedes- and the feature that will sunlight, and in a dark at-
limited range of features tal assisting use and read- strike you most is a 4.3-inch tic it genuinely shines. On
in exchange, or it is fully- ability on flat surfaces.
fledged with a correspond- The meter is wrapped with
ing size and weight. Baotong a bright yellow protective
engineers have embarked rubber shell which – in com-
on a path towards a third bination with the included
category: small and packed water-repellent carrying
with features. The Satlink bag – keeps out dust, dirt
WS-6936 is the outcome of and moisture and protects
all their efforts, and we have the device from damage
taken a closer look at how during regular use. The car-
it performs with everyday rying bag comes with a con-
jobs. venient strap.
The meter measures 12.5 In addition to bag and
x 20.5 x 4.5 cm and only strap, the meter is shipped
weights 0.66 kg, yet it is with the obligatory power
so much more than only a unit for charging the built-

1
1-12/2012

Satlink WS-6936
Very easy to use signal meter which also
serves as receiver.

www.TELE-satellite.com/12/11/satlink

1-12/2012 — www.TELE-satellite.com

1 8

2 9

3 the topside of the casing which is placed on the lower tions are indicated in the on- the mains. 10
Baotong has positioned left side of the signal meter. screen display. The amount of attention to
the signal inputs for DVB- It is required for turning on Baotong has equipped detail that the manufacturer
S (F-socket) and DVB-T (RF and off the device – what a the WS-6936 with a built- has put into this device is
socket), while the left side welcome change from all the in 3000 mAH Li-Ion battery shown in many ways, and we
features two connectors for keys and buttons which are pack, which is capable of would like to highlight one
video output and video in- so common these days in powering the meter for up by way of example: Antenna
put. combination with software- to five hours per cycle, af- installers frequently work in
Wait a second – a meter controlled switching. ter a charging time of six darkish under-roof environ-
with a signal input? You bet. A total of five LEDs are lo- hours when connected to ments, and it’s mostly in
Not only can the WS-6936 cated below the display and
provide the video signal of indicate operating mode, 22 1. Main menu of the Satlink WS-6936
2. System settings
the currently received chan- kHz signal, control voltage
3. System settings
nel to an external monitor, it (13/18V), signal lock and
4 can also act as a monitor for battery charging. This way
4. All parameters of the selected satellite can be adjusted, if 11
required, before the spectrum display is activated
an external receiver or sig- all important parameters of 5. Comprehensive, pre-stored satellite list
nal source! the meter are available to 6. A number of LOF values (for the Ku and C bands, for example)
On the bottom side you can users at a single glance. are already pre-set for selection
find the socket for the exter- Apart from the keypad 7. SCR unicable solutions are supported as well
nal power supply unit as well and cross-shaped naviga- 8. Complete display of the spectrum
as a USB port for updating tion buttons there are four 9. Spectrum display (complete)
the meter’s software and for unlabelled function keys for 10. 108 MHz excerpt of the spectrum around the 11078 MHz fre-
uploading new satellite and controlling the WS-6936. As quency
transponder data. We did usual, these function keys 11. 540 MHz excerpt of the spectrum around the 11078 MHz fre-
quency
like the fact that the manu- can assume different roles
12. Apart from signal level and signal quality bars, the meter also
facturer has even thought of depending on the operat- gives out the desired satellite’s azimuth and elevation values as
a mechanical power switch, ing mode. The current func- well as numerical values for BER, signal level and C/N (MER)

5 6 7 12


13

14

such a situation that some- play. The multimedia and
thing is dropped acciden- system settings entries
tally. How to find it again complement these four
without sufficient light- items. As you surely will
ning? With the WS-6936, have guessed, we were ea-
of course! Simply press the ger to look at all configura-
F1 button for three seconds tions options in more detail.
and as if by magic an LED A total of nine OSD lan-
flashlight that is built into guages are available to
the rear panel comes on. make sure user and WS-
15 What a smart solution! 6936 are on equal terms.
The meter is shipped with The received TV signal can
a PDF manual on CD. In ad- be shown on the integrated
dition to the manual, this CD monitor either in 16:9 or 4:3
also includes three sets of format, and the coordinates
pre-programmed satellite, of the current location can
transponder and frequency be keyed in – something
data for Europe, America that is of high importance
and Asia. Our test meter for everyday use as a me-
came with all data for Eu- ter, since it is only with this
rope already pre-installed, information available to the
so we did not need to do device that it can assist in
all the initial programming correctly aligning the anten-
and were ready to rumble in na to any available satellite
16 next to no time. position.
Under the bonnet, this The duration of the key-
meter is driven by a 32-bit pad backlighting can be set
processor clocked at 133 individually, even though we
MHz, which is perfectly ca- recommend setting this as
pable of swiftly perform- short as possible to econo-
ing all required jobs. When mise on battery usage.
looking at its core design Even without backlighting
concept, the WS-6936 re- the keys can be read easily,
sembles a combo receiver so there is no practical need
and it comes as no surprise for being wasteful.
that users are first greet- To round off the settings
ed by a main menu that is options, it is possible to se-
made up of six items. lect which way the signal
17 Two entries each deal with level should be presented
DVB-S and DVB-T, namely (dBµV, dBm, dBmV) and to
with signal reception/meas- define the local time zone.
urement and spectrum dis- In addition, it is here that

13. Full-screen numerical presentation of signal level and
signal quality
14. Transponder search on TURKSAT 42° East
15. Thanks to the TP manager all transponder data stored in the
meter can easily be edited
16. DiSEqC protocols toneburst, 1.0 und 1.1 for static antennas
are supported
17. DiSEqC 1.2 and 1.3 are also implemented by the manufactu-
rer for motorised antennas


18 23

new channel lists and up- bandwidth between 108 and
dated firmware can be load- 540 MHz or may opt for full
ed onto the device with a spectrum display instead.
single touch of a button, and The same is true for the
users can decide to save all polarisation and the 22 kHz
internal date onto an exter- signal, which can be set or
nal storage medium. changed with a single touch
As soon as you call up the of a button. Thanks to the
spectrum display in DVB-S function keys below the
mode the meter immedi- screen users can adjust
ately displays all pre-stored bandwidth, polarisation and
satellite entries, which in frequency band settings on
19 24 our case comprised 26 of the fly, without having to
the most popular orbital make a detour via the set-
positions between 75° East tings menu.
and 30° West. The LOF of Once the required fre-
the used LNB can either be quency is marked with the
selected from a list of stand- help of the arrow keys –
ard values or can be entered with Up/Down changing the
manually – hats off to that y-axis of the display and
convenient option. therefore the signal level
Users of SCR unicable so- scale – a press on the F4
lutions will be very pleased function key initiates a sig-
to find out that the manufac- nal search.
turer does not leave them in We noticed during our
the dark either by offering test that the spectrum dis-
20 25 all required parameters for play reacts very swiftly to
selection. The new Baotong any signal changes. This is
meter comes with all control particularly important for an
adjustment options, such initial rough antenna align-
as DiSEqC 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 ment, and we cannot praise
and toneburst. such immediate feedback
The pros among our read- highly enough.
ership will surely have con- If you need access to all
cluded from DiSEqC 1.2 and adjustment options for sat-
1.3 that the meter must ellite reception/signal meas-
definitely be compatible uring the DVB-S entry in the
with DiSEqC motors, and of main menu will open that
course they are absolute- door for you. Here you can
21 26 ly right. The WS-6936 is a edit satellite and transpond-
perfect match for motorised er lists, start signal scans
antennas and will control all and rename, change, add
movements as required. or delete individual satellite
Thanks to the manufac- and transponder entries.
turer pre-installed tran- The sky’s the limit, and we
sponder database the meter mean it.
allows selecting a specific Using the Quick Search
frequency even before the function you are able to
spectrum is displayed. In perform a manual chan-
such a case the frequency nel search on a pre-defined
is called up directly and frequency. It goes without
locked. Users can select any saying that all adjustment

22 27 18. Voltage of up to 24V can be provided to external signal ampli-
fiers
19. DVB-T spectrum display with frequency selection
20. DVB-T spectrum display with channel selection
21. Active DVB-T frequency in enlarged presentation
22. DVB-T frequency check for detecting signal tilt by checking the
signal levels of several frequencies
23. DVB-T measurement mode – here again, signal level and signal
quality are indicated as bars, and numerical values are given for
BER, signal level and C/N (MER)
24. DVB-T channel search
25. The image viewer reproduces the directory structure of our
USB memory stick
26. Image viewer
27. Overview of all image files available in the directory


28 33

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

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 32 37
information, including signal
level and signal quality
33. Signal measurement on
BADR 26° East (11919H)
BADR 26° East (11919H) with
professional reference meter
TURKSAT 42° East (11096H)
TURKSAT 42° East (11096H)
with professional reference
meter
37. Selecting a new satellite or
transponder list


nel, something we found list fully automatically. side-by-side presentation recognised reliably and then
extremely helpful in our In order to make sure a of their parameters (signal eliminated.
test. The meter performed signal tilt caused by ampli- level and signal quality). On As always, we created a
flawlessly when prompted fiers, distributors or long a single screen it is possible number of scenarios for our
to read a user-defined fre- cables etc. does not distort to show up to five channels practical test, starting with
quency or even the entire a measurement result the at the same time. Using the aligning a 90cm antenna to-
reception range, if required. WS-6936 offers the option arrows keys it is possible wards TURKSAT 42° East,
All channels that are found to select several frequen- to switch between screens. then setting up a DiSEqC
are saved onto the channel cies at once and creating a This way a signal tilt can be motorised dish and finally
aligning a UHF antenna for
optimum DVB-T reception.
We began with entering
the coordinates of our lo-
cation and selecting TURK-
SAT as our target satellite.
Thanks to the spectrum dis-
play and the azimuth and el-
evation values provided by
the WS-6936 it was child’s
play to correctly position
our antenna. The ultimate
fine-tuning was achieved
with the help of the sig-
nal level and signal quality
bars, so that our first job
was completed in next to no
time.
In most cases, the align-
ment of a motorised anten-
na requires a meter plus a
satellite receiver with DiS-
EqC 1.2 and 1.3 compatibil-
ity. This has changed with
the arrival of the WS-6936:
Thanks to a wise decision by
Baotong both functions are
packed into a single prod-
uct. This takes the scare
out of installing motorised
antennas and in our test we
only took a little over half an
hour to arrive at a perfectly
aligned motorised antenna
for reception of all positions
between 75° East and 30°
West, at least as far as the
measurement results indi-
cated by the WS-6936 are
concerned.
But then again, are those
results 100% trustworthy or
does the manufacturer give
out glossed over results?
We performed the same
test with a much more ex-
pensive professional meter
and as you can see in the
screenshots, we arrived at
almost the same values. So
the WS-6936 actually did a
brilliant job.
Please note, however,
that while the WS-6936
does say that one of the
signal quality values indi-
cates C/N, this value is ac-


to display video from an ex- lored to the region in which
ternal source on the meter’s the meter-receiver combo is
screen. Surveillance camera used.
anybody? Hook it up to the Everybody in our test
video input and add another center thoroughly enjoyed
function to this neat device. working with the Baotong
Thanks very much, Baotong! Satlink WS-6936. It’s a
The firmware of the smart combination of preci-
Satlink WS-6936 can eas- sion meter and fully-fledged
ily be updated via an exter- DVB-S and DVB-T combo
nal USB storage medium. receiver. Thanks to the inte-
Simply download the latest grated multimedia features
firmware version from the it is also possible to show
Internet, save it onto the images and play back MP3
storage medium and attach audio.
the storage medium to the The measurement func-
meter. The same is true for tions of the WS-6936 are
the factory pre-installed sophisticated and very pre-
satellite, transponder and cise. The tuner used by the
frequency lists which can manufacturer reacts swiftly
also be updated from the to any signal changes and
Internet or copied from the thanks to an intuitive and
CD that is shipped with the user-friendly OSD interface
meter, and than transferred it is possible to use the me-
to the device via a USB stor- ter without having to study
age medium. This way each the manual for hours. All
user has access to satellite this makes the WS-6936 a
data referring to his specific genuinely worthwhile alter-
location. In addition, DVB-T native to many of its much
frequency lists are also tai- more expensive peers.

tually the Modulation Error ter you’re all set for hours of
Expert Opinion
DVB-S/DVB-T combo receiver and signal
Rate (MER) and therefore viewing pleasure.
meter as one-stop solution. Low-threshold
must not be compared with Up until some years ago,
and highly precise tuner. LCD display with
the C/N value presented by MP3 playback and image
our reference meter. Finally, viewing had been the do- + excellent readability. High overall build qual-
ity. Easy to use, hence a perfect tool also for
we tried to align a UHF an- mains of stationary PCs.
beginners, even though it also features all
tenna for DVB-T reception These days, however, you’d Thomas Haring
functions required by professionals. TELE-satellite
and once again our verdict be hard pressed to find a Test Center
Austria
is that you can hardly ac- receiver without those func-
complish such a task more tions, and the WS-6936 is – HDTV channels cannot be watched.

easily and quickly than with no exception. Obviously,
the WS-6936. the manufacturer Baotong
TECHNICAL
Now that the WS-6936 wanted to be right up there DATA
has proven its worth in the with the best and treated its Manufacturer Fujian Baotong Science&Technology Co.,Ltd
realm of signal measuring, meter-cum-receiver combi- Tel. 86-595-28106302
we were particularly curious nation to an image viewer
Email dp02@baotong.cc
as to how it would perform and an MP3 jukebox.
Model Satlink WS-6936
in the TV reception field. To Here too, the integrated
Function Digital Meter & Receiver for and Signals
that end, we used an RCA AV output comes very handy
Input frequency 47 - 862 MHz & 950-2150 MHz
cable to connect the meter for presenting photos on a
with the TV panel at first. flat-screen TV or for play- / compatible no

The device does not come ing back audio on the HiFi Modulations QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM
with a remote control, but if system. Content can be fed Symbol rates 2-45 Ms/s
you use a cable with suffi- to the WS-6936 via the USB DiSEqC yes (Toneburst, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3)
cient length you can easily port that is located on the Bandwidth 5, 6, 7 and 8 MHz
do without. The size of the bottom of the device. Any Display 4.3 inch
meter is so small it can al- storage medium will do, no OSD Languages English, French, German, Portugese, Spanish,
most be mistaken for a re- matter whether it’s a USB Italian, Czech, Greek
mote control anyway. memory stick or an external Signal-Input F-Type & IEC
The WS-6936 can be used USB harddisk. USB Port yes
to conveniently access all There’s another ex-
Power supply 100-220V AC, 12V DC
required functions and if tra special treat this new
Dimensions 12.5 x 20.5 x 4.5 cm
you use the power supply Satlink meter has in store
Weight 0.66 kg
unit of the car charging unit for its users: It comes with
Battery 3000 mAH Li-Ion
that is shipped with the me- a TV input that can be used


Satlink

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