This document provides a test report of the Satcatcher Digipro T Max digital terrestrial television (DVB-T) signal meter. The device allows users to accurately align antennas to receive optimal DVB-T signals. It provides easy-to-read signal strength readings and includes features like multiple language support, rechargeable batteries, and a protective carrying case for portability. The report examines the device's specifications and usability.

1. TEST REPORT DVB-T Signal Meter
Satcatcher Digipro T Max
Bringing the fun back
to aligning a
terrestrial antenna!
In the past TELE-satellite has already published
a number of test reports for Satcatcher’s DVB-S
installation meters, and this time we’ll be looking
at a DVB-T model which covers a reception mode
that is just as interesting. Digital terrestrial
television has gained enormous momentum
in recent years and these days almost all
corners of the earth are covered with some
type of digital terrestrial signal. What’s more,
analogue terrestrial transmission has become
a thing of the past in many countries, or is
currently on the verge of being superseded
by digital signals. All this actually makes
a lot of sense, too, as the bandwidth
taken up by a single analogue channel
can be used to transmit five to seven
SDTV channels or two to three HDTV
channels. As we’re experiencing an ever-
growing number of terrestrial channels all
over the globe, the analogue switch-off is
something that has to happen sooner or In the analogue age it was
SATcATchER DIg IPR
06-07/2010
O T MA x
quite easy to correctly align Easy to use signal met
later. a terrestrial antenna: You
at DVB -T. Everything
er that doesn’t stop
you want from a
signal meter.
simply took a small TV set,
TELE-satellite World www.TELE-satellite.com/...
Download this report in other languages from the Internet:
hooked it up to the antenna
and started moving the correction, which means mar-
Arabic ‫العربية‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/ara/satcatcher.pdf
Indonesian Indonesia www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/bid/satcatcher.pdf antenna until a picture with ginal signal strength might
Bulgarian Български www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/bul/satcatcher.pdf
Czech Česky www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/ces/satcatcher.pdf
little or no noise popped up still whip up a perfect result
German Deutsch www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/deu/satcatcher.pdf on screen. on your screen as long as
English English www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/eng/satcatcher.pdf
Spanish Español www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/esp/satcatcher.pdf reception conditions are right.
Farsi ‫فارس ي‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/far/satcatcher.pdf
French Français www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/fra/satcatcher.pdf In the digital age the new Come bad weather, though,
Hebrew ‫עברית‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/heb/satcatcher.pdf
Greek Ελληνικά www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/hel/satcatcher.pdf motto seems to be ‘no pain, you’ll be left with a blank
Croatian Hrvatski www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/hrv/satcatcher.pdf
Italian Italiano www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/ita/satcatcher.pdf no gain’. For one thing, most screen or frozen image – and
Hungarian Magyar www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/mag/satcatcher.pdf
Mandarin 中文 www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/man/satcatcher.pdf
small TVs don’t come with a the digital revolution might
Dutch Nederlands www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/ned/satcatcher.pdf built-in DVB-T receiver, so easily turn into a family reso-
Polish Polski www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/pol/satcatcher.pdf
Portuguese Português www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/por/satcatcher.pdf you’d have to drag a receiver lution on the living room sofa.
Romanian Românesc www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/rom/satcatcher.pdf
Russian Русский www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/rus/satcatcher.pdf up to the antenna as well.
Swedish Svenska www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/sve/satcatcher.pdf
Turkish Türkçe www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/tur/satcatcher.pdf In addition, a key feature of Satcatcher comes to the
Available online starting from 28 May 2010 digital transmission is error rescue with its new Digipro T
28 TELE-satellite — Global Digital TV Magazine — 06-07/2010 — www.TELE-satellite.com

2. Max, a signal meter that has For extreme situations the from the mains or by using have to carry it around all day
been specially designed for manufacturer includes a sun the car charger while on the long.
the DVB-T market. If you live visor which can easily be go. Professional installers will
in areas with a differing digital attached to the bag, if need particularly appreciate this Everyday use
terrestrial transmission tech- be. This way blinding sunlight second option to keep their
Right after switching on the
nology such as ASTC, ISDB-T won’t get in the way of doing meter ready to use all of the
signal meter the main menu
or DMB-TH Satcatcher has the your job. time and to use travel time
pops up, which is divided into
appropriate model on offer from one customer to the
eight sections. The default
too, or is currently working on A total of 26 buttons are next for charging.
language of the OSD is Eng-
it. As soon as we had opened available to operate the
lish. However, Satcatcher
the packaging there it was: Digipro T Max, all of which are The aluminium flight case
will provide region-specific
The top-notch aluminium located on the top side of the also includes a strap for car-
customised versions of the
flight case that we have come meter’s housing. Apart from rying the Digipro T Max like
Digipro T Max to local dis-
to expect from Satcatcher. It the standard on/off switch a shoulder bag, a USB cable
tributors. Unfortunately, it
makes sure the delicate meter and a cross-shaped navi key, for PC connection as well as a
is not possible to change the
can be safely stored and Satcatcher also added five mini CD-ROM with all required
OSD language in a dedicated
transported, and the fact that keys with dedicated functions software. The user guide
menu item. All you can edit in
it looks rather sexy is a nice as well as four keys with user- is available as PDF on the
METER SETUP is the thresh-
little bonus too. defined functions. Making CD-ROM and is both compre-
old level for the meter to start
full use of these four keys it hensive and easy to navigate
processing a signal, and the
The Digipro T Max itself becomes child’s play to work through. It will provide an
desired unit for measuring the
weighs 1.6 kg and measures with the latest Satcatcher answer to almost any ques-
signal (dBm, dBµV or dBmV).
25x12x6 cm, which makes it model. tion you may have in connec-
easy to handle and to carry tion with using the Digipro T
You may also set a certain
along. We loved the fact that On the bottom side there is Max.
time of inactivity after which
Satcatcher found a clever the USB interface for connect-
the meter switches off auto-
way of distributing weight ing the meter to a PC as well The new Satcatcher DVB-T
matically. This avoids waste-
inside the meter so that you as the socket for the exter- meter boasts excellent work-
ful usage of battery capacity
always have a good grip and nal mains power charging manship and creates a com-
and provides ease of mind in
probably won’t ever acciden- unit which is used to supply fortably reassuring first
this day and age of diminish-
tally drop it. A protective bag energy to the built-in bat- impression, even though the
ing resources. Satcatcher has
keeps away moist, dust and tery pack. While we’re at it: meter housing is made of
come up with a nifty feature
dirt from the device, while at the internal battery lasts for plastic rather than metal. We
consisting of pre-stored fre-
the same time allowing access five to six hours of continuous should note that our test-
quency lists, something the
to all sockets and the display, operation and doesn’t take ing crew unanimously was of
manufacturer calls channel
which itself is protected by a longer than four hours to be the opinion that the manu-
plans. The Digipro T Max can
see-through foil. fully recharged. ‘Excellent’ is facturer’s decision to go for
store up to 15 channel plans
the word that springs to mind! plastic instead of metal was
absolutely right. After all, with a total of 500 individual
Speaking of the display –
Thanks to the generous every attempt at reducing the frequency entries.
with its high-resolution TFT
technology and 3.5-inch supply of accessories that final weight of a mobile meter
diameter it is very easy to comes with the meter you can deserves special praise, not All meters are shipped with
read even in direct sunlight. either re-charge the battery least from professionals who a complete frequency list for
the UHF/VHF bands as well
as with a special list for Great
Britain. This does away with
the tiresome job of selecting
a channel using the spectrum
display or manual frequency
input. A simple touch of a
button in the frequency list is
all it takes to select a chan-
nel for scanning. To top it
all, Satcatcher even allows
users to assign names to indi-
vidual frequencies, so that
frequently used entries are
found in a second.
The Digipro T Max is
very strict in distinguishing
between analogue and digital
30 TELE-satellite — Global Digital TV Magazine — 06-07/2010 — www.TELE-satellite.com

3. signals, which is why the pre- bandwidths (full, 500, 200, a button for a closer look at on, but you can also watch
stored frequency list includes 100, 50, 32, 16, 8 MHz). After the signal. the channel directly on your
two entries (analogue and pressing the “TEST” function signal meter.
digital) for each channel. If a key the meter checks the cur- Once a frequency has been
channel is selected manually rently selected frequency and activated from the pre-set The only minor drawback is
the meter prompts the user after a short moment informs list, identified after scanning, that this sweet extra bonus
to select whether that chan- the user whether or not a selected from the spectrum does not work with analogue
nel is analogue or digital. A usable signal is available and display or entered manu- television signals. However,
separate menu item allows – more importantly – what ally, the next step usually is this is easily made up for with
user to edit the frequency type of signal it is. to perform a signal test. The the option to call up a COFDM
lists directly on the meter. As Digipro T Max has a dedicated (Coded Orthogonal Frequency
a more convenient option you If you know the frequency function key for this step and Division Multiplexing) constel-
may install the software pro- you’re looking for you can of it instantly shows the signal lation diagram for thoroughly
vided on CD-ROM and do all course also enter it manually strength in dBm, dBµV or analysing a signal. This is a
your editing with an easy-to- – something that is possible dBmV for the audio and video feature clearly targeted to
use Windows tool. in all menus of the Satcatcher frequencies of analogue sig- professional installers, who
Digipro T Max. This, too, may nals and for the carrier fre- will greatly appreciate this.
A new frequency list can save valuable time for profes- quency of digital signals.
easily be loaded and activated sional installers. If you don’t It goes without saying that
in a dedicated menu item of need a real-time spectrum If a digital signal is received, the Satcatcher Digipro T Max
the Digipro T Max. During this display but rather prefer in- MER (Modulation Error Ratio), is compatible with all DVB-T
process the currently active depth information you should C/N (Carrier to Noise Ratio), modulations, meaning it will
frequency list is cancelled and look at the meter’s automatic CBER (Channel Bit Error Rate) work with QPSK, 16 QAM and
replaced by the new one. This channel scan. It covers all and VBER (Viterbi Error Rate) 64 QAM. The closer the dots
allows professional installers entries of a frequency list and are displayed as well, so that shown in the constellation
to create different lists for dif- uses colour-coded bars to you get a realistic impression diagram are to each other, the
ferent regions, with each list present results. of signal quality and applied better the signal. For those
including only those frequen- error correction. of you with an active signal
cies that are in active use in A yellow bar indicates an amplifier the meter can be set
any given region. analogue signal, for exam- The meter reacts quickly with the +/- buttons to gener-
ple, while yellow/blue stands to any signal changes and ate 5V or 12V current on the
Apart from making the for analogue radio, white thus provides very reliable antenna output to power the
meter a lot easier to use this for digital TV, black for DAB feedback when aligning an amplifier. Satcatcher models
also speeds up work proc- and green for FM radio. One antenna. If all that still is not for certain countries, like
esses and therefore can help glimpse is all it takes to get enough for some, Satcatcher France, Spain or Portugal,
save real money. We chose an overview of what is avail- offers some icing on the cake have set these outputs to 5V
to align a UHF antenna for able at the present location. and has equipped its Digipro and 24V to feed amplifiers in
DVB-T reception in our test. Similar to spectrum mode, T Max with the option of lock- use there.
It didn’t take us long to pre- here too the navi key can ing into a DVB-T frequency
pare all required hardware be used to change between and showing its channels And since the new Sat-
and we then started out with frequencies and once the on screen. This way you can catcher signal meter is com-
connecting the Digipro T max desired entry is marked it easily use NIT data to find patible with FM and DAB as
to the antenna with a coax only takes one more touch of out which frequency you’re well, antennas for these fre-
cable.
The spectrum display indi-
cated right away that three
active DVB-T frequencies
were available at our test
location in Vienna. The meter
even showed very weak fre-
quencies intended for differ-
ent regions. Signal peaks of
these out-of-area frequen-
cies were clear to notice in
the spectrum. The navi key
is used to place the cursor on
any desired frequency within
the spectrum display and it
is possible to conveniently
enlarge certain sectors thanks
to a number of pre-defined
www.TELE-satellite.com — 06-07/2010 — TELE-satellite — Global Digital TV Magazine 31

4. 1 5 9
2 6 10
3 7
1. Analogue signal measuring
2. Signal scan across the complete UHF
frequency range
3. Spectrum display
4. Various basic setting for signal
measuring
5. Eight segments make up the main
menu
6. DVB-T channels can be watched on
the monitor
4 8
7. COFDM diagram for signal analysis
8. Signal information of a frequency
with digital content
9. The complete UHF and VHF bands
(analogue as well as digital) are
included in the pre-stored frequency
lists
10. Frequency lists can be edited either
directly on the meter or conveniently
on the Pc
quency ranges can be aligned Towards the end of our test even though error correction entries is by connecting the
just as easily. While in FM we attempted to push the had to work overtime and the device to a PC.
mode the meter shows the Digipro T Max to its limits by signal broke down every once
signal level right away, and if trying to align a UHF antenna in a while. That is why the T Max
required the signal audio can in a way that allows recep- comes with a USB interface
be put out and checked with tion of extremely weak sig-
Pc connection and USB cable so that any
the touch of a button. nals. Thanks to signal level Windows-based PC can be
We mentioned above that
changes being shown in real- used to manage the meter’s
The same is true for DAB time this was achieved in next up to 15 channel plans can data. All required drivers and
signals. We tested both to no time at all. be stored inside the Digipro software components are
modes and found that set- T Max. While these can of available from the CD-ROM
ting up both UHF/VHF and This way we were even able course be edited in the meter that comes with the meter.
FM antennas was as easy as to receive DVB-T signals not itself, a much more conven-
1-2-3. intended for our local market, ient way of managing these We used one of our Windows
32 TELE-satellite — Global Digital TV Magazine — 06-07/2010 — www.TELE-satellite.com

5. 1 XP computers and can assure After models for DVB-S and
you that installation happens DVB-C it is the perfect addi-
in a breeze and it was easy tion to complete the manu-
and self-explanatory to edit facturer’s range.
frequencies and transfer data
back to the meter’s memory. Offering a perfect balance
between ease of use and
Once again Satcatcher has myriad features, and char-
hit the jackpot with this new acterised by solid workman-
meter and it’s safe to say the ship the Digipro T Max is right
Digipro T Max will join the on track to bringing back
ranks of other highly success- some fun to UHF/VHF and FM
ful Satcatcher signal meters. antenna alignment jobs.
2 Expert Opinion
+
Ease of use, a large range of features and good
workmanship are the most important attributes of
the Satcatcher Digipro T Max.
- Thomas haring
Only DVB-T channels can be watched on the TELE-satellite
Test Center
meter‘s display. For analogue TV channels Austria
this option is not available.
TEchNIcAL
DATA
Distributor SatCatcher, Unit 7 Salvesen Way, Hull, East Yorkshire,
UK HU3 4UQ, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 148 222 15 77
3 Email sales@satcatcher.com
Model Digipro T Max
Type Signal Meter for DVB-T, analogue TV,
digital DAB radio, analogue FM radio
Frequency range 46~870 MHz
Level range (cOFDM) 35 dBuV ~ 110 dBuV
Level range (analogue) 25 dBuV ~ 120 dBuV
Level measurement accuracy +/- 2dB
MER 19-32 dB
BER 10E-2 to 10E-8
Demodulation QPSK, 16 QAM, 64 QAM
Input impedance 75 Ohm
Power supply Up to 5 hours without recharge
Supplied items Protective case, fold away sun visor, software CD,
user guide, mains charging unit, car charger,
USB connection cable
4
Dimension 250x120x60mm
Net weight 0.8kg
gross weight 1.6kg
Working temperature 0°C ~ +40°C
Display 3.5“ LCD color display
1. All frequency lists can easily be edited on the PC
2. New frequency lists are added with a single mouse click
3. Same for new frequency entries
4. Once you're done with all your editing the new data are sent back
to the Digipro T Max via USB connection
www.TELE-satellite.com — 06-07/2010 — TELE-satellite — Global Digital TV Magazine 33