Now no longer needed, here is a fully functional digital satellite finder.
What do these things do and how might you use one?
Their primary purpose is as an aid to the professional for satellite dish installation and setup, providing data on the correct elevation/azimuth (where the dish is pointed) to receive the best possible signals from the satellite.
But this can be used for much more interesting past times - I used this unit to "scan the sky". Like those old days of DX radio, where the listener tries to find distant/hard to hear radio stations on the shortwaves usually but also higher frequencies for specialised "DXer's"
This little piece of equipment lets you do the same sort of thing but listening to the satellite channels and it can be VERY interesting! Not only are there the "free to air" digital television channels but interesting "control channels" and "chat channels" for use by broadcasters.
Note that if encryption is being used by the user of a channel, this equipment will NOT overcome or decode the encryption - it will only provide audio and/or video for FTA channels (free to air)
Think of this equipment as a tiny satellite television receiver, it has a built in screen and speaker so you can watch and hear the audio of the channel you are listening to. It also has a jack socket so you can send out the audio/video (standard analog video) to external equipment - it gets a bit tough watching the small colour LCD screen.
Satlink Satellite Test Equipment
Professional Satellite Finder
Model WS 6906
Fully DVB compliant
Small but functional colour LCD display (70mm wide x 50mm high)
Built in audio capable
AV output socket
Switchable LNB 13/18V supply
Portable - has its own long life battery
Reasonably lightweight at 400g
TECHNICAL INFORMATION:
Symbol rate: 2Mbps ~ 45Mbps capable
Signal level capture range: 65dbm ~ 25dbm
RF frequency range: 950Mhz ~ 2150Mhz (from the dish LNC)
Supported video formats: PAL, NTSC, SECAM
SCPC and MCPC Capable
Spectral inversion
Auto conversion
Auto Re-Calibration Due To The Unique Calibration System Built in to the Finder.
Automatically Calculates Dish Angles And Settings Based On Your Longitude And Latitude.
Each time the meter boots up it automatically calibrates for optimum performance so you can align each install with confidence.
All Transponders, Frequency, Symbol Rate, Polarity, and other settings can be modified by the user.
Software can be updated via the built in USB port (Menu option and choose the password 0000 when asked)
Support is available for this model (Manual and Software downloads) at the Australian website http://www.sat-link.com.au/satlink/ws-6906.htm
Main WS 6906 Unit
Measurements:
160mm length x 90mm wide x 50mm high
Weight: 400g (with the Lithium battery installed)
Provided with the equipment are the following items:
Original carry case
12V 1.5A charger plug pack (240V input with Australian standard plug)
Printed User instruction manual - this equipment is pretty easy to navigate without the manual but for some functions it can be very handy to have the manual at hand.
AV lead for the output to external devices (audio and analog video)
RF lead to connect from the antenna LNB output (either at the dish or more likely, within the home or "shack") to this equipment. It is not a special cable but useful so you can get the equipment up and running ASAP.
NOT provided are these items:
Outer case wrist band carry strap - unable to find it
USB to DB9 data cable (used to update the software via the USB port) - again I cannot locate this cable, I don't think I have ever used it
COSMETIC CONDITION:
Very clean, all labelling on the buttons is clear and easy to read
NO cracks or other damage to the LCD screen
NO cracks or other damage to the casing
LCD screen protective sheet (from when it was new) remains in place, I saw no need to remove this so it has stayed in place
TESTING:
Test setup, Optus dish installed at my premises
Previously also used with my large C band steerable dishes when I had time for my hobby of satellite DXing
This equipment was used by myself for some very interesting exploration of satellite communications "whats out there" type of thing, lots of fun but no time for that hobby any longer. Of course it was also extremely useful to setup the dishes in the first place! This is afterall it's primary purpose.
LCD screen is small, have no doubt about that, but the colours a good and the definition is also surprisingly good - it does the job! The on-screen menu is even smaller and a bit tough to read (at least for me with "tired" eyes) but this is just a limitation of the design.
Audio quality is good from the equipment, clear and without distortion - don't forget you could also use this as a receiver for the radio channels broadcast by the satellites, feed this into some decent external audio equipment and have a nice "radio only" setup.
All buttons function exactly as intended
The Lithium battery (underneath the rear cover - remove two small screws) is large and appears to be perfectly fine. I charged it for 12 hours (it had been sitting in our storage units for quite a while) and have been testing it all day (around 5 hours "on" time) with no issues noticed. There is a LED on the front panel to indicate battery issues and if ever the battery needs replacing, it is a "plug in" type, no need to desolder anything.
First up I selected specific satellite details, just to make sure that side of the equipment was working. Then I setup the equipment to make a broad scan of the satellite and provide me with a list of channels - no problems at all.
Next I select a specific channel and made sure I had a good solid video/audio signal, doing this across a number of channels.
When a satellite channel is "good to go", the equipment will display a blue LED on the front panel (locked)
There are no issues with any of the functions, everything is performing exactly as it should.
Please note, if this equipment is being shipped, I will only ship it with the battery plug pulled out (as a safety precaution) - this is a large battery and if a short occurred then a LOT of current is going to flow and possibly cause a fire - shipping companies do not like this!
