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03-04/2015
sparos
54 TELE-audiovision International — The World‘s Leading Digital TV Industry Publication — 03-04/2015 —
TEST REPORT Professional Meter for Digital TV
The Meter Serious Antenna
Installers have been Longing for
Spaun Sparos 711
Touchscreen meter
optimised for professional antenna
installers and technicians
You might think you’ve seen
it all, but then Spaun comes
along with its new Sparos 711
meter. In TELE-audiovision
issues 08-09/2009 and 04-
05/2012 we were full of praise
for the Spaun Sparos 609 and
the Spaun SAT HD meters, but
when we received Spaun’s lat-
est meter offering at our test
center we knew right away
that this manufacturer would
take signal measurement to a
whole new level.
Hidden inside the cardboard
box is an elegant-looking
metal transport case with the
Spaun logo prominently dis-
played on the outside. This
makes sure customers know
right away that the techni-
cian they have booked is seri-
ous about his or her business
and does not rely on no-name
technical equipment, but
rather uses a top-notch me-
ter from a well-established
manufacturer of TV reception
technology.
So let’s look inside the
metal case: Protected by all-
round padding there it is, the
brand new Spaun Sparos 711.
Even at first sight, it looks dif-
ferent from all other current
meters, as it could almost be
described as a slightly over-
weight tablet computer. Its
touchscreen measures 10
inches and comes with a res-
olution of 1200 x 800 pixels,
which is unusually high by
meter standards. Thanks to
its comparably flat design this
meter is genuinely convenient
to operate and sports all con-
nection options you may ever
require. Seriously? Yes! HF
has not cut any corners when
it comes to usability.
In addition, the metal case
holds the external power sup-
ply unit with corresponding
power cord, a carrying strap,
an additional BNC adapter as
well as an external USB mem-
ory stick. The latter provides
a full-scale operating manual
as PDF and software that can
be used to create and man-
age memory banks in the me-
ter’s built-in memory. A very
handy rucksack-shaped cloth
bag is also shipped with the
meter and its transport case.
Using it allows installers to
have both hands free when-
ever they need to carry the
Spaun Sparos 711 to some of
those trickier locations that
require climbing a ladder, for
example.There is some simi-
larity between the Spaun 711
and the Spaun 609: Both are
covered by plastic padding
that not only protects the me-
ter against falls or bumps but
also increases ease-of-use.
But that’s not all. The user in-
terface of both devices follows
the same underlying concept,
so that existing users of the
Spaun 609 can easily switch
to the new 711 model without
a great deal of familiarisation
required. It’s also interesting
to note that despite its huge
screen and the wide range of
additional features and func-
tions the Spaun Sparos 711
is significantly smaller than
its 609 predecessor. Its low
height and reduced weight
are two decisive factors that
turn it into such a pleasant
input, ASI input and output,
USB A/B, HDMI, RJ-45, card
reader, the whole lot. What’s
more, it is possible to pro-
vide DC voltage to antenna
systems through the HF input
socket – Spaun apparently