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TELE-audiovision International — The World‘s Leading Digital TV Industry Publication
— 03-04/2015
—
TELE-audiovision.comchannels as well as EPG and
teletext. In order to verify
the measurement accuracy of
the Spaun Sparos 711 we set
up two test series. First, we
led a calibrated source signal
to the meter and measured
that signal with different fre-
quencies. Next, we compared
the results from a number of
measurements with those of
two reference meters.
The Spaun Sparos 711
achieves remarkably high
measurement accuracy. The
HF input alone lends proof to
the huge efforts the develop-
ers have made to design a
top-quality device. A sort of
divider that is part of the cas-
ing shields the HF input from
the rest of the meter and its
potentially interfering elec-
tronic components. This is
only one of many seemingly
small details that ultimately
lead to such high measure-
ment precision. We tested
this meter for weeks and
regular readers know that we
push all devices to the limits,
but still we were surprised by
the capacity of the battery. It
seemed we could use it forev-
er before we had to recharge
it. Spaun specifies the battery
as having enough capacity for
up to four hours of continu-
ous operation, but when we
tried that out for ourselves
we could hardly believe what
happened: The battery is ac-
tually much stronger than
that and depending on the op-
erating mode will last through
the better part of eight or
even ten hours. Unbelievable
and sure to break any record
in the meter world. Quite
frankly, this alone would be
a compelling argument for
rushing out and getting the
Sparos 711. After all, noth-
ing is more frustrating than
a meter running out of power
right in the middle of a major
job that needs to be finished
on time. With the Spaun Spa-
ros 711 you won’t need mains
or a car charger on an aver-
age working day, and we can-
not praise the manufacturer
highly enough for offering
its latest meter with so much
stamina.
The USB storage medium
that comes with the meter
includes PC software by the
name of SPAROS Organizer.
It can be used to edit and
manage all transponder and
protocol lists right on the PC,
even though – quite frankly
– those jobs can be accom-
plished almost as seamlessly
right on the touchscreen me-
ter as well. In general, Spaun
has devised a very contempo-
rary concept for integrating a
PC. We are used to physically
connecting meters to a PC
using the USB or RS-232 in-
terfaces, but with the Spaun
Sparos 711 all you need is the
included USB storage medi-
um. Simply export all current
settings onto the USB stick,
which is then connected to
the PC running the SPAROS
Organizer software. All data
can then be freely edited on
the PC and when you are done
DVB-C
Measurement
45. The Spaun Sparos 711
can be set up to deal with
repetitive tasks. This can be
done by calling up the Auto Set
function and entering the target
modulations as well as all other
parameters for the transponder
search.
46. Here the Spaun Sparos 711
has been set up for a DVB-C
search. We did not have to deal
with additional specifics such
as symbol rates, for example.
The Spaun Sparos 711 finds
out all data by itself, and it’s
extremely quick too!
47. As soon as the transponder