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SATELLITE 10 Years Ago TELE
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Alexander Wiese Praxis PocketSat 9500
A couple of months ago, we introduced the handheld receiver (PalmSat) from Praxis. We then made the remark that a digital brother in the same size would be very nice. Praxis read our test very well and indeed developed a digital version of the PalmSat; a small receiver with the size of three packs of cigarettes. We tested the PocketSat 9500 with a multi-feed dish for a longer period. Minor errors in the software were fixed by Praxis within a matter of hours. The included loader for Windows95/98 uploaded new versions without any problem. The dimensions of this box, only 150x38x140mm, make it possible to hide anywhere you want. It operates on a separate power supply. Not just the usual plastic box you may expect,
this one comes in a real metal housing and is a stabilised power supply. It accepts voltages between 90 and 250VAC at 50/60Hz. The front of the receiver features all buttons needed to fully programme it. Of course a remote control is included, but only just in case. The four-digit display shows the programme mode and the actual channel id. The PocketSat 9500 can store up to 3000 TV-channels and 2000 radio channels. The back of the receiver is too small to feature a Scart connector and therefor the developers at Praxis decided to attach a special cable with all necessary connectors (comparable to those used with PCs.) The adapter cable is included of course. Another connector supplies the 0/12V signal. It is even possible to connect a servo polariser with skew function to the adapter cable. Since the PocketSat 9500 is C-band compatible, this option is necessary. Lots of manufacturers tend to forget this. In the Americas and the Far East C-band is very often used, also for digital signals. The truly international approach of this receiver also shows
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in the fact that the RF modulator can not only be switched to any PAL version but also to NTSC-M. There is also an LNB output to connect another (analogue) receiver. Praxis supplies a well-working loader so the box can be upgraded every now and then using the serial interface (9 pins). It may save space, but what about the performance and features of the box? And what about operating it? The multi-lingual, on-screen display for example leaves nothing to be desired. Not in the field of information and not with regard to the graphical user interface. After performing the basic settings (the so-called first installation,) you just pick the satellite(s) you desire from the global listing. All satellites are pre-programmed with transponder data. Of course
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not all channels are stored, simply to prevent the user from being overwhelmed by just too much. Just activate the satellites you want to receive and assign the proper LOF, polariser or 14/18Volt and DiSEqC. Then have an automatic search performed. You can lock out encrypted channels, so you don’t have to delete a whole bunch of channels afterwards. You can choose between having a complete satellite scanned or just one transponder. It is also possible to find one particular channel. The relative signal strength is shown on-screen in a bar graph. We did our first test using a multi-feed installation looking at the most critical signals, since Praxis specifies a symbol rate between 1.7 and 45Msym/ s. There were no problems with low-symbol rate SCPC channels, the auto search found them.