TM-5200 D USB Super

James B. Spink

at 4:58 am

With the exception of Sky boxes the Technomate TM-5200 is the first satellite receiver I’ve bought in over 15 years. The market and programmes available have changed a lot over that period! When I had Sky Digital fitted in the late nineties I kept my original 60cm dish pointing at Astra 19.2E and used my old Nokia analogue receiver to listen to the service from Radio Caroline. When they moved to digital only I then just switched the receiver on a couple of times a year to check that it still worked OK.

I bought a new TV last year and I was then able to connect up a lot more video equipment than previously – I connected the Nokia and it still worked, proving the old LNB was OK, so I decided to upgrade to a digital box for the current Astra 1 services. There was a completely new range of brands and specs available than when I had last looked and I had not heard of Technomate before. However, their range of receivers got very good reviews in the satellite press and the TM-5200 looked like a good entry level product.

Although it is only the basic model in Technomate’s 5000 series I have been very impressed with the range of features the 5200 offers – far more than I’ll ever use! The rest of the range is based on the tuner included in this model but all offer additional features – card readers etc – to suit your viewing requirements. Although not quite plug & play the TM-5200 is very easy to set up and has a lot of channel information included in its easily upgradable software. There are a number of ways to scan the satellite or satellites you are interested in and it is all very straightforward with a user-friendly menu system. The TV and Radio channels are then stored in separate lists in the receivers huge memory.

Some of the menus need a PIN to be entered first and if you haven’t read the book at that point the default is 0000. The unit offers a number of ways to connect to your TV – I’m Just using a SCART with RGB output and auto switching and get very good video and audio on my Sony Bravia TV. Technomate have the full spec for this model on their website and is worth checking out if you need a specific feature. The TM-5200 is easy to use for a beginner and has enough features to keep an enthusiast interested. It is quite a small box, available in black or silver, which has a basic LED display showing either channel number or time if left in standby, and has minimal controls on the front panel.

Priced very reasonably at less than half of what I paid for my Nokia analogue box many years ago, I would highly recommend the Technomate TM-5200, and if you need extra features check out one of their more expensive models.

Rating: 5 / 5