To face the technological challenges of the plein air of the third millennium, the Brianza-based Mobiltech decided to focus strongly on innovation, trying to introduce elements of exclusivity. After the experience with the Mobilsat + satellite antenna, Mobiltech has decided to carry out a completely new project and, in the style of the company, easily recognizable. After admiring the first models on display at the Salone del Camper in Parma, we went to the brand new production facilities in Bovisio Masciago, where another surprise awaited us, which we will tell you about.
Cutting-edge technologies
A product that wants to make its way must offer innovative technical and stylistic contents to combine concreteness and usability. We therefore wanted to deepen the characteristics and peculiarities of an accessory such as the new Mobilsat antenna, which in various respects is ahead of its time.
What You See
What is immediately perceived is the design, once again truly unique: entirely made in Italy, the Mobilsat antenna does not go unnoticed especially for the pentagonal profile dish. The latter, made of aluminum with a “diameter” of 68 cm, is the result of a project by Fracarro – European leader in the sector of audio-video-data systems – aimed at creating a compact dish that at the same time guaranteed a more protected from interference and more efficient for receiving HD programs. Even the arm that holds the dish, as well as the cover and the chassis that contains the mechanics and the gears for the aiming, have a simple and clean design; but it is when they are taken in hand that one realizes that we are in the presence of something particular.
And the metal is gone
None of the three details we have just mentioned are made of metal. Someone will start to turn up their noses, but after having touched them with your hand as we did not you realize that you are dealing with three truly hi-tech pieces. To make these structural parts, in fact, composite materials were used in which the resin is filled with variable percentages of glass and carbon fiber. The result? Low specific weight and strength increased by 30% compared to die-cast aluminum, with an aesthetic appearance that has little to envy to metal creations.
Under The Body
Having exposed the mechanical part, we appreciated the rationality and simplicity of the gears, all made of metal, and the strength of the plate that houses the pin on which the parabola arm is pivoted. Here we appreciated an interesting construction feature that allows, thanks to a through pin, to disconnect the arm that holds the dish with two simple tools without even having to open the chassis. In the event of an emergency, the antenna can therefore be closed with a procedure that is easy to perform, fast and immediately reversible.
In Reception
A satellite antenna can be built sturdy but it must also do its job, that is, pick up the signal from the chosen satellite. To check the quality and facility of satellite reception, we went outside the Mobiltech headquarters where a Mobilsat was mounted on the roof of a Carthago T-plus. We are talking about a full-auto satellite with sixteen pre-installed and four programmable satellites, which has a DVB-S2 control unit and a touch control display.
The user interface of the latter is simple and intuitive, and with a single touch the antenna is positioned on the selected satellite. The functions are complete but the icing on the cake is in the unique self-learning modes. Without the need for cables or internet connections, the device can be updated by the user via the display. Thanks to the exclusive Smart Scan and Satedit functions, you can update or add new satellites in the KU band even without knowing the transmission data because it is the antenna itself that downloads the complete list of transponders and displays the thirty most powerful ones, among which you are then free. to choose for subsequent automatic targeting.
Wherever you are in the world, just that there is coverage of the desired satellite and that’s it. After having “fiddled” with the display too we can assure you that it is easier to do than to tell about oneself; the result is truly amazing. As for ordinary reception, a simple Hotbird 13E for example, the Mobilsat proved to be fast and quiet, with impeccable signal quality. Finally, the purchase price should not be underestimated, which should be competitive.
A Divine Generator
The gem of our visit to Mobiltech was the Zeus 150, the revolutionary 12V current generator admired in preview in Parma, which is no longer just a refined project developed in synergy with the CNR and Eberspàcher but a functional object, operational and close to industrialization.
What It Is And How It Works
In theory, the idea is simple and takes advantage of the thermoelectric effect discovered by physicist Thomas Seebeck in which a circuit consisting of metal conductors or semiconductors subjected to a specific temperature difference generates electricity. The efficiency of this system is not very high but, thanks to the internal burner developed by Eberspàcher on the basis of the H2 model that equips the Hydronic and the use of some very high technology thermoelectric plates produced in the United States of America, the Zeus succeeds to produce up to 150Wh of electricity with noise levels, fuel consumption (diesel fuel was opted for for convenience) and record emissions.
It can be integrated with any photovoltaic panels that may be present and able to manage two batteries of any type even with BMS, the Zeus 150 is durable and reliable: not for nothing its technology is the one that powers the Voyager probe, which started in 1977 and still in business.
As we mentioned, industrialization is now on the home straight and we will soon make you aware of one of the first official installations. In conclusion, at Mobiltech they focused on two very different products but both with high technological content, of which the Zeus, winner of numerous awards and recipient of important European funding, seems to be the standard-bearer of future ways of understanding the holiday en plein air. . More and more hi-tech and environmentally friendly.
Giovanni Battista Bertolani
