WiFi USB Adapter for a T2 Receiver and a Small Modification

A while ago, I published a review of a T2 receiver, and we also talked about how its functionality could be expanded a little by adding WiFi to the usual features. The problem was that receivers don't work with just any adapter, and my experiment with two "guinea pigs" confirmed that. During the discussion, someone told me which chip the adapter needed to use for the T2 receiver to "see" it. So I bought one and decided to put together a short review and report.


All this "dancing around with a tambourine" is because the driver database for T2 receivers is very limited. Unlike computers, where you can install additional drivers, here you're stuck with the limited selection of adapters available, or you have to somehow modify the receiver's software—which I seriously doubt is even possible.


I chose a model whose product page explicitly claimed it was compatible with T2 receivers, and the happy customers' reviews confirmed it. The adapter costs $2.98, though with paid shipping it came to $4.17. Still, that's not too much to pay for the ability to watch not only over-the-air channels but online video as well.

Some time later, I picked up a little envelope from the post office with the adapter packed in a blister pack.


The package is simple: the adapter, a driver disc, and instructions printed on the packaging.


It looks like an ordinary adapter. There's an activity indicator next to the USB connector: it flashes blue during data transfer and stays on when idle.


The antenna is long, about 15–17 cm. Including the adapter and connector, that makes the advertised 20–21 cm.


I was curious whether there was actually a full-size antenna inside, but the reality was much harsher: most of it is just plastic :(


The actual antenna is just a short, thin wire.


For those who don't know what a proper antenna looks like inside, here's the one that came with another device, which I also plan to review soon.


I wasn't happy with this situation, but not because the antenna's sensitivity would be too low. The long rod simply isn't needed here and would only get in the way.
So I decided to shorten the housing a little. By my estimate, 70 mm of plastic was unnecessary.


It's simple from here: I cut off the excess with a knife, then use a drill to widen the first 15 mm of the inside a little; otherwise, it simply won't fit over the adapter.


The result is a perfectly decent, not-too-long antenna. Personally, I think it looks better and neater this way.


I forgot to mention: the antenna only swivels 90 degrees relative to the housing, which isn't much. In some situations, the long antenna could have been a real nuisance.


On the TV receiver, it ends up pointing away from the antenna connector.


Before moving on to tests with the receiver, I'll check how it works with a computer.
When I plugged it in, I got a message saying the device wasn't recognized and drivers were required.


All right, let's go online and download drivers for the Ralink adapter, identified by its VID&PID.
The first drivers didn't help at all, and right away I spotted the familiar botched translation that many users of these adapters will recognize.
I uninstall the driver and try a newer version, which, by the way, has proper Russian-language text.


No luck.
Sure, I could have dug a DVD drive out of the closet, hooked it up with a SATA-to-USB adapter, and installed everything from the original disc, but somehow that... wouldn't be sporting.


So I go online again and download Ralink RT5370 drivers for adapters... TPlink installed without any problems at all :)


There are hardly any adapter settings, or maybe I'm just spoiled by more "advanced" devices.
By the way, Ralink's official drivers are very convenient. If I wanted to use this adapter with a computer, I'd install only those.


Overall, its sensitivity is slightly above average. In scan mode, it found 42 access points, two of which were mine: the main router and an additional one operating as a repeater.
Yes, this adapter only works on the 2.4 GHz band.


The speed barely changes with the distance between the adapter and router within a large room: about 35-45 Mbps at both one and five meters.


Next, tests with the target device, a T2 tuner.
The adapter worked without any problems. In the settings, I selected one of my access points, and it connected as soon as I entered the password.


Now let's open the tuner's network applications menu


1, 2. FTP. I can't really test it, but trying to update the software didn't do anything.
3-6. Weather. A big disappointment—it doesn't work. I also noticed an "quirk" of this T2 tuner: the English keyboard layout is the familiar QWERTY, but in Russian the letters are simply arranged alphabetically, which takes some getting used to.
The only software setting is the option to choose how the temperature is displayed.


1, 2. Google Maps. They don't work, and there are hardly any settings—just the language and map type.
3-6. Megogo. It loads a list of movies, TV series, and other content, along with their previews, but won't play anything. Too bad.


YouTube. Things are noticeably better here: there are settings for region, quality (HDSD), and content category.


I tried watching different channels from different categories, and it worked without any problems. There may occasionally be a little stuttering, but it's barely noticeable. I'd give its performance a B+.


But trying to play a music video had mixed results. First, I found that searches are filtered by category. For example, if you search for Insomnia in the general category, it suggests videos about insomnia; if you search in the music category, it takes you to the corresponding music video.
But either way, trying to watch a video ends with an error message, and the vast majority of attempts to play music videos do the same.
After that, I just searched for Modern. It showed Modern Talking videos, which played without any problems. But just as I was getting excited, it turned out that you can't watch all of them here either. Why? A mystery.


IPTV. In my opinion, it's no less important than YouTube.
1, 2. By default, there's just one test option, and it works.
3, 4. Then, quite literally by chance, I found a link to an m3u playlist of movies online, downloaded it, copied it to a flash drive, and added the playlist using the tuner's built-in tools.


The playlist had around 600-700 movies. Obviously, I didn't check them all; I tried a dozen or so and found a few things worth noting:
1. You can fast-forward at up to 32x speed
2. You can slow the video down to either 2x or 4x speed, though I think that's less important
3. After fast-forwarding, it takes some time (about a minute, depending on how far you skipped ahead) for the video and audio to sync up.
4. Sometimes the picture gets corrupted after seeking, but then recovers.
5. There's no way to seek by set intervals, such as one minute. Also, the picture freezes while seeking, so it's impossible to tell where you'll end up.
6. It doesn't remember where you stopped watching.


Overall, though, you can watch movies. Performance is hit or miss: some play perfectly, while others stutter, and the controls leave a lot to be desired. To top it off, I ran into another problem: my TV remote uses the same command system as the tuner remote, which adds even more "fun".


I noticed that the tuner runs a little hotter with the adapter connected. After half an hour, the case temperature was around 55-60 degrees. The adapter itself was warm, but when I unplugged it, the USB connector was very hot. I was already starting to suspect the tuner was heating it up that much. It later turned out that the tuner itself was heating up, since I had the same issue when connecting it to a USB hub.


After testing, I can say I have no complaints about the adapter—except for the fake oversized antenna. The TV box detects it without any problems, it works reliably, and reception is good. The speed is a little on the slow side, but the tuner can't handle a high data rate anyway, so it's more than adequate for this use.
You can also use it as a computer adapter, but for that I'd look for something faster, preferably with 5 GHz support. Otherwise, I liked everything about it. Most importantly, the adapter really is compatible with the tuner.

As for using the tuner itself, it's not great. Obviously, that's not the adapter's fault; it's down to the tuner's software, and things might be noticeably better with a different tuner. I just expected a bit more.
YouTube and IPTV both work, which already expands the tuner's capabilities considerably, but I'd also like weather and Megogo. The controls aren't very convenient either, especially navigating through a movie, and there's no way to resume playback from where you left off last time.

That's all for today. I hope you found the review useful, and as always, I'll be glad to answer your questions and read your comments.