Techsat Tracker II+ 0.2db LNB

[Mr Tony]

Had the privilege of trying out a new LNB (always like to try new stuff). This is a TechSAT Tracker II+ LNB from WS International (wsidigital.com) that works really well. I had tried out the Tracker I a while back and liked that so I was hoping to get the same results with the Tracker II. I would not be let down.

When I took it out of the box I noticed it is a rather small LNB and it is also a Standard so it should work fine in any setup. Although the color of the LNB is red. But I guess the color will have to do. I have a .4 LNB on my motorized so I took the signals from various satellites and then went up and swapped out the LNB ot the Tracker II+. Went through the arc and was VERY happy with the results. The Tracker II+ says a noise figure of .2db and you can see the results. Compared to the .4 I had, I gained a couple points across the board. But what made the LNB shine was that the signal was stable. I was using my Pansat 1500 which has a very spazzy meter. On other LNB's I tried, the signal would go from 60-75 back to 62 back to 76 etc. The TechSat did keep the meter more stable. Yes it bounced but not as much which would make aiming a dish easier.

So Now I tried it on my T90 dish. First thing I did was try 103 and its crazy skew. I was very impressed with the results. The news feeds on 103 are at lower power than some of the other channels and the Techsat pulled in 3 feeds stable that a couple other LNB's could not (one was a .4 and one was a .3). I then went to IA5 and gave me very good results. I tried AMC3 and AMC9 with great results. I had two other LNB's that are a .3 and the Techsat not only gave me a few extra quality points across the board but also made the meter more stable which was very nice to see.

I could sit here and type up every satellite and the results between the existing LNB and the Techsat but that would just waste space and time. You will see a few points gain on each satellite. Some feeds came in more stable with the Techsat and the existing channels it gained between 1-5 points on the Pansat

Specs
Input Frequency-11.7-12.2
LNB LO 10750
Noise Figure 0.2db
Single output

All and all I am very happy with the results and now have 2 of these set up on the T90. With its smaller size and stability on the meter, these are a keeper...now if we could do something with that red color

 

[stogie5150]

Hey man I LIKE the red color! :up


Nice review, BTW.:up

 

[Woofle]

My first reaction on seeing the bright red plastic was -- this must be a toy!

Apparently, as your review shows, it pays to have an open mind and not judge things too much by their looks.

 

[updatelee]

whats with all these super nice new lnb's all being single output ? how many users now days only have one ird ?

 

[Mr Tony]

My first reaction on seeing the bright red plastic was -- this must be a toy!

Apparently, as your review shows, it pays to have an open mind and not judge things too much by their looks.

I had the same thought. In fact, for fun I busted one open (took the cover off) and its some good metal inside I was very happy with the results

whats with all these super nice new lnb's all being single output ? how many users now days only have one ird ?

I'm wondering the same thing.

 

[turbosat]

but it clashes with my gray dishes

Iceberg that looks like it would pop right in on these primestar dishes' lnb-holders, correct size for that??

 

[Mr Tony]

nope. It has a 40mm throat and when you crack open the case there is very little room for a 20mm throat inside. The guts of the LNB are right up against the eye.

 

[Woofle]

Just ordered one Seems like it has more gain than most, as well as a lower noise figure.

Not sure about the phase noise vs. invacom, but at its price it's too cheap not to try.

 

[Anole]

but it clashes with my gray dishes

I heard that, brother -
Maybe it'd go better with a bright-white Fortec dish...naw, red just doesn't work for me.
And it'd probably scare the hell out of your local lizard population.
They'd think the big ones had moved in and were threatening them!

Just ordered one ...
... at its price it's too cheap not to try.

Oh, I remember this site!
It's the one where you have to play guess-the-price!
What's the matter, can't they post a price... you have to request one?
What if I don't want them to have my mailing address?

I sure hope the LNB is worth it.

 

[WSInternational]

:up Good Job Iceberg....

Oh, I remember this site!
It's the one where you have to play guess-the-price!
What's the matter, can't they post a price... you have to request one?
What if I don't want them to have my mailing address?

In fact, we do have prices posted. But it's not posted for the general public. If you have a reseller account with us, you can log in to see all the prices for all of our products. I don't think resellers would be very happy if we posted all the prices for the general public.

 

[Larry1]

Is there any plans on developing a dual output version of the Techsat Tracker II+ ?

 

[WSInternational]

The dual version is being worked on. It's hard to keep the low NF and keep the LNBF stable at the same time, specially on a dual.

Keep an eye on satelliteguys.us or our website, once released, I'm sure Iceberg will be one of the first to test it out!

 

[Mr Tony]

good to know about the dual version. I moved one of them on the T90 to 97W today and saw a couple point gain over my older one

 

[Stargazer]

I wondered how long it would take for the 0.2 db lnb to come out. I wonder how much longer it will take for the 0.1 db lnb to come out.

 

[Larry1]

The dual version is being worked on. It's hard to keep the low NF and keep the LNBF stable at the same time, specially on a dual.

Keep an eye on satelliteguys.us or our website, once released, I'm sure Iceberg will be one of the first to test it out!

With the great performance/review of the single from Iceburg, I'm looking forward to when the dual comes out.

 

[kraftwerk76]

Techsat Tracker II+ Results. A+!

--Hi, all. Lately I had been having trouble with my Motorola DSR-922 4DTV receiver on the KU side/X4 satellite. Lately, either nothing had been coming in, or I was getting several channels with the same program on them. Anyway, I decided to just buy a new LNBF, hoping that was the problem (doesn't hurt to have a spare LNBF anyway). Lo and behold it WAS the LNBF and NOT the 922 receiver.

--The LNBF I purchased was a "Techsat Tracker II+" (Standard, not Universal) distributed by WS International, with a noise figure of .2dB. The first thing I notice is how red in color is really is, haha. Just for the heck of it, I weighed it. The old LNBF (.4dB noise figure) weighed 4 and 1/2 ounces. The Techsat Tracker II+ weighs 3 and 3/4 ounces. Basically, I weighed them just for the heck of it, but I figure the less amount of weight on the LNBF holder, the better, even if it is only 3/4 of an ounce less.

--I did a signal quality test on the IA5 satellite (using my Mercury II) and X4 (on Motorola DSR-922 4DTV), and both receivers realized a 15 point gain in signal quality, which is better than my old LNBF ever had. I recommend this LNBF to anyone who needs an upgrade to their old and/or ailing LNBF. In fact, tomorrow, I am ordering two more for a friend. Great price and performance....but I plan to paint it white.

 

[Mr Tony]

never thought about painting them. The red is still oddball for a LNB color

 

[WSInternational]

Odd color for sure, but it performs like a champ. Painting it is OK, just make sure you get none of the paint on the front cover of the LNB or the coaxial cable. If you get paint on the coaxial cable, you'll probably have to replace the cable after about 6 or 7 months.

 

[ng54]

Anybody compare the Tracker to Invacom;

 

[DiscoLoveGrapes]

Just wanted to update and give a second opinion here.

I received this LBNF off an auction for under $20, and if you're struggling with choppy signals on a 30" dish - this may give you a boost. Within minutes I had this on in place of my Fortec .4 and saw small differences on my Fortec Lifetime Ultra. The channels on G25, usually 60%, were around 70% and one or two TPs that were at 49% made it up to 60%.

However, it was on some of the other satellites I had the best help. The Equity muxes on G10r went from barely 40% on 11799 and 49% on 11720 jumped to 60% and 70% respectively. I've yet to have issues with those TPs again. The PBSes on AMC21, almost always at 45-49 before are now above 60%.

If you're stuck with a bare minimum sized-dish, give it a try. At $20-30, it may be the cheapest, easiest solution to your setup to pull in some of the trickier signals.