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A while back, I decided to get a receiver to compliment the Pansat and needed an upgrade for the Viacast. The Viacast is a nice unit (see my review for more info), but its limitations made me decide to get a new receiver. I didn't need nothing fancy, but wanted more for the money. The KUSat 2600 is the answer.

Compact in size but big on features is the best way to describe this unit. The unit has features usually seen only on higher priced units, like s-video output, digital audio output, and can control a motor.

When I first got it, the thing I noticed is the size. This thing is tiny. It easily fit in the spot above the VCR I planned on using it with. I hooked it up to Galaxy 10 and turned it on. Very easy to set up. Go into the antenna install and enter the info, depending on your setup. Since the dish is fixed, all I had to enter was the LO frequency and if I had a DiSEqC switch. Since I didn't have a switch, I exited out. The neat thing is there are 2 LO frequencies to enter. Most of the itme it's the same, but if you have a C/KU LNB, you can enter both in there. If you have a universal LNB, it automatically enters the LO frequency.

The unit has a very current list of transponders in it. The unit does not have a blind scan, but you can add transponders very easily. I added a couple TP's and deleted some extras (the C-Band ones). You can scan either all or FTA only. I said "FTA only" and let it do its magic. In less than a minute, I had my channels in the unit and was on my way. The picture is very clear (better than the Viacast) and it has a bar at the bottom with the channel number, name, date, time (yes, the time is accurate) and the transponder frequency.

I decided to add a DBS LNB to the mix for Nimiq 1. I went to Nimiq 1 and entered the info (LO frequency and DiSEqC switch) and hit "FTA only". All 32 TP's were in there, so I didn't need to do any adding. When I got done, I had 9 video and 30 audio. This was great, because when I use the Pansat it puts some dummy channels in (resulting in deleting 100 channels). I was happy that I can scan DBS satellites, without having to spend a half hour after deleting dummy channels.

The unit does have a digital audio output, but sadly doesn't do AC-3 (so no PBS for me)

It does allow you to control a motor, but I didn't want to goof up my existing motor setup. I knew I wasn't using a motor with this, so I decided against testing it out. But the fact it controls a motor is another plus (in case I get a second motor).

Some features on the unit are
-s-video output
-digital audio output
-EPG guide (only can get it to work on the ExpressVu free channels...doesnt work normally)
-Clock (that keeps accurate time)
-timers (you can set it to turn on and off which is great because the time will make sure it fires)
-can control a motor
-easy to operate menu
-bright yellow signal meter (turns from grey to yellow when a signal is detected)

-easy to add transponders
-can scan all or just FTA
-can scroll though channel list
-can loop out to another receiver
-can delete channels one by one, by transponder, by satellite or all (This is my favorite feature)

Only flaws I've found
-no blind scan (but I knew that coming in)
-meter doesn't move much (it said 98 when I had a 98 or a 70 signal)
-wait time...the unit has 4 digits, so if you want channel 23, you can either go 0-0-2-3 or 2-3. But if you go 2-3, you have to wait a couple seconds. If you hit "OK", it jumps to 23, but brings the channel list up.

All and all, it's a great unit for a great price. On a 1-10 scale, I give it a 9. Other than the fact it doesn't do a blind scan, the unit is great for a beginner or as an additional receiver. You can pick it up at www.kusat.com