high five:
I am not sure why so much emphasis is put on LNBs.
Manufacturers' specifications in many cases seem to be written by washing powder salesman and claims become wildly inaccurate.
If anyone wants to improve their signal and quality the real answer is not in the LNB but a bigger dish. The gain in doing so is a multiplication of any real gain from an LNB.
I couldn't agree more - :up
But, with any given dish, you'd like a passable LNB.
I've played around with both Invacom and bargain basement LNBs.
Sometimes it's just comforting to know you didn't spend the car payment on a spare, or an LNB to do some experiments with.
I got some for about $7 from IvyStonePlace a few years ago, (supposedly surplus from Sky Mexico production) and they seemed fine.
I sent one to Linuxman and after evaluating it, he got more and outfitted several dishes.
(pictures:
87° & 97°,
123° & 129°)
As for close spacing, I've seen the GeoSat Mini (or bullet) at quite attractive prices on the web.
While the above were certainly modestly priced, they did perform well.
What's my point? I guess you pay your money and take your chances.
If you get burned, try others. Some are quite good!
Check our Hardware Review department, and contribute to it if you get a new toy. - :up