I have done a lot of work upgrading my Geosat 1.2 meter dish in the past couple of months. It is doubtful that I can get much more signal out of it, but at the end of the day, it is the receiver that really counts.
The AZbox Premium Plus does a decent job but the AZ seems to be down a bit on receiver sensitivity. The AZ signal bars area lot more generous. It is not uncommon to see signal levels at 100 percent with this box using "Official" firmware.
The Optibox Raptor seems to have better sensitivity overall than the Premium Plus, but the Optibox cannot decode 4:2:2 like the Premium Plus can.
Both of the above mentioned receivers will cost 2 or 3 hundred dollars.
The best scanning and transponder hunting receivers that I have do not cost much. The X² and the X7 are the best blindscan receivers that I have.
Listed below are the blind scan results of 34.5W that was done this evening in a light drizzle using the X7.
10985H 44945 (36 TV 0 radio)
Ch-1080 (Color Bars)
10994H 44967 (36 TV 0 Radio)
TEST 1
11095H 30000 (19 TV 7 Radio)
I Tele
11495H 45000 (10 TV 0 Radio)
(All Scrambled)
11555H 30000 (18 TV 0 Radio)
(All Scrambled)
11594H 30000 (21 TV 15 Radio)
France 24
Note: about 10 channels are duplicated on 11594. It does not seem to be a receiver error.
11625H 30000 (21 TV 0 Radio)
(All Scrambled)
11634H 30014 (21 TV 0 Radio)
(All Scrambled)
11675H 30000 (18 TV 5 Radio)
GTV
Total TV = 200
Total Radio = 27 (9 Radio Scrambled, 18 Radio Open)
Having a decent, well tuned antenna system helps, but a dish antenna can only perform as well as the receiver will allow it! EB