Removing the plastic wouldn't help... The DP LNBFs (an LNBF is an LNB with the feedhorn integrated, all one piece) are designed for offset dishes (dishes such as regular DirecTV or Dish dishes where the feedhorn is below the dish, and the signal is bounced from the dish reflector down to the feedhorn). The SD180G is a prime focus dish (the feedhorn is directly centered over the dish). That is why the regular Dish LNBFs won't work ideally with the SD180G without using a feedhorn designed to work properly with a prime focus dish (such as the Invacom ADF-120). While the regular DP Dish LNBF would probably work, it would reduce the effective size of the 6 foot dish considerably. That's why its better to use a two piece LNB/feedhorn combo, the flanged DP LNB from a Superdish coupled with the Invacom ADF-120 prime focus feedhorn.