Can i replace a Hughes HN9000 with another modem?

I have hughes net, and have not been happy with it, but don't have options in the place I live. (except dialup - which isn't better) Our modem is supposedly bad, as it disconnects or resets itself every few seconds and effectively prevents even cursory browsing or e-mail checking. This is a problem that always existed, but grew worse and worse over time. Now hughes says the modem is bad, and they'll send us a new one for $500 as it is 3 weeks out of warranty - not really an option right now. Is it possible for me to buy something else and hook my satellite into it without consulting with or buying from hughes? Not only do I not want to spend the money, but the HN9000 is fraught with problems, and I don't see why I should try another when nobody is happy with the model. Also not sure that's the source of the problem since the first time I called their Tech support they claimed to test the modem and said it was fine - they told me the cable was bad. I changed it and it didn't help. Second call to TS they said bad modem! Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks