Well more power means more solar cells and bigger batteries.
The number of solar cells that one can fit on the outside of a satellite depends on the size of the satellite. More solar cells means a bigger spacecraft or deployable cells. There is a limit to the size of deployable panels and added complexity risks the mission if they should fail. Bigger spacecraft cost more to build and launch.
The size of the solar panels determines the battery size. Ideally you want a battery that can be fully charged by the solar cells while in sunlight and maintain its charge to a useful level in eclipse. Bigger batteries weigh more and weight pretty much determines how much a satellite costs, particularly the launch costs.
So it pretty much boils down to optimizing the solar panel/battery combination with the size of the spacecraft and the mass lift capability available to us on a launcher.
I am not sure what you mean by extraordinary measures to receive, or what satellite you are trying to receive, but the requirements to receive many satellites is modest. Low loss feedline, helps, as do directional antennas and preamps, but these are all available with modest effort, either through building them yourself or purchasing them. - Duffey
Okay, time for my stupid question of the week.
Why are our sats so low powered? Why don't we have better batteries, solar power systems, or generators?
Seems our sats are so low powered they require extraordinary measures to receive.
Is this an accurate perception?
Dave
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-- KK6MC James Duffey Cedar Crest NM