I would go to this site: http://oscar.dcarr.org/index.php
Click on the satellite names, such as AO-51, etc. That links to the 'home' page of each satellite, and gives you a lot of information.
As far as what sats are easy to hit with minimum antenna equipment - it depends on what you mean by minimum. You have a great radio to start with; however don't expect to get good results if you are using only a vertical. Check the recent posts on this reflector about Arrow and Elk antennas. While those are typically handheld, you can mount them permanently.
Feel free to email me directly if you'd like more information, I'll be listening for you on the birds.
73 de W4AS Sebastian
On Jan 1, 2009, at 10:42 AM, Marc wrote:
Hello all and Happy New Year, I hate to sound like such a Newbie, but I know how hard it was figuring out some of the nuances of FM and SSB voice birds with no experience in Sats. Asking for help would have cut down my learning cure immensely. The learning curve can be tough when doing something new with the assistance of old data. So rather than going through that again, I am going to ask for help. I have just rewired my old Kantronics all mode TNC to my FT-847 and have been watching some local APRS data packets. I think I am ready to see what is available on Sats. What are the Sats that I can hear and TX to in the 2m/440 freqs that, are easy to hit with minimum antenna equipment? N1SDH Marc