Hi Stephen

You are in a unique position being in Leicester as you have the National Space Museum on your doorstep. If you make contact with the on site radio station, they have a Satellite setup and I am sure you would find someone who would help. Have a look at the Amsat UK and Amsat NA web sites, they are full of information. I can certainly recommend Martin Davidoff's Satellite experimenters handbook, it was always within arms reach when I started.

Peter G0bhp