Hi All,

I've had a good look round the forums and on the net generally, I'm coming into satellites as a newcomer, having spent my past 15 ham years on HF/6M CW/DIGI modes. (with a bit of DSTAR recently..!!)

So a few questions I hope you can answer and update me....

i) Generally what power levels are needed to access the birds...?

ii) Antenna's - I've read a lot about the arrow antenna - how good is this antenna would you recommend for a new comer ?

iii) HT or Base Transceiver - How realistic is working satellites on an HT with 5W ? & is base transceiver preferred ?

iv) Following on from the above - I've read about the FT-2000 or FT-847 which would be better suited to satellites or another rig ?

v) Obviously a rotator / elevator with a beam(s) will give a better performance, but what sort of performance could I expect out of an arrow on a tripod with an HT & 5W ?

vi) On the HT subject - is it necessary to use 2 HT (one TX / one RX) or will just one do ?

vii) ....and finally...some have mentioned that not all the sats listed on the AMSAT page are live - where can I get the most upto date list of satellites that are active & their frequencies / modes..?

Thats it for now - hope you can help...chances are I may have some more questions soon.....

Cheers

RH / G0TKZ