I will second the FT450, no AT or D.  One heck of a rig for the money. 

I love N3FJP for contesting, but for field day I use Squirl Field day logger. It has nice section maps and dx maps for an easy visual aid in finding the sections that you have/have not worked.  It is also free.

http://www.qsl.net/kc8opv/squirl-fd/

Enjoy!

I built that Handi-yagi, results were very poor.  Tried different HT antennas and it worked best broadside than pointing. 
I could have sworn it was supposed to be in the April issue of QST, cuz it was a joke.

The 847 is now on the shelf and is operational.  I have to get a cable for the CAT control, but for the most part, I am on the air.  Still more work to be done as I am gearing up for June VHF.

As a long time welder, these magnet ground clamps are convenient but cause problems.  They are fine when welding clean steel but not so good on painted, coated and rusted surfaces.  So if you use for RF purposes, just use a wire brush to clean the mating surface and keep the contact point of the clamp clean. 

Good news!
The IC-7000 was traded for an FT847.  Should be here in a few days.
That should make the linear sats workable.  I have wanted an 847 for many years but could never find one. 

The IC-7000 is a nice rig, it was offered in on a trade that I could not refuse.  I am a Yaesu guy and tried to barter for an FT-847 but it did not happen.  I have not acquired the control cables for it yet, also which software would you recommend for tracking and rig control.  I have Orbitron and HRD.  For the 10m downlinks I have an FT450 and a 21' vertical on a 40' mast which I did have running to see if I could hear anything from AO-7.

Thank you Craig! 

I just put together a small satellite station...
IC-7000
11 el UHF
4 el VHF
G-5500 rotor.
I know my grid is rare on 6 meters, maybe not so much on sats?
Heard a California station on AO-7 today, couldn't get back to him.

Hard to find a list of operational birds on FM and SSB.
Any help for a new guy?

Yes I was using the data port with the Signalinks supplied cables.  The Signalink started freakishly keying on and off by itself with out any programs running on the netbook.  The PC was on but no music, webpages, nor any program that would produce sound to make the signalink engage the PTT.  But it did and then my radio had a flashing TX light that would not go off after a billion resets.  I could not transmit on any band or any mode.

I have only worked SSB since I got my radio back that Yaesu Repair lost in their warehouse for a month and then reamed me by charging half the price of the rig for repair. 

I love my broken Signalink, I bought it when they first came out in 2007 and it worked great until turned its head.

I ran my Signalink USB on my Acer netbook for months... until the Signalink went crazy and fried the control unit of my FT450.  $300 later (yaesu repair) and the Signalink was not repaired.  No problem with the netbook though.

Placed a call to Yaesu this morning 10-03-11 to check the status of repair.
Not repaired yet, parts may be on back order.  Supposed to get a call back today. 
If parts are available, the rig should ship at the end of the week. 

I got a call from Yaesu yesterday, my rig was found in their warehouse after being there for three weeks.
Had to pay $35 to get it assigned to a technician and diagnose.
A few hours later, another call from Yaesu...bad part on control board, cannot replace part, must replace the board.
$266 and change.

All of my accessories check out ok on my ft817nd.
I called Yaesu today to check on the repair status.

They couldn't find my rig and it has not been checked in to their systems.
I am not very pleased.
I have confirmation that they received it 9-13.  It is now 9-22 and I was quoted a ten day turn-around.

This is not correct.  I worked at Custom Sound Works for many years (one of the top car audio shops in the world, no kidding), I installed hundreds of car audio systems large and small.  Never ever did I or anyone else use a chassis ground.  We always ran  power wiring straight to the battery(s), always fused + and - at the battery and again at the amplifier. 

I think this particular car audio shop is a joke if in fact what you say is true. 
We call these type of shops "Ghetto Audio" for the fact that they has cheap speakers, chinese prefab boxes, and no MECP certification.

No, this is not how mega car blasters are wired.