You're talking to the guy who wrote the best amateur software out there for tracking satellites with off the shelf equipment. Most are faint. Most require long exposures. These are facts. Those that are bright enough to be seen easily by naked eye are typically lower the orbit, relatively large, and can only be seen near the terminator either at morning or dusk.

The easiest way to spot satellites from orbit is with long exposures pointing towards the terminator when the sun is still below the horizon for the observing spacecraft.