On my moa, i used a small T2 rep (though when i used a T1, it was the same) and it repaired at about the same speed my cap charged... Granted, it took a lot longer to rep, but it was worth it, because my shield could be boosted and then i could start repping and fighting again...

Set the rep to manual. Only turn it on when you need it. Also, what kind of hardeners are you using?

nearly all the enemies i fight are serpentis(-4.10 standing with them last i looked), so thermal and kinetic.

plate, energized or active hardeners?

was using energized until recently, now I'm using active, but it doesn't seem to help as much as the energized.

active are better.. the cap drain is nothing..... train up repair systems and mechanic, get tech 2 reps.. two t2 smalls.. more cap friendly and do the same as a T1 med. and you dont have to run them both

my best ship only has 5 lows though(brutix, it's the most crippled BC there is. it needs 100 more grid at least. bc should be able to mount a full load of med sized guns and not compromise it's defense(200mm rails, not 250s))

You can check your active resistance in space by right clicking on your ship, show info, attributes and scroll to armor. The resistances are displayed there. (obviously they gotta be turned on)

5 low slots is fine. If you're fighting Serpentis you only need a kinetic and thermal hardener.
2 small t2s, 2 hardeners, 1600mm plate.
AB/MWD (depending if its deadspace or not) web, cap recharger
5x frigate neutron blasters or 5x 150mm rails
Named where possible.

but no bonus to weapons

Frig neutrons on a 'Rax have a higher damage over time than medium guns with the bonus.

I'm still new to MMOs, explain to me how a gun meant for a frigate can have the same damage potential as a gun meant for a cruiser. That's just stupid and should be addressed by the devs. Larger should mean more damage, but that's often backward from the reality since the devs have seen fit to calculate damage based on tracking speed instead of weapon caliber.

Higher rate of fire from the smaller guns.

Heh, even I've been involved in PvP before, and I avoid it like the plague, true, it was some idiot in a T1 frigate frigate versus my Arbitrator, funny how 12 heavy drones can suddenly make a pilot want to be somewhere else

Edit : Nyaargh whered I get 12 from? It was 8, sorry

They don't do more damage when you have high skills. But, small ones do hit almost 100% of the time when in range, whereas mediums don't.