Business visa questions

Does anybody have (recent) experience with applying for a business F? If anyone could help me out with the following, that would be great!

1) Is it true that one can only apply for a multiple entry F if one's already used up a double entry one on a previous occasion?

2) Is it possible to get a business F that grants a total stay of 180 days (or more than 30)? I see a lot of information saying it will be "valid" for 180 days, but it would seem this just refers to the period in which one needs to enter, after which 30 days total stay will be granted.

Thanks so much for any help!