SO-50 has a lower power output than AO-91 and AO-92, and it has a 70cm downlink, so the path loss is higher. You're gonna need a beam or really high elevation passes to work SO-50. If you could get just a 70cm beam and use the whip to transmit on 2m, you might be able to make it work. the 70cm elements might be small enough for travel too.
Personally I have traveled with my backpacker Arrow II on planes without problems. Do you have the backpacker with split boom?
73, John Brier KG4AKV
On Mon, Jul 15, 2019 at 4:41 PM Brad Smith via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org wrote:
I have put together a rig for when I travel and have no room for an Arrow 2 antenna, which consists of a Kenwood TM-D710GA radio and a dual band, Comet, 5/8 wave whip antenna. This allows for a quick setup to work a bird from new grid squares, without disrupting the family. On our recent trip, this worked great for AO-91 and AO-92. However, I can't a signal from SO-50 with this rig, even with a preamp. Does anybody else use this radio on SO-50 and would you have any suggestions? I know it is not an ideal situation, but it may be the "only game in town" for some trips. Brad Smith, KC9UQR _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb