Many thanks to those that replied to this message. I started the first tests today of the equipment that I hope to be taking on the trip. The way it looks right now, I will be taking two radios so that I can run full duplex. My uplink so far has been an ICOM ICT2H and the downlink is an ICOM ICU82. Today I tested using a 1/4 wave mag mount for uplink and 5/8 wave mag mount for UHF. Since the SSB birds seem to require more power than I can provide using a handheld, I will probably limit myself to the FM birds. Dont know if I will try to take one of my FT817s so I can also try AO-16. Will have to see how the testing goes.
On the passes later today or tomorrow, I will shift to using a 3 element Arrow UHF handheld antenna. I will probably take both antennas with me so that if weather is bad, I will use the UHF mag mount for downlink and if the weather is good, I will use the Arrow UHF beam. On both downlink antenna setups, I will use my ARR UHF preamp and a mode J filter to keep from having receive problems.
To keep my position reports accurate, I plan on taking a Garmin eTrex GPS so that I will know the exact grid that I am in. Dont know if I will try to take my arrow dual band antenna or not. I do have the model with the split boom model. Since I will have to put it in the checked luggage, I am thinking about using some PVC pipe and coming up with a small case that will fit in the luggage to keep the antenna from getting crushed during the flight out.
Thanks,
Ron KA4KYI