Hi Ron!
I have to disagree. Have you tried working one of the FM birds using a 2 watt ht and a whip antenna ?
Unfortunately, the comments like "I cannot see any difference in pushing a button on an FM bird than operating a cell phone" (from WB6LLO's post in this thread) show up from time to time. If FM satellites were that simple to operate, then everyone who attempted to make an FM satellite QSO during Field Day should have been able to do so. People wouldn't show up in large numbers for the many demonstrations and presentations that AMSAT people put on for radio clubs, hamfests, etc.
The FM birds are something I can work while traveling. Have been able to find a SSB setup that is compact enough to carry on a plane.
This almost reads like you were trying to say "Haven't been able to find a SSB setup that is compact .... ".
With the advent of smaller radios, you *can* carry an SSB satellite setup on a plane that allows all-mode full-duplex satellite operation. I travel with two FT-817NDs, and in recent times a TH-F6A (its all- mode receiver is a backup to the 817 I use as a receiver) also goes along, all in an old laptop bag. If you want computer control of the radios, you can use a netbook with software like SatPC32 - which could also fit in the same bag. Along with these 3 radios, I also take a TH-D72A. It is my APRS radio, and works well as a full- duplex FM satellite radio. That laptop bag also has room for more batteries, a GPS receiver, compass, and and other accessories.
Unless you are using a long flexible whip, the antenna (directional antenna like a Yagi or log periodic, or a telescoping whip) may have to go in a checked bag due to security regulations. The higher-value parts of your station can go with you into the cabin, along with the accessories that are not considered dangerous for carry-on luggage.
Look at this from an emergency perspective. If you only had an ht and couldnt access a repeater, you woul at least have a chance to get help on a satellite pass.
Definitely! You'd have to be quick with your information, but that would be a possibility. Something I always kept in mind on my road trips around northern Arizona and southern Utah in 2009 and 2010, since there were many places without mobile-phone coverage up there. Know when the passes come by, and you can plan to show up on those passes to send and receive information in that sort of situation.
73!
Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/