FO-29 is a wonderful, reliable bird. Here on the east coast, it's possible to work DX (Eu.) with low power and the equivalent of an Arrow ant. (My own experience is that the Arrow doesn't do well because of overload on 70cm, but when put on 2 booms--2 mtrs on 1, and 70cm on the other-- using 2 small tripods, it's usually fine.)

On a recent trip to several QTHs up and down the west coast, FO-29 was almost always heard from predicted AOS to LOS, though without much activity. Sometimes a preamp was used, which made life easier, but that's by no means essential for routine QSOs. A big disappointment on that trip was AO-7, which, even when it's in mode B (I didn't have mode A capability operating portable at oceanside QTHs), was nearly impossible to get into. I was using 5 watts on both FO-29 and AO-7 from excellent QTHs. I was not able to make a single QSO on AO-7, though a few stations were heard. I have seen reports of good success with 5 watts and small antennas on AO-7, but I can't verify that experience.

I'd appreciate your thoughts on whether I should buy a 20 watt amp. and try that on AO-7.

Long live FO-29!

73, Tony, N2UN