At this point all of the equipment is set out on the floor of the dining room and bags and containers are being stuffed. Equipment is being checked, wrapped, labeled and distributed across the containers and bags that I will be taking with me to the island.
The main constraint I have is about weight. The second constraint I have is about number of pieces of luggage.
This is a quasi-vacation style Expedition so although the intent is to work the radio all of the time, the transportation used to get there is all commercial air and as such the limits on what I can bring (weight and size) are top concern.
There's a long bag (sort of like a golf-bag, but not a golf-bag) to hold all of the antenna systems and related items, some tools, cable, and rigid equipment that can be banged around.
There's a hard-shell Pelican case that holds gear, tools, and systems that need hard-shell protection.
As far as traditional "luggage", there's a carry on hard-shell (Pelican) case that will hold both the KPA-500 and KAT-500 but small enough to fit in overhead bin and a couple of things as long as the overall weight is under 45 lbs.
Then there's a last piece -- the container for carry on that holds the K3 transceiver.
This puts me at two-checked bags and two "carry on" bags. I think I can get it all down to these four containers. The way they are packed is to guarantee that if for some reason I have to check a bag, the equipment inside is protected -- even the KPA and KAT.
The backup radio is going to be either my FT-897D or the FT-891 depending on the weight tally as I get all of the gear sorted on the floor. The FT-897D is but it is a bit heavier than the FT-891.
Either one will work fine with the KPA/KAT and either one will work fine with N1MM logging software for automation.
The addition of the KPA-500 gives me at best a 6dB gain over the 100W barefoot station. Which means, at best 1 to 1.5 S-Units maximum. The question is if it's worth all the baggage for 1.5 S-Units.
