The problem with handheld ham devices is that they are basically limited by line of sight. The broadcast range is pretty good. About 30 km from my home is a repeater. On a good day I can reach it with 0.05 watts and a lamdba/4 flexible mobile antenna for less favorable conditions 0.5 watts do the job. My handheld (TH7F) allows to broadcast at 5 watts. So there would be room to spare. There are even amateur radio satellites which could be reached with handhelds. The main flaw would be that you have to reach someone. If nobody is listening in your broadcast range you canīt call for help. If you rely on ham radio you should schedule contacts and make arrangements for failed attempts.
A PLB would offer better coverage. So if you need that, you might have to spend the money.
Working with reflected signals - especially earth moon earth - requires a lot of power, good gain for the antenna and precise directing of the antenna. It would just require to much equipment if you are not going for a ham expedition.
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If it isnīt broken, it doesnīt have enough features yet.