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That is always an option. I would like to keep everything self contained into one case if all possible. I am also trying to avoid any unnecessary holes in the case if possible. I have enough room to mount a 15" portable monitor and the remote faceplate of my radio into the lid of the Apache 5800 case. The 5800 has standoffs in the lid for mounting stuff. I'm still in the planning stage right now with the setup. I did buy some 1/8" x 1" aluminum stock to mount the monitor and faceplate to the lid. I need to get the radio main unit and mini pc mounted and then see how much room I have left. The Beelink S13 runs off of 12v DC. PS; sorry for the thread drift.

If a deaf person can't hear you some would say it's OK.

Won’t it transmit on RP15-RP22 (aka 23-30), the repeater channels?

I think his statement was directed towards Randy, not you.

That’s a better choice. When you mentioned HF I figured you meant 10 meters. 6 meters is actually VHF (VHF is 30 MHz to 300 MHz). The Yaesu vx-7 is the radio I would suggest. It’s no longer manufactured but they’re out there. 6 meters, 2 meters, 1.25 meters, and 70 cm.

Im looking at the retevis rb48p with the mics. 6 pack.

Why not use a small solar power station to power your radio? Add a small solar panel to the mix and you'd have unlimited power as long as you could get some sun light.

Handhelds below the 100 MHz frequency are not really worth trying to use. They are bulky because of their antenna requirements and loaded antennas (which are the short ones) don't work well because they don't have the bandwidth to cover the entire band.

Just wait until you try to find one antenna that works on that mount, that covers 2m, 70cm, and GMRS. You'll be quite happy with anything <2.0:1. And yes, it'll work fine.

I'm actually leaning toward 6M over 10M because of antenna size.

If I were you (and I'm not) I would just put aside the idea of getting a 10 meter handheld and improve my 2M 70cm transmission and reception by focusing on better antennas and mounting. You WILL disappointed with the 10M handheld.

I have kicked around the idea of picking up a mobile multi-band radio and plugging it in to one of my solar power stations. Add an antenna and I'd have a good, portable HF/VHF/UHF radio.

I don't know about that. The $16 UV-K61's I've bought have been excellent Tri-Band radios. Price doesn't always reflect quality. Many times you're paying extra for the name.

In 1970 my mom thought One Toke Over The Line by Brewer & Shipley was a church song (we didn't go to church). While I didn't partake back then, and still don't, I had to explain it to her. I really thought she was joking. She was not.

I think I will have to program my unit then (still learning how to use it) as the only 467 mhz channels that are pre-programmed are 8-14 which the unit will not transmit on. Will do some more research and report back ! Thanks!

You’re not part of the Gang I was referring to… And, shouldn’t you be making Oklahoma hypocriticals?

You can still check the SWR on repeater channels even without actually connecting to a repeater. And you don't need to worry about tones when testing SWR. Just say your "call sign testing" just in case.

The bigger (i.e., taller) antenna is likely to help. More power is less likely to make much difference. I'd definitely invest in the antenna first.

Ran some channels SWR, is as follows. Was not able to connect to 467 repeater yet, so I will have to figure out how to do that. Channels: 1 - 1.54 2 - 1.55 3 - 1.55 15 - 1.73 16 - 1.73 17 - 1.73 22- 1.73 23 - 1.6

Go back and read what I said. I didn't suggest doing it. I said it's not likely to cause someone else problems so I'm not going to get worked up about it.

Error

I didn't say I'm going to do it. I have said many times that I think it's important to be considerate. I said I don't consider it my job to enforce things that don't affect me. My point was that someone using 5 watts in the middle of a 12,000 acre ranch in Montana isn't going to interfere with someone else.

I would definitely go with a radio that has an IP rating for dust and water. Everything is going to get wet or dusty even with enclosed cabs.

Anything under 2.0 is okay. Definitely check the SWR on the repeater channels (467 MHz) as they will have a different SWR compared to the 462 simplex channels. As others have mentioned, there will be a curve to the SWR. Generally 467 will be higher or lower than 462 depending on if the antenna is short or long. The best I did was when tuning a Tram 1174 for GMRS. I got the SWR down to 1.4 on 467 and 1.2 on 462. Yes I could have kept trying for the perfect SWR but it wasn't worth the time and effort. My two Comet 2x4SR antennas are at 1.7-1.8 on 467 and 1.4-1.5 on 462. Again that is good especially considering the SWR is at 1.8 or less on the other bands that the 2x4SR works on. While a Surecom will work to tune antennas, you will have to check multiple times across the frequency/channel range to find where the SWR is high or low. This is where a NanoVNA or antenna analyzer comes in handy. They will do a sweep and show the high and low spots.

In both our SXS on the farm we use them idland mobile. Simple, cheap and just works. They are covered in mud dust and other stuff all the time, I hose off vehicle once month and dont worry. Run 1/4 wave on a pipe mount bracket on both.