Justin wrote:
.....have to go shopping for a radio now, thinking a 2m mobile mounted in the Jeep or a handheld. Hmmm, 5 watts on your belt or 75w in the Jeep ......
This is just my opinion and yours may vary,
but I find I use the mobile unit every trip, a hand held is a great addition and I use it a lot but not every trip.
One trip my mobile unit (the mic) went ka-put and since the group I was with was 100% 2M I used the hand held and it was kinda a PITB to talk on, but worked fine to listen with. Of course just to listen my mobile would work for that, but using the hand held for both cured the feedback if I needed to talk.
IMHO get a good mobile first then a handheld as money allows. I’ve run 50, 65, and 75 watt rigs (even a 25W long ago) and the difference between 50 to 75 watts mobile shouldn’t be a deciding factor. As you know the 5W even with an external antenna is very limited compared to a 50W rig.
I really like my current handheld is a Icom V8 with a remote mic/speaker. I can hang the radio on my pack and clip the mic to my collar and set the volume low. I can hear it better, and it’s easy to talk on, plus the weight is not hanging off my belt. I don’t like the way this radio recharges, it fits in a base and it awkward to use in the 4X. I now have 2 batteries and can keep one recharged as back-up, and on long hikes I limit my talk time.
Hope that helps