[beeskneecaps]

Love my UV5R! I put a telescopic, 1 meter antenna on mine and was able to hit a repeater on Mount Diablo from the Twin Peaks in SF ~42 miles away!

PSA: we need more HAMs out there! Check out https://hamstudy.org and get your license https://hamstudy.org/sessions/remote

[creeble]

Let me add my favorite, https://hamexam.org

[throwaway48375]

What antenna?

[beeskneecaps]

RH 660s. I was skeptical at first, but it has really held up. I get really good signal reports and people always say they're surprised when I'm using a UV5R. I did drill the microphone port open a little wider by the way and I think that helped get some more gain/clarity as well.

Note that the RH 660s is 27 centimeters collapsed (11 inches), and 1 meter fully extended. It is rigid so not one of the floppy antennas. Collapsed it can take abuse, but when extended, bending is a risk.

[genewitch]

just get a legitimate nagoya and call it good, if you want 100% portable and "not likely to break if you sneeze while using it".

[int_19h]

And if you want something that's often just as good, but you don't have to worry about breaking it, get a Signal Stick:

https://www.eham.net/reviews/view-product?id=13357