On Saturday, July 2, 2011 3:34:30 PM UTC-7, Tim Newport-Peace wrote:
If I were you, I would look for a second-hand A2, A22, A3 or A22. All
these radios run happily with a 12-volt supply connected to the radio
(not to the battery).

I'm using an A22 with no battery at all and a speaker/mike. Makes for a nice compact (almost) cube. The speaker is plenty loud while in the vehicle and adequate when clipped to a seatbelt or hanging out the vehicle window.

I also have a linear amp on the antenna, and with an old RAINCO J-pole antenna, we maintain good comms well over 100km.

-Tom