Handheld Radio Carrier

During deployment, you’ll need a way to carry your radio, its accessories, and any other things you need like paperwork, flashlight, water bottle, etc. You need your hands free. There are waist level carry options (e.g., belt clip, belt pouch, fanny pack, pants pockets) and torso level options (e.g., backpack, messenger bag, radio harness, vest or shirt pockets). You can use more than one.

For carrying your radio itself:

• Prefer torso level, especially if you’re going to be transmitting at high power, to get the antenna above your shoulders and away from your body as much as possible. This subjects you to less RF exposure and prevents your body from attenuating the signal in one direction.
• Prefer the front of your body (i.e., not a backpack), so that you can reach the radio easily to change settings.
• Prefer something that doesn’t move around much. Having your radio (and its antenna) swinging around is a distraction at best and hazardous at worst.

One of the simplest and most common approaches is to get a safety vest with a front pocket that can hold your radio, and a loop above the pocket to pass its antenna through so that it is held in place and doesn’t swing around.