Currently building my own right now. Using a DB-25D with a 10Ah 12.8w LifePO battery adding a counterpoise with a copper nail on the end of an insulated ground wire. Haven’t quite figured out which antenna I’m going with yet. This radio obsession started with me just wanting a couple camping radios almost 2 years ago.
I use it every now and then when I want a more wattage than an ht and don't want to carry two boxes but it's a cheaper Chinese transceiver and lead battery though. I most recently used it a few weeks ago in my car because there's just no good place to mount a mobile transceiver in it