To VE1BLL, yes I am designing a portable transmitter, and to photistor, I don't have room for an isolator.
The problem is the amount of "damping" needed in the PA transistor to allow for a high load VSWR without instability. And also the PA power/current under these conditions.
What sort of VSWR do one have to accept (in general) on a UHF whip antenna mounted on a handheld two-way radio with almost no ground plane?
My concern is the load presented to the PA rather than radiation efficiency.
