gps communicator inside pocket?

Absolutely, works great. My Mini is in the grey Robic pocket above my camera. To save battery set the check-in interval to a longer duration.

I’ve frequently carried two generations of inReach in various upper exterior pack pockets, not including DCF. Worked fine. No unusual battery drain.

On several trips the inReach continued transmitting tracking points through those pockets plus the fiberglass roof of my truck shell. No reason DCF should block signals.

I wouldn’t bury an inReach in a hip belt pocket or deep inside a pack, or carry a smartphone or camera in the same pocket, or generally block the sky with anything dense or metallic. Buildings with roofs, cars with metal roofs, and canyon walls can block both GPS signals and Iridium satellite links. Lots more satellite signal details here: https://backpackinglight.com/satellite_communications_sotmr_part1/

— Rex

I keep my bigger Inreach inside my pant’s cargo pocket – the one close to the knee with the antenna pointed to the sky and the pant pocket flap closed. As soon as I hear the beep indicating that the message has been sent – I will switch it off while hiking. At the campsite, what I have noticed is if you keep the device vertical with the antenna pointed to the sky, it transmits faster compared to leaving it horizontally on a rock.

I don’t like keeping it on the backpack as it seems like if you get separated from your backpack like say for a poop run or water run and some emergency happens like a fall or some animal encounter, it is better to have it on person.