Yes, do your range checks with the antenna collapsed; but, remember to never run your transmitter with the antenna down for more than a minute or two. With the antenna collapsed, the SWR (standing wave ratio) goes way up and there is excessive heating in the output stage of your transmitter. Extended operation with the antenna collapsed will be very unhealthy for your transmitter and, under some conditions, can cause it to catostrophically fail. At the very least, it will accelerate the mean time to failure. It is always good practice to keep the antenna FULLY EXTENDED except during brief periods for range tests.