so ive been meaning to do this for probably two years now and just never got around to it. last month we had a pretty bad storm come through and the power was out for almost four days and i just kept thinking man i really need to get my act together here. im a general class, been licensed about three years, mostly do local repeater stuff and a little HF when the mood strikes.

anyway i finally started building out a proper go-kit. right now ive got my FT-891 with a separation cable so the head can mount up front, a 40ah lifepo4 battery from bioenno, and a little anderson powerpole distribution block. i grabbed one of those harbor freight pelican knockoff cases to put it all in. also threw in a roll of RG-8X and a end fed half wave for 40 and 20.

but here than the radio stuff i feel like im probably forgetting something obvious. like the non-radio parts. logbooks, pens, that kind of stuff. does anyone have a list or just general advice from actually deploying this stuff? i want this to be something i can actually grab and go if the county ARES group calls, not just a box that sits in my closet looking organized.

the thing that always gets forgotten is the paperwork honestly. like a laminated sheet with your repeater frequencies, CTCSS tones, and any NTS or ARES net info for your area. when things get stressful the last thing you want to be doing is digging through your phone trying to remember if the backup repeater is 146.940 or 146.960 and what the tone is.

also a spare coax adapter or two. i cant tell you how many times ive shown up somewhere and the connector situation was not what i expected. PL-259 to SO-239, maybe a BNC adapter, just toss a few in a ziplock and forget about them until you need one. and a headlamp, not just a flashlight, a headlamp, because you need both hands free. sounds basic but it wasnt in my kit for embarrassingly long.

your radio and power setup sounds solid for a first build. the EFHW is a good antenna choice for portable, easy to throw up in a tree or along a fence line. if you ever get a chance to actually deploy with your ARES group before an actual emergency, do it. the practice activations are where you figure out what you forgot.

yeah what he said about the paperwork is real. i would also add just like, basic comfort stuff if youre going to be somewhere for more than a couple hours. granola bars, a water bottle, a light jacket. i showed up to a served agency drill last fall thinking itd be two hours and ended up sitting in a parking lot for six hours helping with message traffic. learned my lesson.

also double check your battery charger is in the kit and not just sitting on your workbench at home. ask me how i know lol