so ive been meaning to do this for like two years and after the ice storm last month knocked out power for four days in my neighborhood i finally stopped procrastinating and started actually building a real go-kit instead of just mentally planning one

right now i have my FT-857D, a 40ah LiFePO4 battery, a SignaLink for digital, some coax and a buddistick, and im throwing in a binder with laminated frequency sheets for all the local repeaters and simplex channels plus ARES activation info. also a small DC distribution block so i can run multiple things off the battery without a rats nest of wires.

thing is i keep second-guessing myself on what else to include without the kit becoming too heavy to actually take anywhere. im not trying to build a go-box for a fixed site deployment, more like something i can throw in my car and operate from pretty much anywhere on short notice. does anyone have stuff in their kit they were really glad they had during an actual activation, or things they thought they needed but ended up never touching

the one thing that saved me at a Red Cross shelter deployment was having a small headlamp in my kit. sounds dumb but at like 2am when the generators were being weird and i needed to trace a cable connection in the dark it was invaluable. also a notepad and a few pens, paper pens, not just the tablet thing. nets go fast and sometimes you just need to write something down quick.

the other thing i'd say is dont forget about your own comfort. i had nothing to eat or drink the first time i deployed and by hour six i was pretty useless. now i keep a couple granola bars and a water bottle as permanent fixtures in the bag. your kit sounds really solid honestly, the laminated freq sheet idea is something i keep meaning to do and never have.

spare fuses. like a little assortment of them. i blew one during an actual ARES activation a couple years back and had to borrow one from another operator which was embarassing. also a short length of speaker wire and some ring terminals because you never know. and honestly a small multimeter, nothing fancy, just one of the cheap harbor freight ones. you'll use it.