so ive been a ham for about 3 years now and keep telling myself ill get a proper go-kit together and just never do it. after watching some weather roll through last month and losing power for about 18 hours i figured okay this is the wake up call i needed.

right now i have an FT-857D that im planning to use as the main rig, a 40ah LiFePO4 battery i picked up last year, and a SignaLink for digital modes. i built a little pelican-style case for most of it but im still figuring out the antenna situation. was thinking a end fed halfwave for HF and maybe just a mag mount for 2m/70cm but im not sure if thats good enough for actual emergency use or if i should do something more robust.

the thing i keep second guessing is the power side -- like do i need a way to recharge the battery in the field or is 40ah enough to get through most scenarios? i have a small solar panel but havent really integrated it into the kit yet. also logging, do people still do paper logs for go-kit stuff or does everyone use a laptop? feels like a laptop is just one more thing to power and protect.

anyway im not asking anyone to build this for me just curious what experienced folks wish they had thought of when they first put theirs together

the antenna question is the one that'll bite you hardest in the field, so good that you're thinking about it early. mag mount is fine for local comms but if you ever get deployed somewhere without a vehicle nearby you're kinda stuck. a lot of guys i know keep a slim jim or jpole rolled up in the kit for 2m because you can hang it basically anywhere. for HF the EFHW is solid honestly, just make sure you have enough wire and a way to get it up -- i keep a 31 foot fiberglass mast broken down in sections and it packs surprisingly small.

on the battery question, 40ah LiFePO4 should get you a long way depending on how hard you're running the rig. if you're doing mostly receive with occasional transmit you might be surprised how long it lasts. that said i would absolutely get the solar panel integrated now while you're building it out rather than later. a 100w panel and a decent charge controller just velcroed to the outside of the case saved me during a RACES activation two summers ago when we were at a site for almost 36 hours.

paper log -- yes, always have one. laptops die, software crashes, and sometimes the served agency just wants to see paper anyway. i keep a rite in the rain notepad and a couple pencils taped inside the lid of my case. takes up almost no space and has bailed me out more than once.

im kind of in the same boat as you actually so following this thread. one thing i added to mine that seemed obvious after the fact was a proper power distribution strip -- like a West Mountain RIGrunner or similar -- instead of just daisy chaining stuff off the battery terminals. keeps things cleaner and you can see whats drawing what. probably not the most exciting advice but yeah.

also dont forget a way to charge your phone. sounds dumb but in an actual emergency your phone is still going to be how you communicate with family and get situational awareness and it'll be dead if you havent thought about it. i just have a small USB charger wired into the power bus.