so I've been meaning to do this for like two years and after the storms we had last month I finally got off my butt and started building out a proper go-kit. right now I have my FT-891 packed in a Pelican case with a LiFePO4 battery (the 30ah one from bioenno), a roll of RG-8X, and my SignaLink for digital modes. threw in a power pole distribution block too.

my question is -- what am I forgetting. I feel like every time I look at this thing something is obviously missing but I figured I'd ask people who actually do this stuff. I'm not affiliated with any ARES group yet but thinking about joining the county group. mostly I want to be able to set up somewhere and actually be useful if things go sideways locally, not just play radio in my backyard.

also not sure what antenna situation to pack. right now just have an end-fed halfwave but wondering if I should have something more portable. any thoughts appreciated

the end-fed halfwave is honestly fine for most situations, I wouldn't stress about the antenna too much until you figure out where you'll actually be deploying. what I would say though -- do you have a logbook and some paper? sounds dumb but when the laptop dies or you just dont want to mess with it, pen and paper saves you. also a headlamp with extra batteries, I cannot tell you how many times ive set up in a parking lot or a shelter at like 10pm and been glad I had one.

the other thing a lot of people forget is documentation. like a laminated sheet with your freq plan, your local repeater info, net check-in procedures. your brain gets foggy under stress and having it right there in the kit is worth it. oh and zip ties. always more zip ties.

looks like a solid start honestly. one thing i'd add is some kind of feedline adapter collection -- like a little baggie with a PL-259 to SO-239, maybe a BNC adapter or two. you show up somewhere and need to hook into their existing antenna setup and your connectors dont match, thats a bad day. also maybe a short patch cable.

I went through the same thing about a year ago when I joined our local ARES group and the biggest thing I learned was just to actually take the kit out and use it before you need it. set it up in your yard a couple times, make some contacts off battery, see how long everything lasts. you'll find the gaps real fast that way.