so our ARES group is doing a simulated emergency exercise next weekend and i got volunteered to handle the comms setup for the forward operating position which is basically a picnic shelter about 2 miles from any power. ive done portable stuff before but always just threw up a whip and ran off a battery for a few hours, nothing sustained like this is going to be.

the exercise runs 18 hours and were expected to keep two stations running the whole time — one HF for regional traffic and one VHF/UHF for local tactical. my question is really around whether to bring a small genny or just stack batteries and solar. i have a Honda eu2200i that i could borrow but it means hauling fuel and dealing with noise and exhaust positioning near the shelter. on the battery side i have two 100ah lifepo4 packs and access to a couple 200w panels but its late october so solar gain is going to be pretty limited up here in the northeast.

for antennas i was thinking NVIS on HF so probably a low dipole or maybe an EFHW configured flat, and then a jpole for the VHF side. mast situation is whatever we can lash to the shelter posts which isnt great. anybody done sustained field ops like this and have opinions on the power side especially? the genny feels like the safe call but im open to arguments against it

done a few of these 12-18 hour things with our group and honestly the generator is the safe call like you said, especially in late october in the northeast. you're not getting enough sun to keep up with two radios running all day, and even if the HF rig is sitting in receive most of the time the VHF repeater traffic can keep that second radio busy. the lifepo4 packs are great as a buffer and backup but i wouldnt count on them as primary for that duration.

the eu2200i is quiet enough that if you position it downwind and run a decent length of extension cord (keep it to 12 gauge if you're going more than 50 feet) you should be fine at the shelter. exhaust just make sure you're not pointed at the tent or wherever people are congregating. we run ours about 30 feet out with an eco-throttle on and it barely registers over normal conversation.

for the antennas, NVIS low dipole is the right call for regional, just watch your height — you want it under about 0.2 wavelengths for the bands you're working, so on 60m or 40m that works out pretty low which is easy to do with shelter poles. jpole for VHF is fine. if you have a short mast you can get it up 10-12 feet which is plenty for local tactical assuming the repeater isnt too far.

yeah what he said on the generator, dont fight it. the math just doesnt work for two stations that long in october. i tried to do a 16 hour thing on solar and batteries last spring and even with decent sun by hour 10 i was rationing transmit time on the HF side which kind of defeats the purpose of a comms exercise.

one thing id add — if you do run the genny, bring a small UPS or at least a decent power conditioner between it and the rigs. eu2200i has pretty clean power but ive seen weird RFI issues with some inverter gennies and certain SDR-based rigs. probably fine with a regular transceiver but worth knowing. also just bring way more fuel than you think you need, 18 hours on eco-throttle with light loads you might get through it on 2 gallons but id bring 4 and not worry about it.