so ive been a ham for about 3 years now and honestly embarrassed to say I still dont have a real go-kit put together. been meaning to do it forever and after the storm we had last month that knocked power out for like 4 days I figured I really need to stop procrastinating on this.

right now I have an FT-817 that I was planning to build around, a 20ah lifepo4 battery I picked up last year, and a couple of antennas — an EFHW I built myself and a mag mount dual band for the car. I've got a cheap power pole distribution block and some misc cables.

I'm thinking about putting it all in a Pelican 1510 but I haven't actually bought one yet, still on the fence about size. My main use case would be ARES stuff, maybe setting up a portable station at a shelter or EOC if needed, and also just general emergency use at home if power goes out for an extended period.

what do I actually need that I'm probably not thinking about? I feel like I'm missing the non-radio stuff more than the radio stuff if that makes sense. like the logbooks and the documentation and whatever else you're supposed to have in there.

the stuff people always forget is exactly what you mentioned — the non-radio stuff. I'd say get a laminated quick-reference card with your local ARES frequencies, any nets you'd be expected to check in on, and the ICS forms you're most likely to need. ICS 213 especially, that's the general message form and you'll use it constantly if you ever actually activate.

also a small notebook and multiple pens sounds obvious but I've shown up to exercises before where guys had beautiful radio setups and zero way to write anything down. headlamp with fresh batteries tucked in there too. and honestly a printed copy of your license if you're going somewhere official, some served agency folks will ask for it.

the 817 is a solid choice for a go-kit, runs low power and that battery should last you a good while on receive and moderate tx. one thing I'd suggest is making a laminated card for the radio itself too — just the basic operating steps, how to change bands, set the power output, that kind of thing. sounds silly but under stress people forget stuff they've done a thousand times.

Pelican 1510 is a good size for what you're describing, fits carry-on if that ever matters. I've seen guys go bigger and regret it when they have to haul it across a parking lot.

yeah what he said about the documentation stuff is real. I went through ARRL's EC-001 course online last year and that kind of drilled into me how much of emcomm is paperwork and organization not just having a working radio lol.

one thing I'll add from my own kit — a small DC power meter/wattmeter inline is super handy, lets you keep an eye on battery voltage without hunting through menus. I use one of those little inline ones from Powerwerx, nothing fancy. also a small USB power bank for charging phones and stuff, separate from your radio battery. people at a shelter are going to be asking to charge things constantly and you don't want that draining your radio battery.

I'm kind of in the same boat as you building mine out, so curious what others have to say too. haven't fully figured out my antenna situation for HF yet.