so ive been putting together a portable setup for a ARES exercise this weekend and im running into the usual headaches. the main thing im trying to sort out is power. we're deploying at a site with no shore power so its either the honda eu2200i i borrowed or battery with solar backup, and i cant decide which makes more sense for a 12 hour shift.

the generator is obviously more reliable if we need to run the IC-7300 at anywhere near full power plus the laptop and maybe a second radio but god those things are loud and we're supposed to be in a fairly quiet area. the 7300 on full 100w draws what, like 20 amps? so a 100ah lithium would run maybe 3-4 hours at that rate if im doing the math right, less if theres other stuff on it. i have a 200w panel i could bring but its overcast all weekend supposedly.

on the antenna side ive got a vertical trapped dipole that i usually use but i was thinking of just doing a NVIS setup with a 40m flat top since we'll mostly be doing regional stuff within a few hundred miles. anyone done a comparison of those two for that kind of range? the flat top is way easier to put up honestly.

also if you guys have opinions on the best way to cable manage a field station so it doesnt look like a rats nest id love to hear it, every time i do one of these it turns into a disaster by hour 3

the eu2200i is genuinely whisper quiet compared to most generators so i wouldnt sweat that too much, especially if you're more than like 20-30 feet from it. run a good quality extension cord and you're fine. the bigger issue is RF noise from it - worth checking your noise floor with it running before you actually need it in the field. some of those hondas are clean, some arent, depends a bit on load and grounding.

for your power math youre in the right ballpark but the 7300 isnt pulling 20A continuously unless youre transmitting the whole time. receive is more like 2A, and most nets or ICS operations youre maybe 20-30% duty cycle on TX so your actual average draw is way lower than you think. a 100ah lifepo4 will last you much longer than 3-4 hours in realistic ops. id bring both the battery AND the generator and just run on battery with the genny as backup/recharge. best of both worlds and you're not married to one approach.

NVIS flat top is the right call for regional stuff, dont overcomplicate it. 40m is perfect, maybe bring wire for 80m too if you think propagation might dip later at night. dipole up at like 15-25 feet is basically textbook NVIS geometry anyway.

cable management - honestly just velcro straps, a bunch of them, and i mean a BUNCH. i spent like 8 bucks on a roll from amazon and it changed my life for field ops. zip ties work but you end up cutting them when you reconfigure and it gets annoying. also labeling every single cable at both ends before you leave the house, sounds tedious but you'll thank yourself at hour 6 when something stops working and you're trying to trace it in the dark with a headlamp.

i keep all my DC power stuff on one side of the table and RF/antenna stuff on the other, just as a personal rule. keeps the mess from spreading as bad.