so ive been putting together a go-kit for ARES activations and ran into the usual generator vs battery debate again and honestly im still not sure what the right answer is for our situation. we're setting up at a community center parking lot this weekend, probably 6-8 hour deployment, running an IC-7300 and a second rig for VHF packet, plus a laptop for logging and maybe winlink.

right now my thinking is to bring my 100ah LiFePO4 and a 200w solar panel since the weather looks decent, but the guy running our group keeps saying we should just haul the honda eu2200i because its more reliable and we dont have to worry about cloud cover. i get his point but the genny is loud and we're supposed to be demonstrating good neighbor relations at this thing.

for antennas im planning a buddipole on a painters pole for HF and a jpole hung off a tripod for 2m/70cm. probably good enough for what we need. anyone done similar setups and had the battery run out on them mid-deployment or is 100ah LiFePO4 plenty for that load?

100ah LiFePO4 should be fine for that honestly, especially if you're disciplined about what you leave on. the 7300 at typical operating power draws maybe 13-15 amps on transmit but way less on receive, and a laptop is maybe 3-4 amps if youre lucky. if the solar is actually producing you'll probably come out ahead. i ran a similar setup at a county exercise last spring, 120ah battery and a single 175w panel, went the whole day without sweating it.

that said id still throw the honda in the truck just in case. not saying run it the whole time, just have it there. clouds happen, someone leaves the laptop charger plugged into a wall wart that draws way more than it should, whatever. its a backup not the primary. that way you get the quiet operation your coordinator wants AND a safety net.

buddipole on a painters pole works but watch the wind if its at all gusty, ive had that combo go sideways on me literally. like the pole just starts flexing and the whole thing wants to tip. sandbag the base or guy it out if theres any breeze. learned that the hard way at a public service event a couple years back, had to spend 20 minutes re-aiming the thing after a gust caught it.

also for the packet station are you running a separate power feed or splitting off the same battery? i always try to keep the HF and the digital stuff on separate circuits just so a glitch on one doesnt affect the other. probably overkill but it gives me peace of mind during an actual activation.