hey everyone, got my tech license about 6 months ago and been thinking about putting together a go kit for emergencies. i keep seeing everyone talk about having one ready but honestly not sure where to start. do i need a fancy portable radio or can i use my mobile rig with a battery pack? also what about antennas... seems like theres a million options and im getting overwhelmed. any advice would be great, trying to be prepared but dont want to go overboard on the budget

congrats on getting licensed! for a basic go kit you dont need anything too fancy to start with. if you have a mobile radio already, getting a battery box or power station is a good way to go. i use a bioenno battery pack with my ft-2980 and it works great. for antennas, a simple j-pole that you can throw up in a tree gets you going without breaking the bank. the key is having something that works reliably rather than having the most expensive gear

so anyway i finally got my go kit together last year after procrastinating forever and ended up using it during that big storm we had. honestly wish id started simpler - i went crazy buying all sorts of stuff and half of it just sits there. start with basics like your radio, power source, simple antenna, and some way to log contacts. you can always add more later but having something ready is better than having nothing at all