so ive been meaning to do this for like two years and after the ice storm last month that knocked out power for four days i finally got serious about it. got a Yaesu FT-891 that im planning to use as the main rig, picked up a 40ah lithium battery from bioenno, and im using one of those harbor freight pelican knockoff cases to hold everything. threw in a roll of coax, some anderson powerpoles already wired up, and a random wire antenna with a 9:1 unun i built from a kit.

the thing is i feel like im definitely forgetting something obvious. like i have the radio and power sorted out i think, but what about logging? i usually just use my laptop but that feels fragile for a real emergency. and do i need a separate power meter or is the built in SWR on the 891 good enough for field use? also been going back and forth on whether to throw a handheld in there too just for local stuff while HF is running.

any of you guys who actually deploy for ARES or served or whatever, what was the thing you showed up with that you were glad you had, or the thing you forgot and kicked yourself for?

the handheld is 100% worth it, dont even debate that one just throw it in. when youre set up on HF and someone needs you to run down the hall or coordinate with a net control outside your building you'll be real glad you have it. i keep a baofeng just for that purpose honestly, save the good radio for actual comms.

paper logs. i know everyone hates them but seriously, a waterproof notebook and a couple pencils weigh nothing and they work when nothing else does. i deployed for a flooding event a few years back and we had three laptops die or have battery issues in the first six hours. the guys with paper were just fine. ICS-214 forms too if youre working with served agencies, they expect that format and it makes the paperwork easier after the fact.

one more thing - headlamp with extra batteries in the kit. sounds dumb but youll be setting up in the dark at some point guaranteed.

im pretty new to all this myself but i just went through the same process a couple months ago after joining my local ARES group. one thing my elmer told me that i hadnt thought about was having a printed copy of all my frequencies, repeater info, nets i'm supposed to check into, all that stuff. because if your phone dies or your laptop is dead you dont want to be trying to remember what the local emergency repeater PL tone is at 2am under stress.

also he mentioned having a small inverter or at least knowing what you need to charge and planning for it. my kit works great for like 8 hours and then i realized i had no real plan for keeping the laptop and the radio both fed overnight. still working on that part honestly.