What's in your Comm go-bag?

[cferron]

At an out-of-town SAREX last weekend, we were using a member's office at the local airport as mission base.  A bunch of pilots and mission staff wanted to plug their cell phones/radio chargers/gps battery chargers in, but there were limited power outlets.  So, when I got back home, I added two power strips to my comm go-bag.  Also went and bought an inexpensive 24-hour "atomic" clock, since there were no wall clocks in easy view of the comm console.  So what have you added to your comm kit that comes in extra handy...?

[♠SARKID♠]

Handheld 5W
Scanner
Chargers for both
HAM Repeater Directory (I know, can't use it for CAP, but it doesn't hurt to have it either)

Things yet to add

• Wire antenna to throw up into a tree
• UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply)
• Collapsable kite
  Heard a cool story of someone who needed a longer HF antenna on the fly, couldn't set one up normally, so he attached the antenna to a kite and flew it up to get the signal out.
  

[floridacyclist]

Besides my regular 24 and 72 hr kits (which I use for CAP, DMAT, ARES and as my emergency BOB) I carry a couple of action packers with several handhelds (both CAP and ham which are also useful for monitoring CAP comm or other agencies such as ARC since they primarily use ham), a 50W mobile ham radio, a 140W VHF amp, 2M vertical collinear vertical with 100ft of 450ohm ladderline feedline, my ICOM 703 in it's own seperate backpack (complete with 7 a/hr gel-cell, yo-yo-tenna, throwing weight/line and 2m transverter), several different jumpers with various connectors on one end (bare wire, clamps, cigarette lighter, eyelets) and Powerpoles on the other, ziplock of unassembled powerpoles, crimping tool, multimeter, various RF connectors and adaptors for BNC, PL259/SO239, Mini-UHF, SMA, Reverse SMA (for Motorolas), several 25-ft rolls of RG8X, Mini-SWR meter (the Bird usually stays at home), spool of wire, trucker-style vice-grip antenna mount (also functions as vice-grips), home toolkit, plain old telephoe (does not need power and works on fax/data lines) soldering iron, solder, 2 inverters, power strip, deck of playing cards, Itronix ruggedized laptop computer w/ GPS, mapping software, CAP and ham repeater guides plus mucho other reference material, and phone-as-modem cellular connection.

My Kenwood TK-730 and SGC SG-2000 are already installed in my truck along with a 20W power supply, deep-cycle trolling motor battery, and I often toss a 100ft roll of RG8 in the back if I have room since you don't always get to choose where to put your radio vs where your antennas go. Also, if I know I'm going specifically for comm, tater cannon, a fishing pole, a can of hairspray, bag of aluminum stakes (to skewer the taters and tie the fishing line to), and a sack of taters.

Am sure there's more, but I don't have my packing list in front of me.

[dwb]

Holy cow!  Where do you put the driver in your vehicle?

[floridacyclist]

When we went to Waveland 3 weeks after Katrina, we had myself (Gene AI4KK), our local amateur radio club president (John KI4EWB) and my 16yo son Stefan KI4JTA) in an extended-cab Nissan pickup that I had just borrowed when my Suburban died on the way back from New Orleans. We built a wooden deck for the back that allowed us to fill the bed and then strap additional shipping containers to the top of the deck with ratchet straps. By the time we had our extra stuff loaded on plus several cans of gasoline, we looked a lot like the Beverly Hillbillies.....but so did many others.

On my current Pathfinder, anything waterproof goes on the rear cargo platform, on the camper if I'm pulling it (I bought one of the lightest popups I could find just for this kind of thing plus family trips), or on the truck's roof rack.

Most of that stuff in the extra gear list goes in one or two action-packer plastic crates. When we went to New Orleans, we flew in by Medevac, so I eliminated most of the spare stuff and only took antennas, radios, and survival gear; I only had my rucksack, HF backpack, 1 crate, 1 case of bottled water, 1 case of MREs, and a state-issued satellite Irridium radio/telephone.

Overall, I keep things pretty modular so I can add and subtract as needed or as my carrying capacity allows.

[floridacyclist]

Oh, I forgot....I'm also working on learning to set up as a mobile/portable wifi hotspot by sharing my cellphone connection over the wireless. I may have to add a cheap wireless router so I can use it with an external antenna.

[cferron]

Great list, Gene...thanks.  Just curious about a couple of things:  what's a tater cannon...and why the hairspray...?

My latest acquisition is a ToolPak backpack-style tool case from Tecra Tools.  Enough room for all my tools, cables etc and easier to carry than a tool box/bag.  Very heavy duty and reasonably priced.

-- Chip N0WKR

[SarDragon]

what's a tater cannon...?

Tater cannon

Hook the end of an antenna wire to something that will fit into the barrel, and fire away.

[♠SARKID♠]

Man those things are fun.  Like I said in another thread: People said I couldn't get a marshmallow up to 250mph...proved them wrong.

Floridacyclist, I assume that the cannon is more necessary for the long HF antennas?

[floridacyclist]

It can be although it is more critical to get your VHF antenna up as high as possible. I have a homemade vertical collinear wire VHF antenna that I put up in the top of the tallest tree I can find and it gives me good simplex range for 20 or 30 miles. Using NVIS (Near-Vertical Incidence Skywave) propagation for HF, while it is nice to have your antenna up about 50 ft it is not as crucial since you're trying to radiate your signal straight up anyway, not out to the sides. The optimum antenna height for HF NVIS is between .15 and .25 wavelengths although experiments have been done down to a foot or so above the ground that show that lower heights may actually help by giving a lower overall noise level and a better signal-to-noise ratio. For backpack-portable HF, I just throw a weight up in a convenient tree and haul my yo-yo-tenna up into it; it works fine even just 15-20 ft up.

One thing to understand is that as an ARRL-certified Emergency Communications instructor (currently in the middle of teaching a Level 3 class) I have a higher-than-usual standard to uphold in the area of communications reliability in spite of any circumstances that we might face. We teach that everyone needs to be totally self-sufficient since there often aren't any Radio Shacks or Krogers open in the places we go to. We cannot plan to have any repeaters functional, hence the big VHF antenna. If something breaks, it is up to us to fix it using our wits, imagination, and whatever spare parts we might have on hand or are able to fabricate. Much of this attitude spills over into how I approach CAP comm...the messages must go through from Point A to Point B, with 100% accuracy and near-perfect reliability - or at least as close as we can get even if the situation dictates that we must relay through Points C, D, E, and F or for that matter even if we have to send text messages or smoke signals; after all, we are not radio operators, we are communicators. I think CAP communicators should be held to the same standard.

Needless to say, MacGyver is my hero

[BigMojo]

I prefer pneumatic power for tater shooters... Quieter, less explosive.  Pack a handful of BB-Gun CO2 cartridges and you're good to go. 

[SarDragon]

I prefer pneumatic power for tater shooters... Quieter, less explosive.  Pack a handful of BB-Gun CO2 cartridges and you're good to go. 

Interesting concept. What kind of range can you get?

[cferron]

Guess I'm a true gadget freak -- until yesterday I'd never heard of a tater cannon and now I can't live without one...guess it's time for a visit to Home Depot!

-- Chip N0WKR

[♠SARKID♠]

Guess I'm a true gadget freak -- until yesterday I'd never heard of a tater cannon and now I can't live without one...guess it's time for a visit to Home Depot!

-- Chip N0WKR

Be careful, use metal if you can afford it.  If not, take ABS over PVC if you can find it (ABS is pressure rated, PVC is not).  Check your equipment regularly (My chamber developed fractures, now useless, but could have gone catastrophic).  And wrap it in a very thick layer of duct tape.  That way, if it explodes, it wont shatter and kill you.

[BigMojo]

I prefer pneumatic power for tater shooters... Quieter, less explosive.  Pack a handful of BB-Gun CO2 cartridges and you're good to go. 

Interesting concept. What kind of range can you get?

I've had several models over the years...The handheld shooter (I keep on the boat for shooting lifelines, and other thing...) I can get about 50-75yrds out of. It uses a solenoid lawn sprinkler valve on a momentary switch as a trigger. I have one that's more tater gun looking that I fill using an air compressor (Think t-shirt gun) and I can shoot a tater about about 150yrds with that one. I built the mother of all guns that had a tripod stand, and a 10ft (yes, I said foot) barrel and used a 5gal airtank, and a big ball valve for a trigger. That one shot well over a 1/4 mile. That one was a college thing. The College of Engineering had a potato chucking contest every year, only rule was no combustion could be used to propel the spud. Well, I figured us business students could enter to, so we did, and beat everyone. My longest shot was measured at 632.5 yards. Second place was 402 yards. 

By the way, PVC is rated at 110 psi, which is plenty for air powered guns. I found 85psi to be my magic number.

[gistek]

I keep an inverter in my POV. I also have a power strip. It comes in very handy for recharging officers' cell phones.

My ready-bag has fully charged spare batteries for my ham radio handi-talkie, and the handi-talkie is programmed to receive the CAP frequencies, so I can listen to what's going on. It also has a pair of FRS radios that I use for vehicle to vehicle communications during the drive.

Beyond that, I keep spare flashlights, batteries, and food bars in a rubbermade bin that I can throw in the back when I get a call-up. I had kept them in my trunk for a while, but the head wasn't good for them.

I'm also willing to add items as I find the need for them.

My POV? 2005 Dodge Caravan with fold & go seating. Whenever possible I make sure it goes along on the mission - even if I have to have someone else drive it. (ie, I'm the only CAP licensed driver available)

[cferron]

Food...good idea!  Never fails to amaze me how many people show up for a SAREX with no grub.  I travel a lot on my job and I've found a variety of heat-safe snacks -- dry-roasted peanuts, m&m's, beef jerky, etc -- that I toss in on SAREX's and missions.  Sometimes when you're the only commo available you get glued to the radio for long periods.  Nice to have some protein available...

[JoeTomasone]

My list will be somewhat shorter than Capt. Floyd's, but then, I'm just a lowly Lieutenant.


Radio Bag:

CAP handheld (personally owned)
Ham 2M/440 (Just 'cause, and for DF work)
Scanner
Portable 100-500Mhz 2ele beam
Various connectors
AA battery packs for both radios
12v charger for ham HT/scanner
A dozen or so FRS radios w/spare batteries


Antenna Bag:

2 50' rolls of RG-8x
1 2m/440 twinlead J-pole
1 dipole cut for SA
Fishing line, sinkers, and a wrist rocket (no taters, sadly)
50' paracord
Heavy gauge wire for antenna construction
Egg insulators, center insulators
Twinlead (for more J-poles!)
Various HT antennas


Power Bag:

4 20W roll-up solar panels with charge controller
12V 6ah belt-clip battery pack
Adapters/connectors interconnecting:
* Old-style ARES molex
* Powerpole
* Cigarette lighter
* Solar panels
* Banana plug
* Alligator Clips
* ..etc.


Tool Box:
Soldering iron
Hand tools (needlenose, screwdrivers wire stripper, etc)
Powerpoles
Powerpole crimper
Glue gun
FUSES!  (ATC/AGC/mini)
Electrical Tape
Hookup wire


Lighting Bag:

2 12vdc fluorescent "work-lights"
15m candlepower spotlight w/12v cigarette lighter port
LED worklight (lasts forever!)
LED flashlight with white/red/blue/green LEDs
Fluorescent lantern
Hand-crack LED flashlight with cigarette lighter output for cell adapter
..A few more...


Tech Bag:

Laptop, with AC/DC/Airplane power cable
Cigarette Lighter adapter for Cell
AA battery pack for cell
Solar-charged battery pack with adapter for cell



Not in a bag, per se, but ready to go:

2m/440 PVC mounted Jpole with 15' homemade push-up pole and stand
15ah battery pack - foot pedal or AC/DC rechargeable
12ah "Car Booster" battery pack
2 marine batteries
50W solar panel with charge controller


And, of course, a personal bag that has uniforms and toiletries and the like.   I stock/get food from my 72hr kit.   However, since I can't seem to find good MREs at good prices, I tend to go for snack bars, tuna snacks, and soups.   All are cheaper than MREs and help me shed a few pounds while in the field. 

[floridacyclist]

Can you see how us ARES geeks tend to think and pack alike?

[JoeTomasone]

True, although I have had to revamp a little towards more CAP-like thinking since my 72 hour pack was unmercifully (but justifiably) critiqued during my GTM3 training.   

Just when you think you know it all, someone who does reminds you that you don't!

[W2IK]

Regarding the comments about NVIS antennas, I have a nice web page about building an Emergency NVIS antenna that you can bring anywhere. It can be found at:

http://hometown.aol.com/alonestaryank/ENVISANT.html

It is the only NVIS antenna system posted in the ECOM section of
NAVMC MARS national web site.

Bob  W2IK - NNN0KSI - NNN0GBY2 (STX NAVMC MARS ECOM)

[JoeTomasone]

Heya Wikkie!  Long time no see back in NLI.

I have plans to build that one day..  But your pool pole J-Pole is doing well here on CAP and ham frequencies.   

Anyone who wants a good portable VHF antenna for cheap should check that section of Bob's site.


   Joe (AB2M)

[flyerthom]

War kittens 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kJs9-7zfGs