I think we've all seen the basic PSK and 72 hour kits listed here and everywhere. But here is a twist

Via my ham radio work, we get called out to help with Emcomm. We can end up at OEM, or a shelter, or in theory on a ride along.

Besides my radio gear, my PSK, and the usual "stuff"you see in a basic 24-72 hour kit, what would YOU put in the kit. Remember we might even end up "away from home" doing mututal aid, but then we are usually provided with "3 hots and a cot"

extra

1) power
2) radio
3) antenna

did I mention power.

If you are doing emcomms things are bad enough that you can't count on anymore power than you can carry. I would think you should bring enough battery to operate full power for three days and recieve constant for ten. Then double that because you know Murphy will attack.

Then consider alternative power such as
1) a decent way to hook up to whatever vehicle might still have gas - this includes inverter, conditioner and jumper cables.
2) a decent solar alternative - after the storm passes there still may be need for H & W messages and the phones may take a while to restore
3) If you carry QRP type equipment you might be able to use the power source in a BayGen type radio if you are into some home-brew.
4) Plastic tarps to cover your station incase of leaky roofs. Simple trash bags are better than nothing. Wet radios don't work.

Presuming that you will transmitting from strong station such as mobile 2 or 6 meter unit or a fixed station at a shelter etc. Whatever you main radio is you should consider alternative / back up radios:
1) Carry a good tri-band HT
2) CW QRP HF.
3) Cell phone - Who says every message must be delivered via Radio?

If your main station goes FUBAR the HT should be enough to get you back on the net to announce the condition of your station. If Both your main station and your HT go FUBAR or the Net goes FUBAR then your CW-QRP-HF rig will allow you to continue usefully contacting out of the disaster zone. Something like the ROK-MITE with a random-long-wire antenna wound around the box can be tucked into the same space as a PSK and might even weigh less. Works on very little power which could be rigged easily from any of the above alternatives.

You should have antenna intended for use on all of your stations attached or stored with them then you might also add

1) antenna tuner and SWR meter so that you could borrow antenna from whatever is around

2) Largish spool of wire and another of twine. Random-long-wire antenna are decent for any freq if you can impedance match them - See #1.

Of course you will also want the standard survival stuff but in the eventuality that you end up in a shelter or other fixed / loud / busy location you will want to also carry comfort items such as

1) ear-plugs and eyeshades. Who knows when you will be alloted sleep time. You must be prepared to invent quiet and dark to enable good sleep.

2) Power-bars, GORP, Ramen Noodles, MRE. - Maybe you will get three hots - maybe you won't. They will still expect you to continue communicating anyway.

3) Water and water purification and water carry.

4) A good tent would be helpful as well depending upon deployment.

Just a few thoughts.

Extra radio - check. I actually bring 3. A dual band HT, a dual band mobile, and a 2M Mobile (Usually my APRS rig)

Batteries. Just a few. 2 90Ah GelCells (the size of car batteries) and 6 7Ah cells, plus 2 Nimh packs for the HT, plus an AA pack, with 4 sets of spare AAs

Food - I ALWAYS have 24-36 hours of eats in my urban kit (The HT above is in there too)

As I said, I carry a 24 hour bag with me all the time. I'm looking for the "extras" beside the radio gear. That I have plenty of (2 mast systems, coax, tool kits, spare antennas - all power on powerpoles, a scanner to go with the 3 rigs)

The earplug idea is a good one. I always have 1 or 2 pairs with me, but I'll add some more to the truck.

It's the dumb things that you forget that I'm looking for. The things you don't think of until AFTER a few times in the field. last time out I realized I didn't have road flares or a strobe to put on the truck (yes - it has magnetic retroreflectors on it)

I've taken the ARRL courses (all 3), and a stack of the FEMA stuff and a stack of Red Cross stuff
(I am the county EC and RACES officer)

Oh you mean things like

Spare socks

Full electronics repair kit

Headphones because the noise will be too much to hear what you are saying and the headphones must not be VOX but rather PTT.

Tooth brush

Ibuprofin and Immodium

"Pee-Can" in case you don't get a break in the traffic

Those sort of things?

From your last post I will yeild to your greater training. I have only taken EmComms I so far and perused a bit of the FEMA training and become EMT Basic Certified.

Have your deployed before? If so what was your experience?

Please share what you already carry so that we may learn.

TIA, TTFN

Headslap - I keep forgetting piddlepacks. I REALLY need to add some piddle packs (Thank you - you just made the thread worthwhile)

As for "real" deployments - just the blackout, and a "partial" activation of a barge fire (got called off at the last minute). A bunch of practice things

Quite a few of the guys I 'work' with did the WTC on 9/11 and the weeks active. I got my license a bit late for that

Spare socks, and underware stay in my EDC bag in case I get stuck at work (I carry a 45 lb bag to/from work every day!) Look at for my bag The BIG question is what I forgot! Not so much in the EDC bag - that has proved itself fairly well. What I worry about is the "rest" of the stuff that gets loaded in the truck as needed. One big problem is that like MOST folks in NYC, I take mass transit to work, so I'm stuck with ONLY the EDC until I get to the truck

I store a LOT of stuff in 5 gal pails for the truck. If I'm in the truck I can use one of the pails as a toilet (Key a roll of paper in there <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ) I remembered flares after the blackout, and I was given a couple by a friendly emergency worker (They got "left" in the truck) After working in the city streets in the dark, with traffic, I now KNOW why policemen and firemen are paranoid about safety on the road (keep a parked vehicle between your work area and traffic)

The thing is, unless you are always thinking about it, you tend to "forget" things. On a training exercise last weekend, I forgot my rain gear! Of course, it rained <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Edited to fix URL

You have an impressive, well thought-out kit. I really like the layered approach.

You asked about what else might be added to your equipment, other than radio equipment. You might consider the following:

You might want to add some tweezers and a fresnel lens to the minikits and/or first aid kit. Do you have room to cram in a couple of activated charcoal capsules and pepto-bismol tablets?

If the minikit is not waterproof, you might want to consider putting the tin in a ziplock bag.

In the backpack, you might want to add the following:
* pepper spray (for the 2- and 4-legged varmints) (If you have a choice, opt for the solid stream versus the spray or fog.)
* backup method of firestarting
* cornstarch in small shaker (to keep feet and crotch dry)
* insect repellent (Consumer Reports recently had a good article on insect repellents, and rated several)
* velcro straps
* spare eyeglasses with case, if you wear glasses.
* spare sunglasses with case, even if they are the roll-up type
* a few feet of survey flagging
* small bottle of gorilla glue in a ziplock bag
* at least one change of pants and shirt
* at least 1 or 2 additional bottles of water
* gallon size ziplock bag
* 2 or 3 feet of folded, heavy-duty aluminum foil
* a trash bag or two (for laundry, etc)

When you are deployed, is there a possiblity that noise levels or interference will be such that you can't use your radios? Or, is there ever a time when you will be in an emergency situation and will also be away from your radios? If so, do you have any means of getting someone's attention other than throwing something at them? If not, you might want to consider packing and/or carrying a whistle and an unbreakable mirror.

Will you ever be in a situation where the water you are carrying will be insufficient and additional clean water is unavailable? If so, you might want to consider carrying at least a filtration straw and/or bottle of purification tabs.

When you are deployed, is there always a bathroom, latrine, or a porta-potty available? If not, you may want to add a folding shovel so you can dig a cat hole when nature calls. For what it's worth, I understand that the military issue tri-folds are much better quality than the imitations, and the pack cloth covers are much better than the rubber ones.

Speaking of latrines and the like, you might want to add some moist wipes as an alternative to the toilet paper. When the 'roids kick up, or you are irritated back there, or your diet has made it difficult to get clean, nothing beats the TLC of the wipes. Cottonelle makes some really nice ones. Wouldn't hurt to carry a few in the truck, too.

Nice page listing your gear! I see you're also a fan of Glover's "Pocket Ref." It is amazing what fits in that little book.

Tackman,
There are some real good additions in your kit - some of which are kept in the truck, some which need to be added. The spare ziplocks are in the pack, along with 2 garbage bags. I added moist wipes to the truck the day AFTER the blackout. I don't carry a trifold in the truck, as when I pack the truck (aka, not everyday) - I put a full sized shovel. The "Pocket" mini kit is not waterproof OR in a ziplock, but there is an identical kit in a ziplock in the pack!

The whistle is on the list - I want to get a Mini Fox40, but have NOT been able to find one locally. I was able to find a full sized storm, but that is WAY too big.

Most of what is going to get added will go in the "truck" layer, unless it's small. You see, I have to CARRY that backpack every day (I live in NYC, and take the train and subway). At 47 lbs with the stuff I need "for work", it's getting close to the max I'll carry as an EDC

I really need to list out the "truck" layer one day. Part of my reason for the photos is that I've printed my web page, and use it as a checklist! I have to do it for the truck too

I just acquired a Surefire E2. The silver aluminum units are on sale @ $75 vs the #95 anodised. I acquired batteries, red filter and spare bulb units. I would pick up at least one spare bulb.