NJ9E Dale, ham radio operator for 50 years this year, brought three go Kits and antennas to show at the meeting.
As part of his presentation he explained the origins of the Wayfar repeater… The 4th repeater in the Chicagoland area. He has been president of different clubs in the area and as part of that began working in emergency communications.
Using an ammo can he puts together a kit with a 7Ah battery, antenna mount and power pole connections. All you need to add is your own radio. It’s a compact package as you can see from the photo below. He reminded us that in nearly any deployment you’re going to be listening 90% or more of the time so the 7Ah battery is sufficient. He has managed 30 hours of listening with this setup.
He had several suggestions about what to keep in the extra space in the case including: a flashlight, programming cable, bullet connector, radio manual among other items.
When talking about deployment he showed off a slingshot and fishing reel setup for launching a line into a tree to hoist up your VHF vertical antenna. It was a very compact tool which is great for portability. He stressed that with VHF or UHF line of sight is the limiting factor and height is your best friend.
He sells the the boxes completely assembled or as a pre-drilled box ready to accept parts. Look for him at local hamfests.