Every trip is different and I never know where I will be headed next, so I like to pack by modules which helps me get out the door without forgetting stuff I need. @Michael dId a great video a few years ago about Getting out of town in 20 minutes and, even though I can never get packed that quickly, I share his philosophy on the method. I have a case for food, one for recovery gear, a pack for my tent and sleeping gear, you get the picture.
Over the past few years, I’ve built a sort of “communications go bag” that I can throw in the truck and know that I’ve got all the batteries, adapters, chargers, etc that I need without having to take inventory every time I pack. I added a new piece today and, since I had everything out, decided to take a few pics and share how I organize my radio gear. Keep in mind, this is just what I take when truck camping or on road trips. I don’t always take all my radios, but I’ve found it’s much easier to remove stuff than remember to pack it in the first place. Either way, the bag is ready anytime I am.
I mysteriously found myself at Harbor Freight today and they had a skid of their knock-off Pelican cases on sale. Since I‘ve wanted to build a dedicated DMR kit, I figured this would be a good way to keep my DMR radio and hotspot organized. It’s a small case but it works very well for what I need and it fits nicely in the backpack that I use.
This little case has everything I need to work DMR and I think it will be easy to just grab and go. The little Pi-Spot is great because it will power off the USB ports in the truck and will connect to my phone hotspot so I can use it anywhere. Essentially it acts like a very short range personal DMR repeater so I can talk worldwide as long as I’m within about 150 feet of my truck. The RT82 also dual bands on 2m/70cm so I can use it like a regular HT if I want.
I also picked up a cheap set of FRS walkie talkies last Black Friday because my wife and I wanted to have them for spotting on trails and for when we are in a group where not everyone has CB or HAM radio. They are super cheap (like less than $20 cheap) but they are small form factor and they have worked well for the first few times we have used them. I keep them in their own little case because we found - while decorating for Christmas - that we use them when working around the yard too and this keeps them and all the charging cables handy.
I also keep a small Asus Netbook in the backpack for programming radios and editing / sharing codeplugs. I think I’ve had this little laptop for about 9-10 years and the battery won’t even hold charge anymore but it still runs CHIRP and the DMR codeplug software so it has stayed in my kit.
The two HTs that I use most are the Yaesu VX-8r which I absolutely love and the little Baofeng UV-5R which I use to throw codeplugs onto when I want to try to hit repeaters in cities we visit. Just look up repeaters on RadioReference or RepeaterBook and load them up via CHIRP. It only takes a few minutes and it’s fun to talk on local repeaters when traveling around.
I was gifted a backpack from a Motorola vendor a few years back so everything lives in that and it keeps all the programming cables, antennas, and chargers organized while remaining accessible. I keep the radios in the top compartment because it is padded but I can also put them on the side pockets if I want to turn them on and used them as scanners.
I’ve gone back and forth about hardwiring a 2m/70cm mobile in the truck. So far my HTs (when connected to an exterior antenna) have done everything I need without having to worry about programming a dedicated radio for the truck. I also connect the audio out on my HTs to my stereo so the sound is pretty good but a dedicated mobile would mean I don’t have to hook the radio up whenever I want to use it. So far the setup works well for me but there is always room for improvement, right?
So, does anyone else have a similar kit? How do you keep your radio gear organized? What could I do better?
Here is what my full kit looks like as of this afternoon. I forgot to take the Retevis RT82 out of the case and my CB is hardwired under the seat so those aren’t in these pics but this is where it stands right now.
73
Over the past few years, I’ve built a sort of “communications go bag” that I can throw in the truck and know that I’ve got all the batteries, adapters, chargers, etc that I need without having to take inventory every time I pack. I added a new piece today and, since I had everything out, decided to take a few pics and share how I organize my radio gear. Keep in mind, this is just what I take when truck camping or on road trips. I don’t always take all my radios, but I’ve found it’s much easier to remove stuff than remember to pack it in the first place. Either way, the bag is ready anytime I am.
I mysteriously found myself at Harbor Freight today and they had a skid of their knock-off Pelican cases on sale. Since I‘ve wanted to build a dedicated DMR kit, I figured this would be a good way to keep my DMR radio and hotspot organized. It’s a small case but it works very well for what I need and it fits nicely in the backpack that I use.
This little case has everything I need to work DMR and I think it will be easy to just grab and go. The little Pi-Spot is great because it will power off the USB ports in the truck and will connect to my phone hotspot so I can use it anywhere. Essentially it acts like a very short range personal DMR repeater so I can talk worldwide as long as I’m within about 150 feet of my truck. The RT82 also dual bands on 2m/70cm so I can use it like a regular HT if I want.
I also picked up a cheap set of FRS walkie talkies last Black Friday because my wife and I wanted to have them for spotting on trails and for when we are in a group where not everyone has CB or HAM radio. They are super cheap (like less than $20 cheap) but they are small form factor and they have worked well for the first few times we have used them. I keep them in their own little case because we found - while decorating for Christmas - that we use them when working around the yard too and this keeps them and all the charging cables handy.
I also keep a small Asus Netbook in the backpack for programming radios and editing / sharing codeplugs. I think I’ve had this little laptop for about 9-10 years and the battery won’t even hold charge anymore but it still runs CHIRP and the DMR codeplug software so it has stayed in my kit.
The two HTs that I use most are the Yaesu VX-8r which I absolutely love and the little Baofeng UV-5R which I use to throw codeplugs onto when I want to try to hit repeaters in cities we visit. Just look up repeaters on RadioReference or RepeaterBook and load them up via CHIRP. It only takes a few minutes and it’s fun to talk on local repeaters when traveling around.
I was gifted a backpack from a Motorola vendor a few years back so everything lives in that and it keeps all the programming cables, antennas, and chargers organized while remaining accessible. I keep the radios in the top compartment because it is padded but I can also put them on the side pockets if I want to turn them on and used them as scanners.
I’ve gone back and forth about hardwiring a 2m/70cm mobile in the truck. So far my HTs (when connected to an exterior antenna) have done everything I need without having to worry about programming a dedicated radio for the truck. I also connect the audio out on my HTs to my stereo so the sound is pretty good but a dedicated mobile would mean I don’t have to hook the radio up whenever I want to use it. So far the setup works well for me but there is always room for improvement, right?
So, does anyone else have a similar kit? How do you keep your radio gear organized? What could I do better?
Here is what my full kit looks like as of this afternoon. I forgot to take the Retevis RT82 out of the case and my CB is hardwired under the seat so those aren’t in these pics but this is where it stands right now.
73
