Thursday, May 7, 2026
26 check-insThis Week's Question
"Looking back at Saturday's SET, is there a piece of equipment, gear, food, power, or personal kit that you brought — or wish you had brought — that would have made you more effective, more comfortable, or better prepared for the kinds of duties we saw that day?"
What Did Saturday's SET Teach You About Your Gear?
Last Saturday's Simulated Emergency Test (SET) gave many of us a chance to spend real time in the field — moving between assignments, working from vehicles, operating away from home, and relying on the gear we actually brought with us.
Tonight, instead of reviewing the event as a whole, let's focus on a more personal takeaway: what did the exercise teach each of us about the equipment, supplies, and support items we carry — or wish we had carried?
Why an Exercise Like the SET Is Where Gear Gaps Show Up
- Real duration: A weekly net is about an hour. Saturday was hours on end — long enough for batteries to sag, snacks to matter, and a missing pen to become a real problem.
- Real movement: Operating from a vehicle, walking to a post, or relocating mid-event surfaces every loose cable, missing adapter, and forgotten coax jumper.
- Real conditions: Sun, wind, temperature, and noise all change how usable a handheld, a notebook, or a phone screen really is.
- Real workload: Logging traffic, listening to a net, and talking to a served agency at the same time exposes whether your kit is organized or just packed.
- Low cost to fail: The whole point of an exercise is to find these gaps now, when nobody's home or life is on the line.
Walk Your Kit Through Saturday in Your Head
As you think about your answer, walk through the day from the moment you left the driveway. The categories below aren't a checklist — they're prompts to help you spot the one or two items worth talking about on the air tonight.
- HT, spare battery, drop-in charger
- Better antenna (roll-up, mag-mount, 1/4 wave)
- Coax jumpers and adapters (SO-239, BNC, SMA)
- Speaker-mic or headset for noisy environments
- Programming cable / cheat sheet of repeater pairs
- Spare handheld as a backup or loaner
- Mobile rig in the vehicle, with a way to power it parked
- Phone with the right apps (Winlink, RepeaterBook, mapping)
- USB power bank (and the cable that actually fits)
- 12 V outlet adapters / cigarette-lighter splitter
- Inverter for laptops or chargers that need AC
- Anderson Powerpole pigtails & jumpers
- Multi-port USB charger for downtime
- Spare AA / AAA for headlamps, clocks, mice
- A way to charge from the car without leaving it idling all day
- Backup battery for your HT — charged the night before
- Water — more than you think, plus a refill bottle
- Real food, not just snacks — something that travels well
- Caffeine of choice (coffee, soda, electrolyte mix)
- Hand sanitizer, wipes, paper towels
- Sunscreen, lip balm, bug spray seasonally
- Layers — a jacket and a hat regardless of forecast
- Folding chair for long static assignments
- Personal meds, Tylenol/ibuprofen, allergy meds
- Clipboard, ICS-214 / log forms, blank paper
- Pens (plural), Sharpie, highlighter
- Phone mount, dash mount, or magnetic holder
- Maps — printed county/city maps as a backup
- High-vis vest, ARPSC ID, FCC license copy
- Headlamp + spare batteries for after dark
- Rain jacket, gloves, sturdy boots
- A way to keep the kit organized in the vehicle — bag, bin, or pack
Three Honest Questions to Ask Your Kit
If you'd rather think about it as a quick after-action review, try these three:
- What helped the most? The one item you'd put in your bag again tomorrow without thinking — the gear that earned its weight on Saturday.
- What fell short? The radio that wouldn't reach, the battery that sagged, the pen that ran out, the snack that melted, the cable that was the wrong end.
- What's the one upgrade? One thing you'd add to your vehicle, your go-kit, or your radio setup before the next event — and can actually do this week.
This Week's Action Item
Pick one change to your kit based on what Saturday taught you, and finish it before next Thursday's net. Just one. For example:
- Add a charged spare HT battery to the bag tonight
- Drop a power bank and the right cable in the go-kit
- Print a fresh stack of ICS-214 forms and a clipboard
- Build a small "wet weather" pouch — jacket, hat, gloves
- Stage water and shelf-stable food in the vehicle
- Replace the worn coax jumper or missing adapter
- Mount a phone holder so navigation isn't in your lap
- Reorganize the bag so the radio kit is on top
Further Reading
ARRL: The Simulated Emergency Test
Background on the SET, why ARES runs it, and how to think about lessons learned.
Visit ARRLARRL Field Services Forms
ICS forms, ARES paperwork, and field-service references straight from the ARRL.
Visit ARRLGo-Kit / Jump-Kit Checklists
ARRL's Public Service portal — sample go-kit lists, ICS forms, and training material.
Visit ARRL Public ServiceReady.gov — Build a Kit
FEMA's general kit guidance — a useful baseline to layer your radio kit on top of.
Visit Ready.govExercises Exist So Real Events Don't Surprise Us
Every honest answer tonight makes the next deployment a little smoother — for you, for the operator next to you, and for the served agency that's counting on us. If Saturday taught you something, share it tonight.
Check-In List
| # | Call Sign | Name | City | Member |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N8VDZ | Mike | Warren | Member |
| 2 | KE8WUO | John | Warren | Member |
| 3 | K8WA | Bill | Warren | Member |
| 4 | KF8ETQ | Darren | Fraser | Member |
| 5 | N8HAP | Joe | New Baltimore | Member |
| 6 | 14/KC8KJO | Tom | Memphis | — |
| 7 | 26/N8CAF | Cliff | Clinton Township | — |
| 8 | KE8ZSA | Michael | Saint Clair Shores | — |
| 9 | 5/N8XZ | Ron | Warren | — |
| 10 | 43/KE8RUH | Anthony | Grosse Pointe Woods | — |
| 11 | W8RCY | Donald | Madison Heights | — |
| 12 | 35/AD8MP | David | Saint Clair Shores | — |
| 13 | 38/N8KJV | Jason | Warren | — |
| 14 | N8KNS | Don | Sterling Heights | Member |
| 15 | 41/KF8FQZ | Lisa | Warren | — |
| 16 | 7/W8FU | Sean | Warren | — |
| 17 | 44/KF8FRA | Peter | Warren | — |
| 18 | 12/N8HLY | Tom | Sterling Heights | — |
| 19 | 21/AD8OD | John | Troy | — |
| 20 | 6/N8WCB | Dave | Sterling Heights | — |
| 21 | 9/W8VD | Wally | New Baltimore | — |
| 22 | KE8YNU | Dave | New Haven | Member |
| 23 | 10/N8WRO | Tim | Richmond | — |
| 24 | KF8DRC | Jack | Rochester | — |
| 25 | W8VOX | Jon | Macomb | Member |
| 26 | KF8FGS | David | Utica | Member |