In one of the forums I visit there were a lot of questions about what radios and antennas to get for a new Amateur Radio Operator. I have bought/sold/traded many radios over my 29 years as a amateur radio operator and feel I have a pretty firm grip on what a basic setup would look like. I am not going to do a good/better/best list as I feel a good list will leave an operator wanting something better and a best list is usually cost prohibitive and can be technically advanced for most beginners. Better is "the just right". This range is usually only a little more expensive then the good range and the equipment is still easy to use and has more than enough performance.
Primarily for this post, I will be concerned with Emergency Communications (EmComm). More specifically net operations using digital modes. The equipment list will be geared for either home or portable operation.
Radio. Whatever radio you choose make sure it is capable or 100 watts output and does not require a separate sound card. A sound card whether built into the radio or external is required for most digital modes used today. You want a 100 watt radio for 2 reasons: 1) The purpose is this setup is for EmComm. It may be critical for you to make the communications link with the net control station. Being able to run 100 watts even if for a short period of time is better than maxing out at 5 watts and not making the connection. 2) Digital modes have a high duty cycle. Running a 5 watt radio at 5 watts because they often have a very small heat sink, heat very quickly. A 100 watt radio can run at 40 watts all day long and not even get warm.
My choices.
The radio I recommend for new hams is the Icom IC-7300 at HRO. It is easy to use and setup, has a built in sound card, and the best metering for digital modes.

With the IC-7300 you can view all of the meters at once. Runners up are the IC-7100 at HRO and the Yaesu FT-710 at HRO . I find that the FT-710 and IC-7300 (I have owned/own both) hear about the same. I prefer the ergonomics of the Icoms better. With the radio I recommend Portable Zero RailsPortable Zero Rails to protect the radio and make it easier to handle.

Antenna Tuner/Match. I recommend an external antenna tuner/match. Most built-in tuners will match the impedance of an antenna up to 3:1, and external antenna tuner such as an LDG Z-11 Pro II or LDG Z-100A which will match up to 10:1. This is important if you are using a non-resonant antenna or one that is electrically short or long.
Antenna - Home. I have used many antennas over the years and I have developed my go to antenna list. For the home station, I have settled on either an 80 meter half wave dipole (~132 ft) or 160 meter Off Center Fed (OCF) Dipole (270 Ft). I have a slight preference for the OCF and they can be had in 80 meter versions. The 80 meter dipole can be homebrewed and the OCF dipoles can be found hereBuckmaster Antennas. It is important to note that most EmComm operations happen on the 40 meter and 80 meter bands. An 80 meter antenna will work reasonably well on 40, 20, and 10 meter bands but a 40 meter antenna will not work well on 80 meter. Bigger is better.
Antenna - Portable. I have used a lot of portable antennas over the years. I have narrowed it down to 3 favorites. The antenna I probably use the most is a 28.5 Ft random wire antenna with a 17 Ft counterpoise. It is easy to set up and works well 80-6 meters. If you look at my activations on this blog I have QSO Maps to show real performance. I will include a link on how to build the 28.5' Random wire antenna. My second favorite is a Chameleon EmComm II Ver. 1 Chameleon EmComm !! ver.2. I usually set it up as a ~60 Ft antenna in an inverted L configuration with a 55 Ft counterpoise. This antenna performs very well on the lower bands to include 160 meters. The last antenna is somewhat of a specialty. I use it for SOTA or lightweight QRP operations. It is a 40 Meter OCF dipole that weighs a few ounces Chameleon OCF 40. I hang it about 10-12 Ft in the tree and sit below it using CW. Another antenna worth mentioning is my Frankentennawhich is a multi configurable antenna and I will post a link to it. along with the antenna is Coax cable. Dual purpose field/home coax, RG-8X will work just fine. For home only then you can move up to RG-213 or LMR400.
Grounding. For the home, it is a very good idea to ground your equipment. There are lots of good sources on how to do that. I run a ground rod in the ground and ground my equipment to it. When I am not using my station, I disconnect my radios from mains power, my computer, and the antenna. I also have lighting arrestors on my coax.
Power Home. I use an Astron 30 amp switching power supply for my radios. I have also used a Samlex Power Supplywith good results. In the field, if I have mains power or an inverter generator avaliable I use a Powerwerx 30 amp Power Supply. What I like about the Powerverx is it uses Anderson Power Poles for the connections. I put Anderson Power Poles on everything. The main advantage is they prevent cross wiring and the destruction of your radio. If mains power is not available, I have batteries and solar panels to power my radios and laptop. A note about generators. Be very careful about what generators you hook your radios up to. Home Depot or Lowes generators (the cheap ones) are not well regulated and can damage your equipment. If your have to use one of those, run your radio through a deep cycle marine battery and use the generator to charge the battery.
Computers and software. Running amateur radio apps does not require a lot of horsepower or memory. Most Intel I-3 or I-5 processors will do fine. Celerons will work though I am not fond of them. For operating systems your choices are usually Windows or Linux. I run Windows 11 on my machines. For apps, you should have FLDigi, FLamp and FLmsg. For versatility, I use laptops. Keep your operating systems and apps up to date, don't muck with the machine too much, and you should be fine.


Go boxes. There's a lot of info out there about building Go Boxes or setting up your radios in a rack mount case. It's fine until you have to work with it in a limited space - been there, done that. What I use is a Dewalt Tough System tool box that holds just about everything I need except for a laptop. Here is what it looks like.


This should be enought to get you started or at least thinking about your next steps.
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