RADIO FIELD REPAIR KIT

DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT

I was pretty proud the other day when I was able to swap the guts on a Retevis RT6 battery that had died using just my Radio Field Repair Kit. It entailed desoldering and resoldering connections and was done off-grid using only USB battery power.

It got me thinking about what all should be included in the kit for other potential repairs I might need to make in the field, so I put together this list and added a few missing items and thought I would share it here.

ITEMS

1. ToughBuilt TOU-94-M-3 Fastener Bag

   1. Best value out there, I abuse them at work and they hold up.

2. USB Soldering Iron & Solder

   1. This is the #1 item to include IMO. Being able to secure an electrical connection with soldier is huge in the field. I have a $12.00 eBay USB soldiering iron I bought years ago, but recently bought this unit for $19.98 as a spare. I carry both in the kit for redundancy.

3. Leatherman Crunch w/ driver and bits

4. Small half-round and needle files

5. Knipex smooth jaw 4” pliers

6. Cheap, small, Multimeter

7. Needle nose pliers

8. Klein Multi-Bit Tweaker

9. Flush cutters

   1. These are old ones from work that have dulled a bit but are still functional, work replaces them for free. They are Knipex cutters which are a higher end brand but are very good. If I had to pay for them, I’d likely buy the same model at $30.00 knowing how well they work and how much abuse they take, cutting above their weight category.

10. Cobra heads

    1. Allows you to turn any BNC antenna connector into a dipole, just add wire.

    2. Female end for use on an inverted-vee with coax cable. (not pictured)

    3. Male end for direct connection to radio antenna.

11. Floral wire (binding and make-shift antenna wire)

12. Ty-Wraps

    1. The floral wire can do anything these can, but they are of no weight and too convenient to leave out. Buy at least one bag of quality T&B Ty-Wraps! There is a huge difference between them and cheap HarborFreight ones.

13. Power poles

14. Scotchbrite pad

15. Emery cloth (320 grit) (not shown)

16. Anti oxidant (Noalox)

    1. Small amount in pill container.

17. Make up wire

    1. 3ft of solid #20awg for making jumpers on circuits if needed.

18. 18ft of #36 Bankline

    1. Great for lashing and securing items.

19. Solder crimps (not shown)

    1. Low temp solder melts and make a solid splice with the heat of a lighter.

20. Pig Putty

    1. Two part dry epoxy great for all kinds of repairs. I’ve used tubes that were 10 years old and they still worked.

    2. Lowes carries a cheaper version here.

21. Six “Ranger Bands” for securing items.

22. Torids

23. Power Pole distro block

24. Container with misc fuses, Power poles, forks, make up wire, etc wrapped in 6ft of duct tape.

25. Pot tweaker