Trip Report: Savannah, GA to Florence and Darlington, SC

I took the BC-796, BC-250, and a PRO-92 on the trip I mentioned last night and had a lot of fun monitoring the Palmetto 800 TRS, Conventional VHF/UHF, the Florence County 800 TRS, and some military communications between Savannah, GA and the Florence and Darlington, SC areas. Below is a photo of the monitoring setup (the BC-245 belongs to my father, we were riding in his truck) The antenna for the BC-796 was a Radio Shack mag mount scanner antenna and the BC250 used an 800mhz antenna already mounted on the truck's toolbox. Below the photo are some of the trip notes. TRS and Frequency info was preloaded into the radios with information from the Radio Reference website; links for the systems are the titles for the sections below.







Government/Public Safety
Palmetto 800 TRS
3472 - SCE&G Linemen (Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton)
7152 - SCHP 03 Kershaw/Lee
9648 - Orangeburg County SO Dispatch
9744 - Orangeburg County East PD Dispatch
10032 - Orangeburg County EMS
14320 - Dorchester County SO dispatch
14400 - Dorchester County SO Admin
14416 - Dorchester County SO Patrol
14640 - Dorchester County EMS Ops
15216 - Colleton County S.O. (used as a secondary channel)
16448
16460
20944 - SCHP Common 7
22592
28080 - Santee-Wateree RTA
29456 - SCHP 68 Williamsburg/Georgetown
29328 - SCHP 70 Horry
29712 - SCHP 81 Charleston/Berkeley
29968 - SCHP 83 Dorchester/Colleton
30096 - SCHP 84 Beaufort/Jasper
30352 - SCHP 99 Calhoun/Orangeburg
30480 - SCHP SCHP 100 Barnwell/Aiken
31280 - SCHP 13 Regional Government 1
37840 - Clarendon County SO Dispatch
37872 - Manning, Summerton, Turbeville PD Dispatch
38032 - Jasper County SO Dispatch
38128 - Jasper County FD/EMS Dispatch
38160 - Jasper County FD Tac 1
38224 - Ridgeland PD
38256 - Hardeeville PD
38384
38544 - Berkeley County SO Ch. 1 Dispatch
50992 - Darlington County SO Dispatch (P25)

Conventional
46.380 - W. Florence FD
151.160 - SC DNR, Hampton (PL 203.5)
151.340 - SC DNR, Sumter (PL 123.0)
151.415 - SC DNR, Beaufort (PL 77.0)
151.415 - SC DNR, Columbia (PL 110.9)
151.430 - SC DNR, Charleston (PL 123.0)
154.055 - Darlington County EMS (PL 118.8)
154.145 - Colleton County Fire Dispatch (PL 103.5)
154.175 - Orangeburg FD East (PL 97.4)
154.220 - Hampton County Fire/EMS (PL 131.8)
154.250 - Caromi Village FD (PL 127.3)
154.310 - Windy Hill FD
154.340 - Sumter County Fire (PL 123.0)
154.355 - Hanna Salem Friendfield FD (DPL 546)
154.370 - Clarendon County FD Dispatch (PL 123.0)
154.370 - Clarendon County FD? (PL 162.2)
154.385 - South Lynches FD (PL 123.0)
154.430 - Johnsonville FD (PL 123.0)
154.445 - Darlington County FD Dispatch (PL 118.8)
155.625 - Orangeburg FD Central (PL 97.4)
158.790 - Community Transport Ambulance (PL 110.9)
159.300 - SC Forestry, Aircraft Detection (PL 186.2)
159.315 - SC Forestry, Coastal Base Operations (PL 97.4)
159.405 - SC Forestry, Wallace (PL 103.5)
159.450 - SC Foresry, Brittons Neck (PL 131.8)
159.450 - SC Forestry, Beaufort (PL 127.3)
159.375 - SC Forestry, Florence (PL 114.8)
159.375 - SC Forestry, Hampton (PL 186.2)
453.125 - Orangeburg MDTs?
460.075 - Hampton County SO Dispatch (PL 162.2)
460.100 - Colleton County SO (PL 162.2)
460.200 - Hartsville PD (PL 192.8)
460.350 - Colleton County SO Dispatch (PL 162.2)


Florence County TRS
16 - Florence County SO Dispatch
48
80 - Detention Center
112 - Florence County SO Patrol Talk
208 - Florence County SO Investigators Tac 2
1136
1616 - Florence County EMS Alert 1A
1648 - Florence County EMS Dispatch 1B
1776 - Florence County Rescue 2
1808 - McLeod Hospital ER
1872 - Cedar Hospital ER
1904 - Lake City Hospital ER
3248 - Howe Springs FD
3344 - West Florence FD
3504 - Sardis/Timmonsville FD
3536 - Olanta FD
3568 - Hanna/Salem/Friendfield PD
3856 - Florence County Fire Tac 5
3984 - Forence County FD South Dispatch
4016 - Florence County FD Fire Command
5296 - Environmental Services Talk
9616 - Lake City PD 1
9648 - Lake City PD 2
10128 - Small Town PD 1
12816 - Florence PD Patrol 1
12848 - Florence PD Patrol 2

MilCom
125.400/385.600 - Shaw Approach/Departure
-CRAB 51 (C-130J, MD ANG)
-PITMAN ## (F-16CJ, 20 FW); 139.825 air-to-air


281.550 - Jacksonville Center
-CHECK 61/62 (F/A-18C, VMFA-312); 301.950 Tac 1


134.100 - Charleston AFB CP
-CONNIE 9714


298.300 - 169 FW "SWAMP FOX OPS"
-CRAB 51 (C-130J, MD ANG)


269.000 - Gamecock MOA
-LUSTY ?? (AV-8B, VMA-542); 311.525 Tac


284.500 - SEALORD North Primary > 385.300 W-157 Discrete
-CHECK 63/64 (F/A-18C, VMFA-312); 320.300 Tac 2


406.3625 - MCRD Parris Island, Training Net


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Florence, SC Trip

Tomorrow, I will be traveling with family to Florence, SC. I won't be in my car, so I'll be taking the BC-796 and the BC-250 with me to do some monitoring. I'll be riding instead of driving, so I should be able to take some decent trip notes. We'll also be taking a side trip to Darlington to visit the museum at the famed race track. Saturday night or Sunday I'll try to post a trip report. I've preprogrammed the Palmetto 800 system, the Florence 800 system, VHF/UHF conventional, and some military stuff along the way to try.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Fort Stewart Range Fires

Fort Stewart Forestry is working fires in the B12 and B13 areas of the Fort Stewart Ranges. Ground units are fighting the fire with a helicopter overhead (Helo 5TV) spotting the fires. Air to Ground from Helo 5TV is on 163.5625. Forestry ground units are on talkgroup 2480 (P25 Digital) of the Fort Stewart-Hunter AAF trunked system. Forestry is coordinating entry/exit of range areas and range activity on TG 2288 (P25 Digital) of the trunked system.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Miltary Monitoring Recap; 19-25 March 2007

Frequencies
Savananh TRACON
120.400 - Approach/Departure
380.025 - Approach/Departure
125.300 - Approach/Departure
387.100 - Approach/Departure

Hunter AAF
133.550 - Tower
279.575 - Tower
121.800 - Ground
291.675 - Ground
49.800 - KNIGHTHAWK OPS (2/3 AVN)
49.900 - ASSAULT OPS (4/3 AVN)
82.100 - SUNNY OPS (224 MI Bn)
345.000 - USCG Air Station Savannah Ops
406.1625 - Tower/Base Ops
406.7625 - POL
415.1625 - Trans Alert

Savannah IAP/CRTC
119.100 - Tower
257.800 - Tower
225.750 - 165th Airlift Wing Command Post
225.050 - 165th Airlift Wing air-t0-air
165.0125 - 165th AW Maintenance
165.1625 - 165th AW
237.000 - Savannah CRTC Ops

Fort Stewart
127.350 - Marne Radio
279.625 - Marne Radio

MCAS Beaufort
118.450 - Beaufort Approach/Departure
301.200 - Beaufort Approach/Departure
251.700 - Beaufort Approach/Departure
119.050 - Tower
340.200 - Tower
253.100 - VMFA-122 Base
283.400 - VMFA-122 Tac 1
354.325 - VMFA-122 Tac 2
313.800 - VMFA-251 Base
290.000 - VMFA-251 Tac 1
327.475 - VMFA-251 Tac 2
376.425 - VMFA-251 Tac 3
228.200 - VMFA-312 Base
301.950 - VMFA-312 Tac 1
310.200 - VMFA(AW)-533 Base
289.275 - VMFA(AW)-533 Tac 1
299.300 - VMFA(AW)-533 Tac 2
354.400 - VFA-86 Base
308.925 - VFA-86 Tac 1
363.825 - VFA-86 Tac 2

Shaw AFB
273.700 - 77th Fighter Squadron Ops
141.750 - 77th FS V9
139.925 - 77th FS V12
320.525 - 79th Fighter Squadron Ops
138.150 - 79th FS V8
141.600 - 79th FS V9
141.775 - 79th FS V10
139.975 - 79th FS V12

McEntire ANGB
298.300 - 169th Fighter Wing Ops
125.125 - 169th FW V1
140.125 - 169th FW V17
141.925 - 169th FW V18
141.825 - 169th FW V19

Jacksonville IAP
251.250 - 125th Fighter Wing Ops/Maintenance
234.800 - 125th FW Aux 6
253.700 - 125th FW Aux 7
343.000 - 125th FW Aux 9

Ranges/MOAs
228.400 - Townsend Range Control
252.900 - Townsend Range Control
343.750 - Bulldog MOA
264.700 - Poinsett Range Control

Offshore Warning Areas
120.950 - SEALORD North Primary
284.500 - SEALORD North Primary
267.500 - SEALORD South Primary
349.800 - W-157 Discrete
376.900 - W-157 Discrete
385.300 - W-157 Discrete
301.000 - South TACTS Range Discrete
350.000 - South TACTS Range Discrete
127.725 - Doubleshot Primary
279.725 - Doubleshot Primary
258.400 - Doubleshot Discrete

Miscellaneous
141.500 - Camp Blanding, FL Range Control
228.225 - ANGEL OPS (23rd Wing, Moody AFB)
234.600 - NORAD Discrete
285.000 - FIDDLE (USN Tactical Support Center Jax)
371.350 - CPRW-11 Base (NAS Jacksonville)

ARTCC and Air Traffic Control
269.550 - Jax Center Columbia Low
282.200 - Jax Center Jekyll Low
285.650 - Jax Center Statesboro High
290.400 - Jax Center Waycross Low
319.200 - Jax Center Aiken High
322.500 - Jax Center Savannah Low
363.200 - Jax Center Allendale Low
379.100 - Jax Center Charleston Low
323.000 - Atlanta Center Macon
306.925 - Charleston Approach/Departure
255.400 - Macon FSS


Callsigns
Hunter AAF
ARMY - Miscellaneous US Army aircraft
VIPER - AH-64D, 1-3 AVN
ASSAULT - UH-60L, 4-3 AVN
SUNNY - RC-12N, 224 MI Bn
GUARD - Miscellaneous Army National Guard aircraft
HURRICANE - CH-47D, F-131 AVN
COAST GUARD - Miscellaneous US Coast Guard aircraft
POT - An-124, Polet Aviation
VDA - An-124, Volga-Dnepr

Savannah IAP/CRTC
DAWG - C-130, 165th Airlift Wing
GULF TEST - Gulfstream Test flights
BAT - KC-135, 185 Aerial Refueling Wing
JAGWR - C-130, 125th Fighter Wing

MCAS Beaufort
BLADE - F/A-18A+, VMFA-115
NIKEL - F/A-18A+, VMFA-122
TBOLT - F/A-18C, VMFA-251
CHECK - F/A-18C, VMFA-312
HAWK - F/A-18D, VMFA(AW)-533
WINDER - F/A-18C, VFA-86

Shaw AFB
GAMBLER - F-16CJ, 77th Fighter Squadron
GREASY - F-16CJ, 77th FS
LUCID - F-16CJ, 77th FS
DEADLY - F-16CJ, 79th Fighter Squadron
HOOTER - F-16CJ, 79th FS
HUNTER - F-16CJ, 79th FS
SCAR - F-16CJ, 79th FS
SPITFIRE - F-16CJ, 79th FS
TIGER - F-16CJ, 79th FS

McEntire ANGB
MACE - F-16CJ, 169th Fighter Wing
VIPER - F-16CJ, 169 FW

Jacksonville IAP
FANG - F-15A, 125th Fighter Wing
SNAKE - F-15A, 125th FW

Miscellaneous
DIXIE - KC-135, 117th Air Refueling Wing
GULF TEST - Gulfstream Test flight
KING - HC-130
LUSTY - AV-8B, VMA-542
MAULER - S-3B, VS-32
NAVY AX ### - C-130, VR-53
NAVY RD ### - P-3C, VP-47
PELICAN - P-3C, VP-45
RED TALON - P-3C, VP-16
ROKT 207 - T-2, TW-6 (Bu. No. 158585)


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

New Chatham-Effingham TRS Talkgroups

Over the last few weeks, I've identified some new Chatham-Effingham TRS talkgroups and re-identified a previously known one:

Re-identified:
TG 25200 - Effingham Fire-Rescue ADMIN 1 (previously ID'd as simply ADMIN)

Newly identified:
TG 17200 - Effingham Fire-Rescue ADMIN 2 (Digital)
TG 26512 - Effingham County INCIDENT 1


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Farewell to "Big John"

In ceremonies today at Navy Station Mayport, the USS John F. Kennedy CV-67 will be retired from service. It will be placed in inactive reserve in Philadelphia. Here are some links from Jacksonville area news outlets:

Florida Times-Union:

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/032307/woo_8816543.shtml

News4Jax.com

http://www.news4jax.com/news/11328997/detail.html

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT

kf4lmt@comcast.net

VMFA-122 Frequencies

Back on 19 March, I wrote about VMFA-122's return to MCAS Beaufort. They have returned to the air around Beaufort this week using the same frequencies that they did prior to their deployment to MCAS Iwakuni.

253.100 - Base
283.400 - Tac 1
354.325 - Tac 2


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

VS-24 Disestablished

From the 22 March, 2007 edition of Jax Air News:

http://www.jaxairnews.com/stories/032207/mil_vs24.shtml

VS-24, the SCOUTs, will officially deactivate on March 31, 2007. The formal ceremony, however, occurs today at NAS Jacksonville. I will sorely miss hearing the SCOUTs. It wasn't unusual to hear them transiting near the Savannah area or working down at Townsend Range. I also was occasionally able to hear them working up with carrier strike groups.

Unfortunately this will not be last S-3B unit to disestablish; the Navy is gradually phasing the venerable S-3 out. One can only wonder if they will be able to replace it with a platform as steady, durable, versatile, and dependable as the S-3B has been.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT

kf4lmt@comcast.net

Robins AFB Command Post Callsign Change

Posted on the MilCom email reflector this morning:

COMMAND POST FREQUENCY 311.0 AND 321.0 CALL SIGN "BLACK KNIGHT CONTROL".RAYMOND19 CALL SIGN WILL NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE FOR USE. 25 MAR 00:01UNTIL 11 MAY 00:01

BLACK KNIGHT CONTROL comes from the 19th Air Refueling Group, the Black Knights, based at Robins AFB. I wonder if all of the RAYMOND Command Post callsigns will be changing or just Robins? Unit-based callsigns like these are easier for me to remember by location because they associate with a unit tied to the location.


In similar news, it was reported on the email reflectors recently that Charleston AFB Command Post has begun using the callsign PALMETTO OPS. PALMETTO OPS is indeed in wide use now, an unusually high number of users seem to have gotten the message. Usually it takes quite awhile for users to get used to a callsign change...


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Savannah NWS Weather Radio Transmitter to Move

It was mentioned during the Skywarn weather spotters class I attended last night that the National Weather Service Weather Radio transmitter (162.400) that covers Savannah will be moving from the downtown Savannah area to a tower in Jasper County, SC. Placement on the tower will be higher (I forget the height because I didn't write it down) and will give the transmitter improved coverage.

I also hope that this improves the RF situation in downtown Savannah. The powerful signal on 162.400 bleeds over on 234.800 on my Uniden equipment as well as bleeding over on various other federal VHF frequencies on almost all of my equipment.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Skywarn Spotter Training

Earlier tonight, I attended a National Weather Service Skywarn weather spotters class at the Effingham Fire/Rescue training center. I've been a trained spotter for several years, but I needed to get a refresher class. The last class I took occurred when the NWS had first started using a Power Point presentation instead of the old slides and videos. I was not very impressed with the power point presentation being used at that time; it was too "busy" and distracting. The presentation they are using now, however, is excellent. It is concise and to the point with the bonus of using photos from the Charleston office's area when possible. I strongly recommend this training for all amateur radio operators and anyone with an interest in public service. You don't have to be an amateur radio operator to be a weather spotter!

The next available training will be (From the NWS Charleston website):

April 5th , 700pm-900pm
Chatham County annex building
295 Police Memorial Drive
Savannah, Georgia 31405
Dustin Hetzel, 912-201-4500

To reserve a spot in this class...please call Dustin Hetzel at 912-201-4500 or email him at DJHetzel@Chathamcounty.org


For amateur radio operators who are spotters or are interested in being trained as a spotter, don't forget the Lowcountry Skywarn Net on the first and third Tuesdays of the month; 9:00 PM on the 146.970 repeater. This net will go weekly once hurricane season begins.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Military Monitoring Recap; 12 March to 18 March 2007

Frequencies
Savannah Approach/Departure
120.400 - Approach/Departure
380.025 - Approach/Departure
125.300 - Approach/Departure
387.100 - Approach/Departure

Hunter Army Airfield
133.550 - Tower
279.575 - Tower
121.800 - Ground
291.675 - Ground
126.200 -Base Ops
51.050 - Common Frequency
45.900 - VIPER OPS (1-3 AVN)
49.800 - KNIGHTHAWK OPS (2-3 AVN)
36.100 - A/2-3 AVN
49.900 - ASSAULT OPS (4-3 AVN)
82.100 - SUNNY OPS (224 MI Bn)
38.150 - HURRICANE OPS (F-131 AVN)
406.1625 - Tower/Base Ops
406.7625 - POL
415.1625 - Trans Alert

Savannah IAP/CRTC
119.100 - Tower
257.800 - Tower
225.750 - 165 AW CP

Fort Stewart
127.350 - Marne Radio
279.625 - Marne Radio
126.250 - Wright AAF Tower
269.275 - Wright AAF Tower
280.800 - Range Control

MCAS Beaufort
119.050 - Tower
340.200 - Tower
301.200 - Approach/Departure
251.700 - Approach/Departure
361.800 - VMFA-115 Base
339.500 - VMFA-115 Tac 1
320.200 - VMFA-115 Tac 2
253.100 - VMFA-122 Base
228.200 - VMFA-312 Base
301.950 - VMFA-312 Tac 1
320.300 -VMFA-312 Tac 2
310.200 - VMFA(AW)-533 Base
289.275 - VMFA(AW)-533 Tac 1
299.300 - VMFA(AW)-533 Tac 2
348.825 - VMFA(AW)-533 Tac 3

JSTARS (116th ACW, Robins AFB, GA)
225.725 - JSTARS Discrete
376.125 - JSTARS Discrete

169th Fighter Wing (McEntire ANGB, SC)
298.300 - 169 FW Ops
125.125 - V1
140.125 - V17
141.925 - V18
141.825 - V19

125th Fighter Wing (Jacksonville IAP, FL)
251.250 - 125 FW Ops
234.800 - Aux 6
253.700 - Aux 7
343.000 - Aux 9

Townsend Range
228.400 - Range Control

Sealord (offshore operating areas)
120.950 - North Primary
284.500 - North Primary
267.500 -South Primary
133.950 - South Primary
349.800 - W-157 Discrete
376.900 - W-157 Discrete
385.300 - W-157 Discrete
350.675 - North TACTS Range
301.000 - South TACTS Range
350.000 - South TACTS Range

Miscellaneous
236.250 - unknown
255.400 - Macon Radio
269.000 - Gamecock MOA
291.400 - Unknown
343.750 - Bulldog MOA
360.500 - VMGR-252
364.200 - NORAD AICC

Jacksonville Center
277.400 - Brunswick Low
282.200 - Jekyll Low
285.650 - Statesboro High
363.200 - Allendale Low

Coast Guard
156.800 - Marine VHF Ch. 16
157.050 - Marine VHF Ch. 21
157.150 - Marine VHF Ch. 23
157.175 - Marine VHF Ch. 83
345.000 - USCG Air Station Savannah Ops


CALLSIGNS
Hunter Army Airfield
ARMY - Miscellaneous Army aircraft
VIPER - AH-64D, 1-3 AVN
HOOKER - CH-47D, B/2-3 AVN
SHARK - AH-64D, 3-3 AVN
TIGERSHARK - AH-64D, 3-3 AVN
ASSAULT - UH-60L, 4-3 AVN
SUNNY - RC-12N, 224 MI Bn
GUARD - Miscellanous Army National Guard Aircraft
TESTHOOK - H-47, OLR
COAST GUARD - Miscellaneous USCG Aircraft

Savannah IAP/CRTC
DAWG - C-130, 165th Airlfit Wing

MCAS Beaufort
BLADE - F/A-18A+, VMFA-115
SLIP 5#, 6# - F/A-18A+, VMFA-122
Note: SLIPs were VMFA-122 returning from deployment
CHECK - F/A-18C, VMFA-312
HAWK - F/A-18D, VMFA(AW)-533

JSTARS
STRIKESTAR - E-8C, 116 ACCS

169th Fighter Wing
MACE - F-16CJ, 169 FW
VIPER - F-16CJ, 169 FW
DEMON -F-16CJ, 169 FW
HEAT - F-16CJ, 169 FW

125th Fighter Wing
FANG - F-15A, 125 FW
SNAKE - F-15A, 125 FW

Miscellaneous
BOLT - KC-135, 6 ARW
EAGLE - OH-58D
EVERGREEN - Evergreen Airlines
JAWS - MC-130?
LOCKHEED - Lockheed Test Flight
OTIS - KC-130, VMGR-252
NAVY JV ### - C-40, VR-58
NAVY LL ## - P-3C, VP-30
PAT - US Army Transport
REACH - misc. airlift
THUNDER - MV-22, VMM-263
VDA #### - An-124, Volga-Dnepr Aviation
YANKEE -KC-130, VMGR-452


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

VMFA-122 Returns to MCAS Beaufort

F/A-18s from VMFA-122 returned from their MCAS Iwakuni Japan rotation to MCAS Beaufort, SC on Friday. I caught two cells returning as SLIP 5# and SLIP 6#. I heard a weak and garbled callsign ??????? 3# on Beaufort's VHF tower frequency; I assume that it was the supporting tanker. Both SLIP flights checked in with NIKEL Base (VMFA-122) on 253.100 before landing.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

St. Patrick's Day 2007

I didn't have much of a chance to monitor the St. Patrick's Day festivities this year, but i did manage some mobile monitoring and a few minutes here and there at monitoring post.

157.050 - Marine VHF Ch. 21

• GUARDIAN 1 and GUARDIAN 2 (unknown USCG vessels) wkg Coast Guard Sector Charleston, gave position as Savannah Riverfront

Chatham-Effingham TRS Talkgroups

• 33456 - PD Common, Law Enforcement Net and Parade
• 6352 - CEMA 5, Medical Net
• 50320 - Citywide Common
• 50352 - Countywide Common
• 32816 - SCMPD A2, PCT 2 Primary
• 32280 - SCMPD A4, PCT 3 Car-to-Car
• 33168 - SCMPD A13, PCT 1 Car-to-Car
• 33200 - SCMPD A14, PCT 1 Primary
• 51248 - City of Savannah Parking Services
• 3248 - Southside Fire/EMS Admin - medical support at Rugby Tournament

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT

kf4lmt@comcast.net

Savannah Morning News: 3rd Aviation Brigade to Deploy to Iraq Early

According to an article in the Savannah Morning News, the 3rd Aviation Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division will be deploying to Iraq early. See the article at:

http://savannahnow.com/node/244752

If the 3rd Aviation Brigade follows what they have done during the last two deployments, they will fly the aircraft from Hunter AAF to Georgia Ports where they will be "shrink wrapped" and loaded onto sealift ships. As I did during the previous two deployments, I will not post logs of real world deployments, but will post a recap of them after they are complete.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Blog Inactivity - Will Be Back on 19 March 2007

Due to my work schedule, there probably won't be any new posts until Monday, 19 March 2007.
At that time, I hope to have some posts on St. Patrick's Day activity and a weekly MilCom recap from 12 March to 18 March 2007.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Savannah Port Security Exercise

Thursday morning, the United States Coast Guard and Georgia National Guard conducted a port security exercise in Savannah. Marine VHF Channel 21 (157.050) and USCG Air Station Savannah Ops (345.000) were both active with exercise related traffic from the USCG Elm and helicopters 6542 and 6553. Below is the text of the Coast Guard news release on the exercise:

SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Coast Guard, the Army National Guard and the Air
National Guard are conducted a joint homeland security exercise at the mouth of
the Savannah River Today at 7:30 a.m.
The Coast Guard and a joint Air National Guard and Army National Guard team tested their ability to respond to radioactive material detected aboard a commercial ship attempting to access the port of Savannah.
A Coast Guard boarding team from Marine Safety Unit Savannah was lowered from a helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Savannah to the deck of the Coast Guard Cutter Elm from Atlantic Beach, N.C., which played the role of the commercial ship. The Coast Guard boarding officers simulated detecting radiation aboard the vessel using radiation detection equipment.
The Coast Guard called upon the services of the Georgia National Guard's 4th
Civil Support Team (WMD) stationed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga.
The Coast Guard helicopters picked up members of the 4th CST from Air Station
Savannah and transported them to the Cutter Elm. While aboard the Cutter Elm, the 4th CST simulated identifying any suspect agents, substances or isotopes. Then advised the Coast Guard on response measures and assisted in assessing current and projected consequences.

Additionally, photos and video can be found on the USCG D7 Public Affairs Website at: https://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/586/150772/

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Bonus Day at KF4LMT's Monitoring Post: An-124 Arrives at Hunter

VDA 4505, an An-124 of Volga-Denpr Aviation, arrived at Hunter AAF a few minutes ago. Approach was on 120.400 (Savannah Approach/Departure) with landing on 133.550 (Hunter Tower). Once again, I was able to get a photo:

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

C-5M in the Savannah Area

LOCKHEED 099 Heavy, one of the USAF's new C-5Ms, is doing pattern work at Hunter AAF in Savannah, GA. They have been using 133.550 (Hunter AAF Tower) and 120.400 (Savannah Approach/Departure). I managed to get a photo as it was on approach to Hunter:



Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

123.100 in Chatham County

Early this afternoon I heard one of the Coast Guard HH-65Cs from Air Station Savannah calling MOSQUITO CONTROL on 123.100. They didn't receive an answer, but I don't think that one of the Mosquito Control helicopters was airborne at the time.

123.100 was used during December's Hurricane Exercise as an air-to-air frequency. Judging by the Coast Guard helicopter's use of the frequency, it could be a frequency that will be used for air-to-air by such assets on a regular basis in Chatham County. This proves it to definitely be a frequency to program in for Chatham County scanning enthusiasts.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

West Chatham County Fire Department Callsigns and Unit Numbers

Since the beginning of the year, some of the West Chatham County Fire Departments have changed their callsigns and unit numbers. It appears that they have done this to align their callsigns with their respective Police Department callsigns. This numbering should also have the effect of making the department more easily recognized without using the city name along with the callsign.

It is worth noting that Garden City FD has used 12## for some time. The other department's use of 18##, 16##, 14## respectively is much more recent.

Bloomingdale Fire
8## - PD Unit Numbers
18## - Fire Department Personnel
1#, 2# - Unit Numbers

Garden City Fire
2## - PD Unit Numbers
12## - Fire Department Personnel
1#, 2# - Unit Numbers

Pooler Fire
6## - PD Unit Numbers
16## - Fire Department Personnel
6# - Unit Numbers

Port Wentworth Fire
4## - PD unit Numbers
14## - Fire Department Personnel
4# - Unit Numbers


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Fort Stewart Exercise Update 2

Additional Frequencies and Fort Stewart/Hunter AAF TRS Talkgroups for the Fort Stewart Exercise:

376.125 - JSTARS Discrete
381.000 - JSTARS Discrete
388.225 - JSTARS Discrete

TG 2128 - 3rd Aviation Brigade
TG 3600 - As Assigned Training (3rd Sustainment Brigade)
TG 4432 - unknown (4th BCT)
TG 7344 - 2nd BCT


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Good News! VMFA(AW)-332 Not to be Decommisioned

VMFA(AW)-332, The Moonlighters, from MCAS Beaufort will not be decomissioned as originally planned. The USMC has decided to instead put them in "Cadre Status," to come back in appoximately 5 years when the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter comes into service.

See the Beaufort Gazette article at:
http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local_news/story/6408450p-5713942c.html

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Racing Blog

I have decided to devote KF4LMT's Monitoring Post to radio topics. I have created a seperate blog for my motorsports thoughts at Mac's Racing Blog. I thought that those coming here for radio and scanning info may not be interested in the racing posts.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

USS Enterprise Carrier Strike Group

I've been busy monitoring (or trying to monitor) the Fort Stewart Exercise, but there is also another good monitoring target in the southeast area right now. The USS Enterprise Carrier Strike Group is working off of the Florida coast. So far it sounds like they have been working south of Jacksonville in the offshore areas and around Avon Park Range in central Florida.

The Monitoring Times Milcom Monitoring Blog is keeping an updated list of active frequencies for the Enterprise Strike Group:
http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/2007/03/big-e-comm-intercepts-382007-0400-utc.html


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Military Monitoring with the Yaesu FT-8800

On the side of this blog, you'll notice that I use a Yaesu FT-8800 2meter/70cm radio in my car. In addition to using it for amateur radio, I also use it for scanning and monitoring. Over the last few days, I've been on the road quite a bit, so I've been using the FT-8800 to augment the BC-780 for monitoring the Fort Stewart Exercise. As I've found in the past, it has done an outstanding job.

As seen in the photo below, I used it today to listen to RAZOR 11/12, F-16s from Shaw AFB while they worked with ADVANCE, a JTAC from Fort Stewart on Townsend Range. On the left side of the radio is 141.900, RAZOR's air-to-air frequency; on the right side of the radio is 228.400, one of Townsend's range control frequencies. The RAZORs were coming in, as you can see, at over half-scale. Not bad considering I was in Port Wentworth at the time. The antenna being used was a Comet CHL-62S (2meter/70cm).

In addition to the frequencies noted above, I've also monitored other VHF and UHF military frequencies over the last few days with excellent results: 127.350, 138.150, 139.900, 141.800, 225.725, 237.000, 245.275, 279.625, and 280.800. The FT-8800, over the last year, has become my favorite of all the ham gear in my inventory. It is an extremely versatile radio that has benefited me as both an amateur radio operator and as a scanning enthusiast.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT

kf4lmt@comcast.net

Fort Stewart Exercise Update 1

Additional frequencies for the exercise at Fort Stewart:

149.600 - Fort Stewart Range Control (AM)
245.275 - tactical

228.400 - Townsend Range Control

355.250 - JSTARS Discrete


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

The Spin at Mexico City: NASCAR's first real look at Montoya?

I've heard and read a lot about the last race incident at Mexico City in which Juan Pablo Montoya spun Scott Pruett while attempting a pass for the lead. Justifiably, almost everyone blames Montoya for the incident. I have two thoughts on the incident, one about the incident itself and one on a somewhat more general level.

First, as angry as Pruett was (and probably still is) about the spin, it was obviously not intentional. It was overaggressive, yes but Montoya didn't go into the corner with the intent of spinning Pruett out of the race. His intent was to outbrake Pruett into the corner and take the lead. In my opinion, and I know I'm in the minority here, Pruett deserves some of the blame. He knows (or should know) how aggressive a driver Montoya is; anyone who has watched him in CART or F1 knows it. Pruett, in my mind, left too much room to the inside given the aggressive nature of the driver behind him.

Second, NASCAR now sees what it got when Ganassi hired Montoya. Montoya is an aggressive (at times overagressive - see above) driver. This is not the first time that Montoya has taken a teammate out (at least once I can remember in F1) and it probably won't be the last. Given NASCAR's recent distaste for aggressive driving, they may be starting to view Montoya as a double edged sword. Additionally, he is not politically correct, he is not prone to hiding disappointment or veiling his views. His personality is something that NASCAR needs but may not necessarily want. On the other hand, could NASCAR be setting up exactly the kind of white hat/black hat or good guy/bad guy, "us versus them" rivalry between the stock car traditionalists and international interlopers that could sell tickets? I sincerely hope this is not what they are doing, but it really wouldn't surprise me if they stooped to that level.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Fort Stewart Exercise

In a post yesterday, I mentioned the activity at Fort Stewart. Today I had an excellent opportunity to monitor the exercise and can now provide a better list of frequencies and talkgroups on which to find activity. In addition to the Army participants, A-10s from the 104th Fighter Wing (MA ANG) and JSTARS are taking part in the exercise.

119.100/257.800 - Savannah IAP Tower
120.400/380.025 - Savannah Approach/Departure
125.300/387.100 - Savannah Approach/Departure
138.625/237.000 - CRTC CP, 104 FW "HAWK OPS"
138.150 - 104 FW Air-to-Air
139.900 - 104 FW Air-to-Air
141.675 - 104 FW Air-to-Air

133.550/279.575 - Hunter AAF Tower
45.900 - 1-3 AVN
49.800 - 2-3 AVN
36.100 - A/2-3 AVN
229.200 - B/2-3 AVN
49.900 - 4-3 AVN

127.350/279.625 - Marne Radio
126.250/269.275 - Wright AAF Tower

280.800 - Fort Stewart Ranges
271.100 - Fort Stewart Ranges
141.800 - Tactical
300.700 - Tactical
259.425 - Tactical

225.725 - JSTARS Discrete
341.750 - JSTARS Discrete

Fort Stewart/Hunter AAF TRS Talkgroups
2288 - Range Admin
2448 - Range Control
1616 - Army Common
2704 - training activity
3632 - training activity
3728 - training activity
4176 - training activity (4th BCT)
6992 - training activity (4th BCT)
7024 - training activity (4th BCT)
7408 - training activity (2-3 BTB)
7472 - training activity (4th BCT)


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Effingham Fire Dispatch Changes

In the last few days, I've heard Effingham County dispatching fire calls over the 155.355 EMS repeater. Prior to that, I heard units 6601 and 4401 (Effingham and Rincon fire chiefs respectively) doing testing with Dispatch, with test pages being sent over the EMS repeater. It seems that they don't quite have things fully sorted out. The audio from dispatch is muffled and hard to understand, not only to the scanner listener but to the fire units as well.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Fort Stewart Exercises

Based on recent news reports on the Savannah TV Stations and Newspaper, both the 2nd Brigade and the 4th Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart are in the Field Training. This could make for some interesting military monitoring while they are in the field. Check the frequencies in the weekly recaps posted on this blog for activity, the Hunter, Fort Stewart, and Savannah Approach/Departure frequencies should see some use. There could also be coordinating traffic on the Fort Stewart-Hunter AAF 400 mhz TRS.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Apologies

I apologize for the lack of posts to this blog over the last two weeks, but the work schedule has kept me away from the radios and the blog. Unfortunately it has also kept me from even coming close to getting a weekly recap together (not that I heard all that much to recap...)
I did post some catch-up posts with some of what I heard to some of the email groups, you can find those at MilCom, Flacom, and ScanSavannah.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Scanning Project: Oglethorpe Speedway

I haven't been to a race at Oglethorpe Speedway in several years, mostly because of my work schedule. I've decided that I'm going to try to make some races this year, I've really missed the excitement of the local racing. I've also decided to turn it into a scanning project. My frequency list for the speedway is over 5 years old, so it is no doubt inaccurate. Here is my list as it was in 2001:

Track Frequencies
461.500 Primary Race Control
464.550 Administrative Use
465.750

Team Frequencies
461.4375
461.650
462.575
462.625
463.275
463.500
464.5375
464.575
464.75
465.900
466.425
466.825
467.525
467.7625
467.75
468.500
468.7875
468.825

I have been looking at the Oglethorpe Speedway website and I've noticed they are using a device called a "Raceceiver" for the race officials to communicate to the drivers. It's great to see them using this safety measure and it also provides another frequency to look for.

The first step in my project, as soon as I get the chance, will be to start out by searching the FCC ULS Database for frequencies. While I'm at the races, searching will be the order of the day while watching the races. I invite local area scanner buffs to participate in this project; I'll also be posting this the ScanSavannah email group. Keep in mind that if you give it a try, a stubby antenna or something similar be useful. The speedway is located in a very RF hostile environment so attenuating the received signals make it easier to find the radio traffic at the track by reducing intermod and some area commercial traffic.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

The Time is Here For Unification in American Open Wheel Racing

Earlier this week I downloaded Real Live Roadrunning by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. Listening to one of my favorite Knopfler songs, "Speedway at Nazareth" (which essentially tells the story of a CART season from a racer's perspective), I longed for the heyday of CART. It was time when the series was a great one. It was a series in which a racer had to be proficient at short and long ovals, street courses, and road courses. Neither Champ Car or the IRL currently or have come close to approaching that level. Over the last few years, Champ Car has been more or less a Sebastien Bourdais benefit and the IRL last year was a competition between Penske and Ganassi. Instead of one great series we now have two lackluster and substandard series, each of which is more less a spec racer series with only one choice of chassis in Champ Car and essentially only one choice of chassis in the IRL. Each series also has only one engine choice.

Over the last few weeks, I've read reports about how few entries there currently are for the 2007 Champ Car series. Apparently they are nowhere close to having a full field with only a month to go before the season opener. This week there have been reports on SPEED TV and on F1 Weekly that Panoz has been told to cease production on the new Champ Car after only 25 chassis have been produced. It doesn't take a math whiz to figure out that given most teams are 2 car teams, they aren't going to have a full field. If you take into account teams ordering spares, the picture is even worse.

Over the offseason, Champ Car also dumped the Ford pace car program in favor of Paul Stoddart's 2-seat F1 car program. As a result, the Champ Car series lost it's primary backer and sponsor, Ford Motor Company. I may not be a business major, but I have enough common sense to know not to dump my primary sponsor. The financial decision makers of Champ Car must be questioned given that decision. Why should Champ Car be promoting F1 cars anyway?
Were they bribing Stoddart and Minardi into Champ Car? If so, is it worth losing a primary series sponsor to gain one team?

It currently seems that the IRL has both the better car count and the better financial standing of the two series. As much as it pains me to say so, because I am not a Tony George fan, it is time for for Champ Car to sell out to the IRL. Perhaps it is time for open wheel to try the NASACR style of leadership; love or hate NASCAR, the France family command of NASCAR has succeeded on the business level. Perhaps having one person or entity in charge rather than a group of team owners can work, even if it is Tony George. For the sake of open wheel racing in the United States, it is time. Spare us the embarrassment of failure by one of the series, which at the current time appears to be Champ Car. Spare us the watered down competition of each series by pitting Newman-Haas against Penske and Ganassi. Perhaps teams such as Andretti Green and Forsyth can become resurgent and contend as well.

My hope for such a series would be a return to having a choice between two competitive chassis and at least two competitive engine choices. Unfortunately, unless there is only one series on a solid footing, I don't see manufacturers making the business decision to fulfil that hope.

It is time to put pride, ego, and personal animosity to the side and unite the series even if it is not an even basis. If it means selling Champ Car out to the IRL, do it. Let's hope the leadership of Champ Car and the IRL come to their senses soon and do the right thing. I'm tired of watered down racing.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net