30 December 2009

Assisting with Army Deployment

Last night, I assisted an American Red Cross team in seeing off a group of 1st BCT, 3rd ID soldiers from Fort Stewart off on their deployment to Iraq. Guy McDonald, K4GTM picked me up around 8 PM and we went over to the Truscott terminal at Hunter AAF. The team served coffee, hot chocolate, and tea for the soldiers as they ate a meal, manifested, and prepared for departure. As they boarded the aircraft, the Red Cross team and the USO saw them off with good words of thanks. It was cold and windy last night, but it was a good way to spend an evening.

I brought along my my BC396 and an earphone; it was helpful to be able to listen to Hunter Tower and Base Ops, Hunter Trans Alert, and the DOL folks. Keeping an ear on their radio traffic helped us keep up with what was going on and when things would be happening. I think we were better prepared as a result.

Two things struck me last night. First I was struck by how young many of the these soldiers are. No doubt many of these were on their first deployment (assumed from the lack of unit patches on many left shoulders). I'm not exactly old, but many of these men and women seemed to be just kids. Second, I was struck by just how many female soldiers there were. One of the units on last night's flight was an MP unit and I'll bet the ratio of female to male soliders was close to 50/50. I would be really interested in seeing figures on how the Iraq and Afghanistan wars compare to previous wars and confilicts in the overall ratio of females to males serving.

Godspeed and Best Wishes to all of the Service People that are deployed or are deploying to our many committments overseas.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

RESCUE RADIO: GEORGIA HAMS GIVEN $165,000 TO BUILD D-STAR RESCUE RADIO NETWORK

I received this in email this morning and thought it would be good to post here. The Pembroke D-STAR repeaters mentioned are on the WVAN tower in Pembroke and provide mobile but not portable coverage in Savannah.

Its one of the largest government grants ever given to ham radio emergency communications. This as $165,000 in Federal funding has been secured by Georgia Emergency Management Agency to complete a statewide D-Star based ham radio emergency communications network.. Amateur Radio Newslines David Black, KB4KCH, has the story of the grant and the all digital rescue radio network that it will create:

The networks creation is the result of a dream that started in 2005 according to John Davis, WB4QDX. Thats when a vision was born for what amateur radio emergency communications could one day achieve in the state of Georgia. Mark Fehlig, WA6NGC, is the former director of Engineering for the states Public Broadcasting System. When the opportunity arose to install two amateur radio antennas on each of nine television towers providing statewide coverage, Fehlig jumped into action. Fehlig designated Georgias Amateur Radio Emergency Service to control the use of those sites for emergency communications. The next task was to figure out the best technology to use at those sites.

Linked FM repeaters and packet were among the modes considered. But radio amateurs were also watching emerging D-Star technology. They recognized it as a state of the art platform providing simultaneous voice and data communications. Knowing that D-star also allows repeaters to be linked on a flexible basis and that it permits simultaneous voice and low speed data along with high speed Internet connectivity at 1-point-2 Gigahertzand the decision was made to go D-star for the states new system.

When the network is finished, radio amateurs will have access to voice and data repeaters on all nine towers across the state, operating on 2 meters, 440 MHz and 1-point-2 Gigahertz. Because those towers are strategically located to provide maximum public television coverage, amateur radio communications will benefit from wide area coverage, as well. Commercial grade inch and 5/8 transmission lines will connect the antennas, which will be between 500 and 600 feet above ground. Georgias Public Broadcasting Network will provide indoor space for equipment, along with backup power at each site. Internet access will be available, too, thanks to the broadcasting systems DS-3 data networkthis means flexible linking of repeaters will be possible using a stock D-Star interface.

The federal money will also pay for 20 dual-band D-star radios to be installed at EMA offices across the state, along with a portable UHF D-Star repeater available for emergency deployment. In addition, three 1-point-2 Gigahertz D-star radios with laptops for sending data and photos from field locations will also be purchased. The money will also be used to build a robust reflector to serve the states network during emergency conditions and also for general use during non-emergency times.
Two of the emergency networks D-star repeaters are already on the air. One is located at Pembroke, Georgia, near Savannah. The second operates from atop Stone Mountain, serving the Atlanta metro area. The complete Georgia D-star amateur radio emergency communications network is expected to be in operation in early 2010.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Im David Black, KB4KCH, at the South-East bureau in Birmingham, Alabama.


The Georgia network will complement other D-Star based emergency communications systems planned or in operation in the neighboring states of Alabama, Florida and South Carolina. Once all are in operation, it will create a regional ham radio emergency capability across the American Southeast. This monetary grant is only second in size to one of $250,000 given by the governor of Oregon in 2007 to that states ham radio first responders. This, to build a Winlink-based state-wide amateur radio emergency communications network. (WB4QDX, Georgia ARES via Southgate) via ARN news

22 December 2009

Good FIre Related Twitter Feed: Federalfire

I came across this Twitter Feed tonight: http://twitter.com/Federalfire. If you're interested in keeping up with fire calls in the Savannah area, this is a pretty good Twitter Feed to follow.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

16 December 2009

USCG Helicopters using Digital Voice and USCG UHF NET Frequencies?

Back in August, I posted an article about the USCG in the Savannah area using CG 113 (163.1375) in P25 digital voice mode for communications as part of the new RESCUE 21 communications system. The last week or so has provided some updates on how the Coast Guard in the Savannah area is using the new frequencies.

Last week, I began hearing MH-65Cs from CGAS Savannah using CG 113 with Sector Charleston and with some of the area USCG boats. I've also heard them request to use CG 111 and CG 112 with Sector Jacksonville. The three digit identifier indicates the use of P25 digital voice and I have heard them use P25 digital voice so this confirms that the helicopters now have radios capable of utilizing P25.

Today, when 6565 departed CGAS Savannah for AirFac Charleston, Sector Charleston asked them to switch to "UHF Channel 410" for guard. I'd never heard reference to that channel so I immediately threw a couple of radios into search mode. In short time, I found Sector Charleston on 413.000 working 6510 in P25 digital voice. 6510 continued to use this frequency for guard radio traffic with Sector Charleston until they landed later at CGAS Savannah. 6565, after initally having no joy on the frequency, began keeping their guard on "CG 410" as well. It seems that in addition to a set of VHF NET (or what the USCG units seem to refer to as "CG") channels, there is also a set of UHF NET (or "CG") channels.

For those that enjoy listening to the Coast Guard, it is definitely a time to begin looking for a digital capable scanner if you don't have one now. It is also time to begin looking beyond the Marine VHF and HF frequencies for both Coast Guard surface and air communications. Just as USCG assets have begun moving away from such old favorites such as 5.696 USB to the COTHEN HF system they are beginning to move away from Marine VHF to the RESCUE 21 system.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

07 December 2009

Coast Guard Helicopter on NET Channel Using Digital Voice

Location: Savannah

This evening, I was listening to Coast Guard 6545 (MH-65C, Savannah) as it conducted hoist training with 25' boat 25732 in the Savannah River. 25732 requested that 6545 go to NET 113 (163.1375). 6545 then came up on NET 113, calling initially in analog voice before switching to digital voice.

This is the first time I've heard one of the Savannah MH-65s on the NET Channels and the first time I've heard one using Digital Voice. I'm guessing it is being done with a radio separate from the one used for Marine VHF because while they were using NET 113, they were also able to hear and to respond to Station Tybee on Marine VHF Ch. 21.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

VMFT-401 at MCAS Beaufort

Location: Savannah

F-5s from VMFT-401 are operating out of MCAS Beaufort this week. They worked in the SEALORD Special Use Areas today using their usual callsign SNIPER and Tac frequencies 268.300 and 285.375. They were also on the SEALORD frequencies 284.500, 376.900, and 385.300 and Beaufort Approach/Departure on 292.125.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

06 December 2009

Sent along by my friend Philip, KA4KOE:

Skywarn Recognition Day Recap

After meeting for dinner at the Cracker Barrel on US 80 in Pooler on Friday night, Dan Scott - KF4MND, Guy McDonald - K4GTM, and I departed for Charleston in the rain. We arrived at the NWS Charleston office around 11 PM and were greeted by Bobby McBride – W4KSD. We met John and Rich, the two meteorologists on duty and got to take a look around the Operations area of the office. Although the weather wasn’t severe, it was interesting to watch John and Rich at work through the night.

Guy-K4GTM, Rich, John, Mac-KF4LMT, Dan-KF4MND

NWS Charleston Operations

John explains some of the operations to Dan.

We settled in to work at WX4CHS which consists of a Kenwood TM-251 (soon to be replaced with a more modern radio) and an Icom IC-746. Dan had made arrangements to use a nearby Echolink node on 147.505 and was soon making contacts back in Savannah including Jerry, W4SGA and Greg, N4VAD through the 146.700 repeater. 2 Meter contacts were also made on the Charleston repeaters and the SCHEARTS repeater network (accessible in Savannah via the 146.715 repeater). Dan also worked Ken – W4JKG, Steve – K4SDJ, and Mark – KD4PDX using Echolink. I went portable from the NWS Office and made a contact through via the SCHEARTS network 147.105 repeater. We were working the midnight rotation, so there wasn’t a lot of special event activity on HF; not all of the stations in the event were operating for the entire 24 hours. That said, we were able to make some contacts on 75 Meters and 40 Meters including other NWS Offices:

WX2OKX – Upton, NY
K4OHX – Nashville, TN
WX4MRX – Morristown, TN
WX4MHX – Newport/Moorehead, NC
WX4PTC – Peachtree City, GA
K5SHV – Shreveport, LA
WX5NWC – Norman, OK
K0DMX – Des Moines, IA
WX2BUF – Buffalo, NY


Dan-KF4MND, Bobby-W4KSD, and Guy-K4GTM


Dan and Guy on the air

Guy and Dan worked to lay some groundwork to link Savannah back to the NWS via RF link and/or VOIP while we were there. We left Charleston around 5 AM with the rain still falling (it never stopped through the night) and made it back to Savannah by 7:30 AM to have breakfast with the usual bunch at Sunny Side Up on DeRenne Ave. (plug for a good breakfast/lunch restaurant). I really enjoyed the event and look forward to doing it again next year; it was great fun to be on the NWS end of the QSO this year.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

05 December 2009

Skywarn Recognition Day Contacts

For the midnight shift, we've been doing pretty good so far. On VHF, we've made several contacts using Echolink via the 147.505 W1GRE Echolink node back to the 146.700 (PL 100) repeater in Savannah and one contact on the SC HEARTS linked system in South Carolina. I checked in from the NWS Office on my portable to get my callsign on the log. On HF, we've made six contacts on 75 Meters. Here's the list so far:

VHF
N4VAD
W4SGA
W4JKG
K4SDJ
KD4PDX
KF4LMT

HF
W4SGA
N4VAD
WD9YBI
WX4MRX
WX4MHX
WX4PTC

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

On the Air at WX4CHS for Skywarn Recognition Day

Location: Charleston, SC

We're on the air at WX4CHS at the National Weather Service Office in Charleston, SC. We've made some contacts on 2-Meters through Echolink and on 75 Meters on HF. Right now here is what we're working:
  • 2 Meters on the 146.715 repeater (PL 123) and 146.700 (PL 100). We're working with Echolink on the 146.700 repeater.
  • 3871 LSB on 76 Meters HF.
Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

02 December 2009

Military Monitoring Recap: November 2009

Hunter AAF
124.975 - Tower
279.575 - Tower
285.425 - Tower
121.800 - Ground
291.675 - Ground
126.200 - Base Ops
77.725 - 224 MI Bn "SUNNY OPS"
345.000 - USCG Air Station Savanah Ops
157.175 - Marine VHF Ch. 83, Savannah Air MX Control
323.125 - Hunter AAF ATIS
127.525 - Hunter AAF ATIS (New)

ARMY 26286 (MH-60L, 3-160 SOAR)
ARMY 26961 (MH-60L, 3-160 SOAR)
ARMY 03746 (MH-47G, 3-160 SOAR)
SUNNY ## (RC-12N, 224 MI Bn)
SUNNY 63 (Cessna 208/U-27, 224 MI Bn)
TESTHAWK ## (H-60, OLR)
COAST GUARD 6510, 6542, 6545, 6604 (MH-65C, Savannah)
SCEPTER 11 (AC-130)



Savannah IAP/CRTC
119.100 - Tower
257.800 - Tower
121.900 - Ground
348.600 - Ground
120.400 - Approach/Departure
353.775 - Approach/Departure
125.300 - Approach/Departure
371.875 - Approach/Departure
118.400 - Approach/Departure
307.225 - Approach/Departure
225.750 - 165th AW CP
358.150 - CRTC Discrete (used for Boar's Nest Exercise)

DAWG ## (C-130H, 165th AW)



Fort Stewart/Wright AAF
127.350 - Marne Radio
279.626 - Marne Radio
126.250 - Wright AAF Tower
269.275 - Wright AAF Tower



MCAS Beaufort
328.425 - Approach/Departure
292.125 - Approach/Departure
281.800 - Base Ops
264.500 - PMSV
253.100 - VMFA-122 Base
283.400 - VMFA-122 Tac 1
354.325 - VMFA-122 Tac 2
344.200 - VMFA(AW)-224 Base
250.300 - VMFA(AW)-224 Tac 1
258.900 - VMFA(AW)-224 Tac 2
336.225 - VMFA(AW)-224 Tac 3
313.800 - VMFA-251 Base
290.000 - VMFA-251 Tac 1
327.475 - VMFA-251 Tac 2
228.200 - VMFA-312 Base

NIKEL 3# (F/A-18A+, VMFA-122)
BENGAL 4# (F/A-18D, VMFA-224)
TBOLT 5# (F/A-18C, VMFA-251)
CHECK 6# (F/A-18A+, VMFA-312)
FOX 515 (C-12, MCAS Beaufort)



Charleston AFB
306.925 - Charleston App/Dep
349.400 - Charleston AFB "PALMETTO OPS"
134.100 - Charleston AFB "PALMETTO OPS"
233.950 - PMSV
372.200 - PTD



McIntire JNGB
298.300 - 169th FW "SWAMP FOX OPS"
141.825 - 169th FW V14
143.625 - 169th FW V15
143.250 - 169th FW V16

MACE ## (F-16C, 169th FW)
VIPER ## (F-16C, 169th FW)
DEMON ## (F-16C, 169th FW)



Jacksonville
322.400 - Jacksonville App/Dep
351.800 - Jacksonville App/Dep
377.050 - Jacksonville App/Dep
317.800 - Jacksonville IAP Tower
251.250 - 125th FW Maintenance/Ops
273.900 - 125th FW SOF
234.800 - 125th FW Aux 6
253.700 - 125th FW Aux 7
314.200 - 125th FW Aux 8
343.000 - 125th FW Aux 9

FANG (F-15, 125 FW)
SNAKE (F-15, 125 FW)
VIPER (F-15, 125 FW)
MAD FOX ## (P-3C, VP-5)
NAVY LL 52 (P-3C, VP-30)
NAVY CD 1## (T-45)
NAVY CD 2## (T-45)
DRAGON 01 (unknown, related to USS Eisnenhower COMPTUEX)
DRAGON 63 (unknown, related to USS Eisnenhower COMPTUEX)
DRAGON 64 (unknown, related to USS Eisnenhower COMPTUEX)
MAKO 18 (unknown)



Robins AFB/JSTARS
293.525 - 116th ACW "PEACHTREE OPS"
225.725 - JSTARS Discrete
276.075 - JSTARS Discrete
328.025 - JSTARS Discrete
335.975 - JSTARS Discrete
341.750 - JSTARS Discrete
372.150 - JSTARS Discrete
376.125 - JSTARS Discrete
388.225 - JSTARS Discrete
395.150 - JSTARS Discrete

PEACH 03 (E-8C frontend, 116th ACW)
PEACH 62 (E-8 backend, 16th ACCS)
ALLEYCAT (E-8C backend, 128th ACCS)
STRIKESTAR (E-8C backend, 16th ACCS)



Ranges/Military Operating Areas
119.225 - Townsend Range
228.400 - Townsend Range
252.900 - Townsend Range
269.350 - Coastal MOAs
343.750 - Bulldog MOA
354.300 - Beefeater ECM Range (Poinsett)



SEALORD (USN FACSFAC Jax)
120.950 - North Primary
284.500 - North Primary
267.500 - South Primary
133.950 - South Primary
313.700 - North Secondary
350.675 - North TACTS Range
336.925 - South TACTS Range
349.800 - W-157 Discrete
376.900 - W-157 Discrete
338.100 - SEALORD Discrete



USS Eisenhower CSG COMPTUEX
328.425 - Marshal
292.225 - Strike
314.425 - Red Crown
233.325 - Aerial Refueling
234.575
247.100
270.525
342.250 - Jax Urban CAS

AG 1## (F/A-18E, VFA-143)
AG 2## (F/A-18F, VFA-103)
AG 3## (F/A-18C, VFA-83)
AG 60# (E-2C, VAW-121)
BLUETAIL (E-2C, VAW-121)
CAT (F/A-18C, F/A-18C, VFA-131)
DOG (F/A-18E, VMFA-143
RAM (F/A-18C, VFA-83



Miscellaneous
364.200 - NORAD AICC
260.900 - NORAD AICC
293.600 - NORAD Discrete
316.300 - NORAD Discrete
237.150 - AWACS Discrete
320.600 - AWACS Discrete
341.750 - DARK 41/42 (B-1B) air-to-air
278.800 - Moody MOA

ADVANCE (JTAC)
CHALICE FOXTROT (E-3, 963 ACCs)
DARK 4# (B-1B, Dyess)
DOOM 2#, 3#, 4# (B-52H, 2nd BW)
DRAGNET (E-3, 966 ACCS)
HOG (A-10, 23rd FG)
HUNTRESS (NORAD EADS)
RED LION 615 (SH-60, HS-15)
RIVER 4# (F/A-18,VFA-204)
SKULL 2# (B-52H, Barksdale AFB)
SODA ## (KC-135, 151st ARS)
STEALTH (117th ACS)
VENOM (JTAC, 165th ASOS)



ARTCC
256.900 - Jax Center
269.550 - Jax Center Columbia Low
277.400 - Jax Center Brunswick Low
282.200 - Jax Center Jekyll Low
282.300 - Jax Center Alma High
285.650 - Jax Center Statesboro High
290.400 - Jax Center Waycross Low
322.500 - Jax Center Savannah Low
351.700 - Jax Center Summerville High
363.200 - Jax Center Allendale Low

323.000 - Atlanta Center Macon


Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

01 December 2009

Skywarn Recognition Day

This Saturday is Skywarn Recognition Day. Amateur Radio operators throughout the country will be manning radio stations at NWS Offices trying to make contact with other NWS Offices and as many hams as possible to celebrate the contributions that volunteer Skywarn radio operators make to the National Weather Service. This year, Amateur Radio Operators from Savannah have been asked to help out at NWS Charleston by manning a shift at their amateur radio station.

I will be joining Guy McDonald, K4GTM and Dan Scott, KF4MND as we ride up to Charleston on Friday night to work the 0001-0530 local shift at the NWS Charleston station. We'll be active on HF and VHF using the callsign WX4CHS, so tune through and keep an ear out for us. As part of the special event operation, the contact exchange will consist of call sign, signal report, location, and a one or two word description of the weather.

I plan on using my Blackberry to make blog posts and Twitter updates during our shift in Charleston. You can follow the Twitter feed on the sidebar of the blog here, or at http://twitter.com/kf4lmt. I hope to update with what we're up to and what frequencies we're working. I'm looking forward to having fun with this event and I hope to hear you on the air!

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

26 November 2009

Amateur Radio Repeater Listing for I-95 in Coastal Georgia

My travels to and from Savannah and Brunswick on I-95 the last few weeks have enabled me to collect a good amateur radio repeater listing for I-95 through Coastal Georgia. I have limited the repeaters to those that are active and easily accessed from I-95 so there are some that are listed in other sources that are not listed here.

146.970 - Savannah (widest 2m coverage for Savannah area)
146.700 (PL 100.0) - Savannah (Echolink)
147.330 (PL 203.5) - Savannah
442.700 - Savannah (very wide coverage)

146.865 (PL 141.3) - Jesup

145.330 (PL 131.8) - Brunswick (Echolink)
146.685 - Brunswick (Echolink)

147.195 (PL 118.8) - Kinglsand (Echolink)
444.625 (PL 118.8) - Kingsland (Analog and P25 Digital)


Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

20 November 2009

SE DOD Trunked System

SE DOD TRS NSB Kings Bay Sites
Site 1-015: 386.050 CC, 388.0875, 388.3875, 386.425, 386.725, 386.9375, 388.5375
Site 1-023: 386.1875 CC, 385.0125, 385.2125, 385.8875, 386.0325

TG 28050 - NSBKB Waterfront Security; encrypted
TG 28053 - unknown; encrypted
TG 28056 - NSBKB Security
-mix encrypted/clear, mostly encrypted
-unid "roger, en route"

TG 28057 - unknown; encrypted
TG 28058 - unknown;
-mix encrypted/clear, mostly encrypted
-MIKE 89 clg 27 and 92 with no responses
TG 28059 - unknown
-mix encrypted/clear
-93 clg 89
-E3D wkg 93 for radio check

TG 28064 - unknown; encrypted
TG 28081 - unknown; encrypted
TG 28081 - unknown; encrypted
TG 28082 - unknown; encrypted
TG 28083 - unknown; encrypted
TG 28084 - Civilian Contractors?
-comms ref junction boxes, cables, bandwidth (working on a communications system?)
TG 28087 - unknown
-mix encrypted/clear
-24 wkg 21, need him to pick up E4A at TA Gate

TG 28557 - NSBKB Fire
-ENGINE 5 wkg HQ, HQ encrypted
TG 28562 - NSBKB Police?
-mix encrypted/clear, mostly encrypted
-LE type comms

-ALPHA BASE wkg ROMEO # and 2## (both encrypted)

TG 28586 - unknown
-QUARTERDECK wkg ROVER


SE DOD TRS NS Mayport Site
380.4375 CC

TG 28146 Fire/EMS (based on traffic from May 09)
-unid traffic, unknown if Mayport or NAS Jax
TG 28175 unknown
TG 28235 unknown
-weak/broken clear comms
TG 28264 NS Mayport Airfield?
-??? wkg TOWER ref movements on airfield
TG 28283 NS Mayport Police
-MAYPORT DISPATCH, MAYPORT 2#, MAYPORT 12#, MAYPORT 22# and SAM # ref to area checks, gates, vehicle checks, RAM checks, etc.
-MAYPORT 123 wkg DISPATCH for 10-28

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

Effingham County VHF Fire/EMS Dispatch

Location: Savannah

Effingham County is no longer using the old 155.355 MHz repeater for initial dispatch of Fire/EMS calls. They are now using 158.7675 for initial dispatch. Currently I do not know a CTCSS tone for it, but I will pass it when I find out what it is.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

18 November 2009

Wednesday Monitoring

I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon of monitoring here in the Glynn County area. AWACS, F-15s, and F/A-18s were active in the offshore SUAs and the NS Mayport site of the SE DOD TRS was coming in in addition to the NSB Kings Bay sites.

I'll have a more detailed report on the SE DOD TRS monitoring posted sometime on Friday.

Portable in Brunswick, GA

Mac McCormick III
KF4LMT

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Blog Admin Stuff

I'm still wrapping my mind around keeping the blog up now that I'm splitting time between Savannah and Brunswick. I think I've pretty much come up with a plan on how to keep up with it while throwing in some new wrinkles at the same time:
  1. When blogging from the Blackberry, I'll be appending the posts with "Portable from Brunswick, GA." These posts will naturally be short and may not contain a lot of detailed information. These will generally be brief updates or timely heads-up posts. Many times, I'll post more detailed information later when I'm around a computer. The more detailed postings may take a few days to show up, but they will show up.
  2. Non-Blackberry posts will usually be prefaced with my location, so you'll know whether I'm in Savannah or Brunswick, identifying where the information in the post is relevant to. This won't apply to the monthly recap posts; they will contain information from Savannah, Brunswick, and my trips between the two.
  3. I have been making increased use of Twitter, which updates on the sidebar to this blog. This enables me to make quick and easy short reports while playing radio. I have found that sending tweets from the Blackberry is both quicker and easier than trying to send a post by email. I'll continue to send posts to email groups, but this blog will get quick updates via Twitter. I'm using UberTwitter to post tweets from the Blackberry and it allows me to append my location to tweets. On some tweets I'll be including my location, which will show up as a link at the end of the tweet, to give folks an idea of where I'm hearing the activity from. Due to the setting I'm using in UberTwitter, the location will not be specific, it will be the location of the cell tower that the phone is working through (this general location is more than adequate for the purpose, however).

As far as the monthly recap posts go, look for them to resume at the beginning of December with a November recap. I've been able to play radio a bit more lately so I'm actually getting stuff to do a recap with! Things are looking up for radio time and the more active I am on the radio, the more active this blog will be. Things have been pretty slow the last few months, but I don't think they'll be that way long.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

Tuesday Evening Tropo

Location: Brunswick, GA

Shortly after 7:30 PM yesterday, I went out to the car with the intent of checking into the Camden County ARES Net at 8:00 PM. Turning on the FT-8800, the left side of the radio (which stays in scan mode) came across one of the Waycross repeaters, 145.270, active with the Pierce County Amateur Radio Emergency Service Group net. I listened in as they took a roll call then checked in when they asked for general check-ins and visitors.

After the Pierce County ARES net wrapped up, I found the 146.970 repeater in Savannah active with Ed, NC5S and Ryan, AJ4MY. I tried breaking in with them, but apparently I wasn't able to get in good enough to be recognized. Earlier in the evening while doing some monitoring at the Marshes of Glynn Overlook Park in Brunswick, I heard the 146.700 and 146.970 (I sent out a Twitter post at the time); at that point there was either no one around the repeaters or I still wasn't getting in good enough to raise anyone. I also tried the 442.700 repeater in Savannah both times; it came back with stronger signal strengths than the 146.970 or 146.700 did. Both times I don't think anyone must have been monitoring the repeater because I was getting it back at S3-S4 but still wasn't able to raise anyone.

At 8:00 PM I checked into the Camden ARES Net on the 147.195 repeater in Kingsland as planned. They have a meeting planned for December 1; it looks like my schedule will cooperate, so I plan on riding down to Kingsland from Brunswick that evening to attend.

During the Camden ARES Net, I started hearing the Statesboro Amateur Radio Society Net on the 147.105 repeater in Pembroke. Given the previous reception of the Savannah repeaters, it was obvious we were benefiting from some Tropo. I checked into the STARS Net, saying hello to the Savannah and Statesboro group then listened as stations from Baldwin, FL and Charleston, SC checked in. Interestingly enough, the 147.105 came in stronger here in Brunswick than the 146.970 and 146.700 repeaters did.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

17 November 2009

Shuttle Atlantis Launch

This afternoon, I went out with the BC396 to catch the Shuttle Atlantis launch. Surprisingly, I caught more with the HT here in Brunswick than I have with the base setup in Savannah. I don't know whether to attribute that to location or launch trajectory. Future launches may indicate which is the answer. A few minutes after launch, as usual, I began picking up the transmissions; the last one I could make out was "single engine past 104."

Portable in Brunswick, GA

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

11 November 2009

SE DOD Trunked System

As promised, here are the notes from my monitoring of the SE DOD TRS Kings Bay sites on 10 November. Talkgroup IDs are from RadioReference.

386.050 NSB Kings Bay Site
386.1875 Unknown Site

Note: 386.1875 slightly weaker than 386.050 but audible in Kingsland and south end of Brunswick

TG 28027 unknown
-KINGS BAY wkg KEY WEST for radio check (sounded civilian)
TG 28050 NSBKB Waterfront Security; encrypted
TG 28052 unknown; encrypted
TG 28053 unknown; encrypted
TG 28056 NSBKB Security
-E3W clg 19 for radio check
TG 28057 unknown; encrypted/clear
-E3H wkg ????? (encrypted) "send it for E3H"
-unid ref personnel pickup

TG 28059
TG 28064 unknown; encrypted
TG 28081 unknown; encrypted
TG 28082 unknown; encrypted
TG 28087 unknown; encrypted
TG 28562 unknown; encrypted/clear
-unid ref escort
TG 28567 unknown; encrypted


Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

10 November 2009

Kingsland Monitoring

This morning I went down to Kingsland and did some monitoring and searching. I was hoping to catch some USS Eisenhower exercise communications but disappointingly I didn't. The Truman is also off of the Florida coast working with T-45s for carrier quals; I never found any carrier frequencies for the Truman but I did catch the T-45s coming and going with SEALORD on 284.500 and with Jax Approach/Departure on 351.800 and 377.050.

I also monitored the Southeast DOD TRS NSB Kings Bay site on 386.050 and the unknown site on 386.1275. I will post more on this later; it is hard to put together a good list on a Blackberry.

Portable in Brunswick


Mac McCormick III
KF4LMT

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

09 November 2009

Google Mobile App

This morning I drove around Brunswick learning the area and I used the Map feature in the Google Mobile App for the Blackberry like a GPS Nav device. It worked quite well especially considering the app is free. It kept up with my location accurately and I had no problem following its map.

I strongly reccomend this terrific app to any Blackberry user.

BTW, I will try to catch up on some radio stuff on Wednesday night when I'm back in Savannah. I left the power cord for the laptop there so I haven't been able to organize my scribbled notes yet.

Portable in Brunswick, GA

Mac McCormick III
KF4LMT

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

05 November 2009

Updated Amateur Radio Countries/DX Entities

I took a look at the Logbook of the World today and found that I have 57 confirmed DX entities now that confirmations from the CQWW DX Contest are starting to come in. Here is my list of confirmations via Logbook of the World:

ALASKAAL1G
ANGUILLAVP2E
ANTIGUA & BARBUDAV26F
ARGENTINALV5V
ARUBAP40ZB
AUSTRALIAVK4KW
BAHAMASC6APR
BARBADOS8P5A
BELIZEV31MW
BONAIRE,CURACAO (NETH ANTILLES)PJ4E
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDVP2V/SP7VC
CANADAVA3DX
CANARY ISLANDEF8R
CAYMAN ISLANDSZF2AM
COLOMBIAHK3O
COSTA RICATI5N
CRETESV9CVY
CUBAT42T
DOMINICAN REPUBLICHI3TEJ
ENGLANDM6T
FERNANDO DE NORONHAPS0F
FINLANDOH8L
FRANCEF5RQQ
GALAPAGOS ISLANDSHC8A
HAITI4V4JR
HAWAIINH7C
HONDURASHQ3Z
HUNGARYHA5BSW
IRELANDEI3IO
ITALYIU8ANT
LITHUANIALY8O
LUXEMBOURGLX1AX
MADEIRA ISLANDSCQ9T
MARTINIQUETO8Z
MEXICOXE3N
MONTENEGRO4O3A
NETHERLANDSPA9JO
NORTHERN IRELANDGI5K
NORWAYLN9Z
POLANDSP5KP
PORTUGALCT1ILT
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICAZS3Y
ROMANIAYO9HP
SAINT MARTINFS5KA
SCOTLANDGA2MP
SINT MAARTEN, SABA, ST EUSTATIUSPJ7/AH8DX
SLOVENIAS53F
SPAINEA1EEY
SVALBARDJW8DW
SWITZERLANDHB9FAX
TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDSVP5/WB2REM
UKRAINEUT7UV
UNITED NATIONS HQ4U1UN
UNITED STATES OF AMERICAN1API
US VIRGIN ISLANDSKP2M
VENEZUELAYV4A
WALESGW4BLE


Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

Boar's Nest Exercise

An exercise named Boar's Nest has been taking place in the afternoons this week in the SEALORD Special Use Airspace off of the Georgia Coast and in the Coastal MOAs and Townsend Range in Southeast Georgia. Players have been the 117th ACS, an Air Control Squadron of the Georgia ANG, F-16s from the SC ANG, F-15s from the FL ANG, B-52s from Barksdale AFB and B-1Bs from Dyess AFB. With both air-to-air activity and air-to-ground activity, it has been very interesting to listen to.

STEALTH (117th ACS)
STRIKESTAR (E-8C, 16th ACCS)
MACE 3# (F-16C, 169th FW); 141.825 V14
DEMON 5# (F-16, 169th FW); 143.250 V16
FANG 0# (F-15, 125th FW); 234.800 Aux 6
SNAKE 0# (F-15, 125th FW); 253.700 Aux 7
DARK 41/42 (B-1B, Dyess); 341.750 a2a
DOOM 2#, 3#, 4# (B-52H, 2nd BW)
SKULL 2# (B-52H, Barksdale)

284.500 - SEALORD North Primary
120.950 - SEALORD North Primary
350.675 - SEALORD N. TACTS Range
358.150 - Savannah CRTC Discrete
335.975 - JSTARS Discrete
228.400 - Townsend Range Control
364.200 - AICC
225.725 - JSTARS Discrete
328.025 - JSTARS Discrete
372.150 - JSTARS Discrete
381.000 - JSTARS Discrete

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

04 November 2009

South Carolina Air Guard unit wins international F-16 competition

by Master Sgt. Richard B. Hodges
South Carolina National Guard


11/4/2009 - MWAFFAQ SALTI AIR BASE, Jordan -- The South Carolina Air National Guard's 169th Fighter Wing was named the overall winner of Falcon Air Meet 2009, a three-nation F-16 Fighting Falcon competition, held here through Nov. 3.

The South Carolina team, which represented the U. S. Air Force's Central Command and the U.S., won three of the four main events as well as the Top Overall Maintenance Award and the Top Overall Competition Award. Other nations competing in the annual event were Jordan and Belgium.

"I could not be prouder of what the South Carolina Air National Guard accomplished here at this year's Falcon Air Meet," said Col. Michael Hudson, commander of the 169th Operations Group based at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C.

This is the first time since the Falcon Air Meet began in 2006 that an Air National Guard team has been selected to represent the United States at the competition.

"Everyone worked very hard for a long time to prepare for this competition and the results show that they accomplished what they came to do," Colonel Hudson said. "We want to thank the Jordanians for their gracious hospitality. It was very helpful to train with and engage in friendly competition with our friends from Jordan and Belgium. We hope to return soon to Jordan for a future Falcon Air Meet."

The mission of the Falcon Air Meet is to train through friendly competition with the air forces of the U.S., Middle East nations and other F-16 users from around the world.

The meet was inspired by Prince Feisal Bin Al Hussein and first organized in 2006. A main goal of the competition is the improvement of the relationship of Jordan with its partners and the promotion of stability in the region.

"I want to thank everyone, both deployed and supporting back at home station, for their hard work and dedication in preparation for our competition in this year's Falcon Air Meet," said Col. Scott Williams, commander of the 169 Fighter Wing. "We all learned about each other's capability to support one another and fight side-by-side as coalition partners. We not only competed to bring out the best in each other, but we also shared maintenance and operations practices and gained a renewed understanding of our key allies."

Members of the Colorado Air National Guard served as "White Force" judges for the meet as they have done in all previous years. Colorado ANG officials were instrumental in the formation of the first Falcon Air Meet in 2006. They were asked to participate as judges for the event, because of their state partnership with Jordan, a partnership formally established in 2004.

The six award categories announced at the closing ceremonies of the Falcon Air Meet 2009 were:

-- Large Force Employment (Air-to-Ground Competition): A two-part competition in which a flight of F-16s were tasked to drop inert Mark-82 500-pound bombs on a target at a precise time. Later, the jets uploaded live Mark-82 bombs and engaged a ground target. The judging parameters were airspeed, dive angle-of-attack, release altitude, accuracy (aim point) and time-on-target. Each F-16 carried two bombs. This event was won by the South Carolina ANG team, which scored 190 points of a possible 200.

-- Scramble Launch and Intercept Competition: This event required pilots and crew chiefs to work together to safely launch an alert aircraft in the fastest time possible and then for the pilot to conduct an intercept mission. In this close competition, only 10 points separated the first place South Carolina team and the second place Royal Jordanian Air Force team.

-- Formation Arrival Award: This event required a four-ship flight of F-16s to arrive over a designated target in a symmetrical formation. It was won by the Royal Jordanian Air Force with a perfect score of 100 points. The RJAF pilots showed "good formation and action," and their arrival time over the target was precisely to the second. The South Carolina team was second with a score of 95.

-- Weapons Load Competition: Two air-to-air missiles were uploaded to an F-16 with the greatest speed, safety and reliability. This event also was won by South Carolina.

-- Top Overall Maintenance Award: This event, which was based on the overall results of the Scramble, Weapons Load and Sortie Generation, was won by the South Carolina team.

-- Top Overall Competition Award: As a result of having won four of the five competition categories, the South Carolina team was awarded the top overall award and named winner of the 2009 Falcon Air Meet. The awards were presented by His Royal Highness Prince Feisel Bin Al Hussein.

Situation Report

I've almost settled into living into two places. Most of time is being spent in Brunswick, GA with a couple of days a week in Savannah, GA. I'm settling into a routine in Brunswick and I've finally had the time to play a bit of radio. I'm not set up well for Amateur Radio yet, just some portables and the mobile for VHF/UHF; I'm still waiting a bit to set up something for HF operations. Scanning on the other hand, has been progressing well.

I'm unable to run outside antennas where I'm at in Brunswick, so I use a Radio Shack mag mount scanner antenna on top of a DVD rack. At first I attempted to use a Uniden BC796 as the radio, but it's reception left much to be desired. I now connect the antenna to my Uniden BC396 portable with much better results. In addition to the obvious public safety on the Glynn Co. 800 system I've been able to monitor Townsend Range with ease from inside as well as the FLETC TRS, Glynco Jetport, Malcom McKinnon Airport, and the Jacksonville Center Brunswick and Jekyll low sites. While taking my afternoon walks, I can easily hear the above as well as some of the SEALORD SUAs off of the Georgia coast with the BC396 using a Diamond RH77CA antenna.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

27 October 2009

Countries/DXCC Entities Confirmed

I was just looking at the countries/DXCC entities I have confirmed on the ARRL's Logbook of the World. In just about a year of operating on HF I've have 51 countries/entities confirmed on LOTW. I don't think that's too bad for someone who is not a hardcore DXer or HF operator. Here is a list of the countries that I have confirmed:

ALASKAAL1G
ANGUILLAVP2E
ANTIGUA & BARBUDAV26F
ARUBAP40ZB
AUSTRALIAVK4KW
BAHAMASC6APR
BARBADOS8P5A
BONAIRE,CURACAO (NETH ANTILLES)PJ4E
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDVP2V/SP7VC
CANADAVA3DX
CANARY ISLANDEF8R
CAYMAN ISLANDSZF2AM
COLOMBIAHK3O
COSTA RICATI5N
CRETESV9CVY
CUBAT42T
DOMINICAN REPUBLICHI3TEJ
ENGLANDM6T
FERNANDO DE NORONHAPS0F
FINLANDOH8L
FRANCEF5RQQ
GALAPAGOS ISLANDSHC8A
HAITI4V4JR
HAWAIINH7C
HONDURASHQ3Z
HUNGARYHA5BSW
IRELANDEI3IO
ITALYIU8ANT
LITHUANIALY8O
LUXEMBOURGLX1AX
MARTINIQUETO8Z
MEXICOXE3N
MONTENEGRO4O3A
NETHERLANDSPA9JO
NORTHERN IRELANDGI5K
NORWAYLN9Z
POLANDSP5KP
PORTUGALCT1ILT
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICAZS3Y
SAINT MARTINFS5KA
SCOTLANDGA2MP
SLOVENIAS53F
SPAINEA1EEY
SVALBARDJW8DW
SWITZERLANDHB9FAX
TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDSVP5/WB2REM
UKRAINEUT7UV
UNITED STATES OF AMERICAN1API
US VIRGIN ISLANDSKP2M
VENEZUELAYV4A
WALESGW4B


Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT