25 February 2010

McIntosh County 911 Center to Reopen

From WTOC News Story:
http://www.wtoc.com/Global/story.asp?S=12032839

McIntosh County 911 will be reopening their 911 Center later this year, probably in May. Named the Wiregrass E911 Center, it will provide 911 and dispatch for both McIntosh and Long counties according to this WTOC report. It will also contain an Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Designed to survive storms, the building will have 12 inch thick reinforced walls that should survive 200 mph winds.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

21 February 2010

Jekyll Island

Location: Brunswick, GA

This morning I went over to Jekyll Island and picked up year's pass. The $45 year's pass sure beats the $5 a day toll to get on. I think Jekyll will be a great place to "play radio" from. I drove around and noticed several picnic areas that would make great places to sit and monitor from as well as set up a temporary amateur radio station. The south end picnic area and north end picnic areas look particularly good. It would also be easy to set up with the hamsticks on the car at one of the parking lots on North Beachview Rd.

One idea that immediately came to mind was setting up a station during one of the Islands on the Air events. I could operate with one of the verticals or throw up the G5RV Jr. Sounds fun...

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

16 February 2010

Military Training in the Savannah Area

WTOC is reporting that there will be military training in the Savannah area over the coming week:
http://www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11992474

Players for the exercise have been arriving throughout the day. 4 MC-130s using TALON 21, 22, and 23 arrived as did SHADOW 98. C-17s from Charleston AFB, BASCO 70 flight, have been doing drops with the Rangers at Fort Stewart this afternoon; they could be involved in the training WTOC describes as well.

This should make for some interesting stuff to listen to.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

15 February 2010

Online Feeds - The Radio Hobbyist's Latest Favorite Complaint

The soapbox has been dragged out from underneath the bed...

With the rapid expansion of Scanner Feeds on the internet, it seems that complaining about them being down is now one of the radio hobby's favorite things to complain about; complaints about radio feeds being down are sprinkled all throughout scanning message boards and forums. I don't provide feeds and I don't listen to feeds, but I still don't understand how this many people can complain about something being down that they don't pay for! They constantly complain about a free service; they're not providing the computer, radio, or internet access for the feed provider so how can they complain when it is down?

Enjoy it when the feed is up and be thankful that the provider has volunteered their equipment for it. When the feed is down, listen to your own radio(s).

Well, that's it for my occasional rant. I'm putting the soapbox back under the bed for awhile.

President Obama coming to Savannah next month | savannahnow.com

President Obama coming to Savannah next month | savannahnow.com

"ATLANTA - President Obama will be in Savannah to stump for his economic program March 2, the next stop on his White House to Main Street Tour, according to a White House press release."

See the link above for more.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

12 February 2010

Winter Storm Warning

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
317 AM EST FRI FEB 12 2010

...A SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM WILL IMPACT PARTS OF THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT...

GAZ116-118-137-138-121700-
/O.UPG.KCHS.WS.A.0001.100212T1700Z-100213T1100Z/
/O.NEW.KCHS.WS.W.0001.100212T1700Z-100213T1100Z/
INLAND BRYAN-INLAND CHATHAM-LONG-INLAND LIBERTY-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...PEMBROKE...SAVANNAH...LUDOWICI...HINESVILLE
317 AM EST FRI FEB 12 2010

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 AM EST SATURDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 AM EST SATURDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

LOW PRESSURE WILL INTENSIFY OVER THE NORTHEAST GULF OF MEXICO THIS MORNING...THEN MOVE ACROSS THE FLORIDA PENINSULA THIS AFTERNOON TO A POSITION OFF THE CAROLINA COAST TONIGHT.

RAIN WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING...MIXING WITH SLEET AND A LITTLE SNOW NEAR THE ONSET. AS COLDER AIR FROM THE NORTH OVERSPREADS THE REGION...THE RAIN WILL BEGIN TO MIX WITH AND EVENTUALLY CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY
THIS EVENING. SNOW...MODERATE TO HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL THEN PERSIST THROUGH THIS EVENING BEFORE TAPERING OFF AFTER MIDNIGHT. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS INLAND FROM THE COAST...CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY MORNING.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW...SLEET...OR ICE ARE EXPECTED OR ALREADY OCCURRING. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR EVEN IMPOSSIBLE.

11 February 2010

Aircraft Crash at Malcolm McKinnon Airport (SSI)

I initially got this out to the blog via a Twitter post this afternoon, but I wanted to get out a regular blog post about it as well. Shortly after 1500 today, a single engine two seat aircraft crashed on the runway at Malcolm McKinnon Airport on St. Simons Island. Zone 2 and other units from Glynn County FD responded to find the aircraft near the middle of the runway upright with moderate damage and one minor injury. Shortly after arrival, all units shifted from GCFD F1 to GCFD F2 for incident operations (this was the first time I've heard them move incident ops off of the F1 dispatch TG). It was also reported that a USCG helicopter was orbiting overhead when the first units arrived on scene (I didn't hear the USCG comms, it is hard to get simplex communications like that from inside this building with a handheld). Engine 2 and Squad 4 ended up handling the situation. Airport authorities were notified and the runway was closed.

If anyone heard any of the USCG comms on this incident I'd love to hear about it. I would guess they were either on CG 410 (413.000 MHz P25) or CG 113 (163.1375 MHz P25)

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

Winter Storm Watch

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
308 PM EST THU FEB 11 2010

...SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM EXPECTED TO IMPACT PARTS OF THE AREA FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND FRIDAY NIGHT...

GAZ116-118-137-138-SCZ048>051-120415-
/O.NEW.KCHS.WS.A.0001.100212T1700Z-100213T1100Z/
INLAND BRYAN-INLAND CHATHAM-LONG-INLAND LIBERTY-BEAUFORT-COASTAL COLLETON-CHARLESTON-COASTAL JASPER-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...PEMBROKE...SAVANNAH...LUDOWICI...
HINESVILLE...BEAUFORT...HILTON HEAD...EDISTO BEACH...CHARLESTON...JASPER
308 PM EST THU FEB 11 2010

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT.

LOW PRESSURE WILL INTENSIFY OVER THE NORTHEAST GULF OF MEXICO THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING...BEFORE CROSSING THE FLORIDA PENINSULA FRIDAY AFTERNOON THEN SHIFTING INTO THE ATLANTIC FRIDAY NIGHT.

RAIN WILL BEGIN ACROSS THE AREA ON FRIDAY...MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. AS COLDER AIR FROM THE NORTH OVERSPREADS THE REGION...THE RAIN WILL BEGIN TO MIX WITH AND EVENTUALLY CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW LATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON OR EARLY FRIDAY EVENING.
SNOW...MODERATE TO HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL THEN PERSIST THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING BEFORE TAPERING OFF AFTER MIDNIGHT. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS INLAND FROM THE COAST...CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW...SLEET...OR ICE ACCUMULATION THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED FOR POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN
CHARLESTON.

10 February 2010

Fun Radio Day

Location: Brunswick, GA

I had a great time on the radios this afternoon. A trip down to St. Mary's combined scouting locations to operate from, monitoring some MilCom, and operating some amateur radio HF.

I started out the afternoon doing some Jax area MilCom monitoring in St. Marys. Things weren't very active; I only heard a few P-3s and SH-60s on Jacksonville Approach/Departure frequencies and NAS Jax tower. I left St. Marys and went to scout Crooked River State Park near NAS Kings Bay as an operating location. The park seems like a very nice place to operate from, especially during the non-tourist season. I think it will be worth getting a year's State Parks pass to visit on a regular basis to do some amateur radio HF operating.

After looking around Crooked River State Park, I headed north back to Brunswick. As I began heading north, the MilCom activity began to pick up. F/A-18s from MCAS Beaufort began to work in W-157 and at Townsend Range. F-15s from Jax IAP also began to work in W-157. After the F/A-18s in Townsend Range departed, A-10s from Moody AFB showed up. Its always fun to listen to the A-10s!

On the way home, I detoured to St. Simon's Island and checked out Massengale Park as a place to "play radio." I could, of course, easily hear W-157 activity from the park, which is located on the east side of the island. I could also hear Townsend Range and the Coastal MOA as well as some acivity from Bulldog MOA. While there, I pulled out the FT-897D and the 20 Meter hamstick and operated the portable amateur radio station. I worked 3 stations in the ARRL School Club Roundup: K4PCC in North Carolina, WD5AGO in Oklahoma, and W9HHX in Wisconsin. I was glad I had the chance to work a few of the stations today because I since I upgraded to General I've always tried to work some of the school stations during the roundups. I may try to get on the air Friday and pick up a few more.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

02 February 2010

Military Monitoring Recap; January 2010

Hunter AAF
124.975 - Tower
279.575 - Tower
285.425 - Tower
121.800 - Ground
291.675 - Ground
126.200 - Base Ops
309.000 - PMSV
406.1625 - Tower/Base Ops
406.7625 - POL
415.1625 - Trans Alert
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 26367 (MH-60L, 3-160 SOAR)
ARMY 26408 (MH-60L, 3-160 SOAR)
ARMY 03754 (MH-47G, 3-160 SOAR)
ARMY 03756 (MH-47G, 3-160 SOAR)
SUNNY ## (RC-12N, 224 MI Bn)
TESTHAWK ## (H-60, OLR)
COAST GUARD 6510 (MH-65C, Savannah)
COAST GUARD 6542 (MH-65C, Savannah)
COAST GUARD 6545 (MH-65C, Savannah)
COAST GUARD 6565 (MH-65C, Savannah)
COAST GUARD 6604 (MH-65C, Savannah)
NAVY BJ 541 (CH-53E, HM-14)
PHEONIX ## (CH-53E, USMC)
TEAL 66 (WC-130, 53rd WRS)


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
225.050 - 165th AW air-to-air

DAWG ## (C-130H, 165th AW)
VENUS 32
GULF TEST ## (Gulfstream Test)
FORTRESS 390TH (B-17G, LIBERTY BELLE)


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
269.700 - VMFA-122 Tac 3
250.300 - VMFA(AW)-224 Tac 1
258.900 - VMFA(AW)-2224 Tac 2
228.200 - VMFA-312 Base
301.950 - VMFA-312 Tac 1
320.300 - VMFA-312 Tac 2
289.275 - VMFA(AW)-533 Tac 1
348.825 - VMFA(AW)-533 Tac 3

NIKEL 3# (F/A-18C, VMFA-122)
BENGAL 4# (F/A-18D, VMFA-224)
CHECK 6# (F/A-18A+, VMFA-312)
HAWK 8# (F/A-18D, VMFA-533)
FOX 515 (C-12, MCAS Beaufort)
FOX 323 (C-12, USMC)
FOX 716 (C-12, USMC)
CONVOY 4122
CONVOY 4835
NAVY HP 443 (SH-60, HSL-44)
NAVY JT 752 (C-9, VR-52)
RAGIN ## (F/A-18, VFA-37)


Charleston AFB
349.400 - Charleston AFB "PALMETTO OPS"
134.100 - Charleston AFB "PALMETTO OPS"
118.150 - North Field CCT
235.775 - North Field CCT
233.950 - PMSV
372.200 - PTD

GRITS ## (C-17, 437/315th AW)
LIFTR ## (C-17, 437/315th AW)


Shaw AFB
381.300 - Command Post
311.200 - 55th FS "SHOOTER OPS"
139.900 - 55th FS air-to-air
141.650 - 55th FS air-to-air
141.700 - 55th FS air-to-air
141.900 - 55th FS air-to-air
273.700 - 77th FS "GAMBLER OPS"

COLT (F-16C, 55th FS)
GRIPE (F-16C, 55th FS)
HYDRA (F-16C, 55th FS)
LONER (F-16C, 55th FS)
MISTY (F-16C, 55th FS)
MUSTANG (F-16C, 55th FS)
NAIL (F-16C, 55th FS)
RAZOR (F-16C, 55th FS)
LUCKY (F-16C, 55th FS)
ROULETTE (F-16C, 77th FS)
SKYCAP (F-16C, 77th FS)
TRUMP (F-16C, 77th FS)


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 IAP
322.400 - App/Dep
351.800 - App/Dep
377.050 - App/Dep
251.250 - 125th FW Maintenance/Ops
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, 125th FW)
SNAKE (F-15, 125th FW)
RATTLER (F-15, 125th FW)


NAS Jacksonville/NS Mayport
322.400 - App/Dep
351.800 - App/Dep
377.050 - App/Dep
340.200 - NAS Jax Tower
239.300 - NS Mayport Tower
310.200 - NAS Jax Base Ops
264.200 - VP-8/16 Base

NAVY AC 61# (SH-60, HS-7)
NAVY LF ## (P-3C, VP-16)
NAVY LL ## (P-3C, VP-30)
LANCER ## (P-3C, VP-10)
MAD FOX ## (P-3C, VP-5)
PELICAN ## (P-3C, VP-45)
TIGER ## (P-3C, VP-8)
NAVY JK 510 (C-2, VRC-40)


Robins AFB/JSTARS
293.525 - 116th ACW "PEACHTREE OPS"
225.725 - JSTARS Discrete
318.300 - JSTARS Discrete
335.975 - JSTARS Discrete
346.675 - JSTARS Discrete
372.150 - JSTARS Discrete

STARGATE (E-8C backend, 330th CTS)


Ranges/Military Operating Areas
119.225 - Townsend Range
228.400 - Townsend Range
343.750 - Bulldog MOA


SEALORD (USN FACSFAC Jax)
120.950 - North Primary
284.500 - North Primary
267.500 - South Primary
133.950 - South Primary
313.700 - North Secondary
385.300 - W-157 Discrete
376.900 - W-157 Discrete
301.000 - South TACTS Range
350.000 - South TACTS Range
311.500 - BRISTOL Discrete
320.500 - BRISTOL Discrete


DOUBLESHOT (W-161/177)
127.725 - Primary
381.350 - Primary
258.400 - Discrete
279.725 - Discrete


Miscellaneous
BENDER ## (A-10, 23rd FG)
BOLT 06 (KC-135, 6th AMW)
BOXCAR 20 (C-130)
COAST GUARD 2002 (HC-130J)
DEECEE 92 (KC-135, 459th ARW)
HUNTRESS (NORAD EADS)
MAGIC ## (E-3 backend, NATO)
MUDDY ## (A-10, 23rd FG)
NAIL ## (A-10, 23rd FG)
NATO 17 (E-3 frontend, NATO)
POISON 0# (T-38)
STRIKER (JTAC)

364.200 - NORAD AICC
236.400 - NORAD AICC
293.600 - NORAD Discrete
316.300 - NORAD Discrete
311.000 = MacDill AFB "LIGHTNING OPS"
271.100 - 23rd FG air-to-air
283.700 - 23rd FG air-to-air
348.900 - AR-600


ARTCC
256.900 - Jax Center
269.550 - Jax Center Columbia Low
277.400 - Jax Center Brunswick Low
281.550 - Jax Center Columbia 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
307.250 - Jax Center St. Augustine
319.200 - Jax Center Aiken High
322.500 - Jax Center Savannah Low
346.250 - Jax Center St. Augustine
351.700 - Jax Center Summerville High
363.200 - Jax Center Allendale Low
370.950 - Jax Center Georgetown High
379.100 - Jax Center Charleston Low

256.900 - Atlanta Center
323.000 - Atlanta Center Macon



Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

01 February 2010

This afternoon I decided to test out a way to get on the air on the HF bands from Brunswick. The idea is to use the FT-897D and Hamstick vertical antennas. I propped the FT-897D up on the dash of the car, powered by my marine deep cycle battery (which I placed behind the passenger seat). I placed a mag-mount on the roof of the car and tried out 40, 20, and 15 Meter hamsticks. The LDG AT-897 tuner tuned everything just fine and I was even able to make a contact with PJ2/K8ND in Curacao while testing 20 Meters! No doubt this will make a usable portable setup for operating HF while I'm at work in Brunswick.

The next phase of the project will be acquiring an 80 Meter and 6 Meter hamstick. I'd like to be able to check in to the ARES, Georgia Traffic, Georgia Traffic, and South CARS nets on 80 Meters and that will require 80 Meter capability. Anyone who follows this blog knows I'll have to have 6 Meter capability, especially when the Summer Es are rolling.

Anyway, keep an ear out for KF4LMT on the HF bands a little more often in the future.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

6 Meter Band Opening - 31 January 2010

Yesterday afternoon Russ, K4YGD was kind enough to call me and let me know about a 6 Meter band opening. I spent much of the morning and afternoon getting Groundwaves, the Coastal Amateur Radio Society Newsletter finished and sending it out to club members, so I hadn't had radios on to know it was open. Following Russ' call, I cranked up the FT-897D and hooked it up to the triband vertical to see what was going on. Straight away, I made contacts to New York, Ontario, and Quebec. After supper, before sitting down to watch the Pro Bowl, I checked 6 Meters again and found it open to the West and Midwest, working Illinois, Missouri, and Texas.

I don't have a 6 Meters setup down in Brunswick yet, so it was good to hear some Winter Es on one of my days off while I'm here in Savannah. Before the Summer E season cranks up I'm definitely going to have to get something setup for 6 in Brunswick.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT