ARES Training Information

This just in from Steve Jonas – K4SDJ, one of the Chatham County ARES Assistant Emergency Coordinators in regards to training necessary to work at the Chatham County Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) and the Chatham County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) during an ARES activation:

If you are planning to work at anytime with CEMA, you have to complete the Independent Study Courses, IC-100a “An Introduction to ICS” (http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS100A.asp) and IC-700a “An Introduction to NIMS” (http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is700a.asp) by October of this year. You also have to the the EOC course put on by CEMA. I am working to schedule a weekend one day course in the near future. When you get your certificates. please email me a copy so that I can update your ARES listing in the database.

CARS Offering Amatuer Radio Class in June

The Coastal Amateur Radio Society is offering a Technician Class Amateur Radio License Class on June 1, 8, 15, and 22 followed by a VE Session on June 26, 2010. The classes will be held at the Memorial Health University Hospital Hoskins Building from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM each night. The VE Session will be at 9:00 AM on June 26 at Southside Fire Station 1 on White Bluff Rd in conjunction with Amateur Radio Field Day.

For more information, email me at kf4lmt @ comcast.net and I’ll put you in contact with the instructors Guy McDonald, K4GTM and Kevin Bell, KW4B.

W2W Armed Forces Day Special Event Station at the Mighty 8th Air Force Museum Featuring the B-17 "City of Savannah"

This weekend, on April 15, the Coastal Amateur Radio Society will operate a special event station in honor of Armed Forces Day at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler, GA. In addition to recognizing members of our Armed Services for their service and duty, the Special Event will feature the B-17 "City of Savannah" which is on display and being restored at the museum. The special event station will be set up under the left wing of the "City of Savannah" facing out toward the Memorial Gardens. Look for W2W on the amateur HF bands from 1300-2100 UTC on Saturday. If you are in the area, drop by and join the crew operating the station.

Special QSL cards will be issued for the event. Listen for QSL address information to be given by the operators during the event; once I know the QSL address I will also post it here.

Beachside DX from Jekyll Island

Location: Jekyll Island, GA

What a great afternoon on the radio! I woke up around 3:30 PM this afternoon and headed out to get some early dinner: fried shrimp and clams from Jinrights in Brunswick. After eating, I headed out to Jekyll Island and took up a spot at one of the parking areas along North Beachview to operate the mobile/portable amateur radio station for awhile. I took advantage of the cooler weather today: the temperature was 74 F and the skies clear and blue.


I worked a few stations on 20 Meters before giving the station a test on 80 Meters by checking into the weekly Georgia ARES Net on 3.975:

• 9A5BS, Felix in Zagreb, Croatia
• OP2A, Ivo in Brussels, Belgium
• GM3UEG, Dave on Orkney Island, Scotland

I got a good signal report from Charles, K4GK, net control for the ARES net when I checked in and I heard K4GTM - Guy, KD4PDX - Mark, KB4GNX - Bob, and KI4TYO - Ken from Chatham and Effingham Counties at good levels, I suspect we could have worked each other. I think the HVT400B would work OK for ARES use if the need be.

After the net, I worked some more DX on 15, 17, and 20 Meters. I used the LDG897 tuner to tune the HVT400B's 15 Meter setting for 17 Meters and it worked good enough to make contacts with.

• YV5ZV, Victor in Venzuela on 15 Meters
  
• F6IGS, Gerry in France on 17 Meters
• FM5DN, Leon in Martinique on 17 Meters
• GS3PYE, Lawrence on Island of Harris in Scotland on 20 Meters
• IS0R, a DXpedition on Sardinia (20 Meters)
• ZW7R, a DXpedition on Restinga Island (Brazil) on 20 Meters

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

Saturday Afternoon DX and First QSO to Cyprus

Location: Darien, GA

After waking up this afternoon, I decided to head out and try some DX with the mobile/portable amateur radio station. I found a good spot in the Altamaha Waterfowl Management Area in Darien: the Butler Plantation along the bank of the Butler River on US17 in McIntosh County. With the temperature around 90 degrees, the spot near the river provided a nice breeze that made for comfortable operating conditions.





Before trying some DX, I wanted to try working the Coastal Amateur Radio Society special event station W4W, which was in operation to help benefit a wounded 3rd Infantry Division soldier. Even coordinating frequency with Guy, K4GTM, propagation just wouldn't support the contact.

I went on to work 6 DX Stations on 20 Meters from Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, and Cyprus. 20 Meters seemed to be pretty active with DX due to the CQ-M Interational DX contest this weekend. The contact with 5B4AIF was my first contact in Cyprus, so it was a pretty good day on the radio. In the space of just over an hour, I worked:

2014Z - 14.267 - S56DX, Slovenia
2039Z - 14.260 - 5B4AIF, Cyprus
2058Z - 14.239 - S58AL, Slovenia
2103Z - 14.245 - OE6Z, Austria
2106Z - 14.258 - OE3K, Austria
2120Z - 14.248 - 9A4KW, Croatia

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

Amateur Radio at the Statesboro Boy Scouts Jamborama

A group of Amateur Radio Operators organized by Philip Neidlinger, KA4KOE set up some Amateur Radio stations at the 100th Anniversary Boy Scouts Jamborama at the Kiwanis Fairground in Statesboro, GA on Saturday, May 1. We demonstrated Amateur Radio to Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts and helped them earn them toward earning their Boy Scout radio badges and Cub Scout pins and belt loops. Several stations were set up, including the Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief Communications Trailer 5-C. Several different types of antennas were used including a military vertical mounted on Philip's truck, a screwdriver type HF mobile antenna on Russ Trio, KA4ZPV's van, and two dipole antennas hung from the Fairground's lamp posts.









Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

Opek HVT400B Mobile HF Antenna

Location: Brunswick, GA

Last week, I ordered an Opek HVT400B mobile HF antenna from R&L Electronics. The best way I could describe the HVT400B is that is a "poor man's" Outbacker. It is a multiband antenna (80/40/20/15/10/6/2/70cm) that uses taps and whip length adjustments to tune. The antenna and a tri-mag mount arrived this afternoon via UPS and I put them on the car this evening to try it out.

Using my FT-897D and LDG tuner (I've yet to try the antenna without the tuner) I worked Europe and Africa on 20 and 15 Meters! The first thing I did was check 40 Meters. I didn't hear anyone calling CQ, so I didn't get a chance to see how it would transmit; it was receiving quite well and I don't expect that there will be any problems transmitting. When I changed the tap for 20 Meters, I quickly came across DK1II, Franz from Germany working DX. I answered one of his QRZ calls and received a 59 report! That's not bad for an inexpensive antenna and 100 watts! I tuned up the band a bit farther and found S58FA, Freddie from Slovenia working DX; Freddie gave me a 57 report. I decided to try 15 Meters next, changing the tap and extending the whip. Almost immediately I came across TL0A in the Central African Republic working stations; he gave me a 55 report, which was the same as the station he worked before me. Once again, not bad for a mobile installation!

I'm looking forward to giving the antenna a try on 80 Meters soon. I'm hoping that it will do well enough to allow me to check in to the weekly Georgia ARES net on 3.975 on Sundays.

So far, I'm quite pleased, this looks like it will be a nice antenna to use for the portable HF station here in Brunswick!

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

Georgia QSO Party Part 2

Location: Savannah

I'm back at the Georgia QSO Party effort at the Coastal Amateur Radio Society Club Station at Southside Fire Department Station 1. I'm here with Kevin Bell, KW4B and Steve Jonas, K4SDJ. The contest resumed at 1000 this morning and after having poor results on 20 Meters, Kevin got the station cranked up on 40 Meters with decent results. A recent check of the log shows 96 stations worked since 1400 yesterday.

If you're up on HF, listen for us. We're using the club callsign W4LHS.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

2010 CQ WPX Contest

Over the weekend, I worked the 2010 CQ WPX contest off and on. By no means was it a serious effort, but at least I managed to put some contacts in the log; I had 75 contacts with a good mix of stateside and DX contacts. Band conditions seemed to be pretty good on 40, 20, and 15 Meters with most of my contacts made on 15 Meters. To me, 15 Meters actually seemed to be in better condition than 20 Meters was. On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, 10 Meters was also open down toward the Caribbean and South America.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

2010 ARRL DX Contest Diary

I intended to use Twitter and the blog to send out updates on how the portable HF station was doing for the 2010 ARRL DX Contest, but my Blackberry decided to crap out on Friday afternoon, nixing that idea. I changed gears and decided to keep a "diary" of the contest and post it once I was able to get some internet access.

March 6, 0045 Local
From around 0001 local to 0030 local, I attempted to work some of the contest with my portable HF station using the FT-897D and a 40 Meter Hamstick. I set up behind work after I got off duty. I was most disappointed with the results. I heard 10-12 very strong stations but I just wasn't able to break through to any of them but one. Most stations were European, but the one station I was able to work was in Barbados. Trying to work these contests with 100 watts and a G5RV is bad enough, akin to taking a knife to a gunfight; trying to use this setup on 40 Meters was futile. There were just so many stations with more power and/or better antenna setups that I was lost in the noise.

March 6, 1015 Local
I came out to the South Dunes picnic area on Jekyll Island and set up the portable HF station to make another attempt at the Contest. I meant to bring the G5RV Jr. down this week to use it for the contest while at the picnic area but I left it in Savannah, so I am limited to the hamsticks. I set the FT-897 up on a picnic table and put the magmount for the hamsticks on a nearby manhole cover. 20 Meters seemed like the best bet for this time of the morning, so I gave it a try. The results on 20 Meters were much the same as the results on 40 Meters last night; I could hear a lot of stations, but just couldn't get through the bigger and better stations to make the contacts. I managed one 20 Meter contact into Dominica.

March 6, 1100 Local
After the frustration I was experiencing on 20 Meters, I decided to give 15 Meters a try. I'll be honest, I was really getting discouraged after my experience on 40 Meters and 20 Meters. 15 Meters worked out much better for me, though. I was hearing a lot of stations and although I still couldn't get through to them all, I was able to work 8 stations in Portugal, Martinique, Bosnia, Curacao, Aruba, Italy (2), and Dominica. 15 Meters was in really good condition and was the easiest of the 3 bands that I tried to work.

March 6, 1300 Local
With the "triple-back" schedule I'm working this weekend, that was it for my attempts at working the contest. After trying 15 Meters, I was able to leave Jekyll Island feeling much better and not considering that my attempt was a total wash-out. I was hearing a lot of stations, and I think that in less congested band conditions, I probably would have had a bit more success so I'm looking forward to the next opportunity to operate the portable station.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

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

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

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

Winter Field Day

Hello fellow HAMs,

All Savannah area amateur radio operators are invited to participate in an outing that we are having in conjunction with the Winter Field Day. Here is a link to the outfit that is sponsoring the Field Day nationally.

http://www.spar-hams.org/contests/winterfd/index.php?pg=2.

We have reserved the pavillion at the Lott's Island Recreation Area on Hunter Army Airfield for all day Saturday, Jan 30th. Folks will begin arrivng to set up as early as 0830 or 0900. Bring a radio, a power source, and an antenna, or just bring yourself and get on the air! You will need to get a vehicle pass at the Stephenson or Montgomery St. gate before you can enter the recreation area via the Rio Gate. You'll need your drivers license, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance. Tell the guard that you are going to the amateur radio outing at Lott's Island. Here is some info on Lott's Island Rec Center.

http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/component/content/article/49-georgia/94-lotts-island-army-airfield-rv-park

Guy McDonald, K4GTM
ARES Emergency Coordinator Chatham County GA
www.k4gtm.blogspot.com/

Haiti Earthquake Relief Communications

On Wednesday, I devoted the majority of my radio monitoring time to the Haitian Earthquake. While friends of mine were monitoring the Amateur Radio nets associated with relief operations, I decided to monitor USCG relief operations. I concentrated on the COTHEN ALE Net, listening to HH-60s doing medevacs and HC-130s doing evacuations and medevacs from the Port Au Prince Airport. HH-60s using the callsigns ##C and J## and HC-130s using the callsigns 15## and 17## were working through ground stations CAMSLANT (Communications Master Station Atlantic), PANTHER (Operation Bahamas and Turks), and USCG District 7 Miami Ops (via phone patch through SERVICE CENTER). Most of the activity I heard was on the following frequencies:

5.732 USB
7.527 USB
8.912 USB
10.242 USB
11.494 USB
15.867 USB

As far as Amateur Radio Nets are concerned, there are IARU nets in operation on 7.045 LSB and 3.720 LSB. Amateur Radio Operators are asked to monitor these nets, but make sure they are kept clear for essential traffic. SATERN (Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network) also has nets active on 14.265 USB, 7265 LSB, and 3977.7 LSB. There are also some Echolink VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) nets in operation. In the Savannah area, these can be monitored on the 146.700 and 442.700 repeaters when Jerry, W4SGA and Dan, KF4MND have their echolink nodes connected to the repeaters.

Local VHF/UHF monitoring has indicated multiple large helicopters such as US Navy CH-53s moving southbound and airlift assets departing Charleston AFB for Haiti. Hunter AAF has been used for refueling stops for CH-53s in the past; you may be able to hear them come and go on 124.975/279.575 with communications also possible on Base Ops, 126.200. Aircraft departing Charleston AFB for Haiti can be heard on 134.100/349.400.

Please Pray for the People of Haiti and for the Military Personnel, Government Employees, and NGO workers that are trying to help them.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

Savannah Amateur Radio License Classes

I'm reposting this from my friend Guy's Blog. Guy is one of the instructors for the Technician Level Amateur Radio Classes. If you know anyone who is interested in becoming an Amateur Radio Operator steer them Guy's way.

We have settled on dates for the next Amateur Radio License class here in Savannah. This will be the entry level license called Technician. No radio or electronics experience is required. This class is delivered by Extra Class Amateur Radio Operators who are American Radio Relay League Registered Instructors. We'll teach you everything you need to know to get your license. If you are interested in attending the class just send me an email or give me a call. If you know someone else who may be interested please pass this info on to them as well. If you would like some more detail or just to ask me some questions please feel free to contact me. Here are the particulars:

Date: Jan 28, Feb 4, Feb 11, Feb 18
Time: 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Place: Memorial University Medical Center, Hoskins Building
Cost: Free
Study Guide: Get one at http://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual/dp/0872599639/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262826447&sr=8-1
Test Session: Feb 20 at 9:00am at Memorial Medical Center, Hoskins Building. Cost is $15

Guy McDonald, K4GTM

ARES Emergency Coordinator
Chatham County GA
President, Coastal Amateur Radio Society

www.k4gtm.blogspot.com/

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

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