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

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

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

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

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