Moved To WordPress

KF4LMT's Monitoring Post has moved to WordPress as KF4LMT's Monitoring Post and Blog. I will leave this Blog up for the foreseeable future, but all of this content has been imported to the WordPress blog, so it is in both places. My other blog, Stray Thoughts, has been incorporated into KF4LMT's Monitoring Post and Blog so the new blog is a combination of both. You'll also find my frequency files from the sidebar here in the Monitoring Information page of the new blog.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

Loggerhead Turtle Nesting

Last night, I listened to US Fish and Wildlife personnel monitoring and tracking Loggerhead Turtles nesting along the Georgia Coast. Here at home in Savannah, the activity was most easily monitored on the US Fish and Wildlife Skidaway repeater on 172.450. Others may pick up better activity on other repeaters in the linked system: 169.825, 171.650, and 172.650 (Onslow). If you are a night owl and have a scanner that can monitor P25 digital communications, this can be interesting and definitely something different to listen to; the majority of the Loggerhead Turtle related communications are at night because the turtles nest and lay their eggs at night.

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.

New Blog Service?

KF4LMT’s Monitoring Post may be moving to WordPress. I’ll be trying WordPress out for awhile to see how it works; both the Monitoring Post and Stray Thoughts have been combined into the Monitoring Post. A name change may be in the future as well. The WordPress link is: http://kf4lmt.wordpress.com/

One of the advantages WordPress may have is a better mobile interface via a Blackberry App, which is what I’m using to make this post.

Stay tuned for more.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

Another Rescue 21 Frequency in Use in the Savannah Area

Another of the Coast Guard Rescue 21 frequencies is in use in the Savannah Area. CG 107, 150.300 MHz, is being used by Coast Guard Air Station Savannah at Hunter Army Airfield. Over the past couple of weeks, I heard it being used in encrypted mode frequently just before and after one of the Air Station Savannah MH-65s departed from or arrived at the Air Station. Yesterday, there were unencrypted transmissions from the Air Station which finally identified who was using the frequency. It seems that CG 107 may be replacing 345.000 MHz as Air Station Savannah Ops; there has been a reduced amount of activity on 345.000 since the activity on CG 107 started.

This now brings the Rescue 21 Channels in use in the Coastal Georgia area to the following:

CG 107 - 150.300 MHz (P25) - Air Station Savannah
CG 113 - 163.1375 MHz (P25) - Station Tybee
CG 118 - 164.900 MHz (P25) - Station Brunswick
CG 410 - 413.000 MHz (P25) - Sector Charleston Air Ops


Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

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.