Shaw Air Force Base VHF Trunked Repeater System

During my trip to Florence and Darlington yesterday, I was able to help identify the Shaw AFB TRS. A few months ago, I was asked to check out some frequencies that were known to be a trunked system in South Carolina, probably Shaw AFB or McEntire ANGB. At that time I was unable to determine much while in Columbia because of band conditions. VHF was wide open that morning and it was almost impossible to pick local transmissions from distant transmissions. During yesterday's trip conditions were normal, so I was able to nail down the location as Shaw AFB. Once I figured out the settings for the system, I was able to monitor it with the BC-796. Stations using the callsign SHAW and references to the 79th Fighter Squadron confirmed it as the Shaw AFB TRS.

SETTINGS & FREQUENCIES 9600 Baud Motorola
Base Freq: 162.0000
Step: 12.5
Offset: 380

163.4625 - Control Channel (9600 baud)
165.0125 - Digital Voice
165.1875 - Digital Voice
165.2250 - Digital Voice
165.4125 - Digital Voice
166.0000 - Digital Voice
166.2250 - Digital Voice

TALKGROUPS
19 - Fire?
20 - unknown
21 - unknown
25 - Police?
28 - Squadron talkgroup?
34 - Tower/Ground Control?
42 - POL?

Much work still needs to be done on sorting out this system. The talkgroup info above was accquired from less than one day (a Saturday no less) of monitoring while passing the area on I-95. If you are in the area, or are visiting the area, do some monitoring on this system. Please pass on your information to me or to Larry Van Horn at the Monitoring Times MilCom Monitoring Blog.


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Trip Report: Savannah, GA to Florence and Darlington, SC

I took the BC-796, BC-250, and a PRO-92 on the trip I mentioned last night and had a lot of fun monitoring the Palmetto 800 TRS, Conventional VHF/UHF, the Florence County 800 TRS, and some military communications between Savannah, GA and the Florence and Darlington, SC areas. Below is a photo of the monitoring setup (the BC-245 belongs to my father, we were riding in his truck) The antenna for the BC-796 was a Radio Shack mag mount scanner antenna and the BC250 used an 800mhz antenna already mounted on the truck's toolbox. Below the photo are some of the trip notes. TRS and Frequency info was preloaded into the radios with information from the Radio Reference website; links for the systems are the titles for the sections below.







Government/Public Safety
Palmetto 800 TRS
3472 - SCE&G Linemen (Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton)
7152 - SCHP 03 Kershaw/Lee
9648 - Orangeburg County SO Dispatch
9744 - Orangeburg County East PD Dispatch
10032 - Orangeburg County EMS
14320 - Dorchester County SO dispatch
14400 - Dorchester County SO Admin
14416 - Dorchester County SO Patrol
14640 - Dorchester County EMS Ops
15216 - Colleton County S.O. (used as a secondary channel)
16448
16460
20944 - SCHP Common 7
22592
28080 - Santee-Wateree RTA
29456 - SCHP 68 Williamsburg/Georgetown
29328 - SCHP 70 Horry
29712 - SCHP 81 Charleston/Berkeley
29968 - SCHP 83 Dorchester/Colleton
30096 - SCHP 84 Beaufort/Jasper
30352 - SCHP 99 Calhoun/Orangeburg
30480 - SCHP SCHP 100 Barnwell/Aiken
31280 - SCHP 13 Regional Government 1
37840 - Clarendon County SO Dispatch
37872 - Manning, Summerton, Turbeville PD Dispatch
38032 - Jasper County SO Dispatch
38128 - Jasper County FD/EMS Dispatch
38160 - Jasper County FD Tac 1
38224 - Ridgeland PD
38256 - Hardeeville PD
38384
38544 - Berkeley County SO Ch. 1 Dispatch
50992 - Darlington County SO Dispatch (P25)

Conventional
46.380 - W. Florence FD
151.160 - SC DNR, Hampton (PL 203.5)
151.340 - SC DNR, Sumter (PL 123.0)
151.415 - SC DNR, Beaufort (PL 77.0)
151.415 - SC DNR, Columbia (PL 110.9)
151.430 - SC DNR, Charleston (PL 123.0)
154.055 - Darlington County EMS (PL 118.8)
154.145 - Colleton County Fire Dispatch (PL 103.5)
154.175 - Orangeburg FD East (PL 97.4)
154.220 - Hampton County Fire/EMS (PL 131.8)
154.250 - Caromi Village FD (PL 127.3)
154.310 - Windy Hill FD
154.340 - Sumter County Fire (PL 123.0)
154.355 - Hanna Salem Friendfield FD (DPL 546)
154.370 - Clarendon County FD Dispatch (PL 123.0)
154.370 - Clarendon County FD? (PL 162.2)
154.385 - South Lynches FD (PL 123.0)
154.430 - Johnsonville FD (PL 123.0)
154.445 - Darlington County FD Dispatch (PL 118.8)
155.625 - Orangeburg FD Central (PL 97.4)
158.790 - Community Transport Ambulance (PL 110.9)
159.300 - SC Forestry, Aircraft Detection (PL 186.2)
159.315 - SC Forestry, Coastal Base Operations (PL 97.4)
159.405 - SC Forestry, Wallace (PL 103.5)
159.450 - SC Foresry, Brittons Neck (PL 131.8)
159.450 - SC Forestry, Beaufort (PL 127.3)
159.375 - SC Forestry, Florence (PL 114.8)
159.375 - SC Forestry, Hampton (PL 186.2)
453.125 - Orangeburg MDTs?
460.075 - Hampton County SO Dispatch (PL 162.2)
460.100 - Colleton County SO (PL 162.2)
460.200 - Hartsville PD (PL 192.8)
460.350 - Colleton County SO Dispatch (PL 162.2)


Florence County TRS
16 - Florence County SO Dispatch
48
80 - Detention Center
112 - Florence County SO Patrol Talk
208 - Florence County SO Investigators Tac 2
1136
1616 - Florence County EMS Alert 1A
1648 - Florence County EMS Dispatch 1B
1776 - Florence County Rescue 2
1808 - McLeod Hospital ER
1872 - Cedar Hospital ER
1904 - Lake City Hospital ER
3248 - Howe Springs FD
3344 - West Florence FD
3504 - Sardis/Timmonsville FD
3536 - Olanta FD
3568 - Hanna/Salem/Friendfield PD
3856 - Florence County Fire Tac 5
3984 - Forence County FD South Dispatch
4016 - Florence County FD Fire Command
5296 - Environmental Services Talk
9616 - Lake City PD 1
9648 - Lake City PD 2
10128 - Small Town PD 1
12816 - Florence PD Patrol 1
12848 - Florence PD Patrol 2

MilCom
125.400/385.600 - Shaw Approach/Departure
-CRAB 51 (C-130J, MD ANG)
-PITMAN ## (F-16CJ, 20 FW); 139.825 air-to-air


281.550 - Jacksonville Center
-CHECK 61/62 (F/A-18C, VMFA-312); 301.950 Tac 1


134.100 - Charleston AFB CP
-CONNIE 9714


298.300 - 169 FW "SWAMP FOX OPS"
-CRAB 51 (C-130J, MD ANG)


269.000 - Gamecock MOA
-LUSTY ?? (AV-8B, VMA-542); 311.525 Tac


284.500 - SEALORD North Primary > 385.300 W-157 Discrete
-CHECK 63/64 (F/A-18C, VMFA-312); 320.300 Tac 2


406.3625 - MCRD Parris Island, Training Net


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Florence, SC Trip

Tomorrow, I will be traveling with family to Florence, SC. I won't be in my car, so I'll be taking the BC-796 and the BC-250 with me to do some monitoring. I'll be riding instead of driving, so I should be able to take some decent trip notes. We'll also be taking a side trip to Darlington to visit the museum at the famed race track. Saturday night or Sunday I'll try to post a trip report. I've preprogrammed the Palmetto 800 system, the Florence 800 system, VHF/UHF conventional, and some military stuff along the way to try.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Fort Stewart Range Fires

Fort Stewart Forestry is working fires in the B12 and B13 areas of the Fort Stewart Ranges. Ground units are fighting the fire with a helicopter overhead (Helo 5TV) spotting the fires. Air to Ground from Helo 5TV is on 163.5625. Forestry ground units are on talkgroup 2480 (P25 Digital) of the Fort Stewart-Hunter AAF trunked system. Forestry is coordinating entry/exit of range areas and range activity on TG 2288 (P25 Digital) of the trunked system.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Miltary Monitoring Recap; 19-25 March 2007

Frequencies
Savananh TRACON
120.400 - Approach/Departure
380.025 - Approach/Departure
125.300 - Approach/Departure
387.100 - Approach/Departure

Hunter AAF
133.550 - Tower
279.575 - Tower
121.800 - Ground
291.675 - Ground
49.800 - KNIGHTHAWK OPS (2/3 AVN)
49.900 - ASSAULT OPS (4/3 AVN)
82.100 - SUNNY OPS (224 MI Bn)
345.000 - USCG Air Station Savannah Ops
406.1625 - Tower/Base Ops
406.7625 - POL
415.1625 - Trans Alert

Savannah IAP/CRTC
119.100 - Tower
257.800 - Tower
225.750 - 165th Airlift Wing Command Post
225.050 - 165th Airlift Wing air-t0-air
165.0125 - 165th AW Maintenance
165.1625 - 165th AW
237.000 - Savannah CRTC Ops

Fort Stewart
127.350 - Marne Radio
279.625 - Marne Radio

MCAS Beaufort
118.450 - Beaufort Approach/Departure
301.200 - Beaufort Approach/Departure
251.700 - Beaufort Approach/Departure
119.050 - Tower
340.200 - Tower
253.100 - VMFA-122 Base
283.400 - VMFA-122 Tac 1
354.325 - VMFA-122 Tac 2
313.800 - VMFA-251 Base
290.000 - VMFA-251 Tac 1
327.475 - VMFA-251 Tac 2
376.425 - VMFA-251 Tac 3
228.200 - VMFA-312 Base
301.950 - VMFA-312 Tac 1
310.200 - VMFA(AW)-533 Base
289.275 - VMFA(AW)-533 Tac 1
299.300 - VMFA(AW)-533 Tac 2
354.400 - VFA-86 Base
308.925 - VFA-86 Tac 1
363.825 - VFA-86 Tac 2

Shaw AFB
273.700 - 77th Fighter Squadron Ops
141.750 - 77th FS V9
139.925 - 77th FS V12
320.525 - 79th Fighter Squadron Ops
138.150 - 79th FS V8
141.600 - 79th FS V9
141.775 - 79th FS V10
139.975 - 79th FS V12

McEntire ANGB
298.300 - 169th Fighter Wing Ops
125.125 - 169th FW V1
140.125 - 169th FW V17
141.925 - 169th FW V18
141.825 - 169th FW V19

Jacksonville IAP
251.250 - 125th Fighter Wing Ops/Maintenance
234.800 - 125th FW Aux 6
253.700 - 125th FW Aux 7
343.000 - 125th FW Aux 9

Ranges/MOAs
228.400 - Townsend Range Control
252.900 - Townsend Range Control
343.750 - Bulldog MOA
264.700 - Poinsett Range Control

Offshore Warning Areas
120.950 - SEALORD North Primary
284.500 - SEALORD North Primary
267.500 - SEALORD South Primary
349.800 - W-157 Discrete
376.900 - W-157 Discrete
385.300 - W-157 Discrete
301.000 - South TACTS Range Discrete
350.000 - South TACTS Range Discrete
127.725 - Doubleshot Primary
279.725 - Doubleshot Primary
258.400 - Doubleshot Discrete

Miscellaneous
141.500 - Camp Blanding, FL Range Control
228.225 - ANGEL OPS (23rd Wing, Moody AFB)
234.600 - NORAD Discrete
285.000 - FIDDLE (USN Tactical Support Center Jax)
371.350 - CPRW-11 Base (NAS Jacksonville)

ARTCC and Air Traffic Control
269.550 - Jax Center Columbia Low
282.200 - Jax Center Jekyll Low
285.650 - Jax Center Statesboro High
290.400 - Jax Center Waycross Low
319.200 - Jax Center Aiken High
322.500 - Jax Center Savannah Low
363.200 - Jax Center Allendale Low
379.100 - Jax Center Charleston Low
323.000 - Atlanta Center Macon
306.925 - Charleston Approach/Departure
255.400 - Macon FSS


Callsigns
Hunter AAF
ARMY - Miscellaneous US Army aircraft
VIPER - AH-64D, 1-3 AVN
ASSAULT - UH-60L, 4-3 AVN
SUNNY - RC-12N, 224 MI Bn
GUARD - Miscellaneous Army National Guard aircraft
HURRICANE - CH-47D, F-131 AVN
COAST GUARD - Miscellaneous US Coast Guard aircraft
POT - An-124, Polet Aviation
VDA - An-124, Volga-Dnepr

Savannah IAP/CRTC
DAWG - C-130, 165th Airlift Wing
GULF TEST - Gulfstream Test flights
BAT - KC-135, 185 Aerial Refueling Wing
JAGWR - C-130, 125th Fighter Wing

MCAS Beaufort
BLADE - F/A-18A+, VMFA-115
NIKEL - F/A-18A+, VMFA-122
TBOLT - F/A-18C, VMFA-251
CHECK - F/A-18C, VMFA-312
HAWK - F/A-18D, VMFA(AW)-533
WINDER - F/A-18C, VFA-86

Shaw AFB
GAMBLER - F-16CJ, 77th Fighter Squadron
GREASY - F-16CJ, 77th FS
LUCID - F-16CJ, 77th FS
DEADLY - F-16CJ, 79th Fighter Squadron
HOOTER - F-16CJ, 79th FS
HUNTER - F-16CJ, 79th FS
SCAR - F-16CJ, 79th FS
SPITFIRE - F-16CJ, 79th FS
TIGER - F-16CJ, 79th FS

McEntire ANGB
MACE - F-16CJ, 169th Fighter Wing
VIPER - F-16CJ, 169 FW

Jacksonville IAP
FANG - F-15A, 125th Fighter Wing
SNAKE - F-15A, 125th FW

Miscellaneous
DIXIE - KC-135, 117th Air Refueling Wing
GULF TEST - Gulfstream Test flight
KING - HC-130
LUSTY - AV-8B, VMA-542
MAULER - S-3B, VS-32
NAVY AX ### - C-130, VR-53
NAVY RD ### - P-3C, VP-47
PELICAN - P-3C, VP-45
RED TALON - P-3C, VP-16
ROKT 207 - T-2, TW-6 (Bu. No. 158585)


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

New Chatham-Effingham TRS Talkgroups

Over the last few weeks, I've identified some new Chatham-Effingham TRS talkgroups and re-identified a previously known one:

Re-identified:
TG 25200 - Effingham Fire-Rescue ADMIN 1 (previously ID'd as simply ADMIN)

Newly identified:
TG 17200 - Effingham Fire-Rescue ADMIN 2 (Digital)
TG 26512 - Effingham County INCIDENT 1


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Farewell to "Big John"

In ceremonies today at Navy Station Mayport, the USS John F. Kennedy CV-67 will be retired from service. It will be placed in inactive reserve in Philadelphia. Here are some links from Jacksonville area news outlets:

Florida Times-Union:

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/032307/woo_8816543.shtml

News4Jax.com

http://www.news4jax.com/news/11328997/detail.html

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT

kf4lmt@comcast.net