Space Coast Road Trip Radio Report; 8-13 January 2024

Last week I took a road trip to Florida's Space Coast to take in nature and wildlife at the Canaveral National Seashore and Merritt Island NWR and the past, present, and future of space travel at the Kennedy Space Center. Throughout the week, I also enjoyed listening to the wide variety of communications in the Space Coast area - aviation and Military communications, NASA and federal communications, private space company communications, and more. I also took a boat tour of the Banana River and Port Canaveral while I was there and that yielded a wonderful surprise. The weather was somewhat uncooperative on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, but it still turned out to be a terrific trip. Some excellent meals were had at restaurants along the way, including a great meal with friends. Overall, it was a wonder, enjoyable trip - one that is becoming an annual thing. 

Amateur Radio

For the most part, the repeaters from Jacksonville down to St Augustine were quiet on both the southbound and northbound legs of the road trip. The notable exception was on the southbound leg on Tuesday. Severe weather was passing through South Georgia and the  Florida Panhandle while I was on my way south and Florida's SARNet networked repeater system was active with operators passing weather watch/warning information. The weather was still making its way south while I was in Titusville during the afternoon and the 147.075+ Titusville repeater was active with weather observations and watch/warning information. Some friends and I made use of 146.520, the national call frequency on Wednesday evening and I also heard a good bit of activity on it while I was in the Merritt Island area on Thursday. 

KF4LMT Mobile on Biolab Rd in the Canaveral National Seashore; Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) can be seen in the background

147.0000- (PL 127.3) - Callahan

442.9000+ (PL 127.3) - Yulee (SARNet)

146.7000- (PL 127.3) - Jacksonville

146.7600- (PL 127.3) - Jacksonville 

146.9550- (PL 127.3) - Jacksonville

444.7000+ (PL 127.3) - Jacksonville (SARNet)

147.3900+ (PL 127.3) - Jacksonville Beach

442.8000+ (PL 127.3) - St Augustine (SARNet)

442.8750+ (DMR CC1) - St Augustine

145.4500- (PL 88.5) - Bunnell

443.8750+ (PL 127.3) - Ormond Beach

145.3300- (PL 127.3) - New Smyrna 

146.9700- (PL 107.2) - Titusville

147.0750+ (PL 107.2) - Titusville

147.3600+ (PL 107.2) - Titusville

442.8750+ (PL 123.0) - Christmas (SARNet)

444.6750+ (DMR CC3) - KSC Titusville

444.5750+ (DMR CC3) - KSC Cocoa

444.8750+ (PL 107.2) - Merritt Island

146.8800- (PL 107.2) - Rockledge

Once I made it to the hotel in Titusville on Tuesday afternoon, I set up a temporary monitoring station in the room using a Uniden BCD436HP for aviation and MilCom, a Uniden SDS100 for federal and public safety monitoring and a Whistler TRX-1 for federal monitoring. I also set up a Mode-S/ADS-B dongle since I was close to the NASA Shuttle Landing Facility and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. To the far left is the Anytone 878 that I used for amateur radio and GMRS.

Aviation/MilCom/Space

There is a lot of Aviation and MilCom activity to listen to in the Space Coast. As far as air traffic control communications go, it's right at the boundary of Jacksonville ARTCC and Miami ARTCC and you can hear quite a bit from both. MilCom-wise, both Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) and Patrick Space Force Base (PSFB) are in the area. I'm including Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in the aviation and MilCom section because of the Shuttle Landing Facility and how closely NASA works with the military. I didn't catch any of the Homestead based F-16s on this trip, but I did hear some F-35As working at Avon Park Range and Jacksonville based F-15s working at Pinecastle Range. P-8s were very active offshore of the Space Coast, with VP-30 P-8s refueling with a CPS/Meta KC-135 on 246.900 on both Wednesday and Thursday nights (it's the first time I've heard P-8s refueling with a civilian contractor tanker).

Mid Course Radar Site at the Kennedy Space Center 

While visiting the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Wednesday, I took one of their KSC Explore Bus Tours and it led to a fascinating encounter. We ended up behind Blue Origin moving the first New Glenn booster from their factory at KSC to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. I had no idea that it was going to be moved that day until we ended up behind it. It was a chance to witness a bit of space travel history. The photos below show it being moved between the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and LC-39A.

Moody AFB

225.450 - 71st RQS Ops

KING 30 (HC-130J, 13-5790, 71st RQS)

KING 31 (HC-130J, 19-5948, 71st RQS)

KING 32 (HC-130J, 13-5785, 71st RQS)

KING 33 (HC-130J, 10-5717, 71st RQS)

KING 34 (HC-130J, 11-5765, 71st RQS)

KING 35 (HC-130J, 12-5773, 71st RQS)

Note: KING 3# flights were weather evacs heading back to Moody from Patrick AFB on Wednesday after Tuesday's severe weather in south GA/FL Panhandle

Jacksonville IAP/NAS Jacksonville/NS Mayport/Cecil Field

118.300/317.700 - Jax IAP Tower

119.000/124.900/127.000/127.775 - Jax TRACON

269.900/284.600/292.150/308.400/377.075 - Jax TRACON

251.250 - 125th FW/159th FS Maintenance/Ops

273.900 - 125th FW/159th FS SOF

234.800 - 125th FW/159th FS Aux 5

253.700 - 125th FW/159th FS Aux 6

264.200 - VP-26/VP-45 Base

271.400 - VP-10/VP-16 Base

306.000 - VP-30 Base

246.800 - P-8A Air-to-Air

246.900 - P-8A Air-to-Air/Aerial Refueling

303.000 - P-8A Air-to-Air

285.000 - TSC Jacksonville/W-497 Common

FANG ## (F-15C, 125th FW/159th FS)

GATOR ## (F-15C, 125th FW/159th FS)

JAGS ## (F-15C, 125th FW/159th FS)

NAVY LL ## (P-8A, VP-30)

TALON 8## (P-8A, VP-16)

PELICAN ## (P-8A, VP-45)

NAVY 7002# (P-8A, RoK Navy)

US DOD TRS (NAS Jax Site)

 TG 28118 - NAS Jax Tower

St Augustine

275.200 - Grumman St Augustine Echo Base

360.300 - Grumman St Augustine 

Daytona Beach

120.700 - Daytona Beach IAP Tower

118.850/125.800 - Daytona Beach Approach/Departure

Titusville

118.900 - Space Coast Regional Tower

124.800/128.375/132.650/134.050 - Orlando TRACON

COAST GUARD 8321 (USCG Auxiliary Aircraft)

Kennedy Space Center

128.550/284.000 - KSC SLF Tower

NASA 425 (EC135, N425NA, NASA)

NASA 435 (EC35, N435NA, NASA)

COAST GUARD 1704 (HC-130H, 1704, CGAS Clearwater)

N124KY (C182, N124KY, Four M Aviation LLC); FWC Manatee Survey

KSC P25 TRS

 TG 104 - Comm Net 107

 TG 185 - Canaveral National Seashore 911 Call Boxes

 TG 221 - Fire Net 116

 TG 241 - KSC FD Station 1 Paging

 TG 245 - KSC FD Fire Tac 1

 TG 246 - KSC FD Fire Tac 2

 TG 250 - KSC FD Fire Training

 TG 281 - Flight Ops 1

 TG 295 - FSA 1

 TG 411 - CCSFS Photo/Timing

 TG 431 - KSC 1

 TG 503 - Medical Net 117

 TG 557 - SLF Tower

 TG 582 - Unknown

 TG 583 - Unknown

 TG 597 - Unknown

 TG 598 - Unknown 

 TG 735 - Safety Net 105

 TG 736 - Safety Net 110

 TG 737 - Safety Net 205

 TG 743 - CCSFS/Eastern Range Safety 

 TG 855 - Launch Support Net 104

 TG 875 - Test Net 1

 TG 876 - Test Net 2

 TG 937 - Net 206 - Transportation

 TG 995 - Weather Alert

413.5500 (PL 210.7) - KSC Heavy Equipment 1

Blue Origin DMR TRS

 TG 2 - Blue Origin Unknown; enc

 TG 4 - Blue Origin Unknown; enc 

 TG 5 - Blue Origin Unknown; enc

 TG 8 - Blue Origin Unknown; enc

 TG 10 - Blue Origin Unknown; enc

 TG 15 - Blue Origin Unknown; enc

 TG 16 - Blue Origin Unknown; enc

157.695 (SL1 CC4) - Blue Origin; enc

SpaceX UHF DMR TRS

 TG 104 - SpaceX Unknown; enc

 TG 105 - SpaceX Unknown; enc

 TG 115 - SpaceX Unknown; enc

 TG 116 - SpaceX Unknown; enc

SpaceX 900 MHz DMR TRS

 TG 104 - SpaceX Unknown; enc

 TG 105 - SpaceX Unknown; enc

ULA DMR TRS

 TG 2 - ULA Unknown; unenc

 TG 4 - ULA Unknown; unenc

The KSC Explore bus tour from the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is very much worth the extra cost. It takes you places that the normal bus out to the Apollo Center doesn't go, including stops at the VAB and Launch Complex 39. The photos below are from that bus tour: LC-39A, LC-39B, and a view of SLC-37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

 

Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center, formerly used by NASA for Saturn/Apollo and Space Shuttle launches, is now used by SpaceX. The launch tower for Falcon rockets is at the right, to the left is the tower to by used in the future for Starship/Super Heavy launches. 

Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), previously used by NASA for Saturn/Apollo and Space Shuttle launches, is currently used by NASA for SLS/Artemis launches. The SLS/Artemis mobile launcher is on the pad.

Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station as seen from Kennedy Space Center. It is currently used by ULA for Delta IV launches and if you look closely inside the Horizontal Integration Facility (the white building with ULA at the top), you can see the final Delta IV Heavy rocket (the orange cylinders) being prepared for launch later this year.

Cape Canaveral SFS

118.625/239.050 - Cape Canaveral SFS Tower

133.800/264.800 - Cape Advisory

298.200 - East Range Range Safety

N124KY (C182, N124KY, Four M Aviation LLC); FWC Manatee Survey

USAF 157 TRS (CCSFS & PSFB sites)

 TG 48301 - CCSFS Tower; enc/unenc

 TG 48311 - CCSFS Fire 1; enc/unenc

 TG 48316 - CCSFS Fire 2; enc/unenc

 TG 48317 - CCSFS Fire 3; enc/unenc

 TG 48334 - CCSFS Unknown; unenc

 TG 48335 - CCSFS Unknown; enc

 TG 48351 - CCSFS Safety 1; enc/unenc

 TG 48352 - CCSFS Safety 2; enc/unenc

 TG 48353 - CCSFS Unknown; enc

 TG 48368 - CCSFS Unknown; enc/unenc

 TG 48379 - CCSFS Unknown; enc

 TG 48388 - CCSFS Unknown; enc

 TG 48391 - CCSFS Unknown; enc

 TG 48393 - CCSFS Unknown; enc

 TG 48406 - CCSFS Unknown; unenc

 TG 48407 - CCSFS Support; enc/unenc

Two UK Royal Navy ships were in port at Cape Canaveral SFS. HMS Vanguard (S-28) was at the Trident Wharf and HMS Scott (H-131) was moored nearby in Port Canaveral. I first saw HMS Scott during the boat tour I took on Thursday and then got a better view of it and saw the HMS Vanguard when I visited Jetty Park on Friday. I wasn't expecting to see any Royal Navy ships, so seeing a submarine (a missile boat to boot!) and a survey vessel was a bonus for this trip! While at Jetty Park, I also saw SpaceX's recovery vessel Megan departing to support a launch, More from Jetty Park and Port Canaveral later in this post...

HMS Vanguard (S-28)

HMS Scott (H-131)

SpaceX's Recovery Ship Megan outbound from Port Canaveral to support a Falcon 9 launch

Patrick SFB

133.750/269.375 - Patrick SFB Tower

321.000 - 920th RQW "KING Ops"

150.6000 (PL 100.0) - 301st RQS Repeater

251.900 - SAR Alpha

236.000 - SAR Bravo

KING 4# (HC-130J, 39th RQS)

JOLLY 1# (HH-60G, 301st RQS)

USAF 157 TRS (CCSFS & PSFB sites)

 TG 48011 - PSFB FD Dispatch; enc/unenc

 TG 48015 - PSFB FD 1; enc/unenc

 TG 48046 - PSFB MOC; enc/unenc

 TG 48062 - PSFB FD 4; enc/unenc

 TG 48063 - PSFB Unknown; enc

 TG 48103 - PSFB Unknown; enc

 TG 48105 - PSFB Tower; enc

 TG 48106 - PSFB Unknown; enc

 TG 48107 - PSFB Unknown; enc 

Ranges/SUAs

289.200 - Pinecastle Range Ops

225.350 - Pinecastle Range Target

292.200 - Avon Park Range Ops

126.150 - Avon Park Range Ops

120.950 - SEALORD North Primary

284.500 - SEALORD North Primary

133.950 - SEALORD South Primary

267.500 - SEALORD South Primary

270.600 - SEALORD South Secondary

376.900 - W-137 Discrete

SLAY ## (F-35A, USAF)

UGLY ## (F-35A, USAF)

BEDLAM ## (U-28A, 1st SOW)

BENGAL 4# (F/A-18C/D, VMFA-224)

SWIFTBIRD ## (KC-135R, N752MA, CPS/Meta Aerospace)

ARTCC

126.125 - Jax Center Statesboro High

126.350 - Jax Center St. Augustine High

127.475/346.250 - Jax Center Green Cove High

132.425 - Jax Center Hunter Ultra High

134.400/273.550 - Jax Center St Johns Low

134.850/327.100 - Jax Center Torry Low/High

135.450/256.875 - Jax Center Keystone Ultra High

119.825 - Miami Center Hobee Low/High

123.675 - Miami Center Nucar Low/High

125.075 - Miami Center Boyel High

125.325 - Miami Center Permit High

126.525 - Miami Center Avon High

126.950 - Miami Center Stoop Low

127.200 - Miami Center Lakeland High

128.650 - Miami Center Apolo High

132.150 - Miami Center Palm Beach Low

132.250 - Miami Center Adoor Low/High

134.350 - Miami Center Adoor Low/High

133.550 - Miami Center Sebring Ultra High

FedCom

From the Space Coast, I could hear three different US Coast Guard Sectors: Jacksonville, St Petersburg, and Miami. I also heard traffic on one of the Canaveral National Seashore Repeaters. While traffic on it was in the clear, the Coast Guard traffic was a mix on encrypted and unencrypted.

56.8000 - Marine VHF Ch 16

157.1000 - Marine VHF Ch 22

162.3250 ($293) - CG 111, Sector Jacksonville; enc/unenc

163.0500 ($293) - CG 112, Sector St Petersburg; enc/unenc

165.3125 ($293) - CG 121, Sector Miami; enc/unenc

412.9750 ($293) - CG 409, Sector Jacksonville; enc

169.7875 ($407) - Canaveral National Seashore KSC Repeater

While visiting the Space Coast, I took several opportunities to explore the Merritt Island NWR and Canaveral National Seashore for nature/wildlife photography. The mangrove swamp environment in the Space Coast is so different than the salt marshes at home.

Glossy Ibis

Male Anhinga

American Alligator

Tri Color Heron

Roseate Spoonbill

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Tri Color Heron

American Alligator

Pied-billed Grebe

Brown Pelican

Eastern Meadowlark

American Alligator

Roseate Spoonbill

I also visited a historic site within the Cape Canaveral National Seashore: Seminole Rest. Seminole rest is home to historic cottages that sit atop a Timucuan Indian shell mound. The cottages, which date to the late 1800s, ended up protecting and preserving the shell mound by preventing the mound from being excavated for road fill and other uses.

Public Safety

All of the counties going south from Jacksonville and Duval County down to Brevard County and the Space Coast are covered by either P25 or EDACS trunked repeater systems (don't ask me what's going on with Volusia County P25, I have no clue...). I will suggest that if you want to hear anything other than public safety in Volusia or Brevard counties, use a separate radio for those systems; they're extremely busy.  Florida Forestry uses VHF repeaters and I was surprised to catch the Bunnell repeater using P25 instead of analog like it was during my visit last June. The other Florida Forestry repeaters I heard were still analog. 

159.2250 (PL 88.5) - FFS Withlacoochee

159.2400 (PL 97.4) - FFS Jacksonville

159.2700 (PL 91.5) - FFS Orlando

159.4500 ($064) - FFS Bunnell 

453.025 (PL 203.5) - First Flight Medical Helicopter (Brevard Co)

First Coast P25

 TG 149 - JFRD A-4 Suppression

 TG 1087 - Jacksonville Fire/Rescue A2 Dispatch

 TG 1113 - Jacksonville Fire/Rescue Fireground B1

 TG 1563 - Jacksonville IAP Events 1

 TG 1797 - NIMS North

 TG 2535 - JFRD Station 56/Cecil Field Crash Ops

St Johns P25 TRS

 TG 10000 - St Johns County Fire/Rescue A1 Dispatch

 TG 10020 - St Johns County Fire/Rescue A5

 TG 10025 - St Johns County Fire/Rescue A6

 TG 10030 - St Johns County Fire/Rescue A7

 TG 10620 - NPS Fort Matanzas

 TG 10640 - Trauma 1 South

Flagler P25

 TG 2057 - Flagler Fire/Rescue Talk

 TG 2059 - Flagler Fire/Rescue Primary

Volusia EDACS TRS

 TG 02-041 - Volusia Co Fire Services 1 East Dispatch

 TG 02-043 - Volusia Co Fire Services Tac 3

 TG 02-045 - Volusia Co Fire Services Tac 5

 TG 02-046 - Volusia Co Fire Services Tac 6

 TG 02-047 - Volusia Co Fire Services Tac 7

 TG 02-050 - Volusia Co Fire Services Tac 8

 TG 07-041 - Port Orange FD Dispatch

 TG 10-101 - Daytona Beach IAP PS 1

 TG 10-102 - Daytona Beach IAP C5

 TG 15-007 - PSIC 4

Volusia P25 TRS

 TG 301 - Volusia Co Fire Services 1 East Dispatch

 

Brevard EDACS TRS

 TG 03-011 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Dispatch 1

 TG 03-012 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Dispatch 2

 TG 03-013 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Dispatch 3

 TG 03-017 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Paging 80

 TG 03-027 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Dispatch 4

 TG 03-031 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Tac 1

 TG 03-071 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Tac 55

 TG 03-072 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Tac 56

 TG 03-097 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Paging 45

 TG 03-101 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Paging 20 

 TG 03-103 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Paging 60

 TG 03-127 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Admin

 TG 04-156 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue - First Flight

 TG 05-154 - PSIC 4

 TG 07-011 - Titusville FD Tac 11

 TG 07-031 - Titusville FD Station 10

 TG 07-035 - Titusville FD HQ Dispatch

 TG 08-051 - Melbourne FD Dispatch

 TG 08-074 - Port Canaveral Tugs (patched to Marine VHF 12)

 TG 08-075 - Brevard SO/USCG (patched to Marine VHF 16)

 TG 11-051 - Cocoa FD 1449

 TG 12-011 - Cocoa Beach FD 1545

Port Canaveral/Marine VHF

Port Canaveral hosts a mix of cruise, cargo, military, and space related shipping. During this visit, I saw cruise ships, cargo ships, the Royal Navy ships I mentioned above, and several of Space X's support vessels. I also took a boat tour from Space Coast River Tours that went through the Banana River Lagoon and Port Canaveral. There's more to Port Canaveral than shipping; there's also a lot of wildlife that call it home. I was thrilled to see White Pelicans, which I don't get to see at home in Savannah.

156.6000 - Marine VHF Ch 12; Port Canaveral Pilots

156.6500 - Marine VHF Ch 13; Port Canaveral Locks

The Port Canaveral Locks (Banana River Lagoon side)

SpaceX's drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas; it's amazing that they can land a Falcon first stage on something this size (first stage seen at right)

SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage

SpaceX support ships; capsule recovery ships Shannon (left) and Megan (middle) and Doug (right), a payload fairing recovery vessel. If you look closely at Shannon's stern, there is a Crew Dragon capsule on board (unsure if it's a training capsule or a real one).

A Falcon 9 payload fairing half

HMS Scott (H-131), a Royal Navy survey ship

White Pelicans

White Pelican

Brown Pelicans; an immature one to the left and a mature one to the right

Brown Pelicans

Food

No road trip is complete without good food.

The best meal that I had during this road trip was from Goodrich's Seafood and Oyster House in Oak Hill, located right along the Mosquito Lagoon near one of the places I visited, Seminole Rest. I ordered their Tuesday Special: fish and shrimp with Florida chowder and two side (I picked fries and cole slaw). It was most excellent; the fish and shrimp were perfectly fried - lightly battered and not the least bit greasy. The chowder was delicious - a slightly sweet tomato base with different types of fish and potatoes. The food wasn't only outstanding, the prices were very good as was the service. If you're anywhere near Oak Hill or the southern part of the Canaveral National Seashore, I highly recommend stopping for a bite to eat!

Another great seafood meal was had at Dixie Crossroads in Titusville. Whenever I'm visiting the Space Coast I always have to stop in at least once. On this visit, I had the shrimp alfredo and as always it was delicious. You can't wrong with just about anything on the menu at Dixie Crossroads and it's located close to the Merritt Island NWR and southern part of the Canaveral National Seashore.

Another restaurant near the Merritt Island NWR and Canaveral National Seashore I like to visit is the Orleans Bar and Bistro on US-1 along the Indian River. Once again, you can't go wrong with just about anything on the menu. It's the best Cajun food I've had since my family moved to Savannah from New Orleans. On this trip, I had the shrimp tacos with a side of read beans and rice. Quite honestly, the best part of the meal was the red beans and rice; I could have just had a giant bowl of them...

I love Mediterranean food; after visiting the Brevard Zoo I went to nearby Celo's Shawarma Factory (it shows on Google Maps as Celo's Mediterranean Bistro) and had a gyro with a salad. The food was great and the service quick and friendly. The salad dressing was tasty, like with the red beans and rice at the Orleans Bistro, I could have done with just a big bowl of Celo's salad!

The last great meal of the road trip was at Brisky's BBQ in St Augustine, where I spent Friday night before returning to Savannah on Saturday. Brisky's is on US-1 right next to the hotel I stayed in, so that's where I decided to have dinner at - and it was a great decision. I had their combination dinner with pulled pork and smoked sausage with green beans and southwest rice. The have a variety of sauces, so I used their Hot BBQ sauce on the smoked sausage and Carolina Vinegar on the pulled pork. Both were good choices. The pork was tender and moist and the sausage was excellent - seasoned but not overly so. I'll definitely be stopping in on future trips in and through St Augustine to sample some more of their menu.