Aerospace History, a SpaceX Night Launch, and Wildlife - Space Coast Road Trip Radio Report; 26-28 April 2024

This past Saturday was Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Family Day, and a friend invited me along for a base tour; since it coincided with my weekend off, it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I left Savannah on Friday and came back on Sunday. In addition to the Cape Canaveral SFS visit, I was able to visit the Merritt Island NWR and take in my first in person night launch when SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 on Saturday night. And as always, a trip to the Space Coast makes for interesting radio listening. It was a truly enjoyable road trip that in the end seemed all to short.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday night, 27April 2024. The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) can be seen on the right, and LC-39B, lit up for work, can be seen to the left of the launch.

Fort Fremont and Naval History in Port Royal; Mini Road Trip Radio Report; 6 April 2024

After having breakfast with some of the Coastal Amateur Radio Society crew yesterday morning, I drove roughly hour and a half from Savannah up to the Port Royal Sound area of South Carolina to visit the Fort Fremont Preserve on St Helena Island. It's a place that I've had on my want to visit list for several years, but since their visitors center is only open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and I work most weekends, I hadn't yet found the opportunity to visit. Since I was off, had no plans, and the weather was beautiful, I made a last minute decision to visit. On the radio side of things, it was a beneficial visit because it uncovered a flaw in my radio programming.

Coastal Georgia Military Monitoring Recap; March 2024

Even though several area units were deployed overseas, March was still a terrific month for military monitoring. Several units visited the Combat Readiness Training Center/Air Dominance Center (CRTC/ADC) at Savannah Hilton Head IAP, making up the shortfall of activity from the deployed units. Some of the visiting units participated in an exercise at the CRTC/ADC while they were here. An overnight road trip to Charleston gave me the opportunity to listen to some Charleston area activity. Several good late winter/early spring VHF/UHF band openings (some particularly good ones during the last week of the month) allowed me to listen up into South Carolina and down into Florida beyond my normal range.