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

The Monthly Military Monitoring Recap consists of frequencies and callsigns that I've heard in use in Coastal Georgia and during my travels (usually around South Carolina and Florida). Special Operations, Intelligence, and real-world Combat Air Patrol information will not be posted. Gulfstream (Savannah) and Boeing (Charleston) flight test frequencies and callsigns are also included as well as US Coast Guard, non-law enforcement FedCom, and civilian medevac callsigns, N-numbers, and frequencies. 

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.