Reconstruction Roots in the Lowcountry: Beaufort, Port Royal, and St Helena Island Overnight Road Trip Radio Report - 27/28 December 2025

On Saturday morning, I made a last minute decision to take an overnight road trip from Savannah up to Beaufort to visit the Beaufort History Museum and the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park. It was another practically tropical December day in Coastal Georgia and Lowcountry South Carolina, so it was a great day for a road trip. It turned out that the History Museum was closed for the morning due to a staffing issue, but it turned out to be an interesting trip anyway (and it gives me another reason to come back another day...). I also fit in visits to the Fort Fremont History Preserve, the St Helena Island Chapel of Ease, and the Fort Frederick History Preserve. Radio-wise, I didn't expect a lot of military aviation activity due to it being a holiday weekend, but there was one nice surprise. There was quite a bit of fire department traffic on the area Palmetto 800 sites to listen to, however. The radio in KF4LMT Mobile didn't stay silent much throughout the day. On the amateur radio side of things, there was decent activity on area 2 Meter analog repeaters and I squeezed in a short POTA (Parks on the Air) activation. 

The Beaufort History Museum in the Beaufort Arsenal (built in 1798), unfortunately it was closed the morning of my visit

Wildlife and Radio - Parks on the Air Activation at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge

This afternoon, I combined my love of nature, wildlife, and radio with a visit to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge's Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive just across the Savannah River in South Carolina. It was a beautiful day for a visit, it got up into the mid-50s instead of the 30s that we had yesterday and it wasn't nearly as windy as it was yesterday, so it was a terrific day for watching birds. I saw a lot of Teal and Northern Shovelers, but unfortunately none were close enough to get photos of. I got some photos of American Coots and Common Grebes along with year-around residents Anhingas, Great Blue Herons, and White Ibis. I also saw what I think was an immature Cooper's Hawk. The cold snap wasn't so good for watching alligators and turtles, I only saw one alligator during the visit and it wasn't where I could get a good photo. 

I set up my portable HF station out of the back of my car at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge's Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive for a Parks on the Air activation

Coastal Georgia Christmas (Not So Much a) Road Trip Radio Report; 13/14 December 2025

I'm not taking a road trip in December as I prepare for a Space Coast Road Trip in January but over the weekend, I did travel around southeast and coastal Georgia visiting the Georgia Veterans Cemetery in Glennville, Fort Pulaski in Savannah, and Fort King George in Darien. I don't post a lot about local Fire/Rescue communications in the Savannah area, so I thought I'd do a blog post about the weekend's travels and what I heard during them. Perhaps it will be helpful for anyone who may be thinking about visiting the Savannah area.

Candlelit Christmas decoration at Fort Pulaski National Monument's Candle Lantern Tour

Poinsett State Park & Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens - Midlands South Carolina Road Trip Radio Report; 9/10 November 2025

I took an overnight road trip to Midlands South Carolina on Sunday, 9 November and Monday, 10 November 2025 to visit Poinsett State Park in Wedgefield and Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens in Columbia. The trip up was via I-95 and the trip back to Savannah was on US-321, providing two different levels of activity on amateur radio and scanning. Both days were beautiful and especially on Monday, I enjoyed the colors of the Autumn foliage; we don't get quite as much color at home on the coast. Due to the Federal holiday on Tuesday, there was very little military communications to monitor, public safety in the Columbia area was busy as always, and the railroads around Columbia were active as well. There wasn't much Federal communications activity either, although I was surprised to hear the Fort Sumter NHS talkgroup on the Palmetto 800 system active during the Federal Government shutdown. While visiting the Zoo, I enjoyed listening to their radio system. On amateur radio, I had fun doing a Parks on the Air (POTA) activation at Poinsett State Park and listening to 2 Meter/70 cm repeaters along my route of travel. 

Autumn foliage at Poinsett State Park

My First Road Trip Incorporating Parks on the Air Activity - Central Georgia Road Trip Radio Report; 19/20 October 2025

This weekend's overnight road trip to Central Georgia was the first time I've incorporated portable HF operating and Parks on the Air activity into one of my road trips. I left Savannah on Sunday morning and headed toward the Piedmont NWR north of Macon. It started raining just north of Dublin, so went through Jeffersonville and Gordon to Gray, GA where I stopped for an early lunch at Old Clinton BBQ while I waited for the rain to slack off. After lunch, I continued on to the NWR, scouting for a good spot to operate from, finding one on the Little Rock Wildlife Drive. After activating the Piedmont NWR, I continued on to Juliette, GA where I visited Jarrell Plantation State Historic Site and activated it after touring the grounds. The day may have started out dreary and wet, but the afternoon turned out wonderful. Between it being a Sunday and the weather not being all that great, I didn't hear any MilCom activity, but there was plenty of public safety and railroad communications to listen to. I had a special project planned for the drive back home on Monday morning; I stopped at Exit 143 on I-16 and did some radio recon on the DMR system in use at Hyundai Metaplant in Ellabell. It was a successful stop and it yielded some good results.

Some of the historic structures at Jarrell Plantation State Historic Site in Juliette, GA

Getting Active on HF Amateur Radio Again - Putting a Portable Station on the Air

Over the last month, I've assembled everything I'd need to put a portable HF station together and get back on HF Amateur Radio for the first time in four or five years. After forgetting to bring the coax with me to Brunswick last week, this afternoon I was finally able to put in the air after work. I contacted eleven stations from 8 states, a Canadian province, and a DX contact.

Yaesu FT-891 and LiFePo battery in the back of KF4LMT Mobile

New KF4LMT Mobile - Going Low Profile With Less Radios and Antennas

In the last few months, I had to buy a new car because the maintenance costs on the old car had reached the point of diminishing returns. I wasn't looking forward to car payments, but the money was coming out of my pockets either way... Previous iterations of KF4LMT mobile have been packed with radios and covered with antennas, but this time I decided to go lower profile with only two radios - one scanner and one amateur radio handheld and only two antennas - one scanner antenna and one amateur radio antenna. After looking at a number of choices, I decided on a Hyundai Venue. It's a bit smaller than my 2012 Kia Sportage, but it gets better gas mileage (around 37 mpg on one leg of a road trip) and has turned out to be a terrific city car. It fits into small parking spaces and its tight turning radius makes it easy to get in and out of tight spots. This time, I even went with an automatic transmission instead of a manual, so it would be easier to talk on the radio between traffic lights!

The new KF4LMT Mobile - a Hyundai Venue

First Road Trip in the New KF4LMT Mobile - Overnight Road Trip in Northeast Florida; 17/18 August 2025

On Sunday and Monday, I took my first road trip in the new KF4LMT Mobile, visiting Northeast Florida. The new mobile station is quite a departure from what I've used before so I was very interested in how it would work and what I would be able to hear with it. I visited the USS Orleck (DD-886) Naval Museum in downtown Jacksonville, the Camp Blanding Museum in Starke, FL, and Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park in the Osceola National Forest on Sunday, overnighted in Kingsland, GA, and returned to Savannah on Monday morning. Sunday morning's weather forecast called for an almost 100% chance of rain and thunderstorms in the Jacksonville area, but although it was hot, humid, and oppressive all day it never rained or stormed (at least where I was at). I've visited the Orleck before, but this was my first visit to the Camp Blanding Museum and the Olustee Battlefield, which gave me the opportunity to listen in Bradford and Union Counties for the first time. It was also the first time I've been west of Jacksonville in quite a while, so it was good to see what I could hear out that way. 

USS Orleck (DD-886) in downtown Jacksonville on the St Johns River

Changes to the Mobile Communications America DMR System at Georgia Ports Authority Savannah

Some time back, I noticed that the Mobile Communications of America 800 MHz DMR trunked repeater system (TRS) at Georgia Ports Authority in Savannah had changed configuration; no longer was anything being heard with it programmed into my gear as as Connect Plus system, but the SDS100 was seeing it as a Tier III system. I didn't have the time to pursue it any further at the time and added it to my radio "to-do" list. Over the weekend, I stayed up all night watching the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race and decided to check the MCA DMR system at Georgia Ports off the list; letting the SDS100's LCN finder run on it while I worked on the Charleston Road Trip Report and watched the race.

Military History, Colonial History, African American and Gullah Geechee History, Civil War History, and BBQ in the "Holy City" - Charleston, SC Road Trip Report; 9-13 June 2025

For several years now, I've wanted to visit the International African American Museum in Charleston, SC, so for this year's Summer vacation I took a week-long road trip to Charleston. I didn't really plan it, but it turned out that a good bit of the History I took in on this trip centered on the African American and Gullah Geechee experience in the Lowcountry. In addition to the International African American Museum, I visited Patriot's Point (taking day and night tours), Charles Towne Landing, the South Carolina Aquarium, the Old Slave Mart Museum, the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, McLeod Plantation, the North Charleston Fire Museum, Fort Johnson, and Fort Lamar. I also tried three of Charleston's BBQ restaurants; at one of them I had the best BBQ I've ever eaten. During the road trip, I was able to listen to the area's military and aviation communications, federal and USCG communications, public safety communications, and more. I did very little on amateur radio during this trip; I had just a couple of QSOs on the 146.7900- (PL 123.0) repeater on the USS Yorktown at Patriot's Point and checked into the "Scanner Junkies" net on TGIF DMR using DroidStar on Thursday night.

An F-4J Phantom II, Charleston Harbor, and the Ravenel Bridge as seen from the Bridge of the USS Yorktown (CV-10) at Patriots Point in Charleston, SC

Road Trip Radio Report - Charleston Car Repair Trips; 11 & 17/18 April 2025

Earlier this month I took a road trip to Charleston and my car broke down on me when I tried to return home on 7 April. On the 11th, I had to go up and pay a deposit for the work to be done; Mama rode with me, so we made a couple of sightseeing stops on the way back to Savannah. The car was ready late on the 17th, so we went back up to Charleston and picked the car up the next morning with her following me back to Savannah in her car. On these two trips, I didn't have the mobile station (with the exception of returning back to Savannah on the 18th) and I didn't take all of the usual equipment, so what I heard was a bit more limited and this post can give you an idea of what you can hear in and around Charleston if you just take one radio.

South Carolina Lowcountry History, BBQ, and the Car Breaks Down - Lowcountry Charleston, SC Road Trip Radio Report; 6-8 April 2025

Earlier this week,  I took what was supposed to be taking a two day road trip to Charleston, SC, leaving Savannah on Sunday morning and returning on Tuesday morning. On Sunday, I visited the Botany Bay Heritage Preserve and Wildlife Management Area on Edisto Island and the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site in Charleston. On Monday, I spent much of the day at Magnolia Plantation in Charleston and also visited Drayton Hall just down the road to see what they've done since my visit there a few years ago. Tuesday morning, I left the hotel and had only gone several blocks down US-17 when my car's clutch failed. Luckily I was able to coast into a parking lot across from a repair shop, but it kept me in Charleston for one more day and is keeping the car in Charleston for several more days. I'll be having to go back to Charleston, probably on Friday, to pick the car up. 

On Sunday, I stopped for a picnic lunch at the Botany Bay Heritage Preserve on Edisto Island and enjoyed this beautiful view while listening to F-35s aerial refueling offshore

Georgia Veterans State Park, Andersonville, Jimmy Carter, Providence Canyon, and Richland Rum - West Georgia Road Trip Radio Report; 2-4 March 2025

After President Carter passed away in December, I decided that as soon as I was able, I would road trip out to West Georgia to pay my respects in Plains. Earlier this week, I had that opportunity and visited Georgia Veterans State Park and Providence Canyon State Park along with re-visiting Andersonville National Historic Site. I left Savannah on Sunday morning and visited Georgia Veterans State Park and Andersonville that afternoon before heading to Americus. I stayed at the historic Windsor Hotel in Americus from Sunday evening through Tuesday morning and visited the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park and Plains, Providence Canyon State Park, and the Richland Rum Distillery on Monday. The radio logs below are of what I could hear once I left the tri-county area around Savannah (Chatham, Bryan, and Effingham counties). 

The first stop on the road trip was in Cordele, at something you don't really expect to see at an interstate highway exit gas station: a Titan I intercontinental ballistic missile. It's stood at I-75 and US-280 since 1969, placed on loan from the US Air Force.

KF4LMT Mobile in front of the Titan I ICMB on display at US-280 and I-75 in Cordele, GA

Coastal Georgia Winter Storm and Sentry Savannah 2025

On Tuesday night (21 January 2025), Coastal Georgia got hit with a significant winter storm. Over Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, it dropped rain, sleet, and snow then stayed below freezing for large parts of the day on Wednesday and Thursday. The northern part of Coastal Georgia got more snow, the southern part of Coastal Georgia received more sleet and freezing rain. The results were major impacts on roads (especially local roads because Georgia DOT has been working on highways) and the closing of airports. As I write this on Friday morning, now that I'm home in Savannah, the neighborhood streets are still covered with ice and snow.

The coil on one of KF4LMT Mobile's antennas covered in ice on Wednesday morning toward the end of the winter storm

Aerospace, History, and Wildlife in Florda's Space and First Coasts - Space Coast Road Trip Radio Report; 7-11 January 2025

Last week, I took what is becoming my annual Space Coast Road Trip. I left Savannah going south on Tuesday and returned on Saturday. On the way to Titusville on Tuesday, I stopped in Ponce Inlet and visited the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and Museum and then continued on to visit the Merritt Island NWR before checking into the hotel. I spent Wednesday at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex, catching a SpaceX launch while I was there. On Thursday, I spent the morning at the Merritt Island NWR and Canaveral National Seashore then visited the American Space Museum and Hall of Fame and the Valiant Air Command Museum in the afternoon. On Friday, I headed back up I-95 to St Augustine where I visited the St Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum, Castillo de San Marco, Colonial Quarter, and the Fort Mose Historic Site. I overnighted in St Augustine Beach so I wouldn't have to drive through Jacksonville on a Friday afternoon/evening and drove back to Savannah on Saturday morning. Temperatures in Florida were below normal and winds were high throughout the trip, but with the exception of Saturday morning, there wasn't any rain to deal with. Some excellent meals were had along the way and it was also good to catch up with radio friends at several of them.

Space Shuttle Atlantis on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex. Atlantis holds a soft spot for me and I love to visit it at KSC because it was the shuttle I saw launch on its STS-125 mission on 11 April 2009 - the only Shuttle launch I got to see launch in person.