This year, for vacation, I took another road trip to the Space Coast of Florida. Instead of staying in the Merritt Island/Port Canaveral area this time, I decided to stay in the Titusville area, closer to the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. On Monday, I drove down to Titusville and stopped by the northern part of the Canaveral National Seashore (photo 1 in the slideshow below) and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on the way down. On Tuesday morning, I took Canaveral Tours’ Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Tour (photo 2 in the slideshow below) and visited the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge again in the afternoon. On Wednesday, I spent the day at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex (photo 3 in the slideshow below). Thursday morning, a SpaceX launch was scheduled, so I combined watching and listening to a launch with some wildlife and nature viewing by taking in the launch from Playalinda Beach on the southern end of the Canaveral National Seashore (photo 4 in the slideshow below). After lunch, I visited the American Space Museum in Titusville (photo 5 in the slideshow below). On Friday morning, I visited the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne (photo 6 in the slideshow below) and in the afternoon, I visited the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum in Titusville (photo 7 in the slideshow below). I was going to head straight to Savannah afterwards, but the timing would have put me going through Jacksonville on a Friday rush hour, so I decided to stop in St Augustine and finish the return trip on Saturday morning.

Amateur Radio

Perhaps it was just the times I was out mobile, but I didn’t hear as much amateur radio activity as I expected to while I was on this road trip. Most of the activity that I heard was on SARnet repeaters, especially the 444.650 repeater in Cocoa. I don’t have any DMR activity to report; all I have for DMR are handhelds, and I forgot to turn one on while going through Jacksonville and the DMR repeater in Titusville is currently out of service (there’s one in Cocoa, but I was out of portable range of it for most of the time I was in the area). The amateur radio highlight of the trip was checking into the Kennedy Space Center Amateur Radio Club net on the 444.925 repeater, which is located on the Kennedy Space Center VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building). I’ve listed the repeaters that I heard activity on below; for ease of reference I’ve separated them into “Jacksonville area,” “Daytona Beach area,” and “Space Coast area.”

Jacksonville Area
146.625- (CSQ) - St Augustine
146.700- (PL 127.3) - Jacksonville
146.760- (PL 127.3) - Jacksonville
146.925- (PL 156.7) - Orange Park
442.800+ (PL 127.3) - St Augustine (SARnet)
444.500+ (PL 127.3) - Orange Park

Daytona Beach Area
145.330- (PL 127.3) - New Smyrna Beach
147.375+ (PL 103.5) - Daytona Beach
444.000+ (PL 123.0) - Bunnell
444.375+ (PL 100.0) - Port Orange

Space Coast Area
145.370- (PL 156.7) - Cocoa
146.970- (PL 107.2) - Titusville
147.075+ (PL 107.2) - Titusville
147.330+ (PL 107.2) - Titusville
444.325+ (PL 107.2) - Melbourne
444.525+ (PL 103.5) - Rockledge
444.650+ (PL 107.2) - Cocoa (SARnet)
444.750+ (PL 156.7) - Titusville
444.925+ (PL 131.8) - Kennedy Space Center VAB

Scanning

Scanning and monitoring in the Space Coast area is a target rich environment for the MilCom and/or Space enthusiast. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral SFS (Space Force Station) are located in Titusville and Patrick SFB (Space Force Base) is located just to the south between Cocoa Beach and Satellite Beach. KSC has its own P25 trunking system and Cape Canaveral SFS and Patrick SFB are on the USAF (157) P25 TRS; both systems are quite active. The KSC system is unencrypted and the USAF (157) system is a mix of encrypted and unencrypted traffic. Additionally, KSC, Cape Canaveral, and Patrick all have airfields with associated ATC frequencies. The 920th RQW HC-130Js and HH-60Gs are active throughout the day. Aircraft from Homestead ARB, MacDill AFB, NAS Jacksonville, and other bases can be heard working in the ranges and op areas around the Space Coast as well. SpaceX and ULA have DMR trunking systems in the area also. The Homestead based 93rd FS F-16s seem to make morning and afternoon sorties to Avon Park Range each day and sometimes refuel with MacDill based KC-135s. SpaceX has a UHF DMR system and a 900 MHz system (which seem to at least partially multicast) but all of the traffic is encrypted. ULA has a UHF DMR system and it is unencrypted. There were two interesting Aviation/MilCom catches from the week’s monitoring: on Wednesday, I caught an RAF Voyager, ASCOT 9101 (Voyager KC3, ZZ332, 1312 Flt), dragging some Typhoons into MacDill AFB while on their way to Red Flag and on Thursday, I caught an An-124, VOLGA 5731 (An-124, RA-82074, Volga-Dnepr Airlines), landing at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility.

From the hotel in Titusville, I could hear three different public safety radio systems: the Brevard EDACS TRS, the Orange County P25 TRS, and the Seminole County TRS. While out mobile, if on the north end of Brevard County, the Volusia County EDACS TRS could also be heard. On the trip down and back, I also listened to traffic on the St Johns County P25 TRS and the Jacksonville First Coast P25 TRS; I missed Flagler County because I forgot to update the radio with their P25 TRS. For scanning/monitoring in the Volusia County and Brevard County areas, I suggest scanning their public safety systems with a separate radio from anything else – the two systems stay VERY busy.

On Thursday morning, I had the opportunity to monitor a SpaceX launch; there was one scheduled and contrary to my usual bad luck, they didn’t scrub or reschedule. I went out to Playalinda Beach at the Canaveral National Seashore with some handheld scanners and the camera and watched both the launch and landing of the Falcon-9 booster. I’ll have a blog post with more about the launch experience in a few days.

On Friday morning’s visit to the Brevard Zoo, I listened to their radio system while touring the zoo. As with any Zoo, the keeper radio traffic is always interesting to listen to.

MilCom/Aviation
MCAS Beaufort
336.925 - VMFA(AW)-224 Tac 1
299.275 - VMFA-312 Tac 1

 BENGAL 4# (F/A-18C/D, VMFA-224)
 CHECK 6# (F/A-18C/D, VMFA-312)


NSB Kings Bay
US DOD TRS (NSB Kings Bay sites)
 TG 28053 - NSB Kings Bay Unknown; enc
 TG 28064 - NSB Kings Bay Port Ops; enc/unenc
 TG 28065 - NSB Kings Bay Unknown; enc
 TG 28557 - RFD Southeast 1; unenc
 TG 28571 - NSB Kings Bay Transportation; unenc
 TG 28589 - Trident Refit Facility?; unenc
 TG 28615 - NSBKB Fire Dispatch; unenc
 TG 29512 - Unknown Public Safety Dispatch (patched with TG 28615)


NAS Jacksonville/NS Mayport/Cecil Field
119.000/121.300/124.900/127.000/127.775/132.775 - Jax TRACON
340.200 - NAS Jax Tower
306.000 - VP-30 Base
246.900 - P-8A Air-to-Air
303.000 - P-8A Air-to-Air

 NAVY LL ## (P-3C, VP-30)
 NAVY LL 8## (P-8A, VP-30)
 PELICAN ## (P-8A, VP-45)

US DOD TRS (NAS Jacksonville/NS Mayport sites)
 TG 28148 - NAS Jax Crash Net; unenc
 TG 28211 - NAS Jax or NS Mayport Unknown; unenc
 TG 28306 - NS Mayport Unknown; unenc
 TG 28329 - NS Mayport Crash Net; unenc
 TG 28344 - NS Mayport Ship POL?; unenc
 TG 29252 - NAS Jax Unknown; enc


Kennedy Space Center
128.550/284.00 - Shuttle Landing Facility
   NASA 425 (EC35, NASA)
   VOLGA 5731 (An-124, Volga-Dnepr Airlines)

225.050 - Cape Metro; ground testing comms
123.225 - Cape Weather Aircraft; ground testing comms

KSC P25 TRS
 TG 5 - Emergency Button
 TG 46 - Unknown
 TG 104 - Comm Net 107
 TG 105 - Comm Net 207
 TG 139 - Unknown
 TG 185 - Canaveral National Seashore 911 Call Boxes
 TG 221 - Fire Net 116
 TG 245 - Fire Tac 1
 TG 246 - Fire Tac 2
 TG 295 - Unknown
 TG 411 - CCSFS Photo/Timing
 TG 431 - KSC-1 Crawler
 TG 503 - Medical Net 117
 TG 581 - Crane Ops
 TG 582 - Unknown
 TG 583 - Unknown
 TG 620 - KSC Pad 39B Ops
 TG 665 - PS Alarm 2
 TG 666 - PS Talk
 TG 675 - CCSFS EH Base Y Net
 TG 735 - Safety Net 105
 TG 736 - Safety Net 110
 TG 737 - Safety Net 205
 TG 743 - Cape Cape Canaveral SFS/Eastern Range Safety
 TG 875 - Test Net 1
 TG 911 - Unknown
 TG 923 - Safety Net 1
 TG 937 - Net 206 - Transportation
 TG 963 - Utilities Net 301
 TG 995 - KSC All Weather Alert

SpaceX UHF DMR TRS
 TG 101 - Operations 1
 TG 102 - Operations 2
 TG 104 - Unknown
 TG 110 - Unknown
 TG 114 - Unknown
 TG 118 - Unknown
 TG 129 - Unknown
 
SpaceX 900 MHz DMR TRS
 TG 101 - Operations 1
 TG 102 - Operations 2
 TG 104 - Unknown
 TG 114 - Unknown

ULA DMR TRS
 TG 2 - Unknown
 TG 3 - Unknown
 TG 4 - Unknown


Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
118.625/239.050 - Cape Canaveral SFS Skid Strip/Cape Tower
133.800 - Cape Canaveral SFS Cape Adivsory

264.800 - Eastern Range Cape Control
298.200 - Eastern Range Range Safety
349.600 - Eastern Range Range Safety

USAF TRS (157)
 TG 48011 - Patrick SFB FD Dispatch
 TG 48046 - Patrick SFS MOC
 TG 48057 - Patrick AFB Unknown
 TG 48105 - Patrick SFB Tower
 TG 48301 - Cape Canaveral SFS Tower
 TG 48311 - CCSFS Fire 1
 TG 48317 - Cape Canaveral SFS Fire 3
 TG 48351 - Cape Canaveral SFS Safety Net 1
 TG 48353 - Cape Canaveral SFS Unknown
 TG 48371 - Cape Canaveral SFS Unknown
 TG 48379 - Cape Canaveral SFS Unknown
 TG 48381 - Cape Canaveral SFS RSO
 TG 48382 - Cape Canaveral SFS Unknown
 TG 48388 - Cape Canaveral SFS Unknown
 TG 48393 - Cape Canaveral SFS Unknown
 TG 48405 - Cape Canaveral SFS Video
 TG 48407 - CCSFS Support
 TG 48415 - Cape Canaveral SFS Environmental Net


Patrick SFB
133.750/269.375 - Patrick AFB Tower
   JOLLY ## (HH-60G, 301st RQS) 
   KING 39 (HC-130J, 39th RQS)
   KING 41 (HC-130J, 39th RQS)
   KING 44 (HC-130J, 39th RQS)
   KING 45 (HC-130J, 39th RQS)
   TALON 31 (MC-130H?, 15th SOS?)
   
321.000 - 920th RQW "KING Ops"
251.900 - 920th RQW Air-to-Ground
150.600 (PL 100.0) - 301st RQS Ops   


Homestead AFB
233.400 - 462nd FW/93rd FS Air-to-Air
293.400 - 462nd FW/93rd FS Air-to-Air

 MAKO ## (F-16C, 93rd FS)


MacDill AFB
372.200 - MacDill AFB PTD

 BUOY 31 (KC-135R, 6th AMW/927th ARW)
 ASCOT 9101 (Voyager KC3, 1312 Flt)


Pinecastle Range
289.200 - Pinecastle Range Ops
225.350 - Pinecastle Range Target


Avon Park Range
126.150 - Avon Park Range Ops
292.200 - Avon Park Range Ops
264.625 - Avon Park Range North Tac
238.900 - AR-620


Sealord (W-137/138)
120.950/284.500 - Sealord North Primary
133.950/267.500 - Sealord South Primary
376.900 - W-137 Discrete
377.400 - W-137 Discrete
270.600 - BRISTOL Discrete


Jacksonville ARTCC
254.325/125.375 - Jax Center Taylor Low
256.875/135.450 - Jax Center Keystone Ultra High
269.600/132.825 - Jax Center Lawtey Ultra High
273.550/134.000 - Jax Center St Johns Low
277.400/126.750 - Jax Center Brunswick Low
282.200/124.675 - Jax Center Jekyll Low
285.650/126.125 - Jax Center Statesboro High
290.350/132.425 - Jax Center Hunter Ultra High
307.250/126.350 - Jax Center St. Augustine High
327.100/134.850 - Jax Center Torry Low/High
346.250/127.475 - Jax Center Green Cove High
363.200/132.925 - Jax Center Allendale/Savannah Low

Miami ARTCC
348.700/119.825 - Miami Center Hobee Low/High
379.250/132.250 - Miami Center Adoor Low/High



FedCom
156.800 - Marine VHF Ch 16
157.100 - Marine VHF Ch 22
157.0750 - Marine VHF Ch 81
162.3250 ($293) - CG 111, Sector Jacksonville
412.9750 ($293) - CG 409, Sector Jacksonville Air Ops

169.7875 ($407) - Canaveral National Seashore KSC Repeater



Public Safety
159.2400 (PL 97.4) - Florida Forestry Commission Jacksonville
159.2700 (PL 91.5) - Florida Forestry Commission Orlando
159.4500 (PL 100.0) - Florida Forestry Commission Bunnell

St Marys TRS
 TG 2001 - Camden FD Repeater

First Coast P25 TRS (Duval County)
 TG 1087 - Jacksonville Fire/Rescue A2 Dispatch
 TG 149 - JFRD A-4 Suppression

Clay County P25 TRS
 TG 300 - Clay County Fire/Rescue Dispatch

St Johns County P25 TRS
 TG 10000 - St Johns County Fire/Rescue A1 Dispatch
 TG 10010 - St Johns County Fire/Rescue A3
 TG 10025 - St Johns County Fire/Rescue A6 Tac 3
 TG 10120 - ATU 1 (Air Transport/Medevac)
 TG 10640 - Trauma 1 South

Volusia County EDACS TRS
 TG 01-154 - Volusia County SO Air One
 TG 02-041 - Volusia County Fire Services 1 East Dispatch
 TG 02-043 - Volusia County Fire Services Tac 3
 TG 02-044 - Volusia County Fire Services Tac 4
 TG 02-045 - Volusia County Fire Services Tac 5
 TG 02-046 - Volusia County Fire Services Tac 6
 TG 02-047 - Volusia County Fire Services Tac 7
 TG 02-055 - Volusia County Fire Services Tac 13
 TG 05-023 - Orange County Fire Events
 TG 07-041 - Port Orange FD Dispatch
 TG 10-102 - Daytona Beach IAP C5
 TG 10-103 - Daytona Beach IAP Fire Tac 1

Brevard County 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 03-015 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Dispatch 5
 TG 03-017 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Paging 80
 TG 03-027 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Dispatch 4
 TG 03-034 - Brevard County Lifeguards Central
 TG 03-045 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Tac 53
 TG 03-054 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Tac 8
 TG 03-063 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Tac 57
 TG 03-071 - Brevard County Fire/Rescue Tac 55 - Satellite Beach FD
 TG 03-083 - Air Ops Medical
 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 05-156 - PSIC 2
 TG 07-031 - Titusville FD Station 10
 TG 07-035 - Titusville FD HQ Dispatch
 TG 08-051 - Melbourne FD Dispatch
 TG 08-075 - Brevard County SO Patch to USCG (traffic from Marine VHF 16)
 TG 11-051 - Cocoa FD 1449
 TG 12-011 - Cocoa Beach FD 1545
 TG 15-064 - Patch (BCFR Dispatch 4)
 TG 15-097 - Patch
 TG 15-113 - Patch (BCFR Dispatch 2)
 TG 15-115 - Patch (BCFR Tac 55)
 TG 15-134 - Patch (Air Ops Medical)
 TG 15-141 - Patch (Dispatch 4)
 TG 15-142 - Patch
 TG 15-153 - Patch
 TG 15-157 - Patch

Orange County P25 TRS
 TG 131 - Orange County Fire/Rescue Fire 1 Dispatch 
 TG 133 - Orange County Fire/Rescue Fire 2 Comm Center/Unit to Unit
 TG 135 - Orange County Fire/Rescue Fire 3 East Primary 
 TG 137 - Orange County Fire/Rescue Fire 4 East Command
 TG 139 - Orange County Fire/Rescue Fire 5 South Primary 
 TG 143 - Orange County Fire/Rescue Fire 7 North Primary
 TG 145 - Orange County Fire/Rescue Fire 8 North Command
 TG 151 - Orange County Fire/Rescue Fire 11 Rural 
 TG 7201 - Winter Park FD T1
 TG 20351 - Orlando FD 1 Dispatch
 TG 20355 - Orlando FD 2
 TG 20363 - Orlando FD 1D Patch (Nights)
 TG 21872 - GOAA Patch to DMR
 TG 21873 - GOAA FD Tac 1


Seminole County P25 TRS
 TG 8225 - D49A FR1
 TG 8265 - D48P PS16



Misc
156.6000 - Marine VHF Ch 12; Port Canaveral
156.6500 - Marine VHF Ch 13; Port Canaveral

464.3750 (PL 186.2) - Brevard Zoo 1
464.3750 (PL 67.0) - Brevard Zoo 2
462.2750 (PL 100.0) - Brevard Zoo

Food

On the way to the Canaveral National Seashore and Merritt Island NWR on Monday, I stopped at Colt’s Pig Stand in Ormond Beach for lunch. I had the pulled pork plate with green beans, macaroni and cheese, and corn bread. The pulled pork was moist and tender and the green beans were deliciously seasoned. They had a choice of four BBQ sauces on the table: original, sweet, hot, and mustard-based; the original and mustard-based were the best. Reasonably priced, it’s a great place to stop off of I-95 for some BBQ.

On Monday evening, I stopped at the Orleans Bistro and Bar, located just across US-1 from the Indian River for some Cajun food. It was a restaurant I noticed while in Titusville last year, but never had the chance to stop at. I ordered the Jambalaya, which was served with Andouille sausage, shrimp, and chicken. It absolutely delicious; the best Jambalaya I’ve had since my family moved to Savannah from New Orleans when I was a kid. The food was great and the service was incredibly friendly and quick; it will definitely be on my list of must-go restaurants on future trips to the Space Coast.

The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Tour picks up and drops off from the Port Canaveral Exploration Tower off of Florida A1A in Port Canaveral; after the tour I had lunch at nearby Rusty’s Seafood and Oyster Bar. Located right across the Port Canaveral Basin from the cruise terminal, port facilities and Cape Canaveral SFS, you get some good views as well as good food at Rusty’s. I love philly sandwiches, so I tried their Mahi Philly and I was not disappointed. It was perhaps the best fish sandwich I’ve ever had: grilled mahi medallions, peppers, and onions with swiss cheese on a hoagie. It was a huge sandwich and it was absolutely delicious. Between leaving on the tour in the morning and coming back in the afternoon, a SpaceX Falcon-9 booster from the launch before Thursday’s came back in and while eating at Rusty’s I got a chance to get a good look at it.

I stayed in the Holiday Inn Titusville – Kennedy Space Center this year. This is the third time I’ve stayed there and I’ve had nothing but positive experiences at it. It’s clean, comfortable, and the staff is friendly, courteous, and very helpful. Its location at Exit 215 off of I-95 puts in a perfect place if you’re a radio hobbyist. This, however, is about food – a restaurant, The Local – is inside the Holiday Inn and what it serves isn’t average food. I ate breakfast there each morning and had dinner there twice. The first time I had mushroom chicken with grilled vegetables and the second time I had grilled mahi with white wine sauce and grilled vegetables (the photo below). Both meals were wonderful and both the morning and evening servers were terrific.

Between watching the SpaceX launch from the Canaveral National Seashore and visiting the American Space Museum in Titusville on Thursday, I had lunch at the El Leoncito Mexican and Cuban Restaurant in Titusville. It’s located just across US-1 from the Indian River, so you can have a good view of the river and Kennedy Space Center across the river as you eat. I ordered the Enchiladas Rancheros; two enchiladas with your choice of ground beef, chicken, chile colorado beef, or chile verde pork. I tried the chile colorado beef and the chile verde pork and it turned out to be a great decision; both are more seasoned and flavorful than beef or chicken would have been. They were the best enchiladas I’ve had in a long time.

I didn’t expect that I would enjoy food from a zoo as much as I did, but I was pleasantly surprised with the sandwich I got for lunch at the Brevard Zoo’s restaurant, the Nourish 321 Cafe on Friday. I ordered the Oceanside Turkey Club, which was turkey, bacon, and cheddar on wheat bread with spinach, cucumbers, tomato, and red pepper mayo. It was a bit pricy, as zoo food always is, but it was quite good. It turned out that getting lunch at the zoo instead of stopping somewhere else was a pretty good call.

Over the next few days, I’ll publish some blog posts about the Canaveral National Seashore and SpaceX rocket launch, Merritt Island NWR, the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Tour, the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex, the American Space Museum, the Brevard Zoo, and the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum. It was both a fun and relaxing trip to Florida’s Space Coast – one that I’ll remember for a long time.