[Scan-DC] Roll call

Mon Jan 14 18:42:06 EST 2013

The vernal equinox this year is on Wednesday, March 20th. So Sunday, March 17th, or Saturday, March 23rd, would be equidistant.

I vote for bringing a grill and a keg, then we could all listen for the associated dispatch on ACPD channel 1A.

Andy

-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Kitchener [mailto:oldsdoug at yahoo.com] 
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2013 6:34 PM
To: Clegg, Andrew W.; Blair Thompson; Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net; alan at henney.com
Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Roll call

Vernal equinox party at Long Bridge on the Sat or Sun afternoon nearest / after?

Tall mast = good; tower = even better!

:)

Sorry you couldn't make it the other day, Andy... one thing about Ledos, the food service there would be better than at Long Bridge - unless we can drag in a grille and burn some burgers and dogs!  :)

DK

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Clegg, Andrew W." <aclegg at nsf.gov>
> To: Blair Thompson <b_thom at juno.com>; "Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net" <Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net>; "alan at henney.com" <alan at henney.com>
> Cc: 
> Sent: Monday, January 14, 2013 1:19 PM
> Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Roll call
> 
> After Blair's master's thesis on the topic, it's hard not to agree 
> with his conclusion: Long Bridge Park!
> 
> They should also install a discone antenna on a tall mast at the park, with a 
> bunch of BNC splitters. Maybe some pre-amps and air band filters too.
> 
> Andy
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net] 
> On Behalf Of Blair Thompson
> Sent: Monday, January 14, 2013 1:03 PM
> To: Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net; alan at henney.com; b_thom at juno.com
> Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Roll call
> 
> Gravelly Point has the advantage of making the planes up close and personal. On 
> the other hand:
> 
> 1) it is crowded. Parking spots are few and far between on a nice day.
> 2) the planes are close, but all you see of a plane is its bottom. If you want 
> to photograph unique liveries, you won't be able to do so at Gravelly Point.
> 2) it's great when planes are landing from the north, but not so much if 
> thay are taking off to the north.
> 4) no trains.
> 5) no nearby places to grab food.
> 6) if you're coming from DC or Maryland, don't you have to turn around 
> at the airport to get to Gravelly Point? Is entrance possilbe only from a 
> northbound lane?
> 
> The new park just north of Crystal City is better for:
> 
> 1) trains
> 2) planespotting in which you can see that the plane flying past is the Astrojet 
> or some other unique craft.
> 3) loads of parking, free on weekends now (I think). There can be soccer or 
> lacrosse games going on, but there should be space in the lot anyway.
> 4) fast food joints in Crystal City or Pentagon City. Admittedly, Pentagon City 
> is some distance away. The food places in Crystal City are somewhat of a hike 
> too.
> 5) no crowds of bikers and walkers getting in the way. I drive a bicycle, so 
> I'm not knocking bikers. It's just that Gravelly Point is seen as a good 
> place to which you can drive and then park your car so that you can go for a 
> ride or walk on the path that runs along the Potomac. The place will fill up 
> with kids, and rugby players too. Again, I'm not knocking the rugby players, 
> but they will be competing for the limited parking spaces.
> 6) bonus appearance by planespotters who are not members of Scan-DC, but are 
> nonetheless like-minded individuals.
> 7) great view of the trains. The engine crews will sound the horn and wave as 
> they go by. 
> 
> For radio rception, it should be a tie. I managed to sneak over to the new park 
> in Arlington on a warm Sunday afternoon in November. There were a pair of 
> planespotters there. One had a hefty telephoto lens and a tripod, so he was 
> pretty serious about photographing planes. The other was online with a Yahoo! 
> planespotting group. He got word a few minutes ahead of time that American 
> Airlines' Astrojet was approaching KDCA. I think it was the greatest moment 
> of his life. The guy with the camera had a small Bearcat scanner, a BC125AT, 
> IIRC. As for rail frequencies, you can advance warning of northbound trains at 
> least as far south as Slater's Lane, as noted on my Bearcat SC180B with the 
> stock rubber ducky antennna. The spotter's scanner also had the stock 
> antenna. You could probably set up a nice antenna there and improve reception.
> 
> Both sites have nice bicycle access, and you can lock up a bike at the new park. 
> You might be able to sneak over to the athletic field and find an outlet, should 
> you need to recharge a battery pack. I'm not sure of that. If it were up to 
> me, I'd install solar panels with USB charging cords at the new park. 
> I'd also have a net beyond the handrail to catch dropped scanners and 
> cameras.
> 
> You do miss that vortex as the planes pass directly overhead, which is pretty 
> neat. The new park, though, is worth a look-see.
> 
> A disadvantage is that all the trains tend to look alike. Every Amtrak train 
> looks like every other Amtrak train. Similarly, every CSX train looks like every 
> other CSX train. The exception is that there are still SD-40s in operation on 
> CSX, so seeing one of them will make the day complete.
> 
> You have nice lighting in the afternoon. Planes landing from the north will be 
> well-lit. Planes taking off to the north will be too high up for good paint 
> scheme photography.
> 
> So I guess I'm putting in my two cents for the new park. 
> 
> ---------- Original Message ----------
> From: "Alan Henney" <alan at henney.com>
> To: "Doug Kitchener" <oldsdoug at yahoo.com>, "George" 
> <ghaymond at gmail.com>, <fxpd614 at gmail.com>
> Cc: Scan-DC <scan-dc at mailman.qth.net>
> Subject: [Scan-DC] Roll call
> Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2013 02:29:23 -0500
> 
> 
> 
> Gravelly Point Park any good?
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Doug Kitchener" <oldsdoug at yahoo.com>
> To: "George" <ghaymond at gmail.com>; <fxpd614 at gmail.com>
> Cc: "Scan-DC" <scan-dc at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2013 12:41 AM
> Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Roll call
> 
> 
>>  We should try to get together again in the spring at that park in 
>>  Arlington...
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