2024 Army-Navy Game Ball Run and Track
POSTED ON: Tuesday, December 17, 2024 9:45 AM by Christine Maceo
Before the USMA cadets and USNA midshipmen march onto the field for the annual Army- Navy Football Game comes the 43-year-old Game Ball Run tradition, where students run footballs from their respective institutions to the stadium hosting the game. For 39 of those 43 years, a combined effort of between the USNA Radio Club (MIDN 2/C Andrew Alvey, President) and the Space Systems Engineering Lab has maintained communications and tracking of the USNA 13th Company runners using the Automatic Packet Recording System (APRS). The 2024 Ball Track used a Yaesu FTM-200D in the van that followed the midshipmen along the 63-mile route between USNA and Northwest Stadium in Landover, MD. The Ball Track pushed tracking data to www.aprs.fi from 0414-1310 on December 13, 2024 using the Call Sign W3ADO-9. APRS was developed by Commander Bob Bruninga (WB4APR-SK) at USNA in 1982. --73
Category: Academics