Narrative:

I was on a VFR flight plan to FA44. I had activated my VFR flight plan [earlier] after making contact with flight service about 40 miles north of marathon. I had received a briefing from flight service prior to take off and was fully aware of the presidential tfr; as the airport is inside the 30 mile ring and I fly this trip a couple of times a month back and forth. In the interest of safety; I normally file my flight plan for 1200 ft. AGL; direct; to stay below the approach path of all the inbound aircraft going into the airports between FA44 and departure airport. At 40 miles out; I tried contacting pbi approach numerous times on 125.2 to receive clearance and a transponder squawk to enter the tfr. At about 32 miles out I changed course and ran parallel with the outer ring of the tfr; and headed towards pahokee airport (phk) and started climbing for altitude; and tried contacting pbi approach on 124.6 and they answered. I told the controller that [I was] on a VFR flight plan to FA44 and would like a transponder squawk; so I could enter the tfr. He acknowledged my 'north' number and told me to squawk XXXX; which I did and read him back to squawk code; at that point I turned east and entered the tfr heading to the airport.a minute later; the controller called me and said that radar shows me squawking xxyx. I looked at my transponder and it showed XXXX as instructed. I advised the controller; who said it was coming up as a Y. I turned that knob back and forth and back to 'X' again and pushed the indent button and the controller answered back and acknowledged the XXXX squawk. A couple of minutes later the controller called me and advised me to stay clear of the inner 10 mile ring of the tfr as the airport is close to the edge of it and had me write down the pbi tower number to call upon landing at the airport; which I did. I was told by the controller that they got a call from washington dc that said I entered the tfr before establishing two-way communications with pbi. The aircraft has an IFR certified garmin 430; which shows the 30-mile ring; and I also have a second GPS that also gives that information. I was well informed; on a VFR flight plan and deviated my flight plan as to not enter the tfr; and only did so after acknowledgment from pbi controller to me by 'north' number and receiving as transponder squawk. There was no ill-will or wrong doing here and followed the same procedures as many previous times before.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A single engine aircraft pilot reported ATC advised him of a TFR violation; but reporter stated he followed ATC clearance.

Narrative: I was on a VFR flight plan to FA44. I had activated my VFR flight plan [earlier] after making contact with Flight Service about 40 miles north of Marathon. I had received a briefing from Flight Service prior to take off and was fully aware of the Presidential TFR; as the airport is inside the 30 mile ring and I fly this trip a couple of times a month back and forth. In the interest of safety; I normally file my flight plan for 1200 ft. AGL; direct; to stay below the approach path of all the inbound aircraft going into the airports between FA44 and Departure Airport. At 40 miles out; I tried contacting PBI Approach numerous times on 125.2 to receive clearance and a transponder squawk to enter the TFR. At about 32 miles out I changed course and ran parallel with the outer ring of the TFR; and headed towards Pahokee airport (PHK) and started climbing for altitude; and tried contacting PBI approach on 124.6 and they answered. I told the controller that [I was] on a VFR Flight Plan to FA44 and would like a transponder squawk; so I could enter the TFR. He acknowledged my 'N' number and told me to squawk XXXX; which I did and read him back to squawk code; at that point I turned East and entered the TFR heading to the airport.A minute later; the Controller called me and said that radar shows me squawking XXYX. I looked at my transponder and it showed XXXX as instructed. I advised the Controller; who said it was coming up as a Y. I turned that knob back and forth and back to 'X' again and pushed the indent button and the Controller answered back and acknowledged the XXXX squawk. A couple of minutes later the Controller called me and advised me to stay clear of the inner 10 mile ring of the TFR as the airport is close to the edge of it and had me write down the PBI tower number to call upon landing at the airport; which I did. I was told by the Controller that they got a call from Washington DC that said I entered the TFR before establishing two-way communications with PBI. The aircraft has an IFR certified Garmin 430; which shows the 30-mile ring; and I also have a second GPS that also gives that information. I was well informed; on a VFR Flight Plan and deviated my flight plan as to not enter the TFR; and only did so after acknowledgment from PBI Controller to me by 'N' number and receiving as transponder squawk. There was no ill-will or wrong doing here and followed the same procedures as many previous times before.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.