The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard are co-sponsoring the annual Military/Amateur Radio Crossband Communications Test in celebration of the 59th anniversary of Armed Forces Day.
The AFD Military/Amateur Crossband Communications Test will be conducted on May 9 – 10, 2009. The annual celebration features traditional military to amateur crossband communications SSB voice tests and copying the Secretary of Defense message via digital modes.
These tests give Amateur Radio operators and short wave listeners an opportunity to demonstrate their individual technical skills and to receive recognition from the Secretary of Defense and/or the appropriate military radio station for their proven expertise.
QSL cards will be provided to those stations making contact with the military stations.
Special commemorative certificates will be awarded to anyone who receives and copies the digital Armed Forces Day message from the Secretary of Defense.
Military-to-Amateur crossband operations will take place on the dates and time in UTC on the frequencies listed for each station on the Army MARS Web site. Voice contacts will include operations in single sideband voice (SSB). Some stations, depending on propagation and manning, may not operate the entire period. Participating military stations will transmit on selected Military MARS frequencies and listen for Amateur Radio stations in the Amateur bands. The military station operator will announce the specific amateur band frequency being monitored. Duration of each voice contact should be limited to 1-2 minutes.
Locally, the Navy-Marine Corps station, NAV3, will be on the air on these frequencies:
TIMES AND DATES ARE:
STATION: NAV3 (09 MAY 1200Z – 10 MAY 0400Z)
FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND
4014.0 KHZ LSB 80M
7394.5 KHZ LSB 40M
13974.0 KHZ USB 20M
20997.0 KHZ USB 15M
QSL ADDRESS:
NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION NAV3
9035 OCEAN DR SUITE 3A
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX 78419-5234
FREQUENCIES AND TIME FOR SECRETARY OF DEFENSE MESSAGE:
STATION: NAV3 (NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, CORPUS CHRISTI, TX)
FREQUENCY MODE BROADCAST DATE/TIME
7393.0 KHZ RTTY 09 MAY/2340Z
AMTOR FEC 10 MAY/0010Z
MT63 10 MAY/0040Z
13975.5 KHZ RTTY 09 MAY/2340Z
AMTOR FEC 10 MAY/0010Z
MT63 10 MAY/0040Z
Other military stations will also be on the air with their times/call posted by the ARRL. You can expect to hear them on these frequencies announcing that they will be listening on amateur radio frequencies just like a “split-band” operation. DO NOT TRANSMIT ON THE ABOVE FREQUENCIES. I’ll be operating as “NAV3”, from a field location, during some of these times.
Bob W2IK – NNN0KSI
