[PPRAANet] Armed Forces Day Crossband Test

Wed May 11 14:34:00 EDT 2022

Thanks for the clarification, Frank. 60 meters is indeed unique and I should probably have used 6,897.5 kHz in my example.

Hope you get lots of contacts!

John Bloodgood, KD0SFY

________________________________
From: Frank Skinner <f_skinner at yahoo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2022 11:48 AM
To: PPRAA Reflector <ppraanet at mailman.qth.net>; John Bloodgood <johnbloodgood at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [PPRAANet] Armed Forces Day Crossband Test

John, that is a very good explanation. The exception to the Split Operation is the 60 meter channels. These are used by Federal Agencies on a primary basis and Amateurs on a secondary basis. The Military stations have been granted the authority to operate on those channels for this event so it will not be split in that case. Military stations will call and listen on the 60 meter channel listed. This is often done during the DOD/MARS Communication Exercises in order to reach out to the Amateur community for information that cannot be obtained by a MARS station for various reasons.

In addition to just getting on the air and being able to talk to military and amateur radio stations this is also somewhat of a recruiting event for Air Force and Army MARS.

Our station at HQ NORAD / USNORTHCOM will start on the 60 meter channel listed in the document you sent out and will move up as the day goes on.

73 Frank
K0JQZ
f_skinner at yahoo.com

On Wednesday, May 11, 2022, 11:18:03 AM MDT, John Bloodgood <johnbloodgood at hotmail.com> wrote:

I have gotten a few messages from folks about this.  Let me see if I can provide some answers.

In the message below, it is divided into a couple parts.

The first listing of stations, call signs, and frequencies is for Voice with a couple CW also mixed in.  This is the section where it says, "The following stations will be making two-way radiotelephone contacts with stations in the ARS between the time periods listed on the frequencies listed in Kilohertz below", and then it lists stations AAZ thru SCHOOLHOUSE. This part is for two-way contacts.

The second part is a listing for CW and data modes, beginning where it says "An AFD message will be transmitted utilizing....". This could be the M110 mode,  RTTY, or CW.  This part will be a broadcast.

For the two-way contacts in the first part of the message, the military operators will be transmitting on the military/government frequencies listed below and using their call signs. They will announce what Amateur Radio frequencies that they will be listening to.

You would respond on that Amateur Radio frequency using your Amateur Radio call sign.

You will need to be able to run "split" mode on your transceiver.  Most Amateur Radio HF transceivers should be able to do this. This is like during contests or special events where the person is transmitting on one frequency and listening "up" or "down" a specified shift.

Example:  You hear AGA0WJ (NAS WHIDBEY ISLAND, WA) on 5,346.5 kHz USB. They announce that they will be listening on 7,150.0 kHz LSB.  Tune your transmit side to 7,150 and if you have a tuner, set it for that. Receive will stay on 5,346.5.

Hope that helps.

John Bloodgood, KD0SFY

________________________________

From: John Bloodgood
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2022 10:25 PM
To: PPRAA Reflector <ppraanet at mailman.qth.net<mailto:ppraanet at mailman.qth.net>>
Subject: Armed Forces Day Crossband Test

ANNUAL ARMED FORCES DAY CROSSBAND TEST (14 May 2022)

The Department of Defense will host this year’s Armed Forces Day (AFD) Crossband Test, scheduled for May

14, 2022. This annual event is open to all licensed amateur radio operators and will not impact any public or

private communications. For more than 50 years, military and amateur stations have taken part in this event,

which is an interoperability exercise between hobbyist and government radio stations.

The AFD Crossband Test is a unique opportunity to test two-way communications between military

communicators and radio stations in the Amateur Radio Service (ARS), as authorized in 47 CFR 97.111. These

tests provide opportunities and challenges for radio operators to demonstrate individual technical skills in a tightly

controlled exercise scenario that does not impact any public or private communications.

Military stations will transmit on selected military frequencies and will announce the specific ARS frequencies

monitored. All times are ZULU (Z), and all frequencies are Upper Side Band (USB) unless otherwise noted. The

frequencies used for the test will not impact any public or private communications and will not stray outside the

confines of the exercise.

The following stations will be making two-way radiotelephone contacts with stations in the ARS between the

time periods listed on the frequencies listed in Kilohertz below.

AAZ / FT HUACHUCA, AZ

1500Z - 2359Z 5,330.5 kHz USB 14,579.0 kHz USB 18,211.0 kHz USB

AAC / BARROW ARMY RESERVE CENTER, KY (USB + RTTY)

1100Z - 2259Z 5,346.5 kHz USB 6,968.5 kHz USB 13,963.5 kHz USB

AAN / U.S. NORTHERN COMMAND, CO

1300Z - 1800Z 5,357.0 kHz USB 6,970.5 kHz USB 14,550.5 kHz USB

AAU / HQ US ARMY GARRISON FORT KNOX, KY (USB + RTTY)

1400Z - 1800Z 5,346.5 kHz US 7,493.5 kHz USB 14,441.5 kHz USB 18,281.5 kHz USB

ABH / SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HI

1900Z - 0200Z 14,512.5 kHz USB 18,254.0 kHz USB 20,997.0 kHz USB

ADB / CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA

1500Z - 2400Z 14,487.0 kHz USB 20,994.0 kHz USB

AGA0WJ / NAS WHIDBEY ISLAND, WA

1500Z – 2400Z 5,346.5 kHz USB 6,897.5 kHz USB 13,538.5 kHz USB

AFM4NPD / NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY MID-SOUTH, MILLINGTON, TN

1200Z – 2000Z 4,575.0 kHz USB 7,540.0 kHz USB 15,807.0 kHz USB 20,740.0 kHz UBS

AAM3D / DISA CYBERSPACE OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE, FT MEADE, MD

1300Z - 2000Z 5,403.5 kHz USB 13,509.0 kHz USB 18,272.5 kHz USB

WAR / PENTAGON WASHINGTON, DC (USB + CW + RTTY)

1200Z - 2400Z 5,357.0 kHz USB 7,357.0 kHz USB 13,910.5 kHz USB 20,920.0 kHz USB

AIR / ANDREWS AFB

1200Z - 2359Z 4,517.0 kHz USB 7,305.0 kHz USB 15,807.0 kHz USB 20,740.0 kHz USB

AGA2SY / HANCOCK FIELD, NY

1200Z - 2359Z 4,575.0 kHz USB 7,540.0 kHz USB 13,993.0 kHz USB

AGA5SC / SCOTT AFB, IL

1600Z - 2300Z 7,305.0 kHz U 7,915.0 kHz USB 14,832.0 kHz USB 27,736.0 kHz USB

AGA5TR / TRAVIS AFB, CA

1600Z - 2359MARSZ 4,017.0 kHz USB 7,329.0 kHz USB 13,996.0 kHz USB 14,411.0 kHz USB

MARSRADIO /

1400Z –0100Z 4,557.0 kHz USB 7,460.0 kHz USB 14,606.0 kHz USB

MARSCOMM /

1400Z – 0100Z 4,448.5 kHz USB 6,994.5.0 kHz USB 14,877.0 kHz USB

NBKJ / USS YORKTOWN PATRIOTS POINT, SC

1300Z - 2200Z 4,027.0 kHz USB 7,360.0 kHz USB 14,438.5 kHz USB

NEPM / USS IOWA BB 61 LOS ANGELES, CA (USB + CW)

1400Z - 2359Z 4,018.0 kHz USB 5,371.5 kHz USB 7,360.0 kHz USB 13,506.5 kHz USB

18,639 kHz USB 20,518.5 kHz USB

NIIW / USS MIDWAY CV-41 SAN DIEGO, CA (USB + CW + RTTY)

0000Z – 0600Z & 1401Z -2359Z 4,003.5 kHz USB 5,403.5 kHz USB 7,357.0 kHz USB

14,383.5 kHz USB 18,293.0 kHz USB

NWVC / LST-325 EVANSVILLE, IN (USB + CW)

1200Z - 0300Z 3,325.0 kHz USB 6,913.0 kHz USB 9,988.5 kHz USB 13,974.0 kHz USB

NSS / US NAVAL ACADEMY ANNAPOLIS, MD (USB + CW)

1300Z - 0200Z 4,038.5 kHz USB 5,330.5 kHz USB 7,533.5 kHz USB 9,947.0 kHz USB 14,487.0 kHz USB

NAF / NEWPORT NAVAL RADIO STATION MUSEUM NEWPORT, RI (USB + CW)

1300Z - 2300Z 7,498.5 kHz USB 14,463.5 kHz USB

NMC1/ US COAST GUARD BASE ALAMEDA, CA

1700Z - 2359Z 7,351.5 kHz USB 14,459.5 kHz USB

SCHOOLHOUSE/ SAVANNAH CYBER TRAINING CENTER SAVANNAH, GA

1200Z - 1900Z 5,371.5 kHz USB 7,431.5 kHz USB 13,528.5 kHz USB

An AFD message will be transmitted utilizing the Military Standard (MIL-STD) Serial PSK waveform

(M110) followed by MIL-STD Wide Shift FSK (850 Hz RTTY) as described in MIL-STD 188-110A/B.

Technical information regarding these waveforms is provided at:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pYDj7kQbm-QAyY4RPtx0dOXKohjaEjq9?usp=sharing

The AFD Sec Def Message will also be sent in Continuous Wave (CW) mode and Radio Teletype (RRTY) at

1400Z and 2000Z on the frequency designated below.

AAZ: MILSTD110 14,579.0 kHz USB

AAU: MILSTD110 14,441.5 kHz USB

AAC: MILSTD110/RTTY 13,963.5 kHz USB

AGA0WJ: MILSTD110 13,538.5 kHz USB

ADB: MILSTD110 20,994.0 kHz USB

WAR: MILSTD110/RTTY/CW 13,910.5 kHz USB

AAM3D: MILSTD110 13,509.0 kHz USB

NEPM: RTTY 13,506.5 kHz USB

NWVC: CW 13,974.0 kHz USB

NIIW: MILSTD110/RTTY/CW 14,383.5 kHz USB

For those who wish to document their contacts with a QSL card, go to https://www.usarmymars.org/events and

complete the request form.

>From https://www.dodmars.org/mars-comex-information-website/armed-forces-day

John Bloodgood, KD0SFY

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