[SFDXA] Armed Forces Day Crossband Military/Amateur Radio Communications - May 13

[Bill]

    Armed Forces Day Crossband Military/Amateur Radio Communications
    Test is May 13

04/26/2017

The US Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard will sponsor the 
traditional military/amateur radio communication tests on Saturday, May 
13 to mark the 66th annual Armed Forces Day (AFD). Armed Forces Day is 
May 20, but the AFD Crossband Military-Amateur Radio event will take 
place a week earlier in order to avoid schedule conflicts with those 
attending Hamvention.

Complete information, including military stations, modes, and 
frequencies, is*available* 
<http://www.usarmymars.org/home/announcements> on the US Army MARS website.

The annual celebration is a unique opportunity to test two-way 
communication between radio amateurs and military stations (authorized 
under §97.111 of the Amateur Service rules). It features traditional 
military-to-amateur crossband SSB voice, CW, practice using legacy 
interoperability waveforms, and the opportunity for participating hams 
to utilize more modern military modes, such as MIL-STD Serial PSK and 
Automatic Link Establishment (ALE). Military stations and Amateur Radio 
stations are authorized to communicate directly on certain 60-meter 
interoperability channels — 5,330.5, 5346.5, and 5,371.5 kHz.

These tests give Amateur Radio operators and shortwave listeners (SWLs) 
a chance and a challenge to demonstrate individual technical skills and 
to receive recognition from the appropriate military radio station. QSL 
cards will be available for stations successfully contacting 
participating military stations.

/*AFD Message*/

The Armed Forces Day message will be transmitted via Military Standard 
radioteletype modes (MIL-STD 188-110A/B). *Software* 
<http://www.n2ckh.com/MARS_ALE_FORUM/MSDMT.html> is available to 
demodulate the military serial PSK waveform, and detailed instructions 
can be downloaded. Utilizing this mode with soundcard equipment can be 
challenging; review the instructions carefully.

A short practice transmission will be sent at 1930 and 2330 on May 6, 7, 
10, and 12 on 13.506.5 MHz USB and 17.443.0 MHz USB.

Military FSK is Baudot at 850 Hz, 75 baud, low mark, and 2000 Hz center. 
Most RTTY programs can be set to decode this mode. To achieve low mark 
while receiving in USB, select reverse shift.

QSL cards are available for individuals that receive the Armed Forces 
Day test message. To receive a card, copy the printed text of the test 
message as received from the military station, and include it in your 
report. No attempt should be made to correct possible errors.

Stations copying Armed Forces Day messages transmitted from US Army and 
US Navy stations and requesting a QSL card, can *complete* 
<http://www.usarmymars.org/> the QSL report form online. Stations 
copying the Armed Forces Day message transmitted from US Air Force 
stations and seeking a QSL card should send a request to Armed Forces 
Day Celebration, Chief, Air Force MARS, 203 W. Losey St, Scott AFB, IL 
62225.

Include a transcript of the received text, time observed, frequency 
observed, military station call sign, your full name and Amateur Radio 
call sign (if applicable), full mailing address (including ZIP code).

/*Automatic Link Establishment*/

Stations with Automatic Link Establishment (*ALE* <http://hflink.com/>) 
capability can contact a military station on specific half duplex 
crossband channels established for this purpose. ALE is a selective 
calling and linking method utilized by government, military, and amateur 
radio communications. Military stations will scan and receive certain 
amateur HFLINK ALE frequencies and transmit on the corresponding 
military ALE frequency. Military stations will also transmit ALE station 
identification (soundings) on each military frequency at 30- to 
90-minute intervals. Amateur stations may scan military frequencies and 
monitor the soundings to build the LQA database or select the channel 
manually. Amateur stations will call military stations using ALE 
selective calling on one of the paired cross band channels.

/*Announced AFD Special Operations*/

NEPM on board the USS /Iowa/ (BB61) will be on the air for its first 
annual Armed Forces Day Crossband Military/Amateur Radio Communications 
Test. The Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio Association (*BIARA* 
<http://biara.org/>) and qualified Pacific Battleship Center crew 
members will activate NEPM.

The Potomac Valley Radio Club (*PVRC* <http://www.pvrc.org/>) and the 
*US Naval Academy Radio Club* <https://www.usna.edu/AmateurRadio/>will 
operate NSS on the site of the 1918 Naval Radio Transmitting Station on 
Greenbury Point in Annapolis, Maryland, across the Severn River from the 
US Naval Academy.

Other Navy Stations scheduled to be on the air include NIIW, USS 
/Midway/, San Diego; NWKJ; NWKJ, USS /Yorktown/, Charleston, South 
Carolina, and NWVC, /LST-325/, Evansville, Indiana.


http://www.arrl.org/news/armed-forces-day-crossband-military-amateur-radio-communications-test-is-may-13