ANNUAL ARMED FORCES DAY CROSSBAND TEST (9 May 2026)

The Department of Defense will host this year’s Armed Forces Day (AFD) Crossband Test, scheduled for May 9, 2026, and the Battleship IOWA’s NEPM will participate. 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 communication 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.

NEPM

USS IOWA BB 61 — SAN PEDRO, CA
Will be transmitting on:
6,989.0 kHz USB
14,375.0 kHz USB
18,060.0 kHz USB
21,856.0 kHz USB
26,850.0 kHz USB
From 1400Z to 2400Z

The operator will advise of the frequency being listened to on USB in an adjacent amateur radio band.

The annual AFD Message from the Secretary of Defense will be BROADCAST
at 1400Z and 2000Z on the frequency below from:

NEPM:
USS IOWA BB 61 — SAN PEDRO, CA
14,375.0 kHz CW

• BIARA has a TASMA-coordinated 2 meter repeater, NI6BB,  operating on 146.880 Mhz, -600 Hz with a PL of 88.5 Hz. The primary service area is the Los Angeles / Long Beach Harbor area and surrounds. Please feel to use this open machine when you are in our area. The repeater is on the 010 level of the battleship and the antenna is on a yardarm at 013. 
• Battleship USS IOWA Museum is open. Check www.labattleship.com for details. IOWA is normally closed ONLY on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

• To request a schedule with NI6BB please E-mail us at info@biara.org and or w6hb@biara.org. To coordinate an individual or group visit to BIARA’s NI6BB or to request guest / visitor operations under our control please contact w6hb@biara.org.

The Battleship IOWA Amateur Radio Association (BIARA) is an association of radio amateurs whose purpose is the support of radio activities on, or associated with, the Battleship IOWA. The operation of the Battleship IOWA is under the control of the Pacific Battleship Center (PBC), a 501(c)3 non-profit California corporation. BIARA is a social and recreational non-profit 501(c)7 California corporation. All BIARA full members who engage in amateur radio activities aboard the Battleship IOWA are required to be accepted and registered as volunteers of the PBC and to abide by all volunteer guidelines and directives as may be established by the PBC.

BIARA acts as the representative of the Battleship IOWA, the Pacific Battleship Center and the National Museum of the Surface Navy within the amateur radio community. In this role, BIARA promotes the Battleship IOWA, the Pacific Battleship Center (PBC), the National Museum of the Surface Navy, the interests and advancement of amateur radio, coordinates the activities of the associates in providing public service and provide the opportunity and facilities for the gathering of associates and others interested in the hobby.

BIARA operates its station under license NI6BB from the communications center on the Battleship IOWA promoting the PBC, the IOWA, the National Museum of the Surface Navy and amateur radio in general. We appreciate your contacting us and helping us in our mission.

BIARA does not solicit donations for our operations. Persons wishing to make tax deductible donations are encouraged to do so to the Pacific Battleship Center (PBC) as our host. The PBC is dependent on grants, donations, ticket sales and event income to maintain and enhance the battleship. The IOWA is not supported by or responsible to the US Navy. Your help for the greater good is appreciated.

Please use the PayPal link below to make your tax deductible donation to the Pacific Battleship Center (PBC).

NEPM was the IOWA’s call sign from her initial commissioning in 1943 until her final decommissioning in 1990. In 2002, it was assigned to the USCGC Heron. In 2016, through efforts by Bob, WB6SLC, the battleship was able to have the call sign reassigned. The USCGC Heron now has NHRN. The Iowa is one of the few US museum ships that has it’s original military call sign assigned.

Having the call sign does not afford any operating authority, although once a year, BIARA may use the callsign NEPM during the annual Armed Forces Day Cross-band Test if authorized. With authority from the Navy Marine Corps Spectrum Office Southwest we may gain approval for special event activations. These events will be promoted throughout the world to the amateur radio community. Stations outside the United States are reminded to verify that your country allows you to work us as a military station during cross band operations. The ship’s periodic activation of the “Gray Radios” is under the Innovation & Engineering Technology’s call sign NE6PM for which Gary Lopes, WA6MEM, is the trustee.

NI6BB’s Home

Each station contains an Astron RS-60M linear power supply with an Icom IC-7300 HF transceiver paired with a laptop for logging, spotting and digital modes. We have three identical stations that may be tied each to one of five possible HF antennas.

Station operator in the photo is Roee, 4Z1KO/KU6L.

The discage antenna is on the bow. Two antennas, each with a separate feed point, are combined in one structure.  Higher bands (~10-30 MHz) use the discone, with the radial elements at the top as the disc and the upper section of the cage as the cone. The feed point is the gap between the disc and the apex of the cone. The lower bands (~3.8-12 MHz) , fed from the bottom, use the entire cage section.

A trussed monopole is mounted above the Aviation Service Center on the aft deck. This antenna covers 10-30 MHz. The red base identifies this as a transmitting antenna (blue bases denote receiving antennas). The nonskid deck in foreground is for the flight operations area. Three hooded signal lamps are along the aft edge of the hut roof. At left is the No. 3 16-inch gun turret.