BIARA.ORG | Battleship IOWA Amateur Radio Association

NI6BB to Remember the Battle of Inchon as the

Turning Point of the Korean War

As the representative of the National Museum of the Surface Navy at Battleship IOWA (BB-61) in San Pedro, California, the Battleship IOWA Amateur Radio Association (BIARA) will activate NI6BB in memory of Operation Chromite on September 15, 1950.

During the Korean War, 1,789,000 United States military personnel served in the Korean theater of operations resulting in 137,250 casualties with 36,940 killed in action. There were 3,737 soldiers missing in action. The activation of NI6BB will be to honor American veterans and their United Nations allies who served during the Korean War.

Activation will be on Sunday, September 15, 2024 from 0800 to 1600 PDST; 1500 to 2300 UTC.

Modes and frequencies will be as shown on the https://biara.org front page. Bands and modes activated will be dependent on propagation and BIARA associate participation. QSL per instructions found on the Web site.

Inchon Landing (Operation Chromite)

For those who will be working the special memorial event for the Battle of Inchon on 15 September, 2024, this link will provide you with detailed history.

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. We are hoping to add an Echolink node to the machine in the future.
Battleship USS Iowa Museum is open. Check www.labattleship.com for details.
To facilitate working those who are looking for the Battleship IOWA and BIARA’s NI6BB, the band plan below is suggested to our Op Qual’d associate operators. These have been screened to minimize conflict with other modes or known nets, but are subject to change due to existing traffic, contests or band conditions. FT8 or FT4 operations will be on the “standard” frequencies for those modes.

BAND                                     A1A / CW                               J3E / SSB

40                                            7.061 MHZ                              7.261 MHZ
30                                            10.116 MHZ                            —————
20                                            14.061 MHZ                            14.261 MHZ
17                                            18.073 MHZ                            18.161 MHZ
15                                            21.061 MHZ                            21.361 MHZ
12                                            24.900 MHZ                            24.943 MHZ
10                                            28.061 MHZ                            28.361 MHZ
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 Cross-band Tests 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 quarterly 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 discone-cage antenna in 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; 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.