Tuesday, December 7, 2021

December 7th, 2021 and the Battleship Iowa is On-The-Air as NEPM


 And in commemoration of this solemn day, the US Navy has authorized the Battleship Iowa to broadcast on military frequencies using the ship's original callsign of NEPM, and listening on Amateur Radio frequencies in the 20 Meter band.

This is similar to the "Military Cross-Band Test" that gets run once a year in cooperation with the MARS people.

And because there was some spotty propagation today, I was able to finally get through and contact them for the first time since we moved here.

Kudos to the guys and gals on the Iowa for making this happen, and it marks the first time the US Navy has authorized such an operation.



6 comments:

  1. That's Very Cool. I used to make it a ritual on Armed Forces Day to work all the cross-banders (NPG, etc.) after the Torrance Parade and Military exhibits at the Mall.

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    Replies
    1. I tried last year, and that was when I found out my FT-1000D could not to split without using the second receiver.

      I think in 2022 I'll try for some of the special event stations, like the Thirteen Colonies (got 11 lthis year), and some of the anniversary stations. I'm noy a big contester, but I do enjoy working the special event guys.

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Keep it civil, please....

Annnnd.....We Got Zip.....

 Total snow was about 6~8", but half o0f it melted as soon as it hit, and we never had more than 3" on the ground at any one time....