| The USS Alabama will be activated for the Museum Ships
on the Air special event, June 6 - 7, 2009, using the call sign
W4A. Our special event particularly commemorates the
officers & crew of the USS Alabama who served during World
War II. We are interested in hearing from sailors who served
aboard BB60 at any time in its history.
More information about the USS Alabama and Battleship Memorial Park may be found at the official web site. Operating frequencies will be on or around those recommended for the MSOTA event. See the Battleship New Jersey Amateur Radio Station web site for details. Modes will be determined closer to the event. Additional details may be posted here as plans become more definite. QSL to N4TRB with SASE or via the buro. Operation will take place from aboard the battleship and we welcome visitors. Licensed amateur radio operators are encouraged to contact the station. Visitors of all ages are welcome to drop by the operating position to share their experiences and perhaps make a ham radio contact under the supervision of a licensed control operator. For more information, please contact N4TRB: n4trb 'at' arrl.net After Action Report! The team at BB-60 had a wild and crazy weekend and we're all partially deaf from dealing with the noise particularly on 40 and 20; but overall the event was a success with over 800 contacts. I placed my order for QSL cards with Gennady on June 9th and once they arrive I will send them out in the order that I receive SASEs. Here's what it looks like:
I greatly appreciate all who made contact with W4A as well as those of you who weren't able to make it through. It's heartbreaking to be on this end of a pileup (for a change) and not be able to pull out everyone from the noise. I'm usually the guy with a little signal in a big pileup and I'm grateful when the DX op takes the time to work me. So if you called and didn't make a contact, it wasn't because we weren't trying. |
For a bit more on the USS Alabama, here's a link to additional images from other visits.
Battleship Facts: the "talking notes" for operators to have facts at hand. This is a Microsoft Word document.
Visitor Handout: duplex 8.5 x 11 handout explaining Museum Ships on the Air, Amateur Radio, and the Historic Naval Ships Association (HNSA). This is also a Microsoft Word document.
Gallery
| The W4A radio crew. Standing, left to right: Mike Weathers, ND4V; Tony Dougherty, KF4WUI; Bob Drumm, KG4SJS; Paul Brisendine, K4HCM; Brian Page, N4TRB; seated, left to right: Geri Foust, K4GMF; and Eddie Foust, WD4JEM. |
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| Eddie, WD4JEM, recruiting a future brass pounder. |
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| Mike, ND4V, starting to work the pileup on Saturday morning with Paul (in red hat), K4HCM, ready to provide moral support. |
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| Bob, KG4SJS, working 40 SSB. |
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| The Foust team: Eddie, WD4JEM, making contacts on 20 with Geri, K4GMF, logging. |
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| Tony, KF4WUI, logging one of the many 6-meter contacts. |
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| Mike, ND4V, three decks down in the permanent radio room. This is actually the Code Room which is adjacent to the original radio room on the battleship. |
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| Mike, working a bit of straight-key CW on the Yaesu 757 connected to hamstick antennas. |
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| Bob and Mike at the station set up in the ward room, working 40 meters. |
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| The 6-meter beam pointed to the northeast. But where was the propagation? |
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| The view from the forward fire control position where our antennas lived. |
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| The 20-meter hamstick dipole. This was a last-minute replacement for the permanently installed 160-meter dipole which malfunctioned. |
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| A quiet moment in the ward room station. |
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| Eddie & Geri at the 40-meter station. |
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| The ward room was a great place for our operation, spacious and air conditioned! |
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| Mike, ND4V, on 20 meters SSB with Kathy logging. |
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