USS Iowa 81st anniversary celebration event

Amateur radio operators will have an opportunity to contact the USS Iowa during the ship’s 81st anniversary celebration. USS Iowa (BB-61) is permanently moored at the National Museum of the Surface Navy in San Pedro, California, and was first commissioned during World War II on February 22, 1943. The on-air event will be held on February 22, 2024, from 1600 to 2400 UTC. The Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio Association (BIARA) will activate NI6BB, the ship’s original call sign, utilizing BIARA’s amateur gear and a circa 1980s legacy station with an AN/URT-23 transmitter and an R-1051G/URR Navy receiver. To help operators looking for NI6BB, the band plan below has been suggested to qualified associate operators. These bands 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 meters 7.061 MHz 7.261 MHz
30 meters 10.116 MHz ———-
20 meters 14.061 MHz 14.261 MHz
17 meters 18.073 MHz 18.161 MHz
15 meters 21.061 MHz 21.361 MHz
12 meters 24.900 MHz 24.943 MHz
10 meters 28.061 MHz 28.361 MHz

For updates and additional information, contact BIARA.