SB SPCL @ ARL $ARLX004
ARLX004 Armed Forces Day Crossband Military/Amateur Radio Communications Test
is May 13

ZCZC AX04
QST de W1AW
Special Bulletin 4  ARLX004
> From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  April 27, 2017
To all radio amateurs

SB SPCL ARL ARLX004
ARLX004 Armed Forces Day Crossband Military/Amateur Radio Communications Test
is May 13

The US Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard will sponsor the traditional
military/amateur radio communication tests on Saturday, May 13 to mark the 66th
annual Armed Forces Day (AFD). Armed Forces Day is May 20, but the AFD
Crossband Military-Amateur Radio event will take place a week earlier in order
to avoid schedule conflicts with those attending Hamvention.

Complete information, including military stations, modes, and frequencies, is
available on the US Army MARS website at,
http://www.usarmymars.org/home/announcements .

The annual celebration is a unique opportunity to test two-way communication
between radio amateurs and military stations (authorized under Part 97.111 of
the Amateur Service rules). It features traditional military-to-amateur
crossband SSB voice, CW, practice using legacy interoperability waveforms, and
the opportunity for participating hams to utilize more modern military modes,
such as MIL-STD Serial PSK and Automatic Link Establishment (ALE). Military
stations and Amateur Radio stations are authorized to communicate directly on
certain 60-meter interoperability channels - 5,330.5, 5346.5, and 5,371.5 kHz.

These tests give Amateur Radio operators and shortwave listeners a chance and a
challenge to demonstrate individual technical skills and to receive recognition
from the appropriate military radio
station. QSL cards will be available for stations successfully contacting
participating military stations.

The Armed Forces Day message will be transmitted via Military Standard
radioteletype modes (MIL-STD 188-110A/B). Software is available to demodulate
the military serial PSK waveform, and detailed instructions can be downloaded
from, http://www.n2ckh.com/MARS_ALE_FORUM/MSDMT.html .  Utilizing this mode
with soundcard equipment can be challenging; review the instructions carefully.

A short practice transmission will be sent at 1930 and 2330 on May 6, 7, 10,
and 12 on 13.506.5 MHz USB and 17.443.0 MHz USB.

Military FSK is Baudot at 850 Hz, 75 baud, low mark, and 2000 Hz center. Most
RTTY programs can be set to decode this mode. To achieve low mark while
receiving in USB, select reverse shift.

QSL cards are available for individuals that receive the Armed Forces Day test
message. To receive a card, copy the printed text of the test message as
received from the military station, and include it in your report. No attempt
should be made to correct possible errors.

Stations copying Armed Forces Day messages transmitted from US Army and US Navy
stations and requesting a QSL card, can complete the QSL report form online at,
http://www.usarmymars.org/ . Stations copying the Armed Forces Day message
transmitted from US Air Force stations and seeking a QSL card should send a
request to Armed Forces Day Celebration, Chief, Air Force MARS, 203 W. Losey
St, Scott AFB, IL 62225.

Include a transcript of the received text, time observed, frequency observed,
military station call sign, your full name and Amateur Radio call sign (if
applicable), full mailing address (including ZIP code).

Stations with Automatic Link Establishment (ALE) capability can contact a
military station on specific half duplex crossband channels established for
this purpose. ALE is a selective calling and linking method utilized by
government, military, and amateur radio communications. Military stations will
scan and receive certain amateur HFLINK ALE frequencies and transmit on the
corresponding military ALE frequency. Military stations will also transmit ALE
station identification (soundings) on each military frequency at 30- to
90-minute intervals. Amateur stations may scan military frequencies and monitor
the soundings to build the LQA database or select the channel manually. Amateur
stations will call military stations using ALE selective calling on one of the
paired cross band channels.

NNNN
/EX

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