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Battleship Texas Amateur Radio Station (BTARS) NA5DV









Battleship Texas (left & above) .............................. Barry Ward, Curator (right)




This page was constructed by NA5DV Trustee Frank Cooper

Mail questions and/or comments to Frank Cooper, fxc@prodigy.net




Click here for Frank Cooper's Home Page

Click here for the HVRA Battleship Texas web page




On 12-30-04, BTARS-NA5DV was reorganized, a constitution was adopted, and the following officers were elected

President/NA5DV Trustee: Frank Cooper, W5VID

Vice President: Lance Borden, WB5REX

Secretary: Bill Stientenroth, K5ZTY

Treasurer: Tom O'Brien, AB5XZ




The BATTLESHIP TEXAS AMATEUR RADIO STATION (BTARS) has the amateur radio vanity call NA5DV. The original radio call of the Battleship was NADV. The Battleship Texas Amateur Radio Station (BTARS)first operated with W5VID's call on July 21, 2001, participating in the Museum Ships Weekend Event. We operated from the Ship's Galley on the main deck.

Click here to see BTARS's participation in the July, 2001, event




BTARS participated in a special one day event on the Battleship Texas called “Yuletide Texas” on Saturday, December 1st, 2001. We used the FCC assigned radio call KD5PEA and operated in the old "Bursar's Office." Our vanity call NA5DV was pending. This was a kid-oriented Christmas event. A number of children were able to talk with radio amateurs in other cities in the United States and Canada. We had two transceivers in operation making contacts on 20 meters and on the local two meter repeaters. Several HVRA members exhibited vintage radios for visitors.

Click here to see the participation of BTARS in the Battleship "Yuletide Texas" event on December 1, 2001




Click here for to see NA5DV's participation in the 6th Annual Museum Ship's Event




Click here for to see NA5DV's participation in the Battleship Yuletide 2002 Event




Click here for to see NA5DV's participation in the 7th Annual Museum Ship's Event




Click here for to see NA5DV's participation in the Battleship "Radio Day" and Christmas Party, 2003




Click here for to see NA5DV's participation in the 8th Annual Museum Ship's Event.




Click here to see NA5DV's participation in the U.S.S. Texas observance of "Pearl Harbor Day" on December 4th, 2004.




Click here to see NA5DV's participation in the 8th Annual Museum Ship's Event on July 16-17, 2005




BTARS-NA5DV participated in the December 3rd, 2005, U.S.S. Texas observance of Pearl Harbor Day.

BTARS-NA5DV has participated in this event for the past five years. One hundred and two contacts were made with various amateur radio stations throughout the United States and Canada. The eight radio amateurs participating in operating NA5DV were (in random order) Bruce Wright, WC5CW; Nick Lance, KC5KBO; Bill Stientenroth, K5ZTY; Frank Cooper, W5VID; King Waters, KK5LU; Reid Shipp, WA5ARI; Min Bi, KE5GOK and Paul Armentrout, KE5GSD.

A special QSL card is available for those stations that contacted NA5DV. Those stations may send a SASE to Frank Cooper, NA5DV Trustee, 4215 Ravine Drive, Friendswood, Texas 77546.




(Left) Dave Compton, K5AMA, is shown on the deck of the Texas attaching a SG-239 Smartuner (in box on right) to one of the ship's historic long wires. The ships's long wire, strung between masts, was used for communications during WW2. The long wire was used for 20 meter ssb contacts during this event. Thanks to Dave for mounting the Smartuner in a watertight box at his own expense.


(Left) Bill Stientenroth, K5ZTY, erects a vertical for NA5DV 40 meter CW operation.

(Right) Wendell Davis assists in antenna set up operations.


Nick Lance, KC5KBO (far right) with the family of Min Bi, KE5GOK. Min, 11 years old, (with an arm on his younger brother) had just received his Technician class amateur radio license. Nick also assisted Paul Armentrout, KE5GSD (pictured below as an operator) in securing his Technician class license a few days earlier. Nick has helped many young people in passing amateur radio license exams by regularly teaching an amateur radio license class for gifted and talented students at Westbrook Intermediate in Friendswood, Texas.


Nick Lance, KC5KBO (left) Operates 20 meter ssb while Bruce Wright, WC5CW, (right) operates 40 meter CW. The coax was fed thrugh the porthole to the antennas. There was a problem in keeping the vertical antenna upright because of heavy gusts of wind. The porthole had to be closed at times because of heavy rain. However, the temperature was in the 70's and quite balmy for a December day.


Participating Radio Amateur Operators are shown below.






Min Bi, KE5GOK (11 years old)(left)and Paul Armentrout, KE5GSD (12 years old)(right)







Nick Lance, KC5KBO (left) .............................. and Bill Stientenroth, K5ZTY(right)







King Waters, KK5LU (left) .............................. and Bruce Wright, WC5CW (right)







Reid Shipp, WA5ARI (left) .............................. and Frank Cooper, W5VID/NA5DV Trustee (right)




END




The next scheduled radio event is participation in the 9th Annual Museum Ships Weekend Event on June 3rd and 4th, 2006. It is sponsored by the Battleship New Jersey Amateur Radio Station.




Click here to see Dennis Mitchell's USS Texas bb35 web page