Now that the BNJARS ham shack is operational, we invite area hams  to come in and do some operating from the Battleship.  In order for any club to bring in a group to operate, however, you must first make prior arrangements with the BNJARS Chief Engineer, Dave Burgess (WA2TVS).   Dave will then arrange to have one of our Authorized Operators present to open the shack for your use. 

      As in any organization, we have a set of rules and guidelines that we must follow. Below is a brief outline of these guidelines as well as some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQ).

Who should make the arrangements?

We are asking that that the President of your club make the initial contact with the CE.  Once the intial contact has been made, the President of your group may designate one of your members to be the contact for any further communications.  Only arrangements made through this designated contact will be considered.  This will eliminate a lot of confusion of having several different people trying to make arrangements for the same group.

Why do we have to make early arrangements?

In order for anyone to operate the NJ2BB ham station, one of our BNJARS Authorized Operators (AO) must be present to open the shack and act as control op for the station.  By making an "appointment" with the Chief Engineer, it gives him time to arrange for one of our AOs to be present to greet you and issue you the guest badges required to board the ship.  The ham shack is only open when one of our authorized operators is present.  The AO is responsible for showing you how to use the equipment and the logging procedure for the shack. 

What bands/frequencies may we use when we operate?

The bands/frequencies you operate on are determined by the license class of the AO who is your escort not by your license class. (ie.. since the AO is the control op for the station, he can only authorize frequencies that he himself is able to use.)  At the present time we have all HF frequencies and modes available as well as VHF (440 & 2 meter).

Where do we park?

Parking for the Battleship is in Parking Garage near the Aquarium and the cost is usually $7 per vehicle.  Directions for getting to the parking lot and ship will be given to you when you make your arrangements with the CE. The parking area is about a 4 minute walk from the Battleship. There is a shuttle bus that runs from the parking area to the ship.

(NOTE:  When there is an event going on at the Tweeter Center, the cost of parking may increase to $20 or more.   We have no control over this)

Can we tour the ship before/after operating in the shack?

Yes, but only if you have purchased a tour ticket from the ticket office.  Our guest badges do not entitle you to a tour of the ship.   If your group wants to tour the ship while you are there, you can discuss this with the CE when you make your arrangements to operate.

Is there a place to eat?

The "Gee-Dunk" on the mess deck is open during ship hours and has sandwiches, chips, soup and drinks available or you can bring your own lunch with you.  We do have a small refrigerator in the shack that contains some cold soda (all we ask is a small donation to cover the cost of replacing the soda).

These are the most frequent questions we have had to date.  We will update this list as it becomes necessary.