The USS KIDD is at the shipyard for repair and restoration.
The ship is going through a major repair and restoration. The project consists of hull repair and reinforcement, superstructure repair, interior restoration, and painting of the ship, as well as the repair and upgrading of the docking cradle. The ship is at Houma, LA where the work is being done by Thomas-Sea Marine Constructors LLC. The project will continue through May 2025. Visit the Museum’s YouTube channel to see many videos of the ship’s journey to the shipyard and progress reports about the work. Our club station, W5KID, is off the air during the project.
Requests for QSLs for past contacts will be honored.
USS KIDD Veterans Museum
Pearl Harbor Day – 7 December 2023
Our radio operations for this date are summarized in this report in PDF format. This was our last scheduled event prior to the ship moving to a shipyard for repair and restoration.
Veterans Day – 11 November 2023
As we do every year, W5KID operated from the USS KIDD as a Special Event Station on Veterans Day. We were on the air from 10 am – 2:30 pm with seven operators. All the operation was on 20 meters SSB, except for the final half hour which we operated CW. Jason Mullins, KI5ZAZ was interested in observing a CW QSO, so Jon Reise, WA9JBR called CQ on 20 meters using the paddle and electronic keyer at 18 wpm. Several stations were worked before Jon and Jason chased some of the POTA stations on 20 meters.
Pile ups were common with many Veterans wanting to work the USS KIDD. Since it was a Saturday and Veterans and family had complimentary admission, many visitors stopped by the operating room with many of them coming in to view the operation. We worked 116 stations across the USA and Canada.
The operating team consisted of:
- Pam Welsh, KF5IPJ
- Jeff Welsh, KF5ENP
- Joe Roppolo, K5ROP
- Russ London, NS5W
- Elmer Tatum, N5EKF
- Jason Mullins, KI5ZAZ
- Jon Reise, WA9JBR
V-J Day – 2 September 2023
Our club station W5KID was on the air in recognition of V-J Day, when the surrender document was signed, officially ending World War II in 1945.
The operators during the first part of the morning were Elmer Tatum (N5EKF) and Jason Mullins (KI5ZAZ). During the remainder of the morning the operators were Jason Mullins (KI5ZAZ) and Jason Giroir (KI5LIG).
We logged 33 contacts, with 9 on the 40 m band and 24 on the 20 m band. All contacts were SSB voice. The locations we reached included 2 in Canada and the following USA states: AZ, CO, IA, IL, LA, MA, MI, MN, MS, NC, NY, PA, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI.
Pearl Harbor Day 2019
W5KID was on the air on December 7, 2019 (10 am – 2 pm) in remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day. After the initial setup by Buddy (N5BUD) we made 51 contacts — 5 on CW and 46 on SSB; all on 20 m.
Contacts were logged with the following states: AZ, CA, CT, FL, GA, IL, KS, MD, MI, MO, MT, NC, OH, PA, SD, TN, TX, UT, WI, WY. A special event station N0W, for Skywarn Recognition Day, was among the contacts. Canadian provinces contacted were Ontario and British Columbia. Operators from our club included Jon (WA9JBR), Lee (W5ZDW), Rus (NS5W) and John (WA5MLF). Jon and Lee made the CW contacts after setting up the FT-450D’s keyer to use the paddles.
Veterans Day 2019
Our operation of W5KID for Veterans Day 2019 is described on page 6 of this edition of the RF News.
USS KIDD Veterans Museum
Special Event Information
W5KID Operating Schedule
29 March Vietnam Veterans Day
27 May Memorial Day
first weekend of June Museum Ships Weekend
4 July Independence Day
11 Nov Veterans Day
7 Dec Pearl Harbor Day
Operating Frequencies and Times:
| SSB: 14.240, 7.240 MHz |
| CW: 14.060, 7.060 MHz |
| Hours of Operation: |
| Mon – Fri, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm |
| Sat – Sun, 10:00 am – 3:30 pm (or as Museum dictates) |
Times and dates may vary, and will be included in RF News.
Sign-up sheets will be available before the club meetings.
Vietnam Veterans Day 2019
W5KID was on the air aboard the USS KIDD on Vietnam Veterans Day, March 29, 2019. Buddy (N5BUD) arrived first and set everything up and Thornton (K5HLC) arrived shortly thereafter. Band conditions were not favorable in the morning so when Bill (KE5TA) and Cecile (N5DR) showed up we had an up-close personal net going trading stories and entertaining visitors to the ship as to why we were there. We made a logarithmic number of contacts compared to the number of CQs sent.
John (WA5MLF) arrived a little past 1:00 pm and Thornton stayed a while longer to help with logging contacts. Dave (K5CGX) was unable to attend.
The station was on 40 m for most of the operating day. We logged 11 contacts on 40 m, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas. Later in the afternoon John moved to 20 m and made one contact with Colorado after calling CQ multiple times. 20 m was busy with contests and DX stations.
The nearby docked American Queen riverboat (pictured below) provided folks who toured the USS KIDD and enjoyed hearing about our club station onboard.
The USS KIDD was afloat on the high Mississippi River as you can see in the next photo.
73, John (WA5MLF)
Veterans Day 2017
A Good Time for All who Participated! Thanks to Thornton Cofield KG5HLC for the photos.
Independence Day – July 4, 2017
Here are photos by Dave (K5CGX) from our HF radio operation aboard the USS KIDD.
Museum Ships Weekend – 2017 June 3 & 4
Our club participated in this annual event that is sponsored by the Battleship New Jersey club. Here are two photos from the operation on June 4.
Memorial Day – 2017 May 29
Pearl Harbor Day 2016
Pearl Harbor Day, December 7th, aboard the USS KIDD was a good operation for us. We stayed busy all day and logged approximately 275 contacts, one even claiming to be in East Ukraine, making him suspect. Nothing on the logging software on him. Sounded like a 5/9 to me. We even got a couple of new guys with the club on the air, Cory (KG5QCU) & Kevin. George (KC5HMI) & Jeff (both from the MssLou Club in St. Francisville) came over and helped out.
– Dave K5CGX
Veterans Day 2016
Our Nov 11 Veterans Day observance aboard the USS KIDD was a success. From Joe,
N5HDX & Daughter LouAnn, W5LDX Clark from Texas to a good showing by Club
members. All time slots were filled & then some. A high 200’s contact count & good
conditions made things busy. I hope for the same on Pearl Harbor Day. Dave K5CGX
USS New Jersey Recognition for W5KID
Our Team was recognized for operating W5KID on the USS KIDD during the Museum Ships Weekend 2016, June 4-5. Here is the certificate we received from the event organizers.
Independence Day Operation
On a beautiful, sunshine filled Saturday, 2 July 2016, BRARC members activated W5KID on the USS KIDD to observe July 4th Independence Day. A full slate of 12 operators and loggers contacted stations around North America during the 6-hour operation on 20 m SSB. 168 stations were contacted in 36 states, including Canada and Puerto Rico!
Since it was a holiday weekend, there were many visitors to the USS KIDD. Many of them stopped in the radio room, intrigued by the wireless contacts we made with Hams all over North America. We use this as a chance to promote Amateur Radio, especially to the young people. Our own Marvin Owen N5HE, brought his family of Ham Radio Operators, who were visiting from Dallas. They all took part in operating or logging with the assistance of Marvin, their Dad and Grandfather.
Brett KG5IQU, handles the deluge of QSL requests with a colorful QSL card and descriptive brochure about the USS KIDD. He QSLs through the mail, as well as LoTW and soon to add eQSL and QRZ.com.
The USS KIDD station uses a Yaesu FT-450D, running 100 W and a MFJ-969 antenna tuner, feeding a long wire strung from the mast. Many times on the air, we encounter pileups, similar to Field Day. That was certainly the case during Museum Ships Weekend in June. The station is now equipped with an easy-to-read Startup/Shutdown Guide, for quickly activating the station. A guide for the MFJ Antenna Tuner lists tuner settings for operating frequencies.
Any BRARC member is allowed to use the station, during normal Museum hours. Please contact Jon Reise WA9JBR or Buddy Brown N5BUD to gain access to W5KID. If you are a new operator to the station, you will have to be checked out by Jon or Buddy. Contact them to arrange a meeting.
The USS KIDD, W5KID is an excellent way for Technicians or new Generals to gain some HF experience, with an experienced Ham showing you the ropes! Come and join in on the fun. You don’t have to wait for the next scheduled activation; you can schedule your time when it is convenient for you. The next scheduled activation is Veterans Day, 11 November 2016.
Museum Ships Weekend – June 4-5, 2016
Two days operating from the USS KIDD. Sometimes things just can’t get any better. The event was sponsored by The Battleship New Jersey Amateur Radio Station and it attracted a total of 111 ships operating amateur radios which were located around the world. Thirteen countries including Russia, Portugal, Finland, Australia, etc. were represented. The USS Orleck out of Lake Charles, LA was even participating.
We opened up the USS KIDD for operation at 10 am and ran it to 4 pm according to schedule. We had a full complement of operators and loggers and everything went smoothly. By the time we started to experience some pileups, the weather and 20 m turned on us and we had to wade through that until the afternoon when things picked up measurably. I think with the open door and the sign we were able to attract several more visitors than I remembered in the past. Mostly we worked 20 m and were happy with our contacts.
On June 5, our second day of operating off the USS KIDD, the only bit of excitement, not radio related, was the setting off the alarm by the KIDD personnel, but that is another story. We were a little short on operators but happily Chad, K5EBR, filled in for the last 4 hours. We also had Jennifer, a potential new “ham” and member, operate with us for the two days. The weather, the visitors, and band conditions all cooperated to make it a very nice day for all.
The first Sunday of the month is admission free day and we experienced quite a few families and had at least one cub scout den from Crowley, LA visit us. We also had a visit from Gary Pearcey, WB4RLS, from Atlanta, GA who was here on vacation. We had a total of 408 contacts during the two days from 42 states and 5 Canadian provinces. Most of our operation was on 20 m.
Our next operation on the USS KIDD will be on July 2, 2016 in observance of July 4, Independence Day. Please contact Buddy Brown, N5BUD, or respond to the volunteer email to participate.
BRARC Celebrates May Day at the USS KIDD
Several Club members participated in the May Day activities at the USS KIDD Museum on May 1, 2016. The W5KID operating station was set up in the museum lobby, to demonstrate Amateur Radio to the museum goers. Visitors were interested in the technology, as well. The TenTec station operated on 20 m in the museum, while the FT-450D station was used on board the ship for contacts. The stations made contacts in several states, including a VE8 in Canada’s NWT. Contacts were also made in the Florida QSO Party. The booth was manned by Buddy N5BUD, Thornton KG5HLC, Dick N5KIP, Brett KG5IQU, Mike KG5MYX, and Jon WA9JBR.
USS KIDD, W5KID – Vietnam Veterans Day 2016 Special Event
The W5KID operation on Vietnam Veterans Day turned out to be an enjoyable event on 19 March 2016. With the Louisiana QSO Party taking place the same day, we also supplied points to the QSO Party participants who worked us. A total of 128 contacts in 29 states, were made during the 6-hour continuous operation. A team of 12-logger/operators kept the station active from 10 am – 4 pm. Numerous ship visitors stopped by and enjoyed viewing and listening to the operation. Several of the logger/operators were students from our current Technician class, who enjoyed the operating experience. Pile-ups were common and there were still stations wanting to work W5KID when the operation was closed down at 4 pm.
Most of the operation was on 20 m, SSB, with a little activity on 40 m, SSB. 20 m propagation was favorable. W5KID was spotted several times on the DX clusters. Hits to the W5KID QRZ.com page were frequent. The addition of our new outdoor BRARC signage gave us increased awareness to the ship visitors. We had a surprise visit from Alex Juan, the Executive Director of the Museum, who picked up the mike and made a contact on 20 m SSB. A big thank you goes out to all the logger/operators, who made the event a success.
We will again activate W5KID on the observance of Armed Forces Day, 21 May, 10am – 4pm. We are in need of logger/operators. Please contact Buddy Brown, N5BUD with your request to participate.
USS KIDD, W5KID – Veterans Day 2015 Special Event
The W5KID operation on Veterans Day turned out to be a resounding success. A total of 241 contacts (34/hr) were made during the 7-hour continuous operation. A team of 14-logger/operators kept the station active from 9 am – 4 pm. Five additional visiting Hams enjoyed viewing and listening to the operation. Several of the logger/operators were Technician or newly licensed Generals, who enjoyed the operating experience. Pile-ups were common and there were still stations wanting to work W5KID when the operation was closed down at 4 pm.
Most of the operation was on 20 meter, SSB, with a little activity on 40 meter, SSB. 20 meter propagation was favorable, with all call districts worked, including Canada, Mexico, PR, and the Ukraine. W5KID was spotted several times on the DX clusters. Hits to the W5KID QRZ.com page were frequent. The addition of the new headphones and speakers, allowed all to comfortably hear the operation. A big thank you goes out to all the logger/operators, who made the event a success.
We will again activate W5KID on the observance of Pearl Harbor Day, Monday, 7 December 2015, 9 am – 4 pm. We are in need of logger/operators. Please contact Jon Reise, WA9JBR with your request to participate.
