  We report the local (NMR) and bulk (magnetization and heat capacity)
properties of the vanadium-based S=1/2 uniform spin chain compound
Bi6V3O16(Bi4V2O10.66). In the low-temperature {\alpha} phase, the magnetic ions
(V4+) are arranged in one-dimensional chains. The magnetic susceptibility shows
a broad maximum around 50 K signifying a short-range magnetic order. Heat
capacity measurements also reveal low-dimensional magnetism. The 51V magic
angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance measurements clearly show that the
magnetic V4+ and nonmagnetic V5+ species are located on different
crystallographic sites with no mixed occupation. The spin susceptibility
calculated from the shift of the 51V NMR spectra reproduces the behavior
observed in magnetic susceptibility and agrees well with the S=1/2 uniform spin
chain model with J=113(5) K.
