View Full Version : Junk, Tradition, Call Letters and the FCC
Junk, Tradition, Call Letters and the FCC:
Hams are for the most part a dedicated group and very traditional by nature when it comes to the ham radio service. #We keep radio stuff that can fall into one or two categories: good junk or bad junk. #Wives and girlfriends (unfortunately), think it’s all bad junk, but for hams, most junk is good junk even if we hold onto it for 30+ years and swear we plan to use it for that project in the 1973 handbook. #I am one of those hams.
No, I do not want to throw out those coils, bulbs, SCR’s, capacitors, resistors, half radios, empty chassis etc. #I recently found out my collection of brand new in the pack (30 years ago), of carbon composition resistors are no longer the value coded on them,#I figured they are still good, I just need to parallel or series them for the value needed. #Oh, and they just need to be vacuumed a bit to get the dust off them.
This is all well and good and is traditional that we hang onto very old junk . #However, there is one thing all hams have and are unwilling to part with even though it is very old and probably as old as when first licensed – Your call letters. #Yes, like your SS#, it is unique in the entire world and you certainly don’t change your SS#. #Besides, if you changed your call letters, no one will know who you are –right? #Why when you moved to California from Jersey 20 years ago with the W2 call intact, your friends back east wouldn’t recognize you. #Then there is your immediate local area of ham friends who would ignore you if you changed your call letters (probably some new guy on the repeater). #What about your QSL cards, oh brother, can’t change my calls because I still have 15 cards with my current calls on them. #Then it’s the call letter license plates that would have to be changed, the vehicle registration, QRZ.COM ,Buckmasters, Eham, etc. #Yes, it’s so much trouble to change your call letters. #But, in the end, we just can’t bring ourselves to change call letters we have used and loved for so long because well it’s just plain heart wrenching.
Well I kicked the habit, bit the bullet and changed mine. #Went from WA2AEH to K2WH. #Boy, what a mouthful to transmit phonetically the former to the latter. #DX was always getting my original call wrong and apparently we have lots of dyslexic hams out there, as I was getting cards for WA2EAH for a while. #Going to K2WH made it so much simpler. #It took about 1 month to get my new calls drilled into my head after 30+ years of WA2AEH. #I actually had to paste a card on the dashboard with my new calls on them to train myself.
But, the real reason for writing this long dissertation is my huge annoyance with the FCC rule change that no longer requires you to identify your location from the area of the country you are currently residing. #IMHO this is probably one of the more bone head ideas dreamed up by them. #Why they let it go is a mystery to me. #I don’t’ believe it cost them anything to retain the old way of id’ing. #Why just yesterday, I couldn’t believe I was working a W6 on 6 meters from my qth in New Jersey on a 75-meter dipole; hmmm F2 must be in again. #Only problem, he was in Connecticut. #Then there’s the W5 with a booming signal on 17 meters who just happened to be a ham from Texas that moved up the block a couple of months ago. #The point I am trying to make here is your call letters are not sacred and untouchable. #They can and should be changed in spite of the FCC to establish the part of the country you are in to avoid confusion and disappointments on the other end. #You will like the change. #It is traditional to have your calls match the area of the country you are located. #After all, how come you can still purchase maps with specific call areas assigned to them. #It must mean something.
K2WH
ai4ep
11-02-2003, 11:03 PM
I agree with the callsign regulations, no matter even if it is a vanity call, the number should match the district of the U S A you are in. No exceptions, no matter if you are a no-code tech or been an Extra since 1950, the NUMBER of your call sign should match. It helps a lot when listening for DX stations, like mentioned in spevious post. An extra advantage is when you are driving through a different part of the country, listening ops will notice your NUMBER being from a different area, ( especially if at opposite ends of the continent ) and be more willing to assist you if you need directions, help, etc. They will know you arent from this area. So far as the junk, I dont think I have any, however a visitor might think otherwise. kd4amg
I live in West Virginia and my callsign is K4OM.
I do not see this as a problem since West Virginia was formed from Virginia in the War of the Northern Agression and my part of West Virginia stayed loyal to Virginia. #K8OM was unavailable as it belongs to another member of my family. #The rules are the rules.
KD7EFQ
11-02-2003, 11:15 PM
I can see your point. However, I am planning to apply for a vanity call that actually spells my name. Trouble is, I have to go from a 7 to a 0 to spell KT0DD. It is catchy to me to be able to do this. But I would not want to move from Wyoming to Colorado just to do this. I notice this call is unused in the database, so hopefully I'll get it. 73.
Todd, KD7EFQ (hopefully soon to be KT0DD)
k5ahh
11-02-2003, 11:19 PM
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif I was let down one day on 6 meters when I had just spoken with a KL7 Alaska, station. I later looked up the callsign, but he was really in Oregon, or somewhere near there. Oh well.
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (K2WH @ Nov. 02 2003,11:12)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">It is traditional to have your calls match the area of the country you are located.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
That's a tradition I do happen to like very much, and wish it had been preserved as a requirement. #I was first licensed in 1970 as WN6ESN, then WB6ESN in 1972. #I always wanted a four character K call. #I recently became and extra-lite, and bought KN6Z, practicing the tradition of 6 for California, required or not.
na4it
11-02-2003, 11:34 PM
"We're sorry, you have reached a call sign that hs been disconnected or no longer exists..."
HIHI
k4vic
11-03-2003, 12:01 AM
Although I logged a book full of DX with my old call sign KF4QOD on 10 Meters that one was a real pain!...Guess I lucked out on the vanity call...got my name and the right # too! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
Junk....If it wern't for junk....I wouldn't have nothing! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
73,
Vic
KB8FA
11-03-2003, 12:08 AM
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif This topic had been bothering me for some time now. #From the comments on this subject, there does not seem to be much conscienious about the value of some intelligence being part of the call sign.
Sure wish the FCC would revisit their decision to render the call sign area as "meaningless". #Things were far simpler when the call sign number contained intelligent information. Maybe the FCC could also revisit what states should make up a call sign area. #The population has really grown and shifted since it was first brought into being.
The number in your call sign SHOULD reflect your call area. #Far from being just a number in your call sign, #it reflects a lot of information for anyone listening to you calling CQ, not only US amateurs, but also foreign amateurs. #
If the call area number is to become meaningless, why even have it as part of the call sign. #Is the call area number to be relegated to just distingushing amateur radio from commerical broadcasters?
In reading the comments from hams who offer reasons for not wanting to change their call signs, it seems that this is the way it should be because this is "what they want" the call sign sytem to be. #Sure sounds like the call sign system has degenerated into anarchy.
Maybe someone can enlighten all of us as to how the rest of the world is identifying geographic areas within their boarders. I am refering specifically to the Cubans, #South Americans, Japanese, Australians, Spanish, etc.
On a lighter point, I must agree about all the "treasured" items in the basement. #After twenty-five years of collecting what my XYL refers to as "radio junk", I am finally getting rid of the items I can no longer identify as to their intended use.
John KB8FA
It also bothers me that many new hams don't like to be identified as being new at anything, they want to seem to be "a seasoned vet." To toss the 2x3 call and get a call that should indicate an advanced or extra from before WWII!
W5HTW
11-03-2003, 12:21 AM
It would have been neat to have retained an early callsign in my long ham career. Unfortunately the rules didn't permit it. Moving as I did from call area to call area (and sometimes back again!http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif I was forced to get new calls and relinquish old ones.
Eventually I did go the vanity route, when I was issued AB5HK here in New Mexico. That didn't sound like a ham call to me, so I re-acquired my formerly held W0 call from Colorado, though I planned to remain in NM. After a couple of years as a W0 in 5-land, I felt maybe I should get another 5 call. But this time not one of those 'new' ones. And here I am, because I want my call to reflec not only where I am now, but the long tradition - and indeed the long standing rules - of ham radio licensing that said district means something.
We may be headed toward the "get your initials and your street address and make up your own call sign" mentality. No, we may already be there with the mentality; just not the rules yet.
I miss the call districts. Eliminating them, though, may give us far more options in the future with call signs, as we can all get new calls, starting with WAAAA11111 and going through KZZZZ99999, and possibly even adding a letter suffix after that! No more cute "it's my initials!" Just a nation-wide sequential call sign.
Or maybe? No call sign at all?
Ed
AE6IP
11-03-2003, 12:35 AM
I've got the call I was assigned at random when I passed the test. Would have liked the next one in series, but it belongs to a nice chap.
Since I divide my time between California and Montana, I guess I should have two calls, one for each QTH. Too bad MT7HAM isn't a legal sign, hi hi.
73,
Alpha Echo Six India Papa.
Personally, I don't much care what number you use, but I wish they would change the Morse for '0' from 5 dahs to a single long dah. Now there's an idea -- a keyer that can allow long dahs in addition to the regular stuff.
Well back in the mid 90’s my son and I tested and got out tech ticket and having passed our test we were assigned sequential calls which was OK, but it confused me more than any one else, http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif #my son was KB8SJT and I was KB8SJU, I kept that call when I upgraded to tech plus, even though I would still try to call my son by using his call as mine on occasion. Well I just let things go as they were until the FCC changed the system, I went out and got the upgrade books and became an Extra lite. Well with the new privileges that I got, I just HAD to have a new call sign, after looking over some of what was available and realizing that the call I settled on was available I applied for it and got it. I was glad that my call area was available. I did get a few commits wondering if that WAS my call sign, I assured that it was, I just wished I could have seen their faces though, after all why would anyone want a call that had ‘PU’ as part of their call. Well there is a few of us that like it. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
73
Dave N8PU
ve7ibj
11-03-2003, 01:37 AM
That's why I like the system up here in Canada. #When I hear a VE7 call I know he's in British Columbia, VE6 - Alberta, VE3 - Ontario, etc. #So simple.
73
Roy VE7IBJ
President-Mission Search and Rescue
Director-Mission ARES
Auxiliary member-Royal Canadian Mounted Police
kb8nds
11-03-2003, 01:39 AM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (k4om @ Nov. 02 2003,16:13)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I live in West Virginia and my callsign is K4OM.
I do not see this as a problem since West Virginia was formed from Virginia in the War of the Northern Agression and my part of West Virginia stayed loyal to Virginia. K8OM was unavailable as it belongs to another member of my family. The rules are the rules.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I don't think that the Huntington-area was loyal to Virginia. The Martinsburg area (which is where I'm from), and Morgan, Berkeley, and Jefferson counties for that matter, were and were included in the "new" West Virginia to keep the B&O in free territory.
But this is not a Civil War history discussion forum so...
FLAME ON!!!!!
wa0ttn
11-03-2003, 01:44 AM
An interesting topic. I was very surpised when I moved from my original QTH in Colorado to LA in the mid 80's to find out a) that I no longer needed to sign /6 and b) that I was not requred to trade in my W0 for a W6 callsign. On several of my initial QSO's I would sign /6, but was informed that this was not necessary and even annoying. On the other hand, I also got repremanded by a few individuals who felt that I should sign /6.
I was off the air for a while and recently started operating in the Seattle area. After all this time I found that nobody seems to notice or care that I'm a W0 in W7 land. When I call CQ on SSB or PSK31 I usually give my QTH anyway, so it's clear that I'm not a midwest "DX" station #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif #and I've never had anyone suggest that I should change my callsign to a W7.
I love my callsign, it fits me like an old pair of shoes. But with all that, I do agree that it doesn't make much sense to have arbitrary rules. I would have been happy to have been assigned a new callsign had the rules dictated. And I also find it disconcerting to hear an out-of-area callsign. I wind up looking up every call I hear on QRZ.com to find out where they are. Even at that, it seems strange that a lot of W7's are way down in Arizona. Now that's further away than Colorado!
So, I don't really have a point other than to say that I'm not all that concerned about it, and everyone I QSO with doesn't seem to have a problem with it either. And that I do agree it would make more sense to keep the original intent of the call area assignments, but I'm more concerned about BPL than this issue.
73, Dave, WAØTTN
I have a 5 call in 9 land and have friends with a 7, 4, and 0 in theirs. Does it bother me, no. It doesn't seem to bother anyone I talk to either. Sometimes I am questioned why I have a 5 call, but after I explain it (my call) to them most think it is pretty neat that I got the call I wanted. In today's highly mobile society a call that represents the area is nice and should be issued to new hams, but if a ham moves or wants a vanity call let them.
This debate is almost as stupid as code/no code; all of the bickering and complaining isn't going to change a thing. What we should be talking about is BPL and getting band protection legislation passed. If we don't all these "traditions" that are held so dear to your hearts are going to be completely meaningless.
Brian-K5GBW
N8UZE
11-03-2003, 02:27 AM
It really no longer makes sense to require people to change calls when then move to another zone. Our society is simply too mobile. I was licensed in 1992 in Ohio. Since then I have lived in Illinois, South Dakota, and now Michigan. So in 11 years, I would have had four call signs returning to an 8 call and probably would have been force to end up with a 2x3 and sacrificing my 1x3 under rules mandating a change.
Keep in mind that outside of vanity calls, the ONLY calls left via sequential assignment are 2x3 calls and the 2x2 Extra calls beginning with AA through AL. All other sequential calls are GONE (1x3, 2x2, 1x2 and 2x1). The only way you can get 1x3 calls etc is through the vanity system if the call happens to be currently vacant.
Now if it really is a problem, let's start a movement to make it good amateur practice to sign /x whenever there is a possibility of confusion or doubt.
N3TNQ
11-03-2003, 02:47 AM
Too bad they didn't set it up in the beginning so that each call sign minus the number were unique. In other words, if I am N3TNQ, there would be no N4TNQ,etc. #Whenever I moved, I would automatically use the correct number. Then when I moved back to 3 land, I would go back to N3TNQ. #Hmmm, either TOO simple or TOO weird. LOL
The vanity system is great. Most hams can get the vanity call they want because of the very large number of 1X3 calls that are in the unused pool. Of course, sometimes this means getting an out of district call. A quick look at Vanity Callsign Headquarters reveals that in many districts no W or K 1X2 calls are available. There are a few 1X2 N calls and a better supply of 2X1 calls.However there are a very large amount of 2X2 and 1X3 calls sitting unused.
I am originally from the Philadelphia area and may go back to live ther some day. Always had a 3 call and even if there had been a 1X2 4 land call, I would most likely have chosen the 3 instead. Everyone who has a vanity call has a reason the chose it. BTW did you know that only 7% of all hams have a vanity call, and that the overwhelming majority of hams have a callsign that reflects the district?
73
George
K3UD
AB7RG
11-03-2003, 03:51 AM
I never have seen what the big deal is -- simply add the /# to the end of your call sign. This way you get to keep your current call sign and identify the correct district that you are in. -- Problem solved! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif This saves all the confusion and is good amateur practice.
73 Clinton AB7RG
w0tlo
11-03-2003, 03:55 AM
Having a 0 call in Texas, I get teased once and a while when I get on the local repeater. "Must be a great tropo today" etc.
The only reason I got my call was to honor my father. #
Ham radio was his passion and he was a novice in 1967 as WN0TLO. Due to having a large family (5 boys and 2 girls) and all the responsibility, he never got to upgrade.
Just when he got to where he could pursue it again, he passed away very young.
Therefore I felt I needed to put his call on the air as much as I could.
Enjoy! de W0TLO
John
--Area call changes--
I had the following calls:
# # #A W2, W4, W7, changed because of the area I was operating from. #W2 New York, W4 Florida, W7 Las Vegas and then W6TH in california. #This is not a vanity call and was paid, signed and delivered by the xyl who is a native of California and I had no choice. #Yet a good choice because it belonged to a ssb friend that moved from California and went to W7 land with the call of W7SM. The old W6TH was his first and only call at the time and am happy to know I have had a qso with the ham that #possessed this new, old call of mine.
None of my W2, W4, W7 calls have been re-issued as yet and still in the waiting. Although I have heard a bootlegger using my W2 call and saying he was in Syracuse, New York.
I have had this call some 30 years now and will be my last to make a change.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ---
k8nqc
11-03-2003, 04:47 AM
Under poor copy conditions, when beam heading is needed for solid communications, it is important to identify region when making a call. It is especially helpful to a NCS. Many use an omnidirectional antenna and switch to a beam when needed. The default choice of direction is the number in the callsign. When signals are strong, it makes little difference. When they are weak, a good communicator will transmit his general location. Like most things, a little common sense eliminates any problem.
I was thinking about this and I can't come up with any other radio service ruled over by the FCC that uses the district number. My GPRS (WPXK308) doesn't, the old CB calls didn't (until they went to initials and zipcode), Audio and TV broadcast doesn't (talk about abuse of vanity calls!) and commercial or public safety calls don't have districts.
Are we the only service that cares about district calls?
KC5JSR
11-03-2003, 05:21 AM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (kd4jvg @ Nov. 02 2003,17:15)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">It also bothers me that many new hams don't like to be identified as being new at anything, they want to seem to be "a seasoned vet." To toss the 2x3 call and get a call that should indicate an advanced or extra from before WWII![/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Boy, You said a mouthful there. Me myself and Irene, I love my call just about as much as I hate the name I was given at birth. None the less I've opted to keep my birth name, what a drag.
Anyway I wish I could move then I would change my call sign, maybe something to denote the class operator I am. and maybe something like N5PU, I think that's a classic, no disrespect to N5PU because I know where he's coming from. Actually, I would need a few more letters in my call since I'm only a General class Operator.
Besides it seems to me that it shoudn't be that hard to put a /and the area I'm operating in to let other Operators know that I might be right next door.
Oh well, it seems to me that the FCC is going to do what the FCC wants to do...
Well, I think I'll go get a six pack and think for awhile.
--... ...-- http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif
WA9SVD
11-03-2003, 07:24 AM
If the old rules still applied, yes I'd HAVE to change my call. And I'd have no complaint. But with the arrival of the vanity call system, a call sign no longer (necessarily) indicates area or "time in service." That's the FCC rules. SO, I retain my original call issued "the old fashioned way," sequentially, by the FCC in 1966. If necessary, I will also sign /6 to avoid confusion. That's the FCC's rules, and there's no going back to the old system. It's a 2x3 call, but it's an original, and I know no one else ever had the call. But complaining about the issue now is useless.
Best Regards to all.
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (k4om @ Nov. 02 2003,16:13)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I live in West Virginia and my callsign is K4OM.
I do not see this as a problem since West Virginia was formed from Virginia in the War of the Northern Agression and my part of West Virginia stayed loyal to Virginia. #K8OM was unavailable as it belongs to another member of my family. #The rules are the rules.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
To K4OM:
Just what does your comment,
"...since West Virginia was formed from Virginia in the War of the Northern Agression and my part of West Virginia stayed loyal to Virginia."
have to do with the original post --- or anything of relavent value for that matter, sir?
You know...it is exactly this style of continuing southeastern generational loser-psychosis that convinces me (and many, MANY others) that your kind (meaning "some" of the living relatives of the losing Confederate side) will continue to whine-and-bitch-and-complain when "you" lose, no matter what the contest or issue ---
The Civil War ended 138 years ago -- the Confederates lost -- get over it! See a doctor if you can't.
Lighten up Jim.
You take all of this much too seriously.
<span style='font-size:13pt;line-height:100%'>
I agree with the idea of every one having there call in there area.
but it is the FCC does not care.
They will do anything to make a fast buck !!!</span>
kd5sdi
11-03-2003, 12:53 PM
some friends of mine, a father, son and mother all took their tests and passed at the same time. Their calls were kd5qdx, qdy, and qdz. So, when the net control checked them in on a net they just said XYZ! Another net control called them the three musketeers.
Great post Bill....and do lighten up K9FI.
You should hear the pileups Skip KH6TY (in South Carolina) gets with low power digimodes! No/4 there.... http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif
k7unz
11-03-2003, 01:15 PM
Well, you can chalk me up as being in total agreement with the original poster! #The FCC has undermined it's own policy, as they have done with so many things, to the point where the call sign no longer indicates anything about the operator or station.
I would at least like to see ops sticking that "/" on the end with the applicable call area. #I do hear some doing it now, and I for one appreciate knowing that the KL7 station I hear is actually somewhere in 4-land, and have an understanding what the propagation really is at the time.
Calls used to tell you something about the operator they were assigned to.......general location, class of license, old/new ham, etc.. #Now they mean pretty much nothing, and give you none of the information they were intended to give.
Cheers to the FCC for another dumb move!!
Jim/k7unz
kc8www
11-03-2003, 02:28 PM
I am going to admit right off that I didnt read all posts to this message. Why not just add the current location identifier to the end of ones callsign, like a repeater? so when I visit nevada, I would use kc8www/7. This way we all get to keep that priceless callsign.
n3wjl
11-03-2003, 02:41 PM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (n0zu @ Nov. 03 2003,05:49)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><span style='font-size:13pt;line-height:100%'>
I agree with the idea of every one having there call in there area.
but it is the FCC does not care.
They will do anything to make a fast buck !!!</span>[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
What ? The FCC would make MORE money by making you change your call when you change areas. Remember the processing fee.
Also why would I give up my 1x3 for a 2x3 call?
The call I have now was issued to my Dad in 1922. I was licensed in 1951. I would move back to 5 land before I would give this call up.
w5ux/4
kb8nds
11-03-2003, 03:35 PM
I'm originally from Texas (5) and got licensed when I moved to West Virginia (8). When I got my vanity call, I elected to stick with an 8 rather than a 5.
I guess I'm too old school (I'm only 23)!!!!
N4SIL
11-03-2003, 03:58 PM
This is an interesting topic considering that I am, once again, considering whether to change my call or not.
When I was issued my first callsign, it was definitely not one that I wanted to put on the air (KG4KFU...). Thanks to the vanity call sign program existed and happily changed it to N4SIL (plenty of 1x3 district 4 calls available).
I finally knuckled down and passed my General and Extra exams last month. Now I want to change my callsign to one that is distinctive, represents the class of license I now have, and frankly, is more understandable to pronounce on the air.
Like many, I prefer to change to a 1x2 or 2x1 call if available. The trouble is that available callsigns of these type for the '4' district are extremely rare. This means that I must either look for available callsigns in other districts or accept a 2x2 "A" prefix callsign (of which there is not many left either). Frankly, I'm leaning towards obtaining a 1x2 callsign, even if it is outside my district.
No matter what happens, I didn't realize that there would be so much reaction to the thought of Amateur operators acquiring callsigns outside of their district. Makes me almost feel a little guilty....
73,
N4SIL http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
Phineas
11-03-2003, 05:05 PM
I agree with the original poster to a point. I to have vanity call letters. However, when I am in another area, I make it very clear where I am located.
"K0KMA Mobile 6" or "K0KMA W6" or "K0KMA Portable 6"
I really dont see a problem with not changing your call sign as long as everyone identifies where they are with the proper suffix. I travel around a lot, and may wind up living in a location for up to a year because of work. I am not going to change my call letters just because I move my station.
As far as CW is concern, if the receiver cannot can not read -..-. .-- -.... ,then that sounds like a PP to me http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
Phineas
K0KMA /W__
KU2US
11-03-2003, 05:31 PM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (k4om @ Nov. 02 2003,16:13)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I live in West Virginia and my callsign is K4OM.
I do not see this as a problem since West Virginia was formed from Virginia in the War of the Northern Agression and my part of West Virginia stayed loyal to Virginia. #K8OM was unavailable as it belongs to another member of my family. #The rules are the rules.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Yes, I agree with keeping the call signs assigned to the numbered areas. As far as the "Northern Agression" goes, It was the South that attacked the North first? I cant believe that after 143 years, someone is still flaking out over the Civil War..??? Grow up and get real, we have another war to contend with and it involves ALL of us..
N5CTI
11-03-2003, 05:31 PM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (kb8nds @ Nov. 03 2003,10:35)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I'm originally from Texas (5) and got licensed when I moved to West Virginia (8). #When I got my vanity call, I elected to stick with an 8 rather than a 5.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
And by contrast, I absolutely had to have a 5 call, to reflect the fact that I'm a Texan. But I think that's the beauty of it, Nick, we each get to choose.
Here in our neck of the woods where Nick and I live (NE WV, N VA and W MD), we're at the convergence of the 3, 4 & 8 call districts. On short-haul comms, nobody really cares much. On longer-distance calls and QSOs, it only makes sense to stick the "/4" on the end (at least part of the time) so no one gets confused.
But I'm sure many disagree. But that's good, too! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
kb8nds
11-03-2003, 06:13 PM
Also,
when I'm operating mobile or portable, I use the /"x", where "x" is the number of the area that I'm in.
Example:
Mobile in Hagerstown:
"This is KB8NDS mobile 3"
P.S. - N5CTI, I didn't know that you were on here.
I'm a Zero. Was born a zero, licensed as a zero, and will die a zero. I've lived in zero-land, 6-land (gasp!, but only for 3 months), 8-land, and now 5-land. No way would I want to change!
Especially now, with quick internet callsign lookups, the numeric designator is not nearly as meaningful as it used to be.
My wife's a 5, my kids will probably be 5s, but I'll keep my Ø, thank you very much.
Dave NØRQ
K1MAE
11-03-2003, 09:38 PM
Even though I live in Brooklyn NY; I am from New England and have a soft spot for that area so the K1MAE is a vanity call because the MAE is my XYL's initals. So I have the best of both world's.
K0RGR
11-03-2003, 09:59 PM
I started out as WB6RGR, slightly after the Civil War. When I earned the Extra, I applied for an upgraded call, and got N6FF - a good CW call, but horrible on phone! The 'Fox' phonetic works very poorly. When I moved to 0 land, I applied for an appropriate 0 call and was assigned WF0H. Still had a 'Fox' in it, but it was not a bad call. However, many of the locals had trouble with it, and there are others around here with very similar sounding calls.
So, I set out to see if my father's call was still available - W6VPV. I was going to get it, or generate a 0 equivalent of it. But I noticed that the 'RGR' call was available so I went back to that. Now, everybody thinks I'm a Technician, and they think my call is KC0RGR like everybody else's. You just can't win!
I want to move to another call district so I can try again! My Dad was W9YDW before the war, so maybe I should just move 30 miles to Wisconsin.
One disturbing thing is that N6FF has been reassigned, and is held by a DXer and QSL manager. I keep getting cards for him, even though I haven't been N6FF for over 15 years!
k0xxx
11-03-2003, 11:06 PM
We owned property in both, Ø land (MO) and 5 land (AR), less than twenty miles apart. Our plan was to live in AR until my daughter completed school and then build on our more rural property in MO. So when choosing a vanity call, I went with the Zero figuring that was where I'd live out my retirement.
Time has a way of altering the best laid plans and I ended up selling the land in MO. Will I change my call back to a 5? No, this call has been too much fun and it's now a part of me. Heck, if the number is that big of a deal, maybe someone should petition the FCC to change the system to reflect the individual states, ie.; 1 - 50 and 51 and up for the possesions.
73 and hope to meet you on the air!
Mark, KØXXX in beautiful downtown Hardy, Arkansas #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif
Well, I am guilty, folks. I agreed with the post, and wish the FCC had required that callsigns continue to reflect the address of the licensee. But the FCC did not maintain that requirement and in 1986 when I moved to Missouri I kept my callsign of 7 years.
My opinion of the gutting of such regulations is far more nefarious: I tend to believe the FCC has been progressively easing the regulation of our hobby in the hope that we will show ourselves "unworthy stewards" of our allocated radio spectrum, and eventually (decades, folks...there are international treaties) the FCC will be able to point to reckless, lawless behavior on the bands and terminate the service. Perhaps a paranoid view that ascribes to the decision-makers at FCC far too much long-term vision.
Howbeit, I two weeks ago I finally applied for a vanity callsign, that of my Elmer. Yes, he was a W2, and one of the finest CW operators (and gentlemen) I ever knew. I spent weeks wrestling with the decision, polling several hams and non-hams (my dad, N0JT STRENUOUSLY disagrees with my decision, as does my mother) and considering it carefully. I came to the decision that my Elmer would have been glad, perhaps honored, to have his callsign continued by me. Perhaps I have deceived myself.
I would whole-heartedly support a return to mandatory changing of callsigns, even though I am enjoying the benefit of not being forced only to use a zero-land call.
Ambivalent as always (a common human trait)
Art http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
W8LOV
11-04-2003, 12:08 AM
I think one should be allowed to change calls to any districts they like, but should then be required to move to that district!
Now we're getting on track!
Joe
N8UZE
11-04-2003, 04:04 AM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (KC5JSR @ Nov. 03 2003,00:21)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Anyway I wish I could move then I would change my call sign, maybe something to denote the class operator I am. and maybe something like N5PU, I think that's a classic, no disrespect to N5PU because I know where he's coming from. Actually, I would need a few more letters in my call since I'm only a General class Operator.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
The ONLY way you can now get a call sign reflecting that you are a general class operator is to go the vanity route. ALL sequentially assigned 1x3 calls are used up. Moving will NOT get you anything but another 2x3.
all this vanity call is interesting, however if you are a female you wouldnt want the vanity call of N0PWE, sorry couldnt resist
n4ems
11-04-2003, 04:33 AM
I am one of those folks that believes that if you live in a "4" area, you should be a "4" and so on. When I moved from Detroit to Tampa in 2001 I changed my call from KC8MAS to N4DMJ although not right away.
I figured if I was going to live here permanantly I should be a "4". Though I had come accustomed to my "8" call and had some reservations about changing my call I ultimately felt it was the right thing to do.
I agree with the original post that the FCC's changing of the rules regarding this was not one of there better ideas.
73 de N4DMJ
Eric in Shady Hills, FL
Didn't know squat about call signs. My Mother's maiden name was AYO and her brother, my uncle got me interested in Ham radio years ago. He is dead now, and when I took my tests, I said a little prayer to my uncle to help me remember the answers. Well, I got the FCC next in sequence call and it was AG4YO. SInce I am 4th generation AYO in America, thought it would be bad to get rid of it!! Besides, it is very melodical on CW. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
ka4emr
11-04-2003, 05:26 AM
I like the call I was assigned in 1978, and have held through each license class Novice through Extra - KA4 ElectroMagnetic Radiation. When I sign it "Portable 9" during DX contests and Field Day, I am often afforded extra consideration by the DX. (Likewise /VE6 at my in-laws, or wherever.) I quite agree that a callsign should indicate location, which is precisely what "Portable" can indicate. And, yes, I do visit my mom in Kentucky and use my Plain Jane call, hi. Chris, KA4EMR/9
kg6msx
11-04-2003, 08:25 AM
Why doesn't the US follow some European countries, which use the number to identify the class/level of operating privilege? One could apply for any letters they wanted, as long as the number matched their class/level.
WD9FRF
11-04-2003, 01:27 PM
Wouldn't it be ironic, if after everyone finished getting clever and cutsie vanity calls, that having an original, one-owner, call that told people who you are, what you are, where you are and what your amateur history has been, became the best vanity call of all. HI HI
Jim, WD9FRF
I have had an out of district callsign since 1986. #I have held my call since 1977. #I was first licensed in 1972. #I have never had a problem with having an out of district call except when I get the occasional static from hams who are frustrated by their inability to control what callsign I have. #They usually want to know why I do not have a 9 call and they always wish the FCC would change just that one little thing about callsign assignments as if that would solve everything.
Let's go back in time 30 years. #There was no vanity program; no VECs, no A and N prefixes, and if you were an extra you had to have been licensed 20 (or maybe it was 25) years before you could get a 1X2 callsign, unless you were one of the few who got grandfathered by being able to furnish proof of having been licensed before 1924 (yes there were a few OTs around then who offered to pay thousands of dollars for a page from an old callbook or anything else they could use for proof since the FCC had lost their records in a fire.) #Anyway, you could pretty much tell a ham's license class and/or when he was licensed by his call in addition to his QTH. #You got your call handed you from the FCC--no choice in the matter and that was that until you either moved to another district, or got an extra and waited until you could get a 1x2 call.
The upshot was that there were tons of unassigned "preferred" calls (FCC's term, not mine), i.e. 1x2s and 1x3s beginning with W and K so a ham like me with one was almost guaranteed of getting a similar call upon relocating. #Thanks to the vanity program those days are long gone. #Therefore, if I were to move to say, Idaho and be forced by FCC to get a 7 call, I'd never be able to get a W7xx or K7xx call; I'd be forced to accept something else.
I have no problem with a rule change and getting assigned a new call from the FCC provided we roll the clock back on all the other callsign rule changes, dump the vanity program and put it all back the way it was about 1972, so hams with 1x2 and 1x3 calls will get similar calls at their new QTHs. #And no, gaming the vanity program which I have never used, to fight with others over the paltry few remaining 1x2s doesn't cut it. #The old way, where you got baptized by the FCC and that was that was fine with me. #What's that? You say you don't like that idea; that you want everything to be the way it is now except for the one part about out of district callsigns? #Er, sorry, but I don't think so, and every complaining ham has agreed with me, once I've had the chance to explain the situation to them. #Most are unaware of the history of callsign assignments. #It's a moot point however, since the FCC is not going to spend the money on the deluge of reassignments that would result from a ban on out of district calls.
73,
Rob Atkinson
K5UJ
Sorry folks, but I WILL keep my # # # # # # #
# #(randomly/sequentially selected) callsign...
# #and I'll always be located
# #"just a little bit southeast of Anchorage"...
# #73,
# #Women Love Seven Young Men...
# #WL7YM
K1VSG
11-05-2003, 03:46 AM
When the call area number was first used, my guess
is, it was not unlike many Foriegn countries; most
people stayed in the same "family" area. Other than some signing"portable/#", the automatic number change should have stayed as standard proceedure.
WPE1CGI /KN1VSG //K1VSG .
WB8NHV
11-05-2003, 09:29 AM
I have had my callsign since my Novice days in 1972, over 30 years ago, and do not intend to change it. The FCC has done away with the rules which stated, years ago, that an amateur will be assigned a new callsign if he/she moves to another call area. I fail to see where it is written in stone that hams absolutely must change their callsigns these days, even if they move across the country. One can always append "portable (call area number)" to his/her callsign if outside the call area the callsign reflects. I'm surprised no one here seems to have thought of that.
#As I said above, I have had my callsign for over 30 years and will not change it, traditions be darned. By whose authority is it "traditional" for a ham to change his/her call sign, just to get one that has a number matching the callsign area in which he/she lives? #It is not required any longer to do so, as I stated. Until or unless it again becomes mandatory for amateurs to change their callsigns when moving outside of their call area (which, IMO, is an artificial designation anyhow that has been rendered useless and therefore has been stricken from the FCC's rules), I will keep my callsign, 8 in the middle and all. I am neither a DXer nor a very active ham anymore since moving to an apartment almost four years ago, so all this talk about the importance of changing callsigns for different call areas really means nothing to me. I can see how it might be important for a big-gun DXer with an Extra-class license to adhere to the so-called "tradition" of having a callsign that reflects his/her actual state or area of residence, but for folks like myself with General tickets who don't operate much, this tradition went out of style many years ago. Traditions be darned, I'll say it again, I intend to keep my callsign the rest of my life, even in the unlikely event I someday move to a state which is in another call area (I was born and raised in Ohio and intend to stay here).
#Let's not get worked up over this call-sign issue. Ham radio is supposed to be a hobby, and we are supposed to be having fun pursuing it. Life is too short to become engaged in battles of wits or arguments, over outdated traditions (in amateur radio, etc.) or anything else.
P. S. The attached image is of my station installation as of early 2003. Icom IC-725, MFJ-405 electronic keyer, HamKey HK-1 iambic keyer paddle, Kenwood HC-10 DXer's world clock, Astron RS-35A 35-amp power supply. For 2 meters I have an Icom IC-T22A handheld and a Midland 13-510A 25-watt rig (the latter currently in storage). Antenna for HF is a Barker & Williamson AP-10A apartment portable system, 40-10 meters; on my 2m HT, an MFJ 3/8-wave telescoping antenna. The data processing arm of my station (not pictured) is in the front part of my apartment and consists of an IBM Aptiva 595, Hewlett-Packard Deskjet 832C inkjet printer, and HP Pavilion MX-70 monitor (lost the last monitor when the power supply supposedly went dead on a Saturday night three months ago; bought the HP monitor the next day).
I apologize for rambling like this, but I enjoy ham radio so much that when I start talking or writing about it, it's darn hard to shut me up!
73,
# # # Jeff, WB8NHV (No High Voltage)
Callsign sounds good in CW too!
W2DEA
11-05-2003, 02:15 PM
Hello all,
Well I have a vanity and I live in Brooklyn New York.
but my first call was KC2LLN it was a mouth full. in Sep of this year I took my up grade and asked for a systamatic call change and was then KC2LZQ Now that was a mouth full. Like I said I am from Brooklyn born and raised. I am Italian and Have the Italian Brooklyn accent so any one that has been in Brooklyn will know what I am talking about.I sent away for a Vanity and got it. Now MY Wife (KC2LYV)Melanie and I are looking to move to Georgia. I am from New York this is where #I am from I am very proud of this as well as any one here is proud of where they come from. all I am saying is I like the idear of moving and being able to keep my vanity. I think it says a lot about where you come from Thats all. # #
73's Ray #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
It USED to be that if you applied for a callsign it was issued with a digit commensurate with the call area that the ADDRESS of the licensee indicated.
For example, if your licensed location is MD, you apply and get a callsign with a '3' as the area indicator. If you live in MO, you get a 'zero' for the call area indicator.
If you moved.. you either applied for a new callsign OR you signed 'portable X' on 'phone or '/X' on CW/printed modes.
It was that simple. That way you could get a callsign, and keep it even if you moved. (This is true ONLY after the FCC changed the archaic rule that said if you moved out of your original call area of issue you had to get a new callsign)
THEN anyone could tell what call area you were in by the 'portable X' or '/X' designator.
They ALSO used to require you to sign 'mobile X' when in a conveyance that was capable of being operated while in motion, including a boat inside the 12 mile limit. Mobile was mobile. The only difference was 'aeronautical mobile' and that applied to ANYTHING operated in a vehicle that left the earth and flew above it at any height.
Marine mobile did not exist - and still does not exist as a legal identifier. Maritime Mobile Region 'X' does, but only after you leave the territorial waters of the United States.
But since the FCC has abdicated almost ALL their responsibility for oversight of the Amateur Service.. one can ID with almost ANYTHING you want to use and further confuse the issue.
As for W5HTW's idea about the WAAAAA1111 id..
Let's take it one step farther and make it VERY logical, very easy to use and administer, and bring it into the MAINSTREAM of the desires and wishes of many people!
I think we COULD shorten it and just have three letters and four digits since the USA is allocated AAA-ALZ as authorized ITU prefixs.
Like AAA0001 through ALZ9999. Would allow signs like ASS1200, AMA1234! Folks COULD even participate in a 'vanity' style program where they would pay a fee and ask for a certain prefix or prefix/number combination!
There would a great deal of combinations available and we'd NEVER run out.
In fact.. there woudl be NO 'classification by type of license!" You would have a callsign that would show your position in the hierarchy which would only have TWO classifications. AAA-AEA for those who pass the HIGHER Level test (only one) and AFA-ALZ for those who havent.!
When you upgrade, you can apply for a callsign in the new block OR (and here's the new wrinkle)
You could contact someone who had a callsign you liked. You could negotiate with that person to either PURCHASE their callsign OR you could RENT it!
If you BOUGHT it, the person would either SWAP calls with you, OR relinquish their call and apply fora new one or just relinquish it and not be licensed anymore.
If they rent it from you, YOU keep the callsign and continue to operate as you always have! The renter would sign with designator after the callsign to show it is rented! (for example, ASS1234 rents his call to AAB2345.. ASS1234 would continue to keep the call and operate normally. AAB2345 would (assuming he is the first renter) now sign ASS1234 unit 1.
The beauty is that ASS1234 COULD rent his callsign out to an unlimited number of folks! You could have ASS1234 unit 99, ASS1234 unit 1000..
The wrinkle is that the FCC would get a 'cut' of the rent - say 10 percent of the total YEARLY rent,s ent in one lump sum each year! minimum rent would be such that the FCC woudl get 10 bux a year in fees!
Imagine! having a prestigoius callsign and renting out AND also helping the FCC defray costs of operating! WOW! (Family members would, of course, be able to RENT the call without fee and would have a reserved block of UNIT NUMBERS ranging from UNIT 1 throught UNIT 15. That would cover ALMOST any sized family!http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
Since CW is no longer an ITU requirement, there would be no need for a separate licensee class denoting proficiency in CW!
WHY!! you could even decide to place POWER OUTPUT as a means of providing an incentive for folks to upgrade! 50W or less for the folks and they would be denoted by the AFA-ALZ prefix! 50W to 1500W output for AAA-AEA prefixed folks!
To think.. in keeping withthe fact that the 5 MHz band is channelized, which has helped folks keep in touch and make sure we have GOOD communicaitons links during emergencies we can then 'channelize' the ham bands into discrete channels AND some of the channels can be designated for SPECIFIC uses!
Emergency calls only, PSK/DIGITAL only, CW ONLY, SSB ONLY, Contest only, Why, the possibilities are limitless!
Since the rigs are now software programmable and controllable, the manufacturers would program them to be VERY easy to use by the operator. All the operator does is turn it on, wait for the internal self-check to run, and then press a BUTTON (or series of buttons) to have the system AUTOMATCIALLY set up the operating parameters, tune the transmitter to match to the antenna, set up the audio inputs,e tc.
ALL the operater would have to do was turn it on, push the button, and operate! No mistuned outputs! No badly operated audio sections! WOW! Talk about a quantum leap for ham radio!
THEN. after the dust settles, they can allow ANYONE to join in for free and simplyapply for a callsign since no operator adjustments need be made and no technical knowledge is needed! JUST communicate!
WOW! I think this is the 'wave of the future!!"
oh yes. we also will want to integrate our operating styles with the professional radio services we wish to emulate. So we'll have to adopt additional operating codes consisting of groups of numbers separate by a pause and then another set of numbers to indicate the action. The first set of digits should be somethign universal so as to make sure ALL are consistent.
Something like the digits '1' and '0' in keeping with the current state of the art DIGITAL world! It would said as 'TEN' since we don't want to complicate the activity for the average operator.
Then we could have the range of 1 to 100 to designate (shorthand) varoius meanings - similiar to the complex and much maligned Q and Z signals we use today.
For example, since being able to hear the transmitter is teh basic thing, the first set of digits SHOULD be used to determine if you can hear the transmitter or not.
Since NOT hearing it would be the most used one (since it is the most important to know) it would be the FIRST digit.
So you woudl have '10' followed by a '1' ergo - '10-1' pronounced 'TEN ONE' which would clearly tell the other guy you can't hear him. Since you want to know that you CAN hear him, the next one would be a '2' (logically)! So we have '10-2' pronoucned 'ten two'.
Of coruse we'd always want to embellish it andt hat's fine!
So if your signal was REALLY loud, you could tell the guy '10-2 and SMOKING!'
So you see the evolution to the AAA-ALZ and four digits, changes to make the rigs operate properly with minimal user intervention, reduction in FCC workload and adminstration by only having TWO license groups (no CW) separated ONLY by POWER OUTPUT and clearly defined by prefix, no need to modify or renew ticket (good for life), plus the ease of integrating with professional services that we would serve...
I think its a good thing!
What do you all think??
73
K3FT
(OK..TAKE YOUR TONGUE OUT OF YOUR RIGHT CHEEK!!!http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
N5CTI
11-05-2003, 05:59 PM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (WB8NHV @ Nov. 05 2003,04:29)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">One can always append "portable (call area number)" to his/her callsign if outside the call area the callsign reflects. I'm surprised no one here seems to have thought of that.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I'm surprised that you're surprised, Jeff, since it's been mentioned (either "portable" or "/") several times throughout this thread. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (k4om @ Nov. 02 2003,19:13)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I live in West Virginia and my callsign is K4OM.
I do not see this as a problem since West Virginia was formed from Virginia in the War of the Northern Agression and my part of West Virginia stayed loyal to Virginia. #K8OM was unavailable as it belongs to another member of my family. #The rules are the rules.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
"The War of Northern Agression?" Get a life!
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (AG4YO @ Nov. 04 2003,00:47)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Didn't know squat about call signs. #My Mother's maiden name was AYO and her brother, my uncle got me interested in Ham radio years ago. #He is dead now, and when I took my tests, I said a little prayer to my uncle to help me remember the answers. #Well, I got the FCC next in sequence call and it was AG4YO. #SInce I am 4th generation AYO in America, thought it would be bad to get rid of it!! #Besides, it is very melodical on CW. #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Cool! My original call was KC2AYO. Maybe we're related?
I understand the furstration of some to working someone with a call that doesn't match their location. However, I must point out that it is a decision that the FCC made sometime ago and many of worked hard to get a 1X2 or 2X1 call. I for one would be willing to change if there were a 1X2 or 2X1 call available in my call area that I could obtain and all others were made to do the same. Otherwise I will remain a 5 in the 4th district, and could care less about not having a call that matched the district.
Gary NW5E
KD4NDK
11-06-2003, 01:11 AM
Hmmm.....To change or not to change, that is the question,(after a move to asnother region).... Speaking for myself, I moved into the 8th region a few years ago and retained my 4th region call, even after upgrades to General and Extra. This is something that I've struggled with and had been mulling trying for a 10th region vanity call, since I was born and raised there, and acquired my love of radio while there. (Yes, gasp, that would mean giving up my treasured 4 call.) However, after having read some of the previous comments, common sense may finally be breaking out here, and I am finally going to make the change to a new call, one not only reflecting the fact that I'm in the 8th region, but also indicating that I hold an Extra class license. Thanks for waking me up, all!!
73!!
G3OOK
11-06-2003, 04:06 PM
As a foreign ham, as far as I am concerned the call area system in the U.S. has irretrievably broken down already so why do you not just scrap it altogether?
With WM7's in New Jersey and KQ2's in Utah, you might as well ditch the Worked All States and U.S. Counties Awards while you are at it. After all you cannot tell from the callsign within the best part of 3000 miles just where a U.S. station is located nowadays.
This is a frequently aired gripe by stations here in the U.K, Europe and indeed the rest of the world and strikes many of us as a very inward looking policy by the U.S. Example. I am searching for North Dakota on CW - could that WB3 be in Bismarck or the KZ1 in Grand Forks? Nah, the WB3 is in San Diego and the KZ1 is in Magnolia, Arkansas. But they do have their initials in the call. Great system, guys!
To those stations who do sign "Portable Zero" or "/7" after their calls when out of area it is really appreciated out here and I say a big thanks. And I know I am speaking for many foreign hams!
73 #- John #- G3OOK
PS - Maybe wrong but I thought three letters and four number calls were issued to fishing boats and small craft - but hey, what the heck. After all you have a history of this. A four letter callsign under your system (e.g. KBOB) could either be a merchant ship or an AM/FM broadcaster. When I was at sea WINS, WCKY, WQAM, KIKK and all the other broadcasters were uniquely listed among the merchant ships in the ITU official publication of International Maritime Stations and Ship Callsigns! #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
n1zzz
11-06-2003, 04:11 PM
N1ZZZ is my first and only callsign. It was issued sequencially and I like it too much to give it up.
Now since I am in W4-land and will soon be going to W6-land, I do identify myself as N1ZZZ/4 whenever i am on DX bands, and usually only drop the /4 when I am on local repeaters.
This system lets me keep my really good call, yet keeps people straight as to the district i am operating in. my 2 cents.
73
Jeremy N1ZZZ
"73 #- John #- G3OOK
PS - Maybe wrong but I thought three letters and four number calls were issued to fishing boats and small craft - but hey, what the heck. After all you have a history of this. A four letter callsign under your system (e.g. KBOB) could either be a merchant ship or an AM/FM broadcaster. When I was at sea WINS, WCKY, WQAM, KIKK and all the other broadcasters were uniquely listed among the merchant ships in the ITU official publication of International Maritime Stations and Ship Callsigns!"
Actually, three letters and four numbers (for the old timers), were how CB call letters were issued also. #This is way back in the 50's, 60's & 70's when call letters were still a requirement. #FCC dropped that too! #Example: KBO-2260, KQD-3894 etc.
BTW, you also had to have in your possession an FCC rule book (part 95 I think) that you read, understood and stated that you did read it and understood it prior to getting your license. There was a little acknowledgement on the license form to check off on this.
K2WH
KL7FZ
11-06-2003, 06:26 PM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (k5ahh @ Nov. 02 2003,16:19)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif # I was let down one day on 6 meters when I had just spoken with a KL7 Alaska, station. #I later looked up the callsign, but he was really in Oregon, or somewhere near there. #Oh well.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Yep. #The Alaska thing is a real screwup by the FCC. An Alaskan station can now have any numerical designator between Ø and 9. The "L" is still present but to hear a KLØXX or KL9XX is deceptive. One of the more strange callsign moves by the commission.
I guess the only thing to do at this point with callsigns is go back to requiring the /area where you reside when operation in a different area.
I would love to have my dad's call (a W4) which he held for over 50 years but it just would not do to have it in Alaska.
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif
Re: The War of Northern Aggression: Everyone from below the Mason-Dixon knows that Lee did NOT surrender to Grant. Lee just thought Grant was a blacksmith and gave him his sword to sharpen. # # # # # # http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif #
#Steve KL7FZ
w9uss
11-07-2003, 01:16 AM
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif How about the Grid Square for a prefix (ie: dn17sik) ? Then we would have a pretty good idea of the QTH.
How many hams could live in a grid http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (K2WH @ Nov. 06 2003,12:12)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Actually, three letters and four numbers (for the old timers), were how CB call letters were issued also. #This is way back in the 50's, 60's & 70's when call letters were still a requirement. #FCC dropped that too! #Example: KBO-2260, KQD-3894 etc.
BTW, you also had to have in your possession an FCC rule book (part 95 I think) that you read, understood and stated that you did read it and understood it prior to getting your license. #There was a little acknowledgement on the license form to check off on this.
K2WH[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
My old CB callsign was KAXN-9546. Sometimes even use that old call on 11, just to hear the reaction...
Those were the days.. Even CB was civilized back then....
W5HTW
11-07-2003, 05:58 PM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (kb7sik @ Nov. 06 2003,18:16)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">??? How about the Grid Square for a prefix (ie: dn17sik) ? Then we would have a pretty good idea of the QTH.
How many hams could live in a grid ???[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Yeah! I like it! Call sign: AAB1434/DM6RWR Hmmmm.
K2WH - the early CB call signs were like: 1W4122, 2Q3144, etc. I believe, though it has been a long time for this old man's memory and I wasn't into CB then (but my father-in-law was) there were 15 "call" districts, so maybe a license in the 15th district would be 15W2159? This was in 1959 and 1960 through possibly 1963 or so. Then the FCC, though keeping the districts, changed the call sign system to the three letters and four numbers. About that time is when I met my wife to be and learned of her father's interest in CB. I also got a CB license and I remember the call still - KKI-0445. That lasted about three months, and I gave the radios away.
I honestly do not know what accepted procedure is used on 11 meters today but I recall a few years ago hearing someone say it was your initials and your zip code, or maybe your street address. Since it is an unregulated activity, I am not sure there IS an accepted, or even 'suggested,' procedure. But I think the three letter/four digit calls continued into the mid 1970s.
Other comments:
"Marine mobile" is an unofficial designator used by hams on boats, including rowboats, operating WITHIN the territorial waters of the US. But it isn't required! That includes inside the 12 mile limit, and along the intercoastal waterways, as well as in dock. "Maritime mobile" is the official designator for hams on boats of any type operating outside the territorial waters of any nation. It is also used with the Region designator, such as Region II or Region I. It IS required.
"Air mobile" is like marine mobile. Aircraft inside the US. "Aeronautical mobile" was originally used the same as maritime mobile, but has more recently become accepted for use inside the US as well. Outside US airspace, that IS required.
Signing "mobile" of any type is not required within the USA, whether it's air, marine, car, bike, balloon or horseback. It was required, even if you were just going to the store a block away. If you operated mobile you had to say so, and give the call area in which you were operating.
Also, signing "portable X" or "slant x" is no longer required.
Maritime stations had call letters similar to broadcast stations - four letters, beginning with a K or a W. However, private marine stations, such as on fishing boats, had call signs that were three letters and four numbers, like the CB calls. WNQ1234, for example. Of course, all those sequences were long since used up, as the same system was used for land-mobile stations such as in the public safety band. (Back in the 60s a lot of PS stations were three letters and three numbers, but when that sequence filled they added a digit. Like KGA223. There might also be a KGA2232)
We hams had a sensible and logical system for years, but it didn't begin that way, and it will never be that way again. While I lament the passing of the logicality of it, the sheer numbers would overwhelm any system other than the ridiculous (like the grid square!) so it's another case of "them days is gone ferever." I am a bit apprehensive about where we go from here, I admit. Do I see a future of self-assigned call signs looming on the near horizon.
Ed
What possible difference does it make if the number in your call relflects the old "zones" once mandatory? I've been a ham a long time and have a call in my "zone", but thats because I like it. If someone in NY wants a Zero, who cares?
I do like the idea of restrictions on KH, KL, KP, etc., because it is easy to tell you are out of the lower 48. But here on the mainland, not important.
Oh, speaking of zero, please send me a zero (5 dahs) It may take half second longer to send, but worth it for not messing up my timing. The three rules of good CW is timing, timing, timing. If you must abreviate, send the letter "O" (3 dahs) at least thats one that will click in my brain. The long dah really messes me up.
73 Marty W4MY
As a member of the armed forces, I end up moving around quite a bit. #If I had to change callsigns every time I changed call districts, I'd be getting a new call every 1-2 years. #All callsign recognition I had would be gone. #Friends of mine would have to remember my new call....I'd even have to change my web site address. #Not really something I'd enjoy doing if it was a requirement.
Usually, with some basic experience of propagation, you'll have an idea where someone's at regardless of the number in their call. #If you're in NJ, it's unlikely that W6 you're hearing is in CA in mid afternoon on 80 meters.
73, Dave N2NL/4
MKC, US Coast Guard
www.n2nl.net
In all this discussion about zone numbers rule changes, we need to remember that the organization which makes the rules is in reality in possession of the least amount of intelligence. #Robert Townsend, in his insightful book "Up the Organization", said it all: #The intelligence of any committee is inversely proportional to the number of members on that committee. #Who could argue with the record of good old Fox Charley Charley? #
Just a few examples, in no particular order: #
1. Citizen's Band (now you folks can't talk to distant stations, you hear?) on 27 mHz, a long-skip band. #
2. Digital Television, a boondoggle foisted upon us by the US Government/FCC, which we never asked for. #I was SOOOO tempted to buy a new digital/HDTV a few days ago, but just couldn't quite scrape up the thousands of bucks.... #
3. Then there is the 5WPM Extra Class license, and now the talk of no-code HF licenses. #
4. #For those of us in the C-band satellite world a few years back, I always wondered why the satellite receiving band coincided with the terrestrial telephone communications band. #If your earth station was in a telephone microwave path, you were in big trouble. #Could it have been..... let me see..... # perhaps..... the FCC???
I gave up on trying to keep up, I just watch and wonder what is next along the path from here to the final state of affairs, which I imagine will be total anarchy on the airwaves (kinda like a contest weekend......).
Dan Metcalf KO7R
KC9EOI
11-08-2003, 06:16 AM
Get over it. So your initial excitement was tempered by reality. It happens. I happen to live in 9-land, but hold a 7-land call because I took the call of my late brother in law out of respect for him. Yes, KB7NFV is much harder to send in code than KC9EOI, but it's my choice and the FCC allows it, whether you like it or not.
I plan to upgrade to extra in the next few months, and when I do I will be keeping the KB7NFV call. I will hold it until someone in his family decides to become a ham and asks for it.
A more interesting question raised by this rant is why must hams continually invent controversy where none need exist? Have you nothing better to worry about?
Hey, I'm all over this out of district thing.
Having a "6" call is the worst for dxing and contesting.
WX7B
Santa Rosa, CA
I agree that call signs should mean something. #
# # However, I am much more concerned about the level of achievement they reflect than I am about the geographic location they imply. #I worked very hard to get my code speed to 20 wpm and I would have liked my call to remain a simple, subtle, herald of that accomplishment. #I find the dumbing down of licensing requirement distressing for that reason and others.
# # Still, I wouldn't want to loose my 2x1 call simply because I move to a different region. #Any confusion the loss of meaning in the digit might cause can quickly be over come by taking these simple steps:
1. Don't assume the digit means something.
2. Make QTH? the first or second question you ask.
3. Failing that, use QRZ.com to look up the station you're listening to (you guys clearly know how to use a computer). http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
3333333
WS8E
P.S. I don't think the original post was a rant. Additionally, I don't understand why someone who doesn't think the issue is important, "contraversal" or worth worrying about would bother posting a reply.
wp3bm
11-08-2003, 04:08 PM
Hi!
When going DX on 6 meter, I always give the grid square I am in, just to avoid confussion.
Gabriel Sierra, WP3BM
KE1AS
11-09-2003, 03:15 PM
I think I like my call sign , KE1AS. Am new as a ham and have no equipment yet, Just enjoyed taking the tests.
Some day i'll have lots of treasures.
73's Terry http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
KG4OOA
11-09-2003, 05:07 PM
This whole thing is a bucket of puke. No one owns a callsign, they belong to FCC and are assigned to a licensee by the licensor for the #use of the licensee. There is NO ownership nor should there ever be or have been. Let your buddies know your new call. I think theyt will still talk to you. It ain't your name even though the egotists think it is.
All this vanity system is for is to SELL you what is free. That's right; just to seperate you from some of your money. #The FCC has no more interest in knowing where you are located when on the air than I have of knowing the temperature of the inside of your refrigerator.
I would rather go back to the old system all the way around. Then I could have an idea of where to look for you egotists.
73
Bob
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif7--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (KG4OOA @ Nov. 09 2003,09http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif7)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I would rather go back to the old system all the way around. Then I could have an idea of where to look for you egotists.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Uh, it's called the callsign lookup, you know, like qrz.com.
I don't see how the FCC separating me from my $15 makes me an egotist.
The "old" system had provisions for vanity calls way back, and yes, they were free. Hmmmm, FREE egotists! I guess they are more pure than paying egotists.
WX7B (Ego shown by capital letters) and out of district
WA9SVD
11-10-2003, 12:50 AM
"JAB" and humor understood, but give General Lee more credit than that. To say he mistook Geeral Grant for a blacksmith is an insult to both the generals. If General Lee made such an error, he never would have risen to a position of command in ANY army.
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (KE1AS @ Nov. 09 2003,11:15)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I think I like my call sign , KE1AS. Am new as a ham and have no equipment yet, Just enjoyed taking the tests.
Some day i'll have lots of treasures.
# # # # # # # # # #73's # Terry # http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
.. as you were licensed at least as far back as 12 October, 1994, and hold an Advanced class license, I would say that you're not really "new" as a ham. You may or may not have any equipment, but I'm not sure what it is you're trying to convince us of by saying you're a "new" ham.
kg4bvd
11-11-2003, 06:24 AM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (na4it @ Nov. 02 2003,18:34)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">"We're sorry, you have reached a call sign that hs been disconnected or no longer exists..."
HIHI[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
During debates that people take so serious to the point that they actually start fumming over comments, I love to see people with your attitude (humor) mixed in. It brings the the playing field back into perspective and reminds us all that it is a serious hobby, but we are all on the same team, good or bad, we gotta make the best of it...
73,
Walter
kc8qoy
11-11-2003, 03:33 PM
Interesting thread..
I have gotten so used to my ugly call that I wouldn't want to change it. I use my call for many things, especially ebay and my vanity (and free) Michigan license plate. Even if I upgrade to a higher class, I would want to keep my call.
Its not only a ham radio id, its other stuff too.
73.. KC8QOY
ab8rx
11-11-2003, 08:45 PM
Hi again!!
Remember me? I posted a reply to the original message under kd4ndk, (my old call). I stated in my reply that I was mulling the idea of changing to a call that indicated the region I was living in. Well, I've gone and done so. My new call is ab8rx. Personally I don't see much of a change from a 2x3 call to a 2x2 call, however I was delighted to see that my new call not only contains my late father's initials, AB, but also all three of mine,what with the "R" being in there. So what? I hear you thinking....Well, how's this for a coincidence: AB8RX is NOT a vanity call, it was systematically assigned by the computer. Is that neat or what? : ))
C'ya on the bands!!
73!!
Roger
WA2KLS
11-11-2003, 10:12 PM
Well. . .where to begin. . .
I've been off the air for about 20 years and have just recently gotten 'bitten' by the ham radio bug again.
After moving to CA from NJ a little over a year ago #I decided to change my call to reflect the area in which I will be operating from. It was important to me to have a 6 call sign now that I live in CA.
So many things have changed since I was active, things that will take some getting use to. The no code and non area-specific callsigns are two that I will never understand and may never get used to.
The lack of a code requirement really makes no sense to me. The arguement that CW is a 'dinosaur' and isn't needed anymore is ridiculous. The same arguement could be said of voice comms (via ham radio) versus the internet. Maybe ham radio should be done away with since we can communicate in 'real time' via the computer and don't need to 'get on the air' anymore to make contact with people all over the world. #
And enough has been said in this thread already about why call area's should still be reflected in a call sign so I won't say anymore about that.
Change simply for the sake of change is NOT progress, it is simply change. It does not make the hobby better. What it does is make it less of an honored fraternity and more of a child's plaything. There's a 2mtr repeater here in Southern CA that is populated by 'young' hams who use 'f*** this' and 'f*** that' in their on air conversations just as much as a good CW op uses the Q codes during a CW contest. These hams misuse their license priveledges by operating just as they please without any form of discipline whatsoever. . .a situation that I suspect would never have developed had they had to study and learn the code to 'earn' their licenses in the first place. When Amateur tickets become so easy to obtain, they lose a lot of their value. . .and when our licenses are handed out like just so much toilet paper, then I guess I really can't blame those 'young hams' for treating them as such.
But, I digress. I, for one, DO wish that callsigns were still issued with respect to the area that the permanent station would be operating from. It made sense when call signs were first issued by the FCC and it makes sense today. I can't see ANY reason for this change.
Sorry for the long dissertation. . .I guess I've been off the air for so long that I needed to vent about some of the negative things I've found since I've come back to the hobby.
73, Barry WA2KLS (soon to become K6ADZ)
I have scrapped a lot of TV's and Radio's over the years so I got junk...Built all of my equipment with the junk when a was a code only Ham in the early 70's. What you couldn't do with a 6LQ6 Tube. So much for junk....Call Signs, the way Ham Radio is going, in ten years Call Signs as we know them will be a thing of the past, everyone will be using Handles or E-Mails adresses for calls, as they have all but done away with the code, licenses I suppose will be next. Just my Two Cents worth. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif
K9TOD
11-12-2003, 03:32 AM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (KD7EFQ @ Nov. 02 2003,16:15)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I can see your point. However, I am planning to apply for a vanity call that actually spells my name. Trouble is, I have to go from a 7 to a 0 to spell KT0DD. It is catchy to me to be able to do this. But I would not want to move from Wyoming to Colorado just to do this. I notice this call is unused in the database, so hopefully I'll get it. 73.
Todd, KD7EFQ (hopefully soon to be KT0DD)[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Ummm.
Noya dont!
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (WA2KLS @ Nov. 11 2003,14:12)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Change simply for the sake of change is NOT progress, it is simply change. It does not make the hobby better. What it does is make it less of an honored fraternity and more of a child's plaything. There's a 2mtr repeater here in Southern CA that is populated by 'young' hams who use 'f*** this' and 'f*** that' in their on air conversations just as much as a good CW op uses the Q codes during a CW contest. These hams misuse their license priveledges by operating just as they please without any form of discipline whatsoever. . .a situation that I suspect would never have developed had they had to study and learn the code to 'earn' their licenses in the first place. When Amateur tickets become so easy to obtain, they lose a lot of their value. . .and when our licenses are handed out like just so much toilet paper, then I guess I really can't blame those 'young hams' for treating them as such.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
"Tradition" sometimes equates with stagnation. Since the codeless license and vanity programs have been enacted, there is more interest in ham radio and more participation. THAT is a good thing.
Anti-social behavior has been around since the dawn of time. All one had to do was listen to some of the nonsense on 75, 40 and 20, 20-30 years ago. I don't think those guys had any more "respect" for their licenses (attained with cw) than those morons do for theirs on that LA repeater.
WX7B
I think you're all being tightwad conservatives about this. Part of amateur radio is CORRECTLY copying the call. If you cant copy it, it wasnt a good contact anyway
Let people have the freedom pick whatever they want. It's their call not yours. Geez.
Jason N5NU
Well I did it. #I have given up KC2G (after nearly 24 years) for W2QR. #That is the callsign of my late Elmer, and the man who instilled a love of CW in me. #Walt was originally licensed as 2AQR (that's right, no "W"), then W2AQR in 1931 or so, and dropped it to W2QR around 1980. #He was a CW op during WW2, copying his 40wpm on the typewriter while reading a book and smoking his signature pipe. #He gave me my novice exam in 1977 (wish I had copied the application...where was Kinko's then?) #and immediately letting me try to QSO on his Swan 500CX. #I got a reply, but soon lost myself in the nerves. #A month later we operated Field Day at K2GQ, and I walked away a CW op.
I live in Missouri, and truly am interested in how the gang feels about obtaining a 2-land call when I live in 0-land. #Here is my email address, my real one (not just my arrl redirect). #
rtgsdad@mchsi.com
Yes, those are the initials of my kids, including my 9 year-old who is learning CW, and whose teacher invited me to speak to her class on morse code and ham radio.
If I get responses in any significant number I will post the overall sentiment and any particularly humorous, thoughtful, or biting commentary.
Would Walt have wanted me to have this callsign? #Who can know? #It is useless to speculate. #I am proud to continue the use of a callsign of an operator who was competent, courteous, and creative in his deliberately joyful use of CW for so many years.
73,
Art, W2QR
rtgsdad@mchsi.com
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
kb2cdy
11-15-2003, 04:37 PM
I agree to a certain point.
Your call should match your area...If reasonably possible. For many of us in the Military and those who travel for our careers, it doesn't make sense to change your call sign every time you move. While I was in the Navy I moved every two years. After 13 years,I was discharged. Since then I have continued to move around. I expect us to move again in two years. At that rate I would have acquired 10 different call signs. Multiply that by the several thousands like myself and the FCC would qualify as a bank from all the processing fees!
To avoid confusion, I still ID myself as kb2cdy/7...even in my correspondents.
Just my 2c.
73's de kb2cdy/7, Dave
K7LAS
11-16-2003, 12:19 AM
I changed my call sign because the one issued - KD7NNM - was a bit of a tongue twister, had to repeat often for the other end, etc.
I did want to keep the appropriate call area indentifier, though.
I'm very happy with the new one, easy to say phonetically, etc. #And it matches the great city I live in.
73 - K7LAS
N7AAO
11-16-2003, 03:08 AM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (K7LAS @ Nov. 15 2003,17:19)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I changed my call sign because the one issued - KD7NNM - was a bit of a tongue twister, had to repeat often for the other end, etc.
I did want to keep the appropriate call area indentifier, though.
I'm very happy with the new one, easy to say phonetically, etc.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
That is exactly what I did as well... went from the tongue-twister KD7UKT to N7AAO... much easier to remember and say. And, note, I kept my 7!
K9TOD
11-16-2003, 03:25 AM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (WA2KLS @ Nov. 11 2003,15:12)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">There's a 2mtr repeater here in Southern CA that is populated by 'young' hams who use 'f*** this' and 'f*** that' in their on air conversations just as much as a good CW op uses the Q codes during a CW contest.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Which repeater is that? What are the call signs of the people using the F word on the air?
Shouldn't everyone be made aware of this so justice can be served?
WA9SVD
11-16-2003, 03:35 AM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (KG4OOA @ Nov. 09 2003,10:07)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">This whole thing is a bucket of puke. No one owns a callsign, they belong to FCC and are assigned to a licensee by the licensor for the #use of the licensee. There is NO ownership nor should there ever be or have been. Let your buddies know your new call. I think theyt will still talk to you. It ain't your name even though the egotists think it is.
All this vanity system is for is to SELL you what is free. That's right; just to seperate you from some of your money. #The FCC has no more interest in knowing where you are located when on the air than I have of knowing the temperature of the inside of your refrigerator.
I would rather go back to the old system all the way around. Then I could have an idea of where to look for you egotists.
73
Bob[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
While it's true in a sense no one "owns" a call, the call I HAVE is mine as long as I keep it renewed (and don't run afoul of the FCC anf get it revoked) . At least under current rules, no one can take it from me and give it to somebody else, or force me to be assigned a different callsign. Not that the vanity call system is firmly entrenched, there's no going back to the old system. And in a way, it would be a bit unfair after all this time.
Originally, calls indicated not only the geographical area, but also indicated "time in service." But under the old system, if it were applied now, an Extra who, for example, moved from Chicago to Los Angeles might be assigned a call in sequence to the latest No Code Tech. NOT THAT I'm saying that's exactly wrong, or that we should be prejudiced against anyone of any License Class, but a sequentially issued call in a new district would not reflect 30+ years as an Amateur Radio Operator. So there's no turning back. I personally have no desire for a vanity call; I got mine the old fashioned way, from the FCC. And unless the regulations change (doubtful) I am not likely to apply for a new call.
But can anyone answer: If you DO apply for a new (sequential) call (NOT a Vanity Call) due to an address change to another area, does the FCC require a fee?
wa4dou
12-10-2003, 08:55 PM
They call them "vanity" calls because the people who apply for them are vain!
kk4ken
01-26-2004, 06:09 AM
My original callsign was KG4NGH. #However, even when I was studying for my technician exam, I was planning on getting a vanity callsign. #My options? #Well, I live in Call Sign Area 4, so I tried K4KEN, K4KAL and KK4KEN. #I would have tried KL4KEN, but I'm not in Alaska. #Once I got my technician license, I applied for my vanity license and got KK4KEN. #A little later, I realized that I could have gotten KL4KEN since it wasn't in use and I didn't have to be in Alaska to get it! #Oh well. #I like my call sign and people immediately realize my name is Ken when they hear it. #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif #It just makes things so much easier, expecially in the repeater nets. #HIHI #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
Ken
KK4KEN
n1fvb
02-04-2004, 08:30 PM
I too was assigned this call when I upgraded from Novice to Tech (+). I love it and am working at upgrading to General before all heck breaks loose. HI
I'll keep this call. Thank you very much.
Now while I would love to move out of the cold north and to a warmer place. The XYL won't let me so I will always xmit the correct location in my call. Hi Hi.
73's http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
kd5ztg
02-10-2004, 03:19 PM
I have spent the last 15 minutes reading this post and I am amazed by the differing opinions of out of district calls. Yes, it can be confusing and possibly disappointing for those individuals that think you are in one place and it turns out you are in another. But, as was stated earlier with the quick lookup systems it is not too difficult to know up front where people are. I have heard many people throw out a call and the reply to them is asking how things are in their town - by name - using their name. It only reinforces that people do use the call look up system a lot.
I am OK with people not being in district as I am now W4LTM. Yes, I live in 5 land - Texas.
My Grandfather who passed in November held this call for over 60 years and my father and I decided that I should take it. I am a third generation operator and think the tradition of carrying on a family members call is a pretty darn good thing.
Just my thoughts...
Matt in Texas