D was a originally a prefix of the German Reich prior to 1945 and extensively used by Nazi amateurs (not that there were many)
Most likely, after the occupation, everyone who wanted it there received russian call signs. I don't know if that makes them legal.
Spoilsport! Just Kidding, Dave. Thanks for your effort to provide "stick and rudder" and keeping the forum on track. Congrats on the Bark, nice job. 73 Tom W4OKW
After Crimea and Sevastopol were seized and purportedly annexed, there was an announcement that propagated among various ham channels that hams in the afflicted areas had a certain amount of time to apply for Russian licenses, and the 6K/7K/7R Russian callsigns were designated for them. I don't recall having heard a similar announcement for the more recently occupied portions of Ukraine, despite the claim of annexation. I also haven't seen the region added to what I thought was the official RDA list.
I haven't researched this issue and it doesn't matter now. Any call sign issued by a terrorist state is the same for me, regardless of its region.
What thing I've never understood is why pirates pirate? I mean why spend all the money on the equipment and risk getting it confiscated. The UK's lowest licence is relatively easy to achieve and gives you 25w and also most bands. I honestly don't understand it.
Look, these guys are probably hams, accepting the "license" that the people with guns who control their area give them. Using a call sign, issued or not, indicating an affiliation to the other side of the war would be an invitation for the guns to be used on them. It sucks. It's extra-legal. But it is the way it is.
Don't talk about what you don't know. Although it is probably better for you in VA to know what is happening where you have probably never even been in your life. I know many of them personally and why they did it. Some of them actively helped and are helping those who came with guns. But I agree that they are even worse than ordinary "pirates" who are simply fooling around using unlicensed frequencies or fictitious call signs. At least people don't die because of them. However, I am no longer surprised by the support for terrorists. This is the new reality.
Nice when using GridTracker for FT4/FT8. Setup a Block on a regular expression of ^D1.{2,} Won't see any D1xxx anymore.
