Amateur Radio Callsigns Explained
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Prospective hams and even new amateur radio operators experience a bit of confusion when it comes to call signs. There seems to be an endless variety and variability‚ and for some‚ they just don’t make any sense at all. But call signs are vital and once you are licensed they become your on air identity.
Answering the question that's been on everyone's mind.
Mine is VE6HAM, and I approve this video…
Thank you for this information.. my father had.. W1ZYC and my uncle had K1DVL ow i can understand it…
I got my Novice in April 1981 and was given KA9KWM. This was years before the VE program was created. I think the FCC simply went to KA prefixes after exhausting all WD sequential calls. At that time were also issuing N prefix 1×3 call signs to Technician and General Class operators because the K prefix 1×3’s has all been assigned. In those days any Ham who held a General Class or higher license could administer a 5 word per minute Morse Code test to a prospective Ham oand once the code test was passed, the licensed Ham signed off verification on FCC Form 610 and sent it to FCC HQ in Gettysburg PA. The FCC then mailed a written test to the licensed Ham, who then acted as proctor while the prospective Ham took the written test. The test was sent back to the FCC and if the person passed, they were granted a Novice Class license. In order to upgrade, we had to schedule an appointment with the FCC, either at the Call Area Field Office, or every few months an examiner would come to a central location somewhere in the call area. I went up through the ranks through Tech, General, Advanced and finally upgraded to Extra in 1985, when the 20 WPM code requirement was still in place. I put in for a call sign change in 1986, long before the vanity program, and was assigned NV9Z, which I still hold today. 73
Very nice rundown of how the licensing structure is. I hope a lot of people enjoy this. 73 de n3pyj
excellent video
7:20 I received a systematic callsign with an 'AG' prefix for my first callsign. Now granted, I tested from zero to extra in one session, but it was a systematic assignment in which I received it.
Thank you
Very interesting! I am from Austria/Europe. It is a small country with about 8 mio inhabitants and about 6.000 hams. So, the prefix for the whole of Austria ist OE, that is enough. We also have a region code, from 1 to 9, which comes in handy, because Austria consists of 9 federal states. 0 is reserved for "extraterritorial" stations: an Austrian astronaut at the ISS had OE0 :-). The suffix is 3 characters long, only very old callsigns are shorter. The callsigns are assigned directly by the government, and are given for a stationary facility and your person. I do not know, what happens, if you got more than one station within your region, but the suffixes are unique for the whole country. So, if you have OE1ABC assigned, and another station in another region, say 3, you additionally get OE3ABC assigned for that station, both bound to your person. The authorities may inspect your gear once a year in regular terms. Thus, you may choose your suffix, but within a range of "free" ones. The next rule regards your license: Austria is a CEPT-country, so the maximum allowed transmitting power is 200 W, or 400 W, if you apply for it, and can show, that you did not make trouble with the 200 W in the past. But there are club stations and the like, assigned personally to the responsitivity of an operator, which may transmit with up to 1.000 W. The suffixes of these callsigns all start with an X. That is practical, because all repeater's callsigns start with the X. Not enough: For special occasions you can apply for a transient callsign for a special occasion. OE1YOUTH20 could be valid. I am obliged to add /P, /A, or /M to my callsign, if I am somewhat mobile: /Portable, /Air, /Maritime. OK, /P will be sufficient. A good practice is to prefix your callsign with the "country prefix", if you are at least anywhere in Europe: SV/OE1ABC/M gives a hint to your QTH – you are sailing in Greece in the Aegean Sea :-). Europe is a cluster of abut 30 countries, and not each one has a unique country prefix, but it is relatively easy to spot the country. vy 73 de oe1llc
Great video I am definitely subscribing 73!
if I'm on the most hams don't get my sign but if I put it there verbally most under stand. it.
if I want hams to understand my call I put it out verbally and them say it in kb9 form.
I have taken online exam. Received CSCE. I have FRN number. Do i need to apply for call sign or will i be assigned one automatically. If so how?