What's in a name?
40 years ago this week a very large group of us were applying to the FCC for
the long-awaited "preferred Extra Class call signs." The FCC opened the gate
on January 1, 1977. Decisions, decisions. You were told to list four desired
call signs. That sent everybody to the latest Callbook to see what was
available. It depended on what Call Area you lived in. 1X2 call signs starting
with the letter K had never been issued in most Call Areas. Some had been
issued in Call Areas 2, 4, and 6.
Lots of call signs starting with the letter W were available but all would be
"re-issues." I don't think a 1X2 call sign starting with the letter N had ever
been issued.
Some of us had waited many years to dump our 2X3 call signs. We had been Extras
for nearly 10 years. The prospect of fewer characters was exciting. But
choosing a new call sign was agonizing! A lot of us chose a new call sign that
had some connection with our checkered past. For many, the choice was
mode-oriented. If you liked phone, phonetics were a big consideration. For CW
operators, bauds mattered. And, if you prefer CW, do you really want a call
sign ending in K?
A lot of us operated the first of two weekends of the 1977 ARRL DX CW
Competition with our 2X3 call signs. What happens if our shiny new call sign
arrives in the mail before the second weekend? (In those good old days,
children, each mode of the contest was two weekends, a month apart.) Somebody I
know really, really well, enquired about this, and the unofficial word from the
FCC was if your new call sign/license arrives before the second weekend, just
pretend it didn't.
Jim Cain, K1TN (ex-WA1STN, WA9AUM)
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