[CQ-Contest] Callsigns and licenses

[Rex Maner]

Quack's

I do this almost ever WPX contest,  with a common   K7??  call I borrow one
from a friend who has a 220 repeter with the call WR7HE assigned.    Its his
call and I can violate any of the FCC rules I want to and he has to answer
the violation.  He isn't a contester and won't even get on and give me a Q.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kenneth E. Harker" <kharker at cs.utexas.edu>
To: "CQ Contest" <cq-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 13:12
Subject: [CQ-Contest] Callsigns and licenses


> On Wed, Oct 22, 2003 at 10:57:17PM -0700, Michael Tope W4EF wrote:
> >
> > As far as the FCC rules go, the commission appears to be
> > silent on the all too common practice of people using there
> > callsigns at other peoples stations...
> >                       ...If I go to location X and set up my
> > rig, I would of course sign W4EF. If location X happens to
> > be the address of record for say W6UE, am I now obligated
> > to sign W6UE, or can I sign W4EF if I so desire? I suspect
> > the latter is the case.
>
> The latter is the case.  You can use either callsign, as your
> and the station owner's preferences dictate.
>
> In years past, the FCC would issue to Radio Amateurs both
> "station licenses" (to which a callsign was assigned) and
> "operator licenses."  In the 1940's, if you went to your
> buddy's house to operate, your operator license would give
> you permission to transmit, but your buddy's station license
> would dictate the callsign used.  Today, the FCC no longer
> distinguishes between an operator license and a station
> license.  With mobile and handheld radios being as pervasive
> as they are, maintaining the distinction is too much hassle.
> So, your modern Amateur Radio license is _both_ a station and
> an operator license, and your callsign can be associated
> with any operation made from your station or any operation
> made by you (or where you are a control operator.)
>
> One practice that I've never been quite sure of myself is
> something that I think is only really done in WPX contests.
> I know of several WPX contest efforts that have "borrowed"
> callsigns of friends who happen to have more WPX-desirable
> callsigns.  For example, W5xxx operates from his home
> station but uses the callsign of AJ5yyy (not a club callsign,)
> who is never anywhere near the operation of W5xxx all weekend
> long.  The callsign AJ5xxx is being used by an operation that
> is neither at the AJ5xxx station, nor does it involve AJ5xxx
> personally.  This seems to be done often enough, and I've never
> heard of the FCC or a contest sponsor complaining about it, but
> it's never really seemed satisfactory to me.  Perhapos I am the
> only one who feels that way.
>
> -- 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
> Kenneth E. Harker      "Vox Clamantis in Deserto"
kharker at cs.utexas.edu
> University of Texas at Austin                   Amateur Radio Callsign:
WM5R
> Department of the Computer Sciences          Central Texas DX & Contest
Club
> Taylor Hall TAY 2.124                         Maintainer of Linux on
Laptops
> Austin, TX 78712-1188 USA
http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/kharker/
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
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