[CQ-Contest] WPX Report

[Bill Coleman]

On May 23, 2006, at 11:19 PM, Radiosporting Fan wrote:

> What you see below is only for the AA0-AL9 prefix
> block.  It shows the prefix and the number of times
> that it appeared in other people's logs.
>
> It is one of those FWIW things.  I found the data to
> be most fascinating by importing it into Excel and
> plotting it.  Apparently, the most rare USA prefixes
> are those from AD and beyond (in this block, anyway).

Very likely, this is because of the vanity callsign program. Fifteen  
or twenty years ago, you'd work a bunch of A* USA prefixes, and a lot  
of 2x1 callsigns in a contest. Today, most of those have opted for  
1x2 callsigns beginning with W, K or N.

I find it most frustrating that, after holding this call for 20  
years, many hams mistake it for KA4, WA4, PA4, DA4, DD4 or even PP4.  
The fact that A* prefixes in the USA have become less common has  
contributed to this recently.

I'll be one of those extremely "rare" AA4 prefixes on the air this  
weekend. Hope to supply everyone with the multiplier....

Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
             -- Wilbur Wright, 1901