[CQ-Contest] Prefixes for WPX

[David Gilbert]

For operation within the U.S. it seems to me that there are only two 
sets of rules that are relevant here ... the WPX rules and the FCC 
regulations ... and links or quotes for both have already been posted 
here previously by other folks.

A.  The WPX rules state in bold letters that you may not make up your 
own prefix.

B.  The WPX rules state that you use your own prefix unless you are 
operating from a different DXCC entity than the one that issued your 
license, in which case you use the proper portable identifier that 
becomes your WPX prefix.

C.  The FCC regulations state that if you are operating in the U.S. 
under a reciprocal licensing agreement you must sign Prefix/Callsign, 
unless you have a Canadian license in which case you must sign 
Callsign/Prefix.  This same regulation contains an entire paragraph that 
spells out in detail exactly which prefix you must use depending upon 
where you are operating.  For a Canadian operating anywhere within the 
4th call area the prefix is W4 and no other (not even K4).  Whatever you 
might want to read into the WPX rules, the FCC rules are pretty clear 
and of course take precedence.

I did find one source of ambiguity for operations within the U.S., 
however.  Per the WPX rules, someone licensed by the FCC in a DXCC 
entity other than the U.S. (such as Hawaii or Alaska or Guam, etc) but 
operating from mainland U.S. is still required to sign Callsign/Prefix, 
where Prefix is an "authorized prefix" for the call area they are 
operating within.  The example given shows either KH6XXX/W8 or KH6XXX/K8 
for Ohio, which kind of opens the door for most any prefix since the FCC 
regulations don't seem to require any prefix at all in such a case (at 
least none that I could find) and the WPX rules don't specifically state 
that it must be a single-letter prefix ... only that it be 
"authorized".  The FCC does, of course, state that any "/identifier" you 
append to your call (such as for a special event or just because you 
feel like it) cannot conflict with any prefix or identifier reserved for 
use by any other country.

73,
Dave   AB7E