[CQ-Contest] Call sign history

[Joe]

When the club  got their call shooting for something cool, short, and 
good on both CW as well as phone they got W9ET.

Ok on phone, the phonetics don't sound like any others, so good there, 
and only two syllables.

  but on CW really did not gain much going ultra short. because to 
minimize repeat requests we had to add half spaces between the 9 and e 
and inbetween the e and t,

Joe WB9SBD
Sig
The Original Rolling Ball Clock
Idle Tyme
Idle-Tyme.com
http://www.idle-tyme.com
On 1/8/2017 10:53 AM, Mike Smith VE9AA wrote:
> Jim, (at your superstation?)
>
>   
>
> Interesting discussion.  I never knew the exact history of this "preferred
> Extra Class call signs" history exactly, as it occurred
>
> just before I was licensed.
>
>   
>
> On the CWops Yahoo group we recently had a bit of a discussion about
> callsign weight, short calls, long calls, recognition and on/off keying
> duration.
>
> This started when Larry WB5EIN became NN5O (most believe he made an
> excellent choice)
>
>   
>
> Also, there are good calls on SSB that are horrible on CW and vice versa.
>
>   
>
> In Canada, to the best of my memory, you had to be licensed 10 years before
> applying for a 2 letter call.  I went to 2 letters just a little bit after
> 10 yrs, but got one with lots of dahs, not unlike my original call. you had
> to take what you were given back then.  When new VE9 calls were made
> available to New Brunswickers (and VY2 to PEI) in 1993, I applied and got my
> second choice. VE9AA...as it turns out, my first choice had a
> longer/slow-to-send callsign weight, so I was happy !
>
>   
>
> There are many good callsigns.  Some 2x3's in the USA and Canada I would not
> dream about changing, as recognition factors into it a lot as well.
>
>   
>
> Thanks for bringing up a most interesting discussion !
>
>   
>
> Mike VE9AA VO1TTT VE1TTT VO2DX
>
> http://www.radioqth.net/CWWeight/ShowWeights?CallSigns=ve9aa%0D%0A
>
>   
>
> 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)
>
> ___________________________________
>
>   
>
> Mike, Coreen & Corey
>
> Keswick Ridge, NB
>
>   
>
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