[CQ-Contest] Call sign history

[Joe]

Speaking of "Heritage"
Is there any way to  see if anyone had a call before you do?

Joe WB9SBD
Sig
The Original Rolling Ball Clock
Idle Tyme
Idle-Tyme.com
http://www.idle-tyme.com
On 1/8/2017 11:38 AM, Mark Steven Williams wrote:
> Very interesting thread. I earned my first ham ticket in 1980 after moving
> to Kentucky from my native W6 land.
>
> My first FCC licenses were on the broadcast side in the early 1960's. After
> moving to W4 land I got the ham ticket to stay in touch with some of my
> broadcast engineering colleagues out west. Remember, this was the early 80's
> before cell phones and the internet. Was interested in DXing (BCB) from
> about age 10, but wasn't smitten with the contesting bug until FD in '88.
>
> I think knowledge of the "heritage" of your current call is a noble thing.
> The only things I know about the previous holder of my call, K9GX, is that
> he was in the Chicago area and operated a lot on 160 and the call came
> available about the time I applied for it back in late Summer, 2000 when I
> moved from KY to Indiana.
>
> I considered several 1x2s but my dear friend N4GN suggested K9GX, primarily
> because it is so "clean" on CW. But it's nice to know the heritage of your
> callsign and mine is all the more meaningful because a friend suggested it.
>
> I still have one of each of my previous QSL cards...
>
> 73, Mark, K9GX (ex KA4SKB, N4OKX)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: CQ-Contest [mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of
> steve.root at culligan4water.com
> Sent: Sunday, January 8, 2017 11:17 AM
> To: James Cain <jamesdavidcain at gmail.com>; cq-contest at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Call sign history
>
> I remember this well. One of the first rare DX stations I ever worked was
> VS9MF (Present day 8Q7). When I got his card I saw the suffix of his call
> was the same as his initials, and that was the coolest thing ever. When I
> got a chance to pick a call sign my first choice was easy.
>
> 73 Steve K0SR (ex-WA0VPN)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: James Cain [mailto:jamesdavidcain at gmail.com]
> Sent: Sunday, January 8, 2017 09:28 AM
> To: cq-contest at contesting.com
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] Call sign history
>
> 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,
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