13
The choice of using phonetics ('alpha, bravo, charlie, …') versus plain alphabet sounds ('aye, bee, see, …') should be, and in my limited experience usually is, made based on how likely the recipient is to need them to understand.
Here are two extreme cases:
A contact made using a FM repeater at close range, among people who already know each other, does ...
12
Callsigns, per ITU regulations, consist of a prefix and a suffix. The prefix must be obtained from this table:
Table of International Call Sign Series (Appendix 42 to the RR)
And is assigned on a per-country basis. The suffix is then determined by that country's internal radio regulations, and there is no standard that will make this easy for you. You'...
12
Were the contacts on the day of a major contest? Chances are that some other station with a callsign close to yours was operating and several operators misread his call as yours. I, too, get the occasional QSL card or eQSL for a time when I wasn't operating (and they are usually during a major contest). Unless you have definitive proof that someone else ...
11
Jim Reisert AD1C regularly publishes various downloadable country files containing an up-to-date list of callsign prefixes with their associated countries, continents, etc. Those files are meant to be used by ham software.
Here's three lines from a 2016 cty.dat file. Notice how the fourth column indicates the continent (SA, EU, AF).
Guyana: 09: 12: SA: ...
11
The key wording is in 97.9(b) as referenced in 97.119:
...is authorized to exercise the rights and privileges of the higher operator class...
and 97.119 says:
"When the control operator is a person who is exercising the rights and privileges authorized by §97.9(b)..."
So you only need to use the /AE suffix when you are using privileges only available ...
11
I have done exactly that.
I had a US amateur extra class license when I moved to Germany. As a legal resident of Germany, I applied for and received a reciprocal (no test required) German license with the call DJ0IQ. Yes, it was a requested/vanity call sign to match my US call. The good folks at DARC (the German equivalent to ARRL) helped me with that.
...
11
The regulations for an amateur radio repeater are fairly minimal. To answer your specific questions:
"Does one need a particular license?" Your license must permit transmissions on the repeater output frequency. That is, general or higher for 10m, technician or higher for higher frequency bands. There is no special repeater license. (There used to be.)
...
9
The origins of the amateur radio call sign districts can be traced to 1912 when the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation created nine radio inspection districts to enforce the 1912 Act to Regulate Radio Commerce. Primary foci of the act were to regulate ship to ship and ship to shore radios including those used on the Great Lakes. As a result, all ...
9
According to my calculations, about 20% of active 2x2 callsigns in the FCC's amateur radio service database are vanity callsigns.
For comparison…
75% of active 1x2 ham licenses
nearly 50% of active 2x1 licenses
only 3.5% of active 2x3 licenses
…are vanity callsigns.
If you'd like to check my work or make further refinements, I determined these stats ...
9
WA9ZZZ's answer missed the issue of control of the repeater. The repeater must be under control of one or more control operators, or under automatic control, at all times when the repeater is on. There are three types of control:
Primary control, where a control operator is physically near the equipment and monitoring the repeater, ready to intervene as ...
8
When the FCC issues your first call sign to you, they do not look backwards through their list of assigned call to see if there are any unused calls that they can reassign. Instead, they use a sequential numbering system from a block of previously unissued call signs. This is the so called sequential call sign assignment since it is simply the next ...
8
… Why don’t these unencrypted FM emergency services seem to use any call signs … ?
They aren't required to and don't find it useful in their procedures. Also, they don't have call signs in the sense amateurs do — they may have names for different groups in a transmission ("Car #3" or whatever) which are call signs in the sense that they play the same role ...
8
You can find the code in packjt77.f90. Callsign encoding (for "standard" callsigns that don't require hashing) is in function pack28. A quick summary:
Adjust a few strange prefixes that don't follow the usual arrangement of letters and numbers. Swaziland 3DA0* will be encoded as if it was 3D0* instead, and Guinea 3XA1A will be encoded as if it was ...
8
No — as of 2020 you're not obligated to change your callsign if you move within the US. Even if you have an Alaska/Hawaii/Guam "restricted" callsign, you can keep it if you leave. All you need to do is notify the FCC of your new mailing address via ULS.
However, if you want to change your callsign when you move, you can. You can request the next available ...
8
The grace period is two years.
You can renew your license within the grace period, but after that, the call sign will be available for reassignment.
If you were to take and pass an exam after the grace period, you would be assigned a new call sign. However, if at that time, your old call sign is still available, you would be able to apply for it as a vanity ...
7
Is there any sort of familial transfer process that could get that call assigned to me in California?
There are 3 types of vanity call sign requests:
Primary station preference list
Close relative of former holder
Former primary station holder
For your case you can apply for "Close relative of former holder".
Generally, vanity calls can not be assigned ...
7
Better double check. There's no requirement to identify at the beginning of a communication (though it's common practice, and was required at one time), only every ten minutes and at the end of the communication.
The "every ten minutes" is often handled (say, on 2 meter or 440 band repeaters, which is where Technician licensees most commonly use voice ...
7
Your application submitted on February 18th requested two callsigns.
One of them was granted to another application submitted on the 16th, and so was unavailable when yours was processed, even though it hadn't yet been assigned when you made your application. If you submitted on the 16th or 17th you would have had a chance to get that one (along with 12 ...
6
Go to the FCC login page.
Enter FRN and password and click submit.
Click "My Licenses" on the left.
Click on your callsign in the list of licenses.
Click "Request Vanity Call Sign" on the right.
Note: Steps 3 to 5 may not work unless you already have a callsign.
6
Renewal, upgrade, and change of call sign are three separate things, except that renewal and change of call sign may be requested together.
§97.21 Application for a modified or renewed license grant.
(a) A person holding a valid amateur station license grant:
…
(2) May apply to the FCC for a modification of the operator/primary
station ...
6
The type of call signs that you referenced are referred to as 1x2 (one by two) call signs in the USA. Due to the limited number of such call signs and their historical significance, these are the most sought after in the USA.
But 1x2 call signs are not unique to the USA. Consider the well publicized (but commonly misunderstood) G5RV antenna, named after the ...
6
Are you up to buying a Raspberry Pi, two USB sound cards, some assorted transistors and such, and making your own interface cable? If so, you can run svxlink. It supports all sorts of fancy things related to internet-linking, remote control, and automation, but you don't need to use any of that; it will also function just fine as a repeater controller for a ...
6
Why don’t these unencrypted FM emergency services seem to use any call signs or ham codes?
They are required to identify periodically and they do. That is the Morse code you heard.
Emergency services (police, fire, EMS) along with taxicabs, tow trucks, anything else that moves on land, is licensed under part 90, Private Land Mobile Service, of the FCC ...
5
That hasn't been the law for many years.
From §97.119:
(a) Each amateur station, except a space station or telecommand station,
must transmit its assigned call sign on its transmitting channel at
the end of each communication, and at least every 10 minutes during a
communication ...
Therefore, it is perfectly legal to wait until we have talked for ...
5
In most countries, they are unique. But in the United States, there is an overlap between Aircraft (which are assigned N-numbers based on the "International Radiotelegraph Convention" in Washington in 1927) and amateur radio callsigns. See Wikipedia article:
"There is a unique overlap in the United States with aircraft having a single number followed by ...
5
In fact, hams use phonetic alphabet for their call signs (and also QTH) most of the time. The reason is simple - when you are establishing a QSO you don't know how well the other operator hears you. Maybe your signal is weak on her side, or maybe there is a QRM or QSB.
During an established QSO phonetic alphabet is used by two reasons. Firstly, you make ...
5
An amateur licensee of any class can request a vanity call sign. Also, only Amateur Extra operators are eligible for 1x2 or 2x1 call signs; only Advanced and Amateur Extra operators are eligible for 2x2 call signs. See US Title 47 CFR §97.19 and the FCC's Amateur Call Sign Systems page.
Whether a current call sign is sequentially-issued or vanity is easy ...
4
If it continues to happen I would report it to the FCC via the FCC's website here.
http://www.fcc.gov/complaints
4
The ITU is the international body responsible for the allocation of call sign prefixes to each country. You can consult this table of allocations in order to build the necessary logic in your program to determine if the call sign in question meets your award requirements.
An example of this table of ITU allocations can be found at: http://www.arrl.org/...
4
Many hams use nonstandard phonetics (or alternate standard and nonstandard when repeating themselves). The author of the above quote is probably aware of this but feels it is not best practice.
I suspect that the author meant to convey “don't use what you think is cool or what you may have heard on other bands, use what is standard here” and went a little ...
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