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60 year old call sign

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dondi1

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60 years ago i had my first cb radio, received my call letters my question is in all those years do i still retain those call letters. are they reassigned if not used or inactive . just curious
 

K7MEM

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Swartz Creek, Michigan
60 years ago i had my first cb radio, received my call letters my question is in all those years do i still retain those call letters. are they reassigned if not used or inactive . just curious

In the US, CB radio has not required a license or issued call signs since around 1975. Currently, everybody with a CB radio is automatically deemed to have a license. The FCC calls this “license by rule”.

According to the FCC:

"You are not required to transmit a station identification announcement. You are, however, encouraged to identify your CB communications by transmitting a previously assigned CB station call sign; a self-assigned call sign consisting of the letter “K” followed by your initials and residence zip code; your name; or an organizational description including name and any applicable operator unit number."

So, use it if you like, or don't use it. Its your choice.

Martin - K7MEM
 

dondi1

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franklin new jersey
cb call sign

thank you for that info. i was just curious if they had any new rules on that, funny how things like call letters remain in your memory after all those years lol thanks
 

TheSpaceMann

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thank you for that info. i was just curious if they had any new rules on that, funny how things like call letters remain in your memory after all those years lol thanks
Yep! You might actually be able to find yours in an old CB magazine archive! :)
 

KK4JUG

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In reality, I think the FCC finally just gave up on CB. They walked away from it and God only knows where all the files are. (The paper's a little slick for what they'd like to use it for.)

It got out of hand and they decided "What The Heck. Nobody cares. Let's go to New York and see if we can find people making unauthorized transmissions on police frequencies."
 

jdifabio

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Old CB Call Sign

Wow, flash from the past, mine was KWB 7185 mid 1970's. Thanks for the memories. N2UBI Joe
 

PrimeNumber

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MS Gulf Coast
According to the FCC:

"You are not required to transmit a station identification announcement. You are, however, encouraged to identify your CB communications by transmitting a previously assigned CB station call sign; a self-assigned call sign consisting of the letter “K” followed by your initials and residence zip code; your name; or an organizational description including name and any applicable operator unit number."

Has actual use of this K-initials-zipcode standard ever been heard in the wild? I seriously doubt it, but I'd like to hear if anyone or any groups or regions have used it.
 

nd5y

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Has actual use of this K-initials-zipcode standard ever been heard in the wild?
I may not remember this correctly but it seems like license application instructions said you could operate with K+initials+zip code as a temporary callsign until you received your license. I think I remember hearing people do that in the late 70's.

The FCC callsign table in 47CFR2.302 still says:
Personal radio, temporary permit - 3 letters, 5 digits - KAA00000 through KZZ99999.
General Mobile Radio Service, temporary permit - 2 letters, 7 digits - WT plus business or residence telephone number.
 
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KI7HYI

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Cody, Wyoming
Old CBer now even older, but new, ham:)

In reality, I think the FCC finally just gave up on CB. They walked away from it and God only knows where all the files are. (The paper's a little slick for what they'd like to use it for.)

It got out of hand and they decided "What The Heck. Nobody cares. Let's go to New York and see if we can find people making unauthorized transmissions on police frequencies."

It was probably a casualty of the elimination of the field offices and the "deregulation" of broadcasting.
I can still remember my old CB call, but it is really obsolete with the assignment of my new ham call.
 

Gniederb

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WV
In reality, I think the FCC finally just gave up on CB. They walked away from it and God only knows where all the files are. (The paper's a little slick for what they'd like to use it for.)

It got out of hand and they decided "What The Heck. Nobody cares. Let's go to New York and see if we can find people making unauthorized transmissions on police frequencies."

I'm told that the Bush administration defunded that part of the FCC's function. Or I mean the part of the FCC that tracked people down who were transmitting too much power and things like that.
 

KI7HYI

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Cody, Wyoming
I'm told that the Bush administration defunded that part of the FCC's function. Or I mean the part of the FCC that tracked people down who were transmitting too much power and things like that.

I was a radio station "chief operator" (FCCspeak for chief engineer) in the mid 80's when they shifted the legal responsibility for the technical compliance of a broadcasting station with the FCC rules from the chief operator to the station licensee, making me redundant. About the same time, they replaced the First and Second Class Radiotelephone Licenses with the General Radiotelephone Operators License, which grandfathered them. The only advantage was that the GROL was lifetime issue. Their field offices started to close about that time and if you call one outside of D.C., your call will be forwarded to D.C. The FCC is nothing more than a dozen field monitoring vans that run around checking out interference reports, and offices full of out-sourced bureaucrats.
 
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