First contact question
- Thread starter Jga154
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Congratulations and welcome to amateur radio.
What you were told is not true. You hold a Technician license that was issued very recently. The FCC assigned you KN6KPV and they expect you to identify with it.
Many years ago, the FCC issued 2x3 callsigns with N as the second letter, i.e. WN9CIF. Those callsigns were only issued to Novice license holders and you had 1 year to upgrade your license. When you upgraded, the N would be changed to another letter, i.e. WB9CIF.
But, that's all ancient history. Until the FCC assigns you a new callsign, keep signing with KN6KPV and politely ignore the folks who tell you different.
What you were told is not true. You hold a Technician license that was issued very recently. The FCC assigned you KN6KPV and they expect you to identify with it.
Many years ago, the FCC issued 2x3 callsigns with N as the second letter, i.e. WN9CIF. Those callsigns were only issued to Novice license holders and you had 1 year to upgrade your license. When you upgraded, the N would be changed to another letter, i.e. WB9CIF.
But, that's all ancient history. Until the FCC assigns you a new callsign, keep signing with KN6KPV and politely ignore the folks who tell you different.
Thanks that’s what I thought.
There are only a few specialized callsigns now. KL, WL, and NL are only issued in Alaska. The number should be a 7, but they ran out of calls so you will hear KL4 etc. Hawaii calls are supposed to have H as the second character. Also some Pacific islands have H. P is used for Puerto Rico. Calls starting with A are Extra class licenses only. You will also hear 2X1,1X2 and 2X2 calls.
You don't have to change calls if you move to a different area anymore.
By the way you can always get a vanity call. Technicians can get 1X3 calls. Decide early. Changing calls is like changing your name after a few years.
You don't have to change calls if you move to a different area anymore.
By the way you can always get a vanity call. Technicians can get 1X3 calls. Decide early. Changing calls is like changing your name after a few years.
Congratulations and welcome to the hobby.
Thank you everyone for your help. I just read that the FCC is considering charging $50 to apply for a vanity call. Since I am brand new I was going to wait to apply for one as it seemed a little hubristic to do it immediately. But to avoid the possIbility of a fee I applied for one today. Getting off subject so I’ll quit here.
You should get your first choice. It appears to be available.
Your second choice is currently issued to another licensee.
Your second choice is currently issued to another licensee.
W5GX
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I wouldn't say "hubristic". I have no qualms with changing a call sign as soon as what you want is available, given the length of current call signs. My wife's call was long and had a weird flow, so we got one she liked as soon as it was open.
I do have an issue with requesting a vanity sign outside of your current call area, but until the FCC asks what I think, I'm shaking my fist in the air.
My personal feeling is the FCC needs to do a detailed audit, grabbing currently canceled call signs and "putting them back in the pool" for reassignment, putting them back into the system. But again, shaking fists.
Congrats on the new license, and best of fun in the hobby!
Welcome! I think what the other station might be referring to is the callsigns that, several decades ago, were issued to novice class operators where the second letter was "N". Since the FCC stopped having novice-specific callsigns, it doesn't really matter if you've got that letter in the callsign or not.
alcahuete
Member
My guess would be that the person was referring to getting a vanity call sign to "drop the N." That's all the rage now. You get a 6 letter call from the FCC and immediately "drop the N" by making it K6KPV with a vanity call. It's shorter, but you keep the same suffix. I see that all the time. So I'm almost 100% sure that's what they were referring to.
k6cpo
Member
And it's now a moot point as he was issued K6JGA (his initials) as of September 19.
alcahuete
Member
Ah, well there you have it. The N is dropped.
as is the mic!!!!!!!
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