Amateur radio call signs

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Amateur radio call signs are allocated to amateur radio operators around the world. The call signs are used to legally identify the station or operator, with some countries requiring the station call sign to always be used and others allowing the operator call sign instead. [1]

Contents

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocates call sign prefixes for radio and television stations of all types. Since 1927 these have been used to uniquely identify operators and locate amateur stations within a geographical region or country of the world. Call signs meant for amateur radio follow the ITU's Article 19, specifically 19.68 and 19.69. [2]

Prefixes are assigned internationally, and a separating numeral plus suffix are added by a national body to produce this unique identifier. These prefixes are agreed upon internationally, and are a form of country code. Each country must only assign call signs to its nationals or operators under its jurisdiction that begin with the characters allocated for use in that country or its territories.

In some countries, an operator may also select their own "vanity" call sign that conforms to local laws. [3] Some jurisdictions require a fee to obtain such a vanity call sign; in others, such as the UK, a fee is not required and the vanity call sign may be selected when the license is applied for. The FCC in the U.S. discontinued its fee for vanity call sign applications in September 2015. [4]

In the US, the Federal Communications Commission's authority to impose and collect fees is mandated by Congress. Effective April 19, 2022, a $35 application fee applies to new, renewal, rule waiver, and modification applications that request a new vanity call sign.

Formation of an amateur radio call sign

An amateur operator's call sign is composed of a prefix, a separating numeral and a suffix.

The prefix can be composed of letters or numbers, the separating numeral is between 0 and 9, and a suffix is from one to four characters, usually letters. [5]

Examples of call signs and their constituent parts are as follows:

Call SignPrefix (within ITU assigned range)Separating numeralSuffixformat type
K4XK4X1×1 call sign, usually time-limited special event (USA)
B2AAB2AA1×2 call sign (China)
N2ASDN2ASD1×3 call sign (United States)
A22AA22A2×1 call sign (Botswana)
I20000XI20000X1×5 call sign, special event (Italy)
4X4AAA4X4AAA2×3 call sign (Israel)
3DA0RS3DA0RS3×2 call sign (Eswatini)
HL1AAHL1AA2×2 call sign (South Korea)

Call signs begin with a one- two- or three-character prefix chosen from a range assigned by the ITU to the amateur's country of operation or other internationally recognized jurisdiction. This is not necessarily always the amateur's country of citizenship. An individual operator is assigned a unique call sign beginning with this prefix and then completed with a separating numeral and suffix. [6]

Table of allocation of international call sign series
Call sign seriesAllocated toNotes
AAA-ALZUnited States of America
AMA-AOZSpain
APA-ASZPakistan (Islamic Republic of)
ATA-AWZIndia (Republic of)
AXA-AXZAustralia
AYA-AZZArgentine Republic
A2A-A2ZBotswana (Republic of)
A3A-A3ZTonga (Kingdom of)
A4A-A4ZOman (Sultanate of)
A5A-A5ZBhutan (Kingdom of)
A6A-A6ZUnited Arab Emirates
A7A-A7ZQatar (State of)
A8A-A8ZLiberia (Republic of)
A9A-A9ZBahrain (Kingdom of)
BAA-BZZChina (People's Republic of)
CAA-CEZChile
CFA-CKZCanada
CLA-CMZCuba
CNA-CNZMorocco (Kingdom of)
COA-COZCuba
CPA-CPZBolivia (Republic of)
CQA-CUZPortugal
CVA-CXZUruguay (Eastern Republic of)
CYA-CZZCanada
C2A-C2ZNauru (Republic of)
C3A-C3ZAndorra (Principality of)
C4A-C4ZCyprus (Republic of)
C5A-C5ZGambia (Republic of the)
C6A-C6ZBahamas (Commonwealth of the)
C7A-C7ZWorld Meteorological OrganizationSeries allocated to an international organization.
C8A-C9ZMozambique (Republic of)
DAA-DRZGermany (Federal Republic of)
DSA-DTZKorea (Republic of)
DUA-DZZPhilippines (Republic of the)
D2A-D3ZAngola (Republic of)
D4A-D4ZCape Verde (Republic of)
D5A-D5ZLiberia (Republic of)
D6A-D6ZComoros (Union of)
D7A-D9ZKorea (Republic of)
EAA-EHZSpain
EIA-EJZIreland
EKA-EKZArmenia (Republic of)
ELA-ELZLiberia (Republic of)
EMA-EOZUkraine
EPA-EQZIran (Islamic Republic of)
ERA-ERZMoldova (Republic of)
ESA-ESZEstonia (Republic of)
ETA-ETZEthiopia (Federal Democratic Republic of)
EUA-EWZBelarus (Republic of)
EXA-EXZKyrgyz Republic
EYA-EYZTajikistan (Republic of)
EZA-EZZTurkmenistan
E2A-E2ZThailand
E3A-E3ZEritrea
E4A-E4ZPalestinian AuthorityIn response to Resolution 99 (Rev. Busan, 2014) of the Plenipotentiary Conference. (World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15), Geneva, Switzerland, 2–27 November 2015)
E5A-E5ZNew Zealand – Cook IslandsWorld Radiocommunication Conference 2007 (WRC-07), Geneva, Switzerland, 22 October – 16 November 2007
E6A-E6ZNew Zealand – NiueWorld Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15), Geneva, Switzerland, 2–27 November 2015
E7A-E7ZBosnia and HerzegovinaWorld Radiocommunication Conference 2007 (WRC-07), Geneva, Switzerland, 22 October – 16 November 2007
FAA-FZZFrance
GAA-GZZUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
HAA-HAZHungary (Republic of)
HBA-HBZSwitzerland (Confederation of)
HCA-HDZEcuador
HEA-HEZSwitzerland (Confederation of)
HFA-HFZPoland (Republic of)
HGA-HGZHungary (Republic of)
HHA-HHZHaiti (Republic of)
HIA-HIZDominican Republic
HJA-HKZColombia (Republic of)
HLA-HLZKorea (Republic of)
HMA-HMZDemocratic People's Republic of Korea
HNA-HNZIraq (Republic of)
HOA-HPZPanama (Republic of)
HQA-HRZHonduras (Republic of)
HSA-HSZThailand
HTA-HTZNicaragua
HUA-HUZEl Salvador (Republic of)
HVA-HVZVatican City State
HWA-HYZFrance
HZA-HZZSaudi Arabia (Kingdom of)
H2A-H2ZCyprus (Republic of)
H3A-H3ZPanama (Republic of)
H4A-H4ZSolomon Islands
H6A-H7ZNicaragua
H8A-H9ZPanama (Republic of)
IAA-IZZItaly
JAA-JSZJapan
JTA-JVZMongolia
JWA-JXZNorway
JYA-JYZJordan (Hashemite Kingdom of)
JZA-JZZIndonesia (Republic of)
J2A-J2ZDjibouti (Republic of)
J3A-J3ZGrenada
J4A-J4ZGreece
J5A-J5ZGuinea-Bissau (Republic of)
J6A-J6ZSaint Lucia
J7A-J7ZDominica (Commonwealth of)
J8A-J8ZSaint Vincent and the Grenadines
KAA-KZZUnited States of America
LAA-LNZNorway
LOA-LWZArgentine Republic
LXA-LXZLuxembourg
LYA-LYZLithuania (Republic of)
LZA-LZZBulgaria (Republic of)
L2A-L9ZArgentine Republic
MAA-MZZUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
NAA-NZZUnited States of America
OAA-OCZPeru
ODA-ODZLebanon
OEA-OEZAustria
OFA-OJZFinland
OKA-OLZCzech Republic
OMA-OMZSlovak Republic
ONA-OTZBelgium
OUA-OZZDenmark
PAA-PIZNetherlands (Kingdom of the)
PJA-PJZNetherlands (Kingdom of the) – Netherlands Antilles
PKA-POZIndonesia (Republic of)
PPA-PYZBrazil (Federative Republic of)
PZA-PZZSuriname (Republic of)
P2A-P2ZPapua New Guinea
P3A-P3ZCyprus (Republic of)
P4A-P4ZNetherlands (Kingdom of the) – Aruba
P5A-P9ZDemocratic People's Republic of Korea
RAA-RZZRussian Federation
SAA-SMZSweden
SNA-SRZPoland (Republic of)
SSA-SSMEgypt (Arab Republic of)
SSN-STZSudan (Republic of the)
SUA-SUZEgypt (Arab Republic of)
SVA-SZZGreece
S2A-S3ZBangladesh (People's Republic of)
S5A-S5ZSlovenia (Republic of)
S6A-S6ZSingapore (Republic of)
S7A-S7ZSeychelles (Republic of)
S8A-S8ZSouth Africa (Republic of)
S9A-S9ZSão Tomé and Príncipe (Democratic Republic of)
TAA-TCZTurkey
TDA-TDZGuatemala (Republic of)
TEA-TEZCosta Rica
TFA-TFZIceland
TGA-TGZGuatemala (Republic of)
THA-THZFrance
TIA-TIZCosta Rica
TJA-TJZCameroon (Republic of)
TKA-TKZFrance
TLA-TLZCentral African Republic
TMA-TMZFrance
TNA-TNZCongo (Republic of the)
TOA-TQZFrance
TRA-TRZGabonese Republic
TSA-TSZTunisia
TTA-TTZChad (Republic of)
TUA-TUZCôte d'Ivoire (Republic of)
TVA-TXZFrance
TYA-TYZBenin (Republic of)
TZA-TZZMali (Republic of)
T2A-T2ZTuvalu
T3A-T3ZKiribati (Republic of)
T4A-T4ZCuba
T5A-T5ZSomali Democratic Republic
T6A-T6ZAfghanistan
T7A-T7ZSan Marino (Republic of)
T8A-T8ZPalau (Republic of)
UAA-UIZRussian Federation
UJA-UMZUzbekistan (Republic of)
UNA-UQZKazakhstan (Republic of)
URA-UZZUkraine
VAA-VGZCanada
VHA-VNZAustralia
VOA-VOZCanada
VPA-VQZUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
VRA-VRZChina (People's Republic of) – Hong Kong
VSA-VSZUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
VTA-VWZIndia (Republic of)
VXA-VYZCanada
VZA-VZZAustralia
V2A-V2ZAntigua and Barbuda
V3A-V3ZBelize
V4A-V4ZSaint Kitts and Nevis (Federation of)
V5A-V5ZNamibia (Republic of)
V6A-V6ZMicronesia (Federated States of)
V7A-V7ZMarshall Islands (Republic of the)
V8A-V8ZBrunei Darussalam
WAA-WZZUnited States of America
XAA-XIZMexico
XJA-XOZCanada
XPA-XPZDenmark
XQA-XRZChile
XSA-XSZChina (People's Republic of)
XTA-XTZBurkina Faso
XUA-XUZCambodia (Kingdom of)
XVA-XVZViet Nam (Socialist Republic of)
XWA-XWZLao People's Democratic Republic
XXA-XXZChina (People's Republic of)World Radiocommunication Conference 2007 (WRC-07), Geneva, Switzerland, 22 October-16 November 2007
XYA-XZZMyanmar (Union of)
YAA-YAZAfghanistan
YBA-YHZIndonesia (Republic of)
YIA-YIZIraq (Republic of)
YJA-YJZVanuatu (Republic of)
YKA-YKZSyrian Arab Republic
YLA-YLZLatvia (Republic of)
YMA-YMZTurkey
YNA-YNZNicaragua
YOA-YRZRomania
YSA-YSZEl Salvador (Republic of)
YTA-YUZSerbia (Republic of)World Radiocommunication Conference 2007 (WRC-07), Geneva, Switzerland, 22 October-16 November 2007
YVA-YYZVenezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Y2A-Y9ZGermany (Federal Republic of)
ZAA-ZAZAlbania (Republic of)
ZBA-ZJZUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
ZKA-ZMZNew Zealand
ZNA-ZOZUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
ZPA-ZPZParaguay (Republic of)
ZQA-ZQZUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
ZRA-ZUZSouth Africa (Republic of)
ZVA-ZZZBrazil (Federative Republic of)
Z2A-Z2ZZimbabwe (Republic of)
Z3A-Z3ZThe Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Z8A-Z8ZSouth Sudan (Republic of)World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15), Geneva, Switzerland, 2–27 November 2015
2AA-2ZZUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
3AA-3AZMonaco (Principality of)
3BA-3BZMauritius (Republic of)
3CA-3CZEquatorial Guinea (Republic of)
3DA-3DMEswatini (Kingdom of)
3DN-3DZFiji (Republic of)
3EA-3FZPanama (Republic of)
3GA-3GZChile
3HA-3UZChina (People's Republic of)
3VA-3VZTunisia
3WA-3WZViet Nam (Socialist Republic of)
3XA-3XZGuinea (Republic of)
3YA-3YZNorway
3ZA-3ZZPoland (Republic of)
4AA-4CZMexico
4DA-4IZPhilippines (Republic of the)
4JA-4KZAzerbaijani Republic
4LA-4LZGeorgia
4MA-4MZVenezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
4OA-4OZMontenegroWorld Radiocommunication Conference 2007 (WRC-07), Geneva, Switzerland, 22 October-16 November 2007
4PA-4SZSri Lanka (Democratic Socialist Republic of)
4TA-4TZPeru
4UA-4UZUnited NationsSeries allocated to an international organization.
4VA-4VZHaiti (Republic of)
4WA-4WZTimor-Leste (Democratic Republic of)World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03), Geneva, Switzerland, 9 June-4 July 2003
4XA-4XZIsrael (State of)
4YA-4YZInternational Civil Aviation OrganizationSeries allocated to an international organization.
4ZA-4ZZIsrael (State of)
5AA-5AZLibya
5BA-5BZCyprus (Republic of)
5CA-5GZMorocco (Kingdom of)
5HA-5IZTanzania (United Republic of)
5JA-5KZColombia (Republic of)
5LA-5MZLiberia (Republic of)
5NA-5OZNigeria (Federal Republic of)
5PA-5QZDenmark
5RA-5SZMadagascar (Republic of)
5TA-5TZMauritania (Islamic Republic of)
5UA-5UZNiger (Republic of the)
5VA-5VZTogolese Republic
5WA-5WZSamoa (Independent State of)
5XA-5XZUganda (Republic of)
5YA-5ZZKenya (Republic of)
6AA-6BZEgypt (Arab Republic of)
6CA-6CZSyrian Arab Republic
6DA-6JZMexico
6KA-6NZKorea (Republic of)
6OA-6OZSomali Democratic Republic
6PA-6SZPakistan (Islamic Republic of)
6TA-6UZSudan (Republic of the)
6VA-6WZSenegal (Republic of)
6XA-6XZMadagascar (Republic of)
6YA-6YZJamaica
6ZA-6ZZLiberia (Republic of)
7AA-7IZIndonesia (Republic of)
7JA-7NZJapan
7OA-7OZYemen (Republic of)
7PA-7PZLesotho (Kingdom of)
7QA-7QZMalawi
7RA-7RZAlgeria (People's Democratic Republic of)
7SA-7SZSweden
7TA-7YZAlgeria (People's Democratic Republic of)
7ZA-7ZZSaudi Arabia (Kingdom of)
8AA-8IZIndonesia (Republic of)
8JA-8NZJapan
8OA-8OZBotswana (Republic of)
8PA-8PZBarbados
8QA-8QZMaldives (Republic of)
8RA-8RZGuyana
8SA-8SZSweden
8TA-8YZIndia (Republic of)
8ZA-8ZZSaudi Arabia (Kingdom of)
9AA-9AZCroatia (Republic of)
9BA-9DZIran (Islamic Republic of)
9EA-9FZEthiopia (Federal Democratic Republic of)
9GA-9GZGhana
9HA-9HZMalta
9IA-9JZZambia (Republic of)
9KA-9KZKuwait (State of)
9LA-9LZSierra Leone
9MA-9MZMalaysia
9NA-9NZNepal (Federal Democratic Republic of)
9OA-9TZDemocratic Republic of the Congo
9UA-9UZBurundi (Republic of)
9VA-9VZSingapore (Republic of)
9WA-9WZMalaysia
9XA-9XZRwanda (Republic of)
9YA-9ZZTrinidad and Tobago

A unique international prefix

Beginning at the left of the call sign block, the country chooses one, two or three characters from within the range assigned by the ITU, enough to distinguish its call signs from other jurisdictions.

A "letter range" always first refers to the first letter of a block, meaning that in the letter range "AAA–ALZ", the "A" is the letter range-designator.

Factors for a country to consider when choosing within its assigned range:

A unique internal numeral and suffix

The jurisdiction then assigns a single digit (a numeral to separate prefix from suffix) as well as a suffix of from one to four characters (the last being a letter) and appends them in that order to their assigned prefixes. The resulting call sign must uniquely identify a ham radio operator within that jurisdiction.

Sometimes the prefix plus separating numeral is together referred to as the prefix.

This produces internationally recognized, unique call signs to identify licensed operators.

General formats

In general an amateur radio callsign is of one of these forms where:

Call signs almost always have one of the following forms:

Suffix assignment

Since suffixes can also contain digits, some countries issue suffixes (usually temporarily) beginning with enough digits to produce a number, usually associated with the special event (for example the number of years, see New Zealand below).

In normal call sign assignment, if a call sign has two digits (e.g. S59DSC or 2S4LGR –PPNSSS), the first digit is almost always a prefix character (e.g. S5 indicating Slovenia, or 2M indicating Intermediate License holder in Scotland).

Call signs with more than one digit

Call signs with two (or more) digits in them can arise a number of ways. When the digits abut one another, it is important to distinguish which digit belongs to the prefix, which is the separating numeral, and which may belong to the suffix.

In every case (Bahamas being an exception), a jurisdiction assigned a letter-digit prefix by the ITU will have a second digit as their internally assigned prefix/suffix separator. An example is A33A, a Tongan call sign; the first '3' is the second character of the prefix and the second '3' is the numeral separating 'A3' from the single-letter suffix 'A'. There are no single letter prefixes allocated by the ITU with an 'A', so the first '3' must be part of the prefix.

Neither New Zealand's nor the Republic of Ireland's prefixes have numerals as prefix-characters. However, both allow a second numeral as the leading character of the suffix and is not to be confused with the sign's separating numeral. As the first character of the suffix, the two digits can be taken together; for instance, to represent a two-digit number of significance to the operator.

A New Zealand amateur who has been active for 30 years and currently is assigned call sign ZL1xxx can operate as ZL30xxx for up to three months. [9] Technically, the '3' is the separating numeral and the '0' is the first character of the suffix.

Similarly a club with call ZL4xxx which has been established for 23 years can operate as ZL23xxx for up to three months.

The New Zealand operator substitutes their identifying separating numeral with another, so long as a second digit is added to the beginning of their normal suffix. This may result in call sign confusion in the rare case of two amateurs in differing numeral-areas also both having the same number of years of operation and suffix.

Ireland also takes advantage of the ITU standard to allow digits as suffix-characters. The Irish Radio Transmitters Society operates as EI75IRTS celebrating 75 Years of incorporation – 1932–2007. [10]

Ofcom in Great Britain also allows numerals in special event call signs. For instance GB75RD was a special event sign for the 75th anniversary of the Reading and District Amateur radio club. [11]

Numerous other cases of multiple numeral prefixes exist. An example occurred in 1987 when the "200" was used in place of district numbers for the many stations that celebrated the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution.

Exclusions

The 26 letters of the English alphabet and ten digits may be used to form call signs, accented letters excluded.

Letter combinations which can be confused with distress calls or which are reserved as abbreviations for radiocommunications services are excluded (e.g. Q codes). [12] The ITU Article 19 exclusions are those found in ITU-R M.1172. [13] In practice, no prefix begins with the letter 'Q', but 'Q' can be the second letter (e.g. Malawi assigned the 7QA–7QZ block).

Double- or single-digit prefixes are excluded. A callsign with a leading digit in the prefix always has a second character which is a letter and in rare cases a third character which is also a letter.

Currently, no allocated prefix has 0 (zero) or 1 (one) as one of its characters as they can be confused with the letters O (Oscar) and I (India).

All ten digits from 0 to 9 are allowed to be used as a separating numeral at the discretion of national allocating bodies.

Secondary prefix or suffix types

Ancillary prefixes or suffixes further identify the location and/or operating condition of an amateur operator.

According to the Canada/United States Operating Agreement treaty [14] amateurs from one country operating in the other sign with their home call sign, but attach the call area prefix where they are operating to their call. For instance, an amateur from British Columbia (VE7 in Canada) operating in Washington State (K7 in the USA) would amend their home-call with a trailing /K7 (e.g. VE7xxx becomes VE7xxx/K7).

Radio amateurs from countries that apply the CEPT recommendation T/R 61-01 [15] operating as a visitor in countries that apply the same recommendation are required to use the appropriate host country's prefix before their home call sign [16] (in the case of Peru, after the home call sign) and may use the appropriate operating suffix (see below). For instance a British (English) amateur holding a call of G3xxx operating in France would sign as F/G3xxx, a Swiss amateur operating from a car in Germany as DL/HB9xxx/m. Similar rules apply in cases when bilateral agreements on visitors licenses exist, or a visitor is permitted to operate without being assigned a local call sign.

When a country's separating numeral denotes a geographic area within, an operator from one region operating in another region can affix a secondary suffix indicating so. For instance an amateur from Queensland, Australia, operating in Tasmania can sign as VK4xxx/7 or VK4xxx/VK7.

Other secondary operating suffixes can be attached such as /P (for portable operation), /M (for mobile operation), /AM (aeronautical mobile), /MM (maritime mobile), or /A (for operation from an alternative location that is registered with the licensing authorities). Depending on the jurisdiction, the use of these five suffixes may be required for these types of operation. Occasionally self-assigned operating suffixes such as /QRP for operation at low power are heard.

Some repeaters have automatic call sign transmission at regular intervals and use the secondary suffix /R at the call sign's end. Some jurisdictions discourage this practice on the grounds that it could be confused with an amateur from the repeater's location working portable in Russia. Similarly, some beacon stations use the self-assigned secondary suffix /B.

Ancillary prefixUsageNotes
/<digit>VE7xxx/7denotes operator in his/her own call area operating away from primary location
/PVE7xxx/Pdenotes operator in his/her own call area or country operating away from primary location
/<call area>VE7xxx/6, VE7xxx/VE6operator in another call area operating away from primary location, but within national boundary
/<call area>VE7xxx/W7operator in another call area operating away from primary location, but outside of national boundary
<call area>/F/G3xxxoperator in another country than that of the primary location
/MVE7xxx/Moperator in a mobile setting (e.g. moving, or aboard a land vehicle)
/MMVE7xxx/MMoperator in marine mobile setting
/AMVE7xxx/AMoperator in aeronautical mobile setting
/AUR1xxx/Aoperator at a secondary location registered with the licensing authorities

Callsigns within a country

General issuing practices

Each national authority has some options in relation to the form of the prefix, as long as enough characters are selected starting from the left of their assigned block to produce a prefix unique to its jurisdiction.

Each country has authority over which numeral separates the prefix and suffix. The prohibition of the use of the digits 0 and 1 in land mobile stations does not apply to amateur stations. The ITU however does not issue prefixes with either a 0 or 1 as one of the characters.

Bahamas issues call signs without a separating numeral. They are assigned the C6A–C6Z block, and the '6' is part of the prefix. Examples are as found on QRZ.COM (C6AFO, C6AGB, etc.)

In India the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has divided all countries into three regions; India is located in ITU Region 3. These regions are further divided into two competing zones, the ITU and the CQ. Mainland India and the Lakshadweep Islands come under ITU Zone 41 and CQ Zone 22, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands under ITU Zone 49 and CQ Zone 26. The ITU has assigned to India call-sign blocks 8TA to 8YZ, VUA to VWZ, and ATA to AWZ. VU call-signs are listed according to licence grade: for General (formerly the Advanced Grade and Grade–I) licence holders, the call-sign prefix is VU2; for Restricted (formerly Grade–II and Grade–II Restricted) licence holders, the prefix is VU3. The VU3 prefix has also been granted to foreigners operating in India. As of 2011, call-signs consist of only letters, not numerals, and can be either two or three characters long. Examples of Indian amateur radio call-signs are "VU2XY" and "VU3EGH".

The suffix can be from one to four characters subject to ITU exclusions (above). [12] On special occasions, for temporary use, administrations may authorize use of call signs with more than four suffix-characters.

Allocation options within a country

Whereas for ITU purposes the prefix does not include the separating numeral, for country purposes often the separating numeral is included when the prefix is referred to. Thus for Canada VE6 or VA6 are the prefixes for Alberta, while VE2 or VA2 are the prefixes denoting Quebec.

Rare ITU prefixes/DXCC Entities

A country can consist of many DXCC entities depending on its geographical make-up. Some islands which are separate DXCC entities are uninhabited and can only be worked when a DXpedition travels there. The following are countries and/or entities which appear perennially on various listings of rare countries: [19]

Countries which are rarely heard, roughly in this order:

Islands which are rarely heard DXCC entities:

Prefix reassignment

As political boundaries change through treaty or warfare, sometimes call sign prefixes are reassigned by the ITU to the new controlling government, or are reassigned by national governments for other reasons. [20] [21]

Call signs used in unassigned ITU block ranges

QSL card from a station in Chechnya using unofficial prefix "1X". QSL 1X5AA.jpg
QSL card from a station in Chechnya using unofficial prefix "1X".

Some call sign block ranges are unassigned by the ITU, e.g. the 1AA–1ZZ and QAA-QZZ blocks. Any call sign used by an amateur in these unassigned block ranges usually had it assigned to them by a group with an unrecognized national claim. Unless otherwise noted, they have no value for DXCC awards, nor are they valid under UK license conditions. [22]

In addition, during their period of independence from the Republic of South Africa, which lasted in some cases from 1976 to 1994, the Bantustans had prefixes not recognized by the international community. These were:

DXCC entities and IOTA

Amateur radio call sign prefixes almost always locate an operator within one of the 300+ DXCC entities in the world.

Any country or ITU prefix assignment can have many entities within it. For example, in the United States Hawaii (with 'H' as the second character of the prefix and '6' as the separating numeral) and Alaska (with 'L' as the second letter of the prefix) are considered different DXCC entities, as are Sable Island and St. Paul Island in Canada.

The DX Century Club (DXCC) is an amateur radio operating award given by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) to operators making contact with 100 or more geographic entities around the world. As such, the ARRL keeps a list of DXCC entities (not necessarily a country) for this purpose. [34] This list includes deleted entries and prefixes and the dates in which contacts with them will be counted towards the award.

The DXCC List is based upon Clinton B. DeSoto's landmark 1935 QST article defining a "country" as a discrete geographical entity. [35] A geographical portion of one country can be a separate DXCC entity if it is an exclave or an island or group of islands significantly distant from the main part of the national entity.

IOTA is a radio amateur abbreviation for "Islands on the Air". It refers to a list of saltwater islands worldwide maintained by the Radio Society of Great Britain, which assigns a unique code to an island or group of islands, like EU-005 for Great Britain, OC-001 for Australia etc. [36] [37] IOTA codes are not part of the callsign, although some callsign blocks correspond uniquely to an IOTA code, like EA6: EU-004 – Balearic Islands, SV5: EU-001 – Dodecanese Islands, etc. In many other cases there is no direct relation between the callsign and the IOTA code.

Vanity call signs

Individual amateurs may want a callsign with their name or initials embedded, callsigns that had been held by family members or friends, or callsigns that they themselves formerly held (and gave up for whatever reason). Some people want a callsign that is shorter, or easier to pronounce, or just "fits their personality" better. CW (Morse code) operators might want a callsign that "sounds good" or is short when sent in Morse. (This is referred to as "CW weight".)

Radio amateur clubs will sometimes request specific callsigns in memoriam of deceased members (silent keys); G5RV is held by a British club in memory of the inventor of the G5RV antenna. Some request callsigns which reflect specific interests or modes of operation (such as VE3QRP for a low-power radio club in Ontario). The USS Batfish, a museum ship in Muskogee, Oklahoma, has callsign WW2SUB; the USS Oklahoma is commemorated as WW2OK. [38] The Battleship USS Missouri has the call sign KH6BB; VO1TAP is a callsign belonging to the Grassroots Amateur Radio Club, commemorates the anniversary of the USS Truxtun and USS Pollux Naval disaster off the coast of Newfoundland; VO1MCE the callsign of the Irish Loop Amateur Radio Club at the Myrick Wireless Interpretation Centre in Newfoundland, commemorates Cape Race Marconi station MCE as the first point of radio contact in the New World for Titanic . The National World War I Museum and Memorial, at the Liberty Memorial, in Kansas City, Missouri, has the call sign WW1USA.

Various "special event" callsigns are issued for periods ranging from a day to a month, either for individual radio contest days or commemoration of specific current or historic events. GB100MGY commemorated the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic (Marconi station MGY); [39] 2O12 and 2O12L commemorated the 2012 Olympic Games in the United Kingdom.

Occasionally, a radio club will obtain a shorter callsign for a day; the U.S. FCC issues calls as short as 1 × 1 (with "K1D" being a popular choice) for individual events. These callsigns are not permanent and are quickly reassigned to other stations for subsequent events. [40]

A well-known short callsign is JY1, which belonged to Hussein of Jordan, who served as that nation's king.

Ham radio operators in the United States may apply for a specific callsign, including calls from other zones, so long as they have the appropriate license class for the desired callsign format. [41] The callsign must conform to the prefix standard assigned to that area. The U.S. also ties callsigns to license class: an Amateur Extra might have W0OL (which is a "1 × 2" call), but a General-class licensee could not, because 1 × 2 calls are reserved for the Amateur Extra class. Likewise, a ham on the mainland could not get a callsign beginning with the KH6 prefix, which is assigned to Hawaii, although a radio amateur who moves to a different call sign district within the same country is able to keep his or her original callsign.

In Canada, a "2 × 3" call (a format with two letters, a number, three letters, like VE1ZZZ) may be freely requested from a list of available calls; the shorter "2 × 2" call has a waiting period in many provinces.

Callbooks

See also

Related Research Articles

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocates call sign prefixes for radio and television stations of all types. They also form the basis for, but may not exactly match, aircraft registration identifiers. These prefixes are agreed upon internationally, and are a form of country code. A call sign can be any number of letters and numerals but each country must only use call signs that begin with the characters allocated for use in that country.

Call signs are frequently still used by North American broadcast stations, in addition to amateur radio and other international radio stations that continue to identify by call signs worldwide. Each country has a different set of patterns for its own call signs. Call signs are allocated to ham radio stations in Barbados, Canada, Mexico and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DX-pedition</span> Amateur radio "expedition"

A DX-pedition is an expedition to what is considered an exotic place by amateur radio operators and DX listeners, typically because of its remoteness, access restrictions, or simply because there are very few radio amateurs active from that place. This could be an island, a country, or even a particular spot on a geographical grid. DX is a telegraphic shorthand for "distance" or "distant".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aircraft registration</span> Registration and identification assigned to an individual aircraft by civil aviation authorities

An aircraft registration is a code unique to a single aircraft, required by international convention to be marked on the exterior of every civil aircraft. The registration indicates the aircraft's country of registration, and functions much like an automobile license plate or a ship registration. This code must also appear in its Certificate of Registration, issued by the relevant civil aviation authority (CAA). An aircraft can only have one registration, in one jurisdiction, though it is changeable over the life of the aircraft.

In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigned by a government agency, informally adopted by individuals or organizations, or even cryptographically encoded to disguise a station's identity.

Call signs in New Zealand are no longer generally used to identify broadcast stations. However, New Zealand's radio stations were once known by their call signs and would usually broadcast their call signs as a number followed by X, Y, or Z, and another letter. Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU and nationally by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), formerly the Ministry of Economic Development. The ministry is also responsible for providing policy advice to Government on the allocation of New Zealand's radio spectrum to support, efficient, reliable and responsive wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructure.

Call signs in Australia are allocated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority and are unique for each broadcast station. The use of callsigns on-air in both radio and television in Australia is optional, so many stations used other on-air identifications. Australian broadcast stations officially have the prefix VL- and originally all callsigns used that format, but since Australia has no nearby neighbours, this prefix is no longer used except in an international context.

Call signs in the Middle East are unique identifiers for telecommunications and broadcasting in the Middle East. Call signs are regulated internationally by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and nationally by local government and international agencies in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, The Palestinian Authority, occupied territories and other nations or DXCC entities.

Amateur radio call signs in Africa are codes used to identify all radio communications, broadcasts and transmissions. The International Telecommunication Union assigns Africa as ITU region #1. It has assigned call signs prefix blocks to countries including 77 DXCC entities in and off-shore of Africa. Western Sahara is not a DXCC entity but uses SØ as a prefix.

Call signs in Russia are unique identifiers for telecommunications and broadcasting. Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU as well as nationally by Ministry of Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation. The latter is responsible for providing policy on the allocation of Russia's radio spectrum to support efficient, reliable and responsive wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructure.

Call signs in Mexico are unique identifiers for telecommunications, radio communication, radio broadcasting and transmission. They are regulated internationally by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as well as nationally by the Federal Telecommunications Institute, which regulates broadcast stations, wireless telecommunications and spectrum use.

Call signs in Korea are unique identifiers for telecommunications and broadcasting on the Korean peninsula. Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU as well as nationally in South Korea by the Korea Communications Commission in the Ministry of Information and Communication. Not much is known outside of North Korea how amateur radio is regulated, although a foreign amateur was asked to appear before the "Radio Regulation Board" in 2002. Also, North Korea's Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries recently issued an operating permit, which was countermanded by the Ministry of Telecommunications and Posts.

Call signs in Asia are rarely used to identify broadcast stations. In most Asian countries, broadcast stations use other forms of identification. Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan are exceptions to this rule. Amateur radio stations in India, Pakistan, Korea and Japan are allocated call-signs.

Call signs in Europe are not formally used for broadcast stations.

Call signs in Oceania are currently voluntary in Australia radio and TV station, and were previously compulsory in New Zealand. In both countries, stations like 2GB and Newstalk ZB continue to use parts of the call signs in their branding.

Call signs in Canada are official identifiers issued to the country's radio and television stations. Assignments for broadcasting stations are made by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), while amateur stations receive their call signs from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Conventional radio and television broadcasting stations assignments are generally three, four or five letters long and almost exclusively use "C" call signs; with a few exceptions noted below, the "V" calls are restricted to specialized uses such as amateur radio.

Call signs in Antarctica include a three letter region code and a series of numbers and letters.

Call signs in United Kingdom include a three letter country code, and a series of letters and numbers.

Broadcast call signs are call signs assigned as unique identifiers to radio stations and television stations. While broadcast radio stations will often brand themselves with plain-text names, identities such as "cool FM", "rock 105" or "the ABC network" are not globally unique. Another station in another city or country may have a similar brand, and the name of a broadcast station for legal purposes is normally its internationally recognised ITU call sign. Some common conventions are followed around the world.

Prefixes that are used for radio and television are usually allocated by ITU. They also form the basis for, but do not exactly match, aircraft registration identifiers. But in some cases, especially among amateur radio operators other, by ITU unallocated, callsigns are used when operating from disputed areas or countries that are internationally not (yet) recognized. They can be:

References

  1. ↑ "Amateur Radio (Intermediate) License (A) or (B) Terms, Provisions and Limitations Booklet BR68/I". Ofcom.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
  2. ↑ "ARTICLE 19 Identification of stations, Section III – Formation of call signs" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  3. ↑ "Common Filing Task: Obtaining Vanity Call Sign". FCC.gov. Archived from the original on 2007-08-27. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
  4. ↑ "Vanity Call Sign Fees". ARRL. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  5. ↑ Rarely, amateur call signs end in digits. For example, the call sign 9XB954 was issued in Rwanda in 2016. See http://www.m0oxo.com/ Archived 2016-12-16 at the Wayback Machine . Chile has also issued similar call signs, for example CD5846. See http://gel.federachi.cl/index.php?uid=&modulo=busqueda/bus_indicativo/ Archived 2016-12-20 at the Wayback Machine .
  6. ↑ "International Telecommunication Union country call sign assignments" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-12-05. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  7. ↑ "Korea Contest Club, world's longest seawall". Archived from the original on 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  8. ↑ "H2T at QRZ.COM". Archived from the original on 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2010-08-08.
  9. ↑ "PIB46" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  10. ↑ "Irish call book". Archived from the original on 2021-12-04. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  11. ↑ "GB75RD at QRZ.COM". Archived from the original on 2020-10-26. Retrieved 2010-07-21.
  12. 1 2 "ITU-R M.1172". Life.itu.ch. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  13. ↑ "Miscellaneous abbreviations and signals to be used in radiotelegraphy communications in the maritime mobile service". Life.itu.ch. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  14. ↑ "Canada/United States Operating Agreement". Rac.ca. Archived from the original on 2010-10-05. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  15. ↑ "Recommendation T/R 61-01" (PDF). CEPT ECC. 1985–2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-04-16. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  16. ↑ "Lifetime Sample Amateur Radio Licence (including Terms and Conditions)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-19. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  17. ↑ "Vfg122005ge228ndertdurcId1833" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Kurzwellenhörer (SWL) - DARC". Archived from the original on 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  19. ↑ "The 100 most wanted DXCC entities archive". Archived from the original on 2011-05-28. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
  20. ↑ "Amateur radio prefixes". Homepages.tesco.net. 10 January 2012. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  21. ↑ "Prefix Cross References". arrl.org.
  22. ↑ "International Prefixes". Archived from the original on 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  23. ↑ "Sovereign Military Order Of Malta – 1A4A". Ham Gallery. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  24. ↑ "QSL card from Chechnya using unofficial callsign 1X5AA".
  25. ↑ "Spratly Islands – 1S1RR". Ham Gallery. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  26. ↑ "New pirate stations in Ukraine conflict". Archived from the original on 2014-05-31. Retrieved 2014-05-31.
  27. ↑ "D0, D1 - Donetsk People's Republic". Archived from the original on 2017-07-06. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  28. ↑ "O19VB". Archived from the original on 2015-05-30. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  29. ↑ "Western Sahara – S07U". Ham Gallery. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  30. ↑ "Unverified Operation – Principality of Sealand – S1AD". Ham Gallery. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  31. ↑ "QSL n'ayant jamais été créditées au DXCC". Archived from the original on 2015-02-16. Retrieved 2015-03-02.
  32. ↑ "Recommencement of Amateur Radio Services in Republic of Kosovo and the assignment of country call sign – Z6". Archived from the original on 2015-06-20. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  33. ↑ "S8 Transkei (Entité DXCC ayant changé de préfixe)". Archived from the original on 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  34. ↑ "www.arrl.org/country-lists-prefixes DXCC Country list". Arrl.org. Archived from the original on 2010-06-26. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  35. ↑ "DXCC rules". Arrl.org. Archived from the original on 2010-05-11. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  36. ↑ Balsiter R. and Telenius-Lowe S., ed. (2011). IOTA directory. Bedford, UK: Radio Society of Great Britain. ISBN   9781905-086696.
  37. ↑ "RSGB Islands on the Air". Rsgbiota.org. Archived from the original on 2010-07-06. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  38. ↑ "WW2OK/WW2SUB AMATEUR RADIO CLUB". ww2sub.org. Archived from the original on 2022-02-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  39. ↑ "Special Callsign GB100MGY". Archived from the original on 2015-02-23. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
  40. ↑ List of N1R Archived 2015-02-23 at the Wayback Machine special event stations, various.
  41. ↑ "Rules and Availability". U.S. Federal Communications Commission. 28 September 2016. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
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