[ARC5] Call Letters

[Geoff]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Morrow" <kk5f at earthlink.net>
To: "ARC-5 List" <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2013 12:34 AM
Subject: Re: [ARC5] Call Letters


> Dave wrote:
>
>> 1977 or 1978... somewhere in there.
>> I went for my Extra when the FCC came to Shreveport, LA
>> for a testing session...They had started issuing the 2x1 calls
>> for Extras and I was hoping to get issued one of the "W" or "K"
>> calls, but was a little late for those.
>
> I was still on active duty during that time, and I wasn't paying a
> lot of attention to ham regulatory matters.
>
> The first hint I had of something changing was in 1975 when I
> received notice that my long-held USN-USMC MARS call had been changed
> for some mysterious reason from N0LTD to NNN0LTD.  I learned later
> that was just setting the stage for the new N#xyz ham calls a couple
> of years later.
>
> I was surprised to begin hearing ham 2x1 ham calls starting with
> "A" in 1978.  I had considered "A" and "N" calls to be military and
> naval calls.  What really shocked me just after I left active duty
> in 1979 was to have a CW QSO with a W0xx who told me he was 18 years
> old.  In earlier times, one had to be a ham for two years to sit
> for the Extra exam, then had to be licensed for 25 years to apply
> for a W#xx or K#xx call.  I could not understand how such a call
> was assigned to an 18 year old.  I learned that the 25-year requirement
> was dropped in 1977 as transition to the new call sign system took place.
>
> Personally, I was very disappointed by the dropping of the 25 year
> requirement for a W or K 1x2.  Years later, when vanity calls became
> the rage, I regret that re-issue of 1x3 calls beginning with W or
> K did not have a similar 25-years licensed requirement.  I miss the
> day when one could still find many 1x2 call sign holders on the air
> that were not Extra holders.  Those were the real old timers.  Today,
> one is very likely to hear someone holding one of the old 1x2 calls
> asking something bizarre...like "are RF chokes polarized".  Sad.
>
> I kept my original WA5WGJ call until 1980, when I attended the
> semi-annual FCC examining session in Tulsa to upgrade to Extra.
> Good luck was mine...the systematic sequential call sign assignment
> process gave me my current call of KK5F.  That is way better than
> WA5WGJ on CW or voice.  I propose to never change it.  In truth,
> I had waited to upgrade until the monthly QST notice of recently
> assigned calls showed that the 2x1 calls were about to pass the
> KJ5x block.  I disliked Morse J, Q, Y characters in a call.  I just
> hoped I wasn't testing too early, getting KJ5Q or KJ5Y instead. :-)
>
> Mike / KK5F


My first call was KN2QJM and later K2 so it fulfills your Q and J distaste; 
I never cared for it. Next was Kilo One Uniform Hotel Yankee which was also 
a PITA.

As bad as that K2 call was I kept with CW, worked my way to a 40 wpm 
certificate and did a fair amount of traffic handling and working my way to 
the high speed nets.

When I joined the USN and went aboard ship as as an ETSN I astounded the 
Radiomen by copying their traffic and training sessions in my head while 
doing repairs and PM's in Radio Central. The Chief RM challenged me to a 
high speed net session and I stayed right with him. When he found out I 
could use the "speed key" (bug) proficiently he gave up(-;  I brought my 
Vibroplex Presentation back a few weekends later and stood duty when ops 
were sick, on leave, etc as well as quite a bit of training of newer RM's as 
well as being trained myself on the mill.

Naturally, ET duties took priority but I enjoyed playing RM at sea to 
relieve the boredom. As soon as ham radio aboard ship was authorized I was 
running phone patches on 20M and working CW back in Emergency Radio on 
several bands as /MM. I went from SN to ET2 on that ship.

Carl