[ARC5] Call Letters

[Mike Morrow]

Mac wrote:

> I've been using "Great King Kong" since my Novice days back in 53-54.

Someone suggested "King Kong's Five Fingers" for my call shortly after
I got it in 1980.  That was clever, I thought...but I hate non-standard
"cute" phonetics.

I liked many new 2x1 calls because they reminded me of the foreign calls
one found mentioned in 1930s QST and Radio magazines, which I collect and
love to read even today.  Many 2x1 calls still sound exotic to me.

I also like having a call that I know has never been issued anywhere,
in any service, but to me.  Some of the post-WWII K 1x2 calls had been
issued outside CONUS pre-WWII (such as K4 in Puerto Rico, and K5 in Canal
Zone), and almost all N 1x2 ham calls are **currently** also assigned as
aircraft calls.  Quirky.

It is unfortunate that there is not some authoritative collection of
every US ham call ever issued that includes every holder of that call
and the time period that the call was held.

Mike / KK5F