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>From: LJACK@umab.umd.edu (Larry Jack)
>Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc
>Subject: Info-Hams Digest V91 #271
>Message-ID: <9104051855.AA10738@ucsd.edu>
>Date: 5 Apr 91 17:54:51 GMT
>References: <info-hams-relay@UCSD.EDU>
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From: Larry Jack KL7GLK / V77LJ

        RG8U and other colourful callsigns

Once upon a time a call like RG8U would have stuck out like the famous
sore thumb.  Now I'm not so sure that it would raise much more than a few
eyebrows.
In the Good Old Days (Oh no, not another OF off in Oldtimers heaven)
you could pretty well tell where someone was by his callsign.  I would
place the point of transition around the early '70's with the advent of
the U.S.'s "Funny Calls."  Don't get me wrong, I've have nothing against
them, and for those that don't know what I am referring to they are the
new 2X1, 2X2 calls that were openned up when the FCC began to deregulate
life.  With me they are fine, they are even fun.  Try giving the call
  KU2Q quickly in a pileup,..see?  Or how about a QSL with W1MP?  But
what ham hasn't played head games with callsign alphabet soup?  Certainly
we all want that certain individuality that sets us apart from the crowd.
And as Hams nothing more than our callsigns will ever come close.  What
I'm trying to lead up to a point, which is, as we all strive to become more
unique that the next chap, we all seem to loose anything that is special.
Again, don't get me wrong, the new callsigns are fun, easy(?), colourful &
here to stay.  But think a moment, you Old Farts, to the time when a pre-
fix like KB6 could only have been something, something ***VERY RARE!!***
I found myself thinking this during lastweek's WPX contest,after working a
6I8 station,only to look up the international allocation (who keeps those
rare things like 6I's in their heads?) to find it was Mexico.  Sure sounded
alot rarer than Mexico!  Remember when they all were XE's?  Of course this
does have the effect of making practically anyone at least sound like rare
no matter where they are.  I guess that being "rare" will just have to
be measured by things other than callsigns.  Having been on both side of the
issue (the hunter as well as the hunted--)      .......I will pause briefly
in silent reflection at this passing....and move on.
Which brings me to what I had set out originally to do,to tell all you new
hams a little about the exciting origins and previous  owners of what
you may today consider everyday callsigns.
                                          There was a time when  KC4
                                          would cause world class pileups....
Back in the pre 1970's and to some extent even today a US callsign from
the following areas were rare birds.  Many as you can see, have been
lumped under generic categories like KH# and other deleted completely
as their status (relative to the US) changed, ie: KA#.  Think your call
is just one in a thousand? Take pride amigo, at look at its rich history!

KA6- These were private stations of Americans in Occupied Japan post WW2.
     Unlike state-side callsigns, these were assigned by the military
     commands and not the FCC.  Seems I remember KA1's thru 0's with
     the KA8's being assigned to military club station, all the others
     were home stations.  The Japanese authorities forbid JA's from talking
     to any KA's.  To talk to a Japanese station you had to have a JA license.
     That's another story.
KB6  A rare one-  The Bonnin (Spelling?) and Volcano Islands of the far pacific

KC's  Both 4's and 6's existed,and like KB6's were outside the authority of the
      FCC.  Antarctica and the Canton Islands respectfully.  KC4USA etc. were
      the research stations that would be heard through the frequent solar
      flares.  KC4 is still used there.
KG's   Both 4's and 6's were used.  The 4's are still heard from that sore
       Castro would like to forget, in Cuba.  6's were (still) Guam
KH6    Hawaii -  The KH's (1, 2 etc.) replaced many of the following:
KJ6    Johnson Island.  A real treat to work.  Not much to visit (those
       of us who have wish they could have at least kept this as something
       unique...goodness knows they've little else out there)  Again, assigned
       by the military
KL7    Alaska, still is though no more are assigned- NL7, WL7's today
       but it could change
KM6    Midway Island, Pacific
KN6    Old Novice class licenses from California
KP6    Palmyra and Jarvis Islands, Pacific.  Rare then, Rare today.  KH5
       replaced KP6
KR6    Okinawa, same as the KA's above.
KS     Both 4's and 6's.  The 6's were Saipan, the 4's Swan Island.
       Swan was a CIA base on the coast of Central America. Working a
       real KS4 was to work a spy.
KT's   Fortunately their never were any, but once there was a move afoot
       to have this as the prefix for Technican class licenses.  Similar
       to the KN's and WN's
KV4    Still the Virgin Islands
KW6    Wake Island, Pacific
KX6    The Marshall Islands, now V7's. KX6BU Kwajalein was famous worldwide.
KZ5    The Canal Zone in Panama.

Part 5 Experimental Radio Service Licenses used amateur radio callsigns
except they would include an X in the suffix.    For example  KI2XNA-
the X as the first letter always meant an experimental station.  Since they
were licensed for all kinds of things outside the ham bands, many hams
tuning across these weird calls were easily upset.  All legal though.  The
prefix could be anything, and the district (#) didn't reflect the Ham
call districts.
Still think a KC6 is nothing.....?

                                  Larry Jack KL7GLK (ex KX6LJ, KR6LJ
                                                        KI2XNA  etc.)
-- 
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