I was recently asked how I came by my 1*3 callsign. This came as a part of a discussion on one of the Ham radio forums, wherein an older gent complaining that there is little in the way of prestige for callsigns anymore, since we're allowed vanity calls and not forced to change callsigns when we move to a different call zone, etc. I'm not sure I buy either of those arguments.
But before getting into that, here's how I managed to come up with my chosen vanity call...
With the encouragement of some of the local "ham radio royalty" if you
will in my neighborhood I applied for my 1x3 call sign when I had only
been a technician for about a month.
(This gent, it should be noted,is a long time holder of an extra, and who retains the callsign he was originally assigned at random when he got his general back when Grok was hammering out licenses with a hammer and chisel in stone tablets. 😁😁😁)
I suppose there are those who would shake their head over that my getting the call so early in my Ham radio career, but my
reasoning was that I wanted to print some QSL cards, and I didn't want to
have to print a second batch when my call sign changed, which I was
determined it was going to happen one way or the other, eventually. That thought was solidified by the oncoming policy changes which would have cost me $35, even assuming the call was available when I finally decided to pursue it.
As you've
probably figured, the suffix on my call is my initials. I grabbed it
when I did because I figured... with some convincing by the aforementioned local royalty, that the chances were pretty good that it
wouldn't be available when I finally decided I was worthy of it. Thing is, I had that backwards.
After I attained this call, I actually did some research on the previous holder of the call, and
best I can determine the holder of that call was an amateur from the
Brooklyn New York area back in 1956. I only found one rather vague reference to this call, and looking back as this is written, I can't find it, now, sadly.
Given that, it seems the safe assumption that the original holder of this call sign
is SK by now. All I can do I suppose is to hope that I'm doing his call
Justice. I say that because I figure the only prestige that my call sign
indicates is the prestige that I bring to it with my operations.
And that's going to be the thrust of my post, today.... I have found over the past few years, I respectfully submit today, that the only thing that brings prestige to your operations, isn't your callsign, it's your operations themselves.
Yes, it is true that often the holders of 1x2 calls, for example, often are very classy operators, but in my experience, there is no direct connection there. One call hold a 1x2 call (for example) and be a complete anus. I've worked a few such people... something I suppose we've all run into at one time for another. On the other hand, as an example of the opposite end of the band, I consider the gent I mentioned earlier to be among the classiest operators I know... and someone with whom I've enjoyed a wonderful friendship over the past few years.
I wanted the call I have because I thought it brought a personal touch.... and it was fairly easy to obtain. But.... and I stress this, by repeating myself....the only prestige that my call sign
indicates is the prestige that I bring to it with my operations.
Think of it this way.... Your callsign, however derived, is your on-air name. It's how you identify yourself and your station. But... and I stress this.... what is at least equally... and probably more important is that your on air activities also identify you. They are what gives the reputation, and the prestige, not the call itself.
Ham radio would be far better as a whole were we to keep that in mind when we activate that little red light. .
73,
de K2ENF
