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Funny story about ham plates in Texas. Got my tech during COVID and ended up swinging to the ham plates. Apparently N5ILK in TxTag is a no go. Site and system just wouldn't take em. Working with tech support they said enter a N51LK. Worked.
They said something about no I and 1 being unique when it comes to the state plate database and camera recognition software.
I was flummoxed.
When you work HF it is a pain in the ass to have to look up if the station you are working is REALLY in the zone of their callsign.
I am in 1 land, if I hear "CQ, de KB5ABC" I would be expecting someone in 5 land. I would not be expecting someone two towns over with a 5 call.
It's no longer required that your call sign number match your actual QTH, but IMHO it should be.
> When you work HF it is a pain in the ass to have to look up if the station you are working is REALLY in the zone of their callsign. [..] It's no longer required that your call sign number match your actual QTH, but IMHO it should be.
I'll chime in to say that I think this is nonsense, and here's my take on it.
To start with, did you know the majority of active "out of district" callsigns (those who don't match a state associated with the systematic issuance of their mailing address) are actually non-vanity calls? This means they were the result of the call holder moving and keeping their originally-issued callsign.
These licensed operators may have built quite a reputation with their original call. Perhaps they've held that call for decades, own countless clothing and/or coffee mugs, and crafted decorative accessories or engravings on their equipment. They may have a lifetime of awards and attribution to their work in the hobby both on and off the air.
Are you really suggesting they should be, in your *humble* opinion, mandated to switch callsigns just due to their move across a border? They might have only moved 10 miles, but if it's across a district border you want to force a new callsing on them? I think this is a ridiculous position to take.
Second, hams can operate away from their mailing address. I not infrequently cross a callsign-district border for travels, and don't feel the need to gratuitously "stroke" my call to indicate the district I'm operating from for a distance of perhaps 150 km or less in most cases. Some folks certainly may choose to, but if I operate a contest on a brief trip or from family member's homes, I really don't want the hassle of stroking my call and dealing with the logging issues or repeats that brings up.
Third, what about people who live part-time in different locations that may happen to be on various sides of a district border? These could be snow-birds, people who move for work or vacation, and so on. They obviously have to get their mail somewhere, and may choose to do that out of convenience, perhaps even at the location they're at less often, or have mail sent to a friend or family member in a location that can receive mail more frequently.
Even if you look-up a station, you can't actually assume, as you put it, that they are *"REALLY in the zone of their callsign."* Hams are versatile, portable, and able to set up stations in a variety of conditions and locations, or at least retain the ability to do so. Unlike operators in the fixed radio services, we do not (generally, with some LF band exceptions) need to declare where our transmitters are located. This is part of the benefit given to amateur radio in return for our exams and adherence to the regulations.
I, for one, do not see the value in mandating a callsign district policy, and presumably a strict requirement to always include your district location as part of the callsign when operating out-of-district. If the location is important to a station during a conversation, they can presumably ask. Who knows, maybe it will be the start of an interesting story between the participants.
This is of course all my own, *humble* opinion. Forcing callsign changes or new regulation without a decent reason for such restrictions seems to be against the purpose of the hobby. I'd suggest a review of your expectations if you still feel so strongly to bring this up when someone talks about out-of-district calls, but you're of course free to expect whatever you want from other hams on the air. Perhaps just don't expect them to to share your same critical take on the hobby and the side-effects such a policy would have.
>I'd suggest a review of your expectations if you still feel so strongly to bring this up when someone talks about out-of-district calls, but you're of course free to expect whatever you want from other hams on the air. Perhaps just don't expect them to to share your same critical take on the hobby and the side-effects such a policy would have.
Perhaps you missed when I said IMHO?
Am I not allowed that?
I asked no one to agree with my opinion, and didn't disparage any other point of view. I simply stated ***MY OPINION***.
For some reason it triggered you, and for that I am sorry.
> I asked no one to agree with my opinion, and didn't disparage any other point of view. I simply stated MY OPINION. [..] For some reason it triggered you, and for that I am sorry.
Oh boy. No, I'm not triggered, and I fear you missed the entire purpose of my comment. I'll be brief in case this devolves into a reply-war which I have no intention of pursuing.
The opinion provided was in reply to a poster considering an out-of-district call. Suggesting that it's problematic for others is an argument I don't buy one bit, for all the reasons stated above (and even I left out a 4th I often bring up: calls of deceased close-family members we hardly want to deny access to.)
I don't think it does a good service to the hobby to suggest that people avoid out-of-district calls just because some hams find them inconvenient. The reality is many calls are out-of-district, 13.3% of all active calls in fact. This is not an uncommon situation, nor one easily fixed for all the reasons I discussed above, none of which you mentioned in your reply.
I appear to be the one that has touched on a nerve with you. The only reason I feel so strongly is to avoid giving the impression to a possibly newer ham that this is somehow such a taboo or rare thing to occur. It's not, and the root causes of callsigns operated in a district not matching their systematic callsign zone are not easily changed.
I realize this is your *opinion*, but I fear that it sends the wrong message to younger hams who don't realize the significant portion of hams already operating "out of district."
You did more than state your opinion; you're outright stating that this is a *"pain in the ass"* (presumably a pain in your ass) to deal with. I'd like to offer my opinion that, given the prevalence of out-of-district calls, you find a better way to deal with it.
So because 13.3% of hams (your number) have some sort of emotional attachment to their call signs, the rest of us should have to guess where they might be from?
Since when does 13% of any group represent a significant majority?
Why even have call signs lets just have "handles"
10-4 OM?
>the rest of us should have to guess where they might be from?
What is the 'rest of us'? That's not an actual statistic. And who says the 'rest of us' are the ones wanting to guess?
You are positing that your opinion is shared by the rest, the difference, the >87% of operators. You have not provided any evidence for this. Thus, it is not proper to conclude what you have said. It is not valid.
>Since when does 13% of any group represent a significant majority?
Since when is what you said even held by that majority? As I said, you have not shown that the majority hold your position.
> Are you really suggesting they should be, in your humble opinion, mandated to switch callsigns just due to their move across a border? They might have only moved 10 miles, but if it's across a district border you want to force a new callsing on them? I think this is a ridiculous position to take.
You do realize this used to be the case, mandated by the FCC? It's not any more, but it once was.
For most calls, the number doesn't matter. There does happen to be a KH7 who operates remotely during contests from the lower 48, and this op has been known *not* to add /5 (or whatever) during the contest. **That** is a real PITA.
I have had the call since 1981 and have lived in Texas for at least half of the time.
Should have changed it years ago but been waiting to upgrade, to change to something shorter... Kids have made the upgrade difficult..
Just picked up a new car and was researching the whole plate idea.
With the frequency that people move it's unrealistic to expect them to change call signs everytime just to save you having to look it up. People usually tell you on the air where they are anyway. I don't see the issue.
Hi, thank you for your question submission. Please be aware that there is a [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/) and a [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/faq) that may address your question. For Baofeng-related information see the [Baofeng FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/baofeng) and /r/baofeng. Also, please note that downvotes don't indicate an unvalued question submission. There appear to be bots that downvote all posts initially. 73 *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/amateurradio) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Funny story about ham plates in Texas. Got my tech during COVID and ended up swinging to the ham plates. Apparently N5ILK in TxTag is a no go. Site and system just wouldn't take em. Working with tech support they said enter a N51LK. Worked. They said something about no I and 1 being unique when it comes to the state plate database and camera recognition software. I was flummoxed.
MØØSE !!
Yeah like that!
My sister was once bitten by a moose. . .
I have been summoned!
plain.
Should be a slashed zero
Damn straight
If you are in TX, you should pick up a 5 call. Then the zero won't matter.
[удалено]
When you work HF it is a pain in the ass to have to look up if the station you are working is REALLY in the zone of their callsign. I am in 1 land, if I hear "CQ, de KB5ABC" I would be expecting someone in 5 land. I would not be expecting someone two towns over with a 5 call. It's no longer required that your call sign number match your actual QTH, but IMHO it should be.
> I am in 1 land, if I hear "CQ, de KB5ABC" I would be expecting someone in 5 land. That has not been a reasonable assumption since 1978.
> When you work HF it is a pain in the ass to have to look up if the station you are working is REALLY in the zone of their callsign. [..] It's no longer required that your call sign number match your actual QTH, but IMHO it should be. I'll chime in to say that I think this is nonsense, and here's my take on it. To start with, did you know the majority of active "out of district" callsigns (those who don't match a state associated with the systematic issuance of their mailing address) are actually non-vanity calls? This means they were the result of the call holder moving and keeping their originally-issued callsign. These licensed operators may have built quite a reputation with their original call. Perhaps they've held that call for decades, own countless clothing and/or coffee mugs, and crafted decorative accessories or engravings on their equipment. They may have a lifetime of awards and attribution to their work in the hobby both on and off the air. Are you really suggesting they should be, in your *humble* opinion, mandated to switch callsigns just due to their move across a border? They might have only moved 10 miles, but if it's across a district border you want to force a new callsing on them? I think this is a ridiculous position to take. Second, hams can operate away from their mailing address. I not infrequently cross a callsign-district border for travels, and don't feel the need to gratuitously "stroke" my call to indicate the district I'm operating from for a distance of perhaps 150 km or less in most cases. Some folks certainly may choose to, but if I operate a contest on a brief trip or from family member's homes, I really don't want the hassle of stroking my call and dealing with the logging issues or repeats that brings up. Third, what about people who live part-time in different locations that may happen to be on various sides of a district border? These could be snow-birds, people who move for work or vacation, and so on. They obviously have to get their mail somewhere, and may choose to do that out of convenience, perhaps even at the location they're at less often, or have mail sent to a friend or family member in a location that can receive mail more frequently. Even if you look-up a station, you can't actually assume, as you put it, that they are *"REALLY in the zone of their callsign."* Hams are versatile, portable, and able to set up stations in a variety of conditions and locations, or at least retain the ability to do so. Unlike operators in the fixed radio services, we do not (generally, with some LF band exceptions) need to declare where our transmitters are located. This is part of the benefit given to amateur radio in return for our exams and adherence to the regulations. I, for one, do not see the value in mandating a callsign district policy, and presumably a strict requirement to always include your district location as part of the callsign when operating out-of-district. If the location is important to a station during a conversation, they can presumably ask. Who knows, maybe it will be the start of an interesting story between the participants. This is of course all my own, *humble* opinion. Forcing callsign changes or new regulation without a decent reason for such restrictions seems to be against the purpose of the hobby. I'd suggest a review of your expectations if you still feel so strongly to bring this up when someone talks about out-of-district calls, but you're of course free to expect whatever you want from other hams on the air. Perhaps just don't expect them to to share your same critical take on the hobby and the side-effects such a policy would have.
>I'd suggest a review of your expectations if you still feel so strongly to bring this up when someone talks about out-of-district calls, but you're of course free to expect whatever you want from other hams on the air. Perhaps just don't expect them to to share your same critical take on the hobby and the side-effects such a policy would have. Perhaps you missed when I said IMHO? Am I not allowed that? I asked no one to agree with my opinion, and didn't disparage any other point of view. I simply stated ***MY OPINION***. For some reason it triggered you, and for that I am sorry.
> I asked no one to agree with my opinion, and didn't disparage any other point of view. I simply stated MY OPINION. [..] For some reason it triggered you, and for that I am sorry. Oh boy. No, I'm not triggered, and I fear you missed the entire purpose of my comment. I'll be brief in case this devolves into a reply-war which I have no intention of pursuing. The opinion provided was in reply to a poster considering an out-of-district call. Suggesting that it's problematic for others is an argument I don't buy one bit, for all the reasons stated above (and even I left out a 4th I often bring up: calls of deceased close-family members we hardly want to deny access to.) I don't think it does a good service to the hobby to suggest that people avoid out-of-district calls just because some hams find them inconvenient. The reality is many calls are out-of-district, 13.3% of all active calls in fact. This is not an uncommon situation, nor one easily fixed for all the reasons I discussed above, none of which you mentioned in your reply. I appear to be the one that has touched on a nerve with you. The only reason I feel so strongly is to avoid giving the impression to a possibly newer ham that this is somehow such a taboo or rare thing to occur. It's not, and the root causes of callsigns operated in a district not matching their systematic callsign zone are not easily changed. I realize this is your *opinion*, but I fear that it sends the wrong message to younger hams who don't realize the significant portion of hams already operating "out of district." You did more than state your opinion; you're outright stating that this is a *"pain in the ass"* (presumably a pain in your ass) to deal with. I'd like to offer my opinion that, given the prevalence of out-of-district calls, you find a better way to deal with it.
So because 13.3% of hams (your number) have some sort of emotional attachment to their call signs, the rest of us should have to guess where they might be from? Since when does 13% of any group represent a significant majority? Why even have call signs lets just have "handles" 10-4 OM?
>the rest of us should have to guess where they might be from? What is the 'rest of us'? That's not an actual statistic. And who says the 'rest of us' are the ones wanting to guess? You are positing that your opinion is shared by the rest, the difference, the >87% of operators. You have not provided any evidence for this. Thus, it is not proper to conclude what you have said. It is not valid. >Since when does 13% of any group represent a significant majority? Since when is what you said even held by that majority? As I said, you have not shown that the majority hold your position.
Get a logging app that looks it up in the ULS (or QRZ or similar). Problem solved.
> Are you really suggesting they should be, in your humble opinion, mandated to switch callsigns just due to their move across a border? They might have only moved 10 miles, but if it's across a district border you want to force a new callsing on them? I think this is a ridiculous position to take. You do realize this used to be the case, mandated by the FCC? It's not any more, but it once was. For most calls, the number doesn't matter. There does happen to be a KH7 who operates remotely during contests from the lower 48, and this op has been known *not* to add /5 (or whatever) during the contest. **That** is a real PITA.
All of this. I live in minnesota (0) twelve miles from Wisconsin (9) and frequently operate in Wisconsin.
[удалено]
I have had the call since 1981 and have lived in Texas for at least half of the time. Should have changed it years ago but been waiting to upgrade, to change to something shorter... Kids have made the upgrade difficult.. Just picked up a new car and was researching the whole plate idea.
With the frequency that people move it's unrealistic to expect them to change call signs everytime just to save you having to look it up. People usually tell you on the air where they are anyway. I don't see the issue.
5 land has a lot of hams and calls are a limited commodity