What's in a Call Sign?
On July 15, 2019, more than two weeks after I successfully completed the amateur radio Technician class license exam, I found myself listed in the FCC call sign database . My call sign was KN6DBC. My logbook shows that I worked KC1CAL in Florida on a linked repeater system that morning, the first of what now numbers in the thousands of QSOs. Almost immediately, I developed a love/hate relationship with my call sign. I took pride in it as the call sign that I earned by passing that first of (so far) two exams. Once I had a chance to establish myself among the amateur radio community, it became a sort of on-air identity. But it doesn't flow well. The phonetics—kilo november six delta bravo charlie—don't exactly roll off the tongue, nor is it particularly easy to key in CW. There's that K . I've lived my entire life in a part of the United States where the broadcasters all start their call signs with a K . K is commonplace. K is old hat. W means you're a long w