KC8GXW wrote in
:



Jim Hampton wrote:
Hello, Dan

A 1X2 call starting with "W" or "K"? How many of these folks do you
think are around that are *not* in possession of a vanity call?
C'mon! Give us a break! The original holders of 1X2 calls are
mostly, if not entirely, sk. A dear friend of mine, W2ZS (almost the
end of the 1X2 calls) has been sk for decades. Like about 3 decades.

My original call, issued in 1962, was WN2CJV. That would have made me
WB2CJV had I passed the 13 word per minute code test. Unfortunately,
it took me another year to get to 13 and I obtained WB2OSP in 1964.

With the issuance of vanity call signs, most of the 1X3 calls are gone
- mostly vanity call signs. Depending upon the call district, some of
the states were as far as a WD prefix.

Since I doubt many folks would spend money to get a call sign
beginning with WA, WB, etc., those are the folks that you can be
certain have been licensed since the early 60s. I did obtain WA3RJX
in 1970, however, when I moved to Pennsylvania. Still, had I kept
that call, it would be 35 years old! Moving back then might also
require a call sign change - along with a "newbie" type call sign.

When the FCC allowed extra class licensees to choose their own call
sign in the early 70s, I obtained N2JH. At that point, I'm not sure
if they would allow you to grab an old expired call.

Once the gates were opened for vanity call signs, all bets are off as
to how long an amateur has been licensed. My bet would be that the WA
and WB type prefixes would be the only ones that would *almost*
guarantee the individual has been licensed long enough to qualify for
the quarter century club. It won't be long (and may have already
happened) that there are some 5 word per minute folks with a 1X2 call
(which means fairly new hams).

I know a few with N8*** that are/were 5 wpm and were licensed in 1983
or earlier, I don't think that would make them fairly new hams. A few
more years and they will qualify for the quarter century club.

I have to ask what the heck you were thinking with your response that
a 1X2 or 1X3 call indicates an old timer?

???



73 from Rochester, NY
Jim AA2QA




I became eligible for QCWA this year (it goes from January 1st of your 25th
year since getting a ham licence of any class anywhere in the world), but
there's no chapter near here, AFAIK, which makes me less inclined to join.
I was first licenced in the UK (as a no-coder, LOL!) so my US call isn't
indicative of when I was first licenced. I'm not sure exactly when the US
call allocation system was changed, but I understand that it was more than
25 years ago, so there are some original 1x3 'N' calls that would be
eligible for QCWA now. I beleive that someone with an N3C__ call told me it
was issued in 1980.

73 de Alun, G8VUK, N3KIP

Licensed since 29th February 1980