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Doug Smith W9WI wrote: Thierry wrote: I am currently writing a long article about the history of ham radio for my website (growing...). Can someone tell me who : - What committee or association assigned the first prefix to callsigns in the middle of 1920's, ITC (future ITU) ? International Amateur Radio Union (which still exists today). See http://lists.contesting.com/archives.../msg00111.html . (scroll down) Actually, prefixes had been assigned informally and without official coordination even before that. - On what base (I suppose location) US stations were assigned A, K, N or W letters and who decided for the other countries ? Until the end of World War 2, all USA stations were assigned W prefixes. K prefixes were used in U.S. possessions (Puerto Rico, Guam, Alaska, Hawaii, etc.). (remember that Alaska and Hawaii were not yet states until 1959) K prefixes were assigned to U.S. amateurs when the W calls ran out in the 1950s. I *believe* A and N were made available when "vanity calls" were first allowed in 1976. I have never seen a good explanation of why the USA received the letters A, K, N, and W. - Who currently manage these prefixes at a worldwide scale ? ITU-R (ex CCIR) ITU apportions prefixes among countries; each country's administration decides which ITU-provided prefixes to use for amateurs and how to assign them. Didn't the early radio letter prefixes follow international Aircraft identifier prefixes in use at the time? -- Chuck Reti WV8A Detroit MI |
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