"Dee Flint" wrote in message
...

"Jim Hampton" wrote in message
...

"KC8GXW" wrote in message
...


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



This is true; I had the call N2JH back in the 70s. The N prefix was
made
available to amateurs sometime in the late 60s, but I'm not sure exactly
when. My point, however, is that a WA or WB prefix pretty well
indicates
someone who has been licensed for 40 years or so (depending upon
district).
My WB2OSP license was issued in 1964, so figure the WA2 calls were a few
years earlier (WB2CJV would have been in May, 1962).

My point was that no one, I suspect, would apply for a WA or WB prefix
under
the vanity callsign rules. This would, to me, certify that individual
as
an
old-timer. As to the 1X3 calls with a prefix of "W" or "K", my point is
that most of them have probably been issued as a vanity call after the
FCC
started that sometime in the 1990s.

I knew Dwight Hill, K2BRE and he has been an sk for quite a while. Were
he
still alive, he would be close to 90 years old. Certainly, there are
some
still around with us with a 1X3 issued back in the 50s or earlier
(Wayne,
W2NSD comes to mind), but I suspect *most* current 1X3 or 1X2 holders
are
holders due to having a vanity call.


They did not run out of sequentially issued 1x3 calls until sometime in
1993
(varying slightly by call area). Sequentially issued 1x2 calls were still
available in come call areas into the early 1990s. The 1x2s really went
fast in late 1980s and the very early 1990s. I knew a great many hams who
had finally chosen to upgrade to Extra so that they could contribute to
amateur radio by becoming VEs and got their 1x2s. Although you didn't
have
to be an Extra to be a VE, you were limited on who you could administer
tests to if you were not.

I received my call (N8UZE) in 1992 and my daughter received her call
(N8ZNW)
in 1993.

Dan's point of a 1X3 being an indicator of an old timer does not hold
water.

Definitely not. Many holders of 1x3 calls got their licenses in the 1990s
and many new licenses today are getting 1x3 calls through the vanity
system
since there are none available for sequential issue. However if one looks
only at the sequentially issued calls, the Ws are older than the Ks which
in
turn are older than the Ns.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE


Hello, Dee

I am pretty sure you are correct. I also believe that WV2 was the novice
prefix which would turn into WA2 when the tech or general was obtained (no
quick routes to the extra back then; you had to have some time with a
license before you could even take the test). WN2 turned into WB2. Not
sure about the K prefix. The novice goes back into the 50s, I believe.

You are right, when the Ws were exhausted, they ran through the Ks. Then
they started with WA and so on. The N prefix became available in the very
late 60s or very early 70s. WA and WB predate the N prefix.

Still haven't heard from Dan. Perhaps we could sked for a nice chat - as
long as he can put up with a "newbie". Better keep it slow, say 30 words
per minute cw with no automated copy devices. I suppose if he pushes me, I
might consider 40. Not much more, however; I'm not up to that stuff
anymore. Of course, if push came to shove .... I might be willing to give
the high-speed stuff a crack, but don't expect much from a former WN prefix.

If he *really* wants to push the envelope, I'd be willing to take a week and
meet him using American Land-Line Morse. Should be good for a hoot. No
more than 16, however, as I'd be using a mental look-up table. Not enough
call for land-line Morse to make it worthwhile to get good at it. I only
used it once in 1968. Of course, I hadn't copied Morse since 1969 when I
retook the extra in 1993 .... at 20 words per minute ....



73 from Rochester, NY
Jim AA2QA, newbie extrodinaire
ps - the new guys and gals deserve respect too. I guess I just didn't care
for his implication on the prefix.