On 2004-06-08 19:44:50 -0500, "Keyboard In The Noise" said:

Had an inquiry that sed his Dad's call was W10XEG

Before 1946 -- I think there were just call areas one thru nine.

Sometime around 1946, the 10th call area was established -- the zero
district, but was this ever the W10 area ??

Also the X in the suffix -- I thought was for experimental stations ???

Any old timers recall ??

Thanks

Post any answers here please


There were never any 1X4 callsigns issued. If the first letter of the
suffix started with X, then it was an experimental station. I think
this ended in the 50s. Early TV stations in the 30s had calls like
W2XGE and so on. I always thought it was odd to have an amateur type
call attached to experimental commercial stations.

I think the 10th call area (0) started in the late 40s. If you were in
the new 10th district but had a W9 call, you received a W0 call with
the same suffic as your W9 call had.

Hope this helps,

73
George
K3UD

Thanks to all who answered -- seems to narrow down to an experimental
commercial call sign as the person that inquired sed his Dad had the call
and was also a station engineer at an early NY TV station.

Coincidently he was a Ham also maybe held 2NJ back in the 20's

--
Keyboard In The Noise

Opinions are the cheapest commodities in the world. Author unknown but
"right on"
"K3UD" wrote in message
news:2004061011544816807%K3UD@yahoonet...
On 2004-06-08 19:44:50 -0500, "Keyboard In The Noise" said:

Had an inquiry that sed his Dad's call was W10XEG

Before 1946 -- I think there were just call areas one thru nine.

Sometime around 1946, the 10th call area was established -- the zero
district, but was this ever the W10 area ??

Also the X in the suffix -- I thought was for experimental stations ???

Any old timers recall ??

Thanks

Post any answers here please


There were never any 1X4 callsigns issued. If the first letter of the
suffix started with X, then it was an experimental station. I think
this ended in the 50s. Early TV stations in the 30s had calls like
W2XGE and so on. I always thought it was odd to have an amateur type
call attached to experimental commercial stations.

I think the 10th call area (0) started in the late 40s. If you were in
the new 10th district but had a W9 call, you received a W0 call with
the same suffic as your W9 call had.

Hope this helps,

73
George
K3UD

Had this report regarding 2 digit callsigns

However, when ITU held their plenipot meeting here in 1998, we were
assigned the special-event calls N98ITU and W98ITU. Those are the only
examples I know which included two numeric characters in a US amateur
callsign.


--
Keyboard In The Noise

There were never any 1X4 callsigns issued. If the first letter of the
suffix started with X, then it was an experimental station. I think
this ended in the 50s. Early TV stations in the 30s had calls like
W2XGE and so on. I always thought it was odd to have an amateur type
call attached to experimental commercial stations.

I think the 10th call area (0) started in the late 40s. If you were in
the new 10th district but had a W9 call, you received a W0 call with
the same suffic as your W9 call had.

Hope this helps,

73
George
K3UD

In article 2004061011544816807%K3UD@yahoonet, K3UD wrote:
On 2004-06-08 19:44:50 -0500, "Keyboard In The Noise" said:

Had an inquiry that sed his Dad's call was W10XEG

Before 1946 -- I think there were just call areas one thru nine.

Sometime around 1946, the 10th call area was established -- the zero
district, but was this ever the W10 area ??

Also the X in the suffix -- I thought was for experimental stations ???

Any old timers recall ??

Thanks

Post any answers here please


There were never any 1X4 callsigns issued. If the first letter of the
suffix started with X, then it was an experimental station. I think
this ended in the 50s. Early TV stations in the 30s had calls like
W2XGE and so on. I always thought it was odd to have an amateur type
call attached to experimental commercial stations.

HAH! Look up the history of channel 5, Ames Ia. Early on, Iowa State
University used W0YI, for their television station, which _is_ the callsign
for the amateur radio facility there. The eventual commercial callsign WOI
is a direct derivative of that amateur radio callsign.

I think the 10th call area (0) started in the late 40s. If you were in
the new 10th district but had a W9 call, you received a W0 call with
the same suffic as your W9 call had.

W0YI is considered a 1x2 call

You are correct at one time the Y suffix was for schools colleges and
universities -- some are still extant today

See Stanford ARC W6YX (1922) is Stanford,

W9YB (1920) is Purdue

--
Keyboard In The Noise

HAH! Look up the history of channel 5, Ames Ia. Early on, Iowa State
University used W0YI, for their television station, which _is_ the
callsign
for the amateur radio facility there. The eventual commercial callsign
WOI
is a direct derivative of that amateur radio callsign.

"Keyboard In The Noise" wrote:
Coincidently he was a Ham also maybe held 2NJ back in the 20's

Might that be Charles Sanders, 186-05 Man Gin Ave, St. Albans, L.I., N.Y. ?

Just a shot...that's W2NJ from my 1934 Callbook.

K3HVG wrote:

A further search of some 40's QSTs reveals that WERS NCS stations appear
to have 4-letter calls, such as WJUY and subordinates would be WJUY-1,
2, 10, 11, ad infinitum. These calls don't look like the one originally
posted, however.... Dunno?

Special issued calls maybe? Nothing like that in my 47 Callbook.

(Robert Bonomi) wrote:

HAH! Look up the history of channel 5, Ames Ia. Early on, Iowa State
University used W0YI, for their television station, which _is_ the callsign
for the amateur radio facility there. The eventual commercial callsign WOI
is a direct derivative of that amateur radio callsign.

I'm not sure how "early on" you mean but from my 1934 Callbook you'll notice
it's W9YI not W0YI since there was no tenth district:

W9YI-Iowa State College, Edd R. McKee, 2119 Country Club Blvd., Ames Iowa.

However by my 1947 Callbook the switch to W0YI had been made and as another
poster pointed out they kept the same suffix:

W0YI-Campus R. C., Eng Annex, Iowa St. Coll. Ames Iowa

"Keyboard In The Noise" wrote:
You are correct at one time the Y suffix was for schools colleges and
universities -- some are still extant today

Virtually every Y call in my 1934 Callbook is a school. But they got away from
that by the 1947 Callbook where the vast majority is not.

See Stanford ARC W6YX (1922) is Stanford,

In 1934 W6YX is listed as "same QRA as W6FBU". W6FBU is listed to James M Sharp
Jr. at Stanford Eng. W6FBU then also lists W6DMY. W6DMY lists the home address
of Sharp, apparently the Stanford station trustee. Probably more than you wanted
to know, but I found it interesting...

2NJ type calls up to 1928
With the advent of the Radio Act of 1912, the first Amateur Radio License is
issued. The call letters assigned to the United States were NAA -NZZ, WAA -
WZZ, and KDA to KZZ (KAA-KCZ was assigned to Germany and was not given to
the United States until 1929). The somewhat puzzling Amateur calls like 1AW,
6OI, 2MN, etc. is explained by the fact that Amateur stations did not
qualify for international call signs. At that time, the USA was divided into
nine Radio Districts so Amateurs were granted calls consisting of their
district number followed by letters, the first letter was from A through W,
for example, 1AW, 1TS. Recognition was given to certain land stations, X as
the first letter for Experimental licenses (e.g. 1XE), Y for School licenses
(e.g. 9YY), and Z for Special Amateur licenses (e.g. 8ZZ). 1x3 calls (like
1AAA) was issued to Amateurs beginning in 1914. For a list of early X, Y, Z
callsign issues -- see U.S. Special Land Stations: 1913-1921.4 It was not
until October 1, 1928, that the W and K prefixes were assigned to Amateurs.


--
Keyboard In The Noise

Opinions are the cheapest commodities in the world. Author unknown but
"right on"
"Aaron Jones" wrote in message
...
"Keyboard In The Noise" wrote:
Coincidently he was a Ham also maybe held 2NJ back in the 20's

Might that be Charles Sanders, 186-05 Man Gin Ave, St. Albans, L.I., N.Y.
?

Just a shot...that's W2NJ from my 1934 Callbook.