FCC Revises Vanity & Club Call Rules

[W3WN]

The FCC released on Monday a Report & Order regarding their NPRM on revising or clarifying the rules on Vanity calls and on Club calls.

The full R&O is here: http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db1108/FCC-10-189A1.pdf

The League has a nice synopsis of the changes and their effects here: http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-issues-em-report-and-order-em-on-vanity-and-club-station-call-signs

[N2NH]

Thanks for the information. I didn't think they'd do away with the fees, but overall it makes a lot of sense.

[WA4TM]

I can agree to the initial fees on a vanity license, but from what I can see it takes NO more effort on FCC's part at renewal time..

But hell, they didn't ask me, and come to think of it neither did you.....

[W3WN]

It's unfortunate that they grandfathered some of the club call trusteeships. There are a few, fortunately a very few, who have taken a good many calls out of circulation, thanks to the proliferation of phantom clubs.

But at least, after this, there will be no more.

[W5RB]

It's unfortunate that they grandfathered some of the club call trusteeships. There are a few, fortunately a very few, who have taken a good many calls out of circulation, thanks to the proliferation of phantom clubs.

But at least, after this, there will be no more.

Many of the worst hoarders were thinned out by the FCC , after being outed by N4MC , AE7Q , and others . There's still some abuses , but less than there were . Looks like I can continue to represent both the "real " club here , and the little operating team we recently formed . Sucks that they shut down SK harvesting . There really should be a length-of- license limit on the vanities , too , but WTF , we can adapt , eh ?

[W3WN]

Well, I know of one hoarder who still holds a call on behalf of the Western PA DX Association. Not only was he never a member of the club -- which dissolved about 5 years ago -- but he lives almost 3 hours away, outside of Cleveland.

That one was reported, but no action was ever taken.

Always irritated me, not just because I was a member of the WPaDXA (which never had a club call), but because the hoarder at one time held ANOTHER call in the name of the club. That was a call coveted by a certain 6 land 1x3 (now a 7 lander) who screamed bloody murder about it, saying some rather unsavory things about the club at the time. The irony is that said person made up a connection to a former relative, and then tried to say the club was keeping him from an ex-relative's call that rightfully belonged to him.

What a schmuck. Well, both of them.

[ab1ga]

To me the biggest relief was that the Commission refused to allow the "extended" call signs with a single numeral in the suffix.
Imagine hearing AB11GA on the air as a US call sign!

[N8YX]

Imagine hearing AB11GA on the air as a US call sign!
That's encroaching into CB "freebander" territory. A number of their made-up call signs are similar in nature.

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

Really want to mess with the system?
Get a call that is the same as an aircraft tail number.
It has happened in the past and who knows, you may still be able to do this.

[ab1ga]

Hello.

Really want to mess with the system?
Get a call that is the same as an aircraft tail number.
It has happened in the past and who knows, you may still be able to do this.

It shouldn't cause any problems at all; the tail number database is NOT the same as the FCC call database.
The reason you can get the same call in both systems is because they both use the same international identifier format.

In the early '80s my now late uncle was part owner of a Beech Bonanza V-Tail with the tail number N1NC. Although I found it amusing to be flying in a plane with a "ham call" tail number, it faded into dim memory when the plane was sold.

When my interest in ham radio flared again after many moons, I joined the Nashoba Valley ARC. The club call sign was - N1NC. Rod Serling, where are you?

:-)