• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

Got my vanity amateur radio callsign today!

Mattymatt

Mattymatt

Imperfectly Perfect
I am an extra-class ham radio operator and two weeks ago I decided to try and get a callsign that is restricted to extra-class hams. Due to the scarcity of these callsigns, some hams spend years trying to get these and I got one on my first try. When multiple people apply for the same callsign it comes down to luck of the draw. I can now use WK1T on the air!
 
That's all Greek to me :confused: I know nothing of ham radio. Or bacon television for that matter ;)
But saying that - if you're chuffed happy about it then I'm equally chuffed happy for you ! Glad you got something you wanted and so easily too. HUZZAH!

Edited to make the "Hungarian" clearer for Judge ;)
 
Last edited:
Is a callsign the same as what truck drivers used to call their 'handle'? I've always been interested in ham radio since a neighbor, who dabbled in it back in the 1960s when I was growing up, was able to summon an ambulance to a badly injured person when the telephones were not working. That was back in the dark ages pre-cell phone, computer, etc. so it was wondrous technology to me as a child.

Congrats!
 
I'm a little familiar with your language and what the callsign is. Congrats!! That IS a big deal. So where all can WK1T be heard?
 
Autistamatic said:
As long as you don't do it with a Dick Van Dyke "sweep's" accent you have my blessing :innocent:
Click to expand...
took me a minute - I'm assuming you mean try to sound English? Don't worry - I couldn't fake an accent to save my life. In the upper peninsula of Michigan, they have a Finish accent and I love it. While lower Michigan had bumper stickers that said "Say yes to Michigan", they had bumper stickers that said, "Say ya to da U P too, heh?" I try to tell people about the bumper sticker and can't even say it right. lol
 
We've been rewatching the Fargo TV series recently. That Minnesota/North Dakota accent with similar Nordic origin sounds like what you describe :)
The Dick van Dyke thing is a bit of a joke over here. The attempt he made at a cockney accent in Mary Poppins has gone down in history as the worst fake English accent ever and the bar by which all subsequent attempts are measured :)
 
I'm a General Class ham but use the same random callsign I was assigned when I passed my Technician test in 2012. My main reason for it is that the suffix starts with a Z and when the Noontime Net was still on air every other day they would start with Z suffixes, so I could call in and not have to wait for a long time. For a while after I got my General I was too shy and scared to answer anybody who was calling CQ (a general transmission for anybody to answer) much less call CQ myself, so the Noontime Net was the only way I had to see if my equipment was working properly.

I tried tackling the Extra test but couldn't wrap my brain around the mathematics (I have dyscalculia) so I'm still a General. But yeah, I remember reading that the FCC would release a bunch of 1x2 and 2x1 (1 or 2 prefix/suffix letters) calls and was taking lottery bids. Oh, and be sure to make a login on QRZ.com and put your email address in your profile, that way the Nigerian scammers can't "steal" your call and pretend to be you.
 
oregano said:
I'm a General Class ham but use the same random callsign I was assigned when I passed my Technician test in 2012. My main reason for it is that the suffix starts with a Z and when the Noontime Net was still on air every other day they would start with Z suffixes, so I could call in and not have to wait for a long time. For a while after I got my General I was too shy and scared to answer anybody who was calling CQ (a general transmission for anybody to answer) much less call CQ myself, so the Noontime Net was the only way I had to see if my equipment was working properly.

I tried tackling the Extra test but couldn't wrap my brain around the mathematics (I have dyscalculia) so I'm still a General. But yeah, I remember reading that the FCC would release a bunch of 1x2 and 2x1 (1 or 2 prefix/suffix letters) calls and was taking lottery bids. Oh, and be sure to make a login on QRZ.com and put your email address in your profile, that way the Nigerian scammers can't "steal" your call and pretend to be you.
Click to expand...
Tell you a secret ... I just used qrz.com and hamstudy.org. I memorized the answers to the test. I really suck at math but my memory is sharp. I passed my upgrade from General to Extra with a 95%. I studied for close to a month. It turned out that the actual test I took only had a few hard questions.

I think you would like the PSK31 and RTTY modes because they're just like instant message except over radio. Basically you hook up your HF radio to your computer's sound card and used the freely available PSK software. I much prefer these modes to voice. As for Morse code, I've got no hope for that one.
 
Mary Terry said:
Is a callsign the same as what truck drivers used to call their 'handle'? I've always been interested in ham radio since a neighbor, who dabbled in it back in the 1960s when I was growing up, was able to summon an ambulance to a badly injured person when the telephones were not working. That was back in the dark ages pre-cell phone, computer, etc. so it was wondrous technology to me as a child.

Congrats!
Click to expand...
A call sign is similar toa handle overa CB. However, amateur radio requires an operator's license. Your license is tied to your callsign. You use your call sign as your verification that you're authorized to transmit over bands reserved for amateur radio operators.
 
Pats said:
I'm a little familiar with your language and what the callsign is. Congrats!! That IS a big deal. So where all can WK1T be heard?
Click to expand...
You won't really hear me actually becausei don't do much in the way of voice. I do something called PSK31 which is like instant message over radio waves.
 
Autistamatic said:
That's all Greek to me :confused: I know nothing of ham radio. Or bacon television for that matter ;)
But saying that - if you're chuffed happy about it then I'm equally chuffed happy for you ! Glad you got something you wanted and so easily too. HUZZAH!

Edited to make the "Hungarian" clearer for Judge ;)
Click to expand...
Being that you're into technology, I think you'd haves blast with amateur radio!
 
Mattymatt said:
Tell you a secret ... I just used qrz.com and hamstudy.org. I memorized the answers to the test. I really suck at math but my memory is sharp. I passed my upgrade from General to Extra with a 95%. I studied for close to a month. It turned out that the actual test I took only had a few hard questions.

I think you would like the PSK31 and RTTY modes because they're just like instant message except over radio. Basically you hook up your HF radio to your computer's sound card and used the freely available PSK software. I much prefer these modes to voice. As for Morse code, I've got no hope for that one.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I tried the whole "just memorize the answers" thing too. I kept coming in 2 or 3 questions short of passing on the QRZ Extra practice exams. So I gave up.

As for digital modes, meh, not my thing. I remember the era of tuning around SW broadcast bands for the weird signals that would sneak in between the big blaster stations like BBC and Radio Moscow. If I want to do digital messaging, that's what the internet is for IMO. The newer digital modes like the JT modes seem to be almost totally automated, set it up and come back an hour later to check your log. Blech. I'd rather tune around and listen for stations from really odd places on SSB. 20 meters is really great for that.

A few months ago I dragged myself out of bed at 1 am Pacific time to try to catch the Baker Island DXpedition, I did hear them but only on the 40 meter band in an area where Americans don't have any voice privileges. I sent them a QSL but I never heard back. I didn't bother with Ducie Island because they weren't doing any paper QSL cards, everything was to be verified online. I'm off air right now because I'm working on my antenna, the coax connector needed an overhaul.
 
Autistamatic said:
That's all Greek to me :confused: I know nothing of ham radio. Or bacon television for that matter ;)
Click to expand...

My mom told me about bacon television. Her father worked at a TV repair shop in the late 50s and every so often a customer would take one look at the repair bill and storm out without their set. He would simply take the sets home and use them until they finally died. They were really poor and lived way out in the boonies with other poor people, and my mom was a goddess at school because she was the only kid in the class with a TV. My mom said that a piece of electronics with 17 vacuum tubes is really good for cooking food when the propane runs out. It can also be a really good space heater. They would sit really close to the TV on cold nights and get comfortable enough to finally get some sleep. :po_O
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Top Bottom