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My dad was a LONG time radio operator, and my daughter's and I always enjoyed listening in and going to Radio Days where we could participate and ARES drills of which he was very active. My question - if anyone knows the answer or how I could find out the answer - is:

Dad had a "vanity" call sign that was his original call sign when he first got his license decades before. He had let his license lapse and then went back again. His original call sign was still available, so they let him have it as a "vanity" call sign. My daughter is looking to get her license; (something she tried several years ago for, and test anxiety and being in a room filled with folks more than twice her age, finishing quickly and being told to go back and look it over again resulted in her second guessing, changing answers and failing by 1. This upset her at 12 years old and she felt like she disappointed her Grandpa and was afraid to try again. She is really talking about going back and trying again for his memory (he passed away 4 years ago). I looked it up and his call sign is still in his name and is "valid" for more than another year. (Didn't know radios went to Heaven, but I figure if it is "heaven" it has a huge HAM station and a private shooting range too!) My daughter would really like to have Grandpa's call sign - anyone know if and how to make this possible?

Sorry for the ramble - thanks for your time and patience - signing off.

If you wait a year, she can apply to get it. As I recall, vanity call signs are only available for extra class, so she would have to take that test and pass before she could be eligible.

Divided Attention wrote:My dad was a LONG time radio operator, and my daughter's and I always enjoyed listening in and going to Radio Days where we could participate and ARES drills of which he was very active. My question - if anyone knows the answer or how I could find out the answer - is:

Dad had a "vanity" call sign that was his original call sign when he first got his license decades before. He had let his license lapse and then went back again. His original call sign was still available, so they let him have it as a "vanity" call sign. My daughter is looking to get her license; (something she tried several years ago for, and test anxiety and being in a room filled with folks more than twice her age, finishing quickly and being told to go back and look it over again resulted in her second guessing, changing answers and failing by 1. This upset her at 12 years old and she felt like she disappointed her Grandpa and was afraid to try again. She is really talking about going back and trying again for his memory (he passed away 4 years ago). I looked it up and his call sign is still in his name and is "valid" for more than another year. (Didn't know radios went to Heaven, but I figure if it is "heaven" it has a huge HAM station and a private shooting range too!) My daughter would really like to have Grandpa's call sign - anyone know if and how to make this possible?

Sorry for the ramble - thanks for your time and patience - signing off.

You can provide the FCC a death certificate which will release the callsign back into the pool. Here is some info http://www.eham.net/articles/13979" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; However, I believe the callsign will not be available for 2 years after the release. I would get this done soon.

I would suggest she go ahead and take the test again and get licensed. Once she has her callsign and can request the vanity call, then watch the timing for it to be released back into the pool and then apply for it quickly. Unless it is a some highly desirable callsign (like K5NFL or W5USA) then it probably won't be hard to get it.

And, WildBill, vanity calls are available to all amateur classes now.

Thanks! I figured someone here (actually more than one) would know! Y'all are the best! It is an old "W" sign - he was in the Golden Triangle area and as a kid did a big experiment building a special antenna and building a radio - I don't remember all the specifics. I have the newspaper write up from back then some where - Dad was a jack of many trades, but photography was his "thing"

His HAM was a way for him to get out as his health go to where he couldn't so much - he used to say it was his "cheap flight around the world" He monitored some channels for a German station(s) documenting signal strength etc. He could sell icecubes to Eskimos, but if they needed it would just give it to them! CERT and ARES were his passions the last few years along with being the major cheerleader and trouble instigator with his grandaughters.

Thanks again!

A little more background on the call sign structure:
Technician and General class licensees (the entry level license) are able to get 1x3 or 2x3 call signs. Ex.: n5aaa or aa1bbb
Extra class licensees can get any of those, plus they have the option of 2x2, 1x2, or 2x1 call signs.

Any class of licensee can get a vanity call sign, as long as it is available to their license class. For example, a Technician could not get a 2x2, 1x2, or 2x1 call, but any of the other formats are available to them. I'd have to go back and check, but I believe your daughter would get a get precedence if 2 or more people applied for the same call sign, since she is a relative of the original holder.

FCC: Wireless Services: Amateur Radio Service <--Look here for info on how to apply for a specific call sign. Good luck!

(and tell your daughter to trust her instincts on the test.... she can take practice tests for free here: QRZ.COM Ham Radio Practice Tests)

I still have the QRZ site and email saved from when Dad sent it to us for us to practice. She knew better, but in her words "the old guy moderator looked at my test and told me that was awful quick are you sure you don't wanna go look a few of these over again". She went and changed several answers that had she left them alone would have been fine. That was over 6 years ago, I think she has grown and matured enought to look him in the eye and say "Thank you sir, but no, I am confident in my answers" She was so incredibly shy back then, now, not so much typically.

The call sign is a W5XXX, so she should be eligible at a tech level, although Grandpa worked with her on morse code long ago - I don't know how much she remembers, but tech should be fine for what ever she would want to do.

Thanks everyone!

I'm not sure of the procedure (at least there used to be one), but a family member can request the call sign of a deceased family member. Check into it and make sure she can do it before sending a death certificate to the FCC. I'm not sure you have to wait the regular waiting period for a call sign to go back into the pool.

Chas.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:I'm not sure of the procedure (at least there used to be one), but a family member can request the call sign of a deceased family member. Check into it and make sure she can do it before sending a death certificate to the FCC. I'm not sure you have to wait the regular waiting period for a call sign to go back into the pool.

Correct; a relative of a deceased operator can have the callsign assigned without the normal 2-year delay after expiration. It may have to be cancelled if it's not expired at the time of death, though, which may come with a 30-day delay.

http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily ... -189A1.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The license of a deceased licensee remains in active status in our database,
and thus the call sign remains unavailable for assignment to another station, until Commission staff learns
of the licensee’s death and cancels the license. When we receive proper documentation of the licensee's
death, i.e., a signed request for license cancellation accompanied by a copy of a death certificate, an
obituary, or data from the Social Security Death Index or other source that shows the date of death, we
cancel the license as of the licensee's date of death.

Odds are, somebody at a club near you has done it, so ask around at the testing session. http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-rad ... am-session" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

EDIT TO ADD: I'm glad you asked; I just noticed mine was due to expire next month. Fortunately, the online renewal is free and only takes a few minutes to submit. If only my CHL renewal coming up could be so cheap and easy.

1 X 3 is available to a Tech class so she should be fine there. There are special provisions for a relative to have a callsign of a deceased family member issued without the usual two year expiration period, check some of the links cited above or as a local amateur club for help. By the way there is no longer any CW (morse) requirement for ANY license class, up to and including Amateur Extra.

Dave B.
W2CAP