Broadcast call signs are
call signs
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a Identifier, unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be fo ...
assigned as unique identifiers to
radio stations
Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio signal, audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a lan ...
and
television stations
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth's s ...
. While broadcast radio stations will often
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...
themselves with plain-text names, identities such as "
cool FM", "
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
105" or "the ABC network" are not globally unique. Another station in another city or country may (and often will) have a similar brand, and the name of a broadcast station for legal purposes is normally its internationally recognised
ITU
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)In the other common languages of the ITU:
*
* is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established ...
call sign. Some common conventions are followed around the world.
Excluding those used in amateur radio, call signs are traditionally only used in the
Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
and few countries such as Australia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan.
North America
Broadcast stations in North America generally use callsigns in the international series.
International shortwave
The US government-operated international broadcaster the
Voice of America
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...
no longer uses callsigns assigned to it; however,
Radio Canada International
Radio Canada International (RCI) is the international broadcasting service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Prior to 1970, RCI was known as the CBC International Service ("CBC IS"). The broadcasting service was also previously ref ...
's transmitter in
Sackville, New Brunswick
Sackville is a former town in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. It held town status prior to 2023 and is now part of the town of Tantramar, New Brunswick, Tantramar.
Sackville is home to Mount Allison University, a primarily undergraduate libe ...
was assigned
CKCX. Privately operated
shortwave
Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (app ...
stations, like
WWCR
WWCR is a shortwave radio, shortwave radio station located in Nashville, Tennessee, in the United States. WWCR uses four 100 kW transmitters to broadcast on about a dozen frequencies.
WWCR mainly leases out its four transmitters to religious o ...
and
CFRX, also have call signs.
Canada
In Canada, the publicly owned
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...
uses ''CB''; privately owned commercial broadcast stations use primarily ''CF'' and ''CH'' through ''CK'' prefixes. Four stations licensed to
St. John's by the
Dominion of Newfoundland
Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the orig ...
government (
VOWR
VOWR (800 kHz) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The station is operated by the Wesley United Church of Canada with studios and offices at 101 Patrick Street.
VOWR is a C ...
,
VOAR-FM
VOAR-FM (96.7 MHz) is a Canadian radio station, which airs a Christian radio format. It is licensed to Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador, and serves the St. John's metropolitan area. VOAR is owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ne ...
,
VOCM, and
VOCM-FM
VOCM-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting at 97.5 MHz from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Owned by Stingray Group, the station is branded as ''97.5 K-Rock'' and broadcasts a classic rock format, although some 2000s rock songs have ...
) retain their original ''VO'' calls. The ''CB'' prefix used by CBC stations actually belongs to
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
rather than Canada, and is in use by the CBC through an international agreement. Low-power
broadcast translator
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...
stations begin with ''VF'' for FM and ''CH'' for TV, followed by four numerals assigned sequentially. Unlike the United States, all digital TV stations use the "-DT" suffix instead of keeping the "-TV" suffix.
Mexico
In Mexico,
AM radio
AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmi ...
stations use ''XE'' call signs (such as
XEW-AM
XEW-AM (900 kHz) and XEW-FM (96.9 MHz) are commercial radio stations in Mexico City, Mexico, simulcasting a news/talk radio format branded as ''W Radio''. XEW serves as the flagship for other "W Radio" stations around Mexico that carry some or ...
), while the majority of
FM radio
FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting that uses frequency modulation (FM) of the radio broadcast carrier wave. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to transmit high fidelity, high-f ...
and television stations use ''XH''. Broadcast callsigns are normally four or five letters in length, plus the ''-FM'' or ''-TV'' suffix where applicable, though several older stations have only three letters. The longest callsign is six letters, plus suffix:
XHMORE-FM
XHMORE-FM (98.9 MHz) is a radio station in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It is operated by Esquina 32 and broadcasts a Regional Mexican and Latin music format known as "Party Mix" to the San Diego–Tijuana region.
History
XHMORE started as ...
. All Mexican TV stations using digital TV signals use the "-TDT" suffix.
United States
In the United States, the first letter generally is ''K'' for stations west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
(including
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
,
America Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island country of Samoa, east of the International Date Line ...
,
Guam
Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
, and
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States consistin ...
) and ''W'' for those east of the Mississippi River (including
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
and the
U.S. Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...
). Except for those with their
radio channel
Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
or physical
TV channel number in them, all new callsigns have been four letters (plus any suffix like -FM or -TV) for some decades, though there are historical
three-letter callsigns still in use today, such as
KSL in Salt Lake City and
WGN in Chicago.
Co-owned stations were also allowed to adopt their original short AM callsign like
WGN-TV
WGN-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is sister station, sister to the company ...
and
KSL-TV
KSL-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Bonneville International, the for-profit broadcasting arm of the Church of Jesus C ...
, even after new ones were prohibited.
There are a number of exceptions to the east/west rule, such as
KDKA in Pittsburgh and
WFAA
WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving as the American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliate for the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur, Texas, Decatur-li ...
in Dallas-Fort Worth, but these are historical artifacts
grandfathered from a
rule change in the 1920s. Most of the exceptions are located in the
media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television station, television and radio broadcasting, ra ...
s immediately adjacent to the river, in the state of
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
in the metropolitan areas of
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...
and
greater New Orleans
The New Orleans metropolitan area, designated the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, or simply Greater New Orleans (, ), is a metropolitan statistical area designated by the United ...
, and markets north of
the river's source such as
Fargo-Moorhead and
Duluth-Superior.
The westernmost station in the continental United States beginning with W is
WOAI in San Antonio.
WVUV-FM in Fagaitua,
American Samoa
American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...
, is the westernmost station with a W call sign.
KYW in Philadelphia is currently the easternmost station with a K call sign.
Another exception to this is that
NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical s ...
time-broadcasting stations have a three- or four-letter callsign beginning with
WWV. The three current government-operated time stations,
WWV (and longwave
sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement.
Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
WWVB
WWVB is a longwave time signal radio station near Fort Collins, Colorado, and is operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Most radio clock, radio-controlled clocks in North America use WWVB's transmissions to set th ...
), and
WWVH
WWVH is the callsign of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology's shortwave radio time signal station located at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands, in Kekaha, Hawaii, Kekaha, on the ...
, are located in
Fort Collins
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...
, Colorado and
Kekaha, Hawaii, respectively, both of which would normally use call signs beginning with "K". However, the rule dividing W and K only applies to stations governed by the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
(FCC), whereas
U.S. federal government stations are governed by the
NTIA
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is a bureau of the United States Department of Commerce that serves as the President of the United States, president's principal adviser on Telecommunications policy of the U ...
. This means that like NIST, the hundreds of
NOAA Weather Radio
NOAA Weather Radio (NWR), also known as NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards, is an automated 24-hour network of Very high frequency, VHF Frequency modulation, FM weather radio stations in the United States which broadcast weather information direct ...
stations across the country have a random mix of W and K callsigns, as do
traveler information stations operated by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
.
Central America
Costa Rica
Costa Rica uses ''TI'' call signs. Examples:
*TI-TNS (channel 2)
*TI-IVS (channel 4)
*TI-TV6 (channel 6)
*TI-TCR (channel 7)
*TI-DE (channel 9)
*TI-BYK (channel 11)
*TI-SRN (channel 13)
El Salvador
El Salvador uses ''YS'', ''YX'' and ''HU'' call signs depending on geographical area. Examples:
*YSR-TV (channel 2)
*YSU-TV (channel 4)
*YSLA-TV (channel 6)
*YSWX-TV (channel 12)
Guatemala
Guatemala uses ''TG'' call signs. Examples:
*TGV-TV (channel 3)
*TGVG-TV (channel 7)
*TGMO-TV (channel 11)
*TGSS-TV (channel 13)
Honduras
Honduras uses ''HR'' call signs. Examples:
*HRTG-TV (channel 5)
*HRLP-TV (Telecadena)
*HRCV-TV (TSi)
Nicaragua
Nicaragua uses ''YN'' call signs. Examples:
*YNTC: Channel 2
*YNTM: Channel 4
*YNSA: Channel 6
*YNLG: Channel 12
Caribbean
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic uses ''HI'' callsigns. Examples:
*HIJB: Channel 2/11
*HISD: Channel 4
*HITM: Channel 5
*HIN: Channel 7
*HIMQ: Channel 9
*HIND: Channel 13
Oceania
Australia
In Australia, broadcast call signs are allocated by the
Australian Communications and Media Authority
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is an Australian government statutory authority within the Communications portfolio. ACMA was formed on 1 July 2005 with the merger of the Australian Broadcasting Authority and the Aus ...
and are unique for each broadcast station.
The international VL prefix assigned to radio broadcasters has been skipped for many years, thus VL5UV would only identify as 5UV, and now simply
Radio Adelaide
Radio Adelaide (call sign: 5UV) is Australia's first community radio station. The signal reaches across the Adelaide metropolitan area to the Mid North, the Yorke Peninsula and Fleurieu Peninsula, the southern Barossa Valley, Barossa, Kangaroo ...
. The digit often, but not always, indicates the state or territory, generally followed by two letters on AM and three on FM. Stations with call signs beginning in 2 are based in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
or the
ACT, 3 in
Victoria, 4 in
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, 5 in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
, 6 in
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, 7 in
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
, and 8 in the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
.
South America
In South America call signs have been a traditional way of identifying radio and TV stations. Some stations still broadcast their call signs a few times a day, but this practice is becoming very rare. Argentinian broadcast call signs consist of two or three letters followed by multiple numbers, the second and third letters indicating region.
Argentina
Argentina uses the prefixes ''LR'' through ''LW'', followed by a number. The exact prefix depends on the region where they operate (for example: the ''LS'' prefix is used for radio and TV stations in the
Buenos Aires city
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
). Stations with the ''LR'' prefix may also have an additional letter.
Examples:
*LS82TV: Televisión Pública
*LS83TV: Channel 9
*LS84TV: Telefe
*LS85TV: Channel 13
Bolivia
Bolivia uses CP call signs. Examples:
* Bolivia TV: CP 3 TV
* Bolivisión: CP 42 TV
* Red Uno: CP 37 TV
Brazil
In Brazil, radio and TV stations are identified by a ZY, a third letter and three numbers. ''ZYA'', ''ZYB'', ''ZYR'', and ''ZYT'' are allocated to television stations; ''ZYI'', ''ZYJ'', ''ZYK'' and ''ZYL'' designate AM stations; ''ZYG'' is used for
shortwave
Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (app ...
stations; ''ZYC'', ''ZYD'', ''ZYM'' and ''ZYU'' are given to FM stations.
Chile
Chilean AM radio stations use the letter ''C'', followed by one of the letters: ''A'', ''B'', ''C'', ''D''. The usage of each of those depends on the latitude of the cities where they operate (for example: the letter ''B'' is used for stations in the central region of Chile). FM stations use the ''XQ'' prefix, with the same A-E additional letters for AM stations. The resulting prefix is followed by a number which may not match their FM frequency. Television stations also have callsigns; however, they are mostly unknown, as they have never been shown on-air (instead, most Chilean TV stations identify themselves only with their names, similar to stations in Europe). TV call signs follow a similar pattern to those for FM stations, but begin with the ''XR'' prefix.
Examples:
* XQB-8: Radio Agricultura
* XQB-143: Radio Cooperativa
* XRB-94: Televisión Nacional de Chile
Colombia
In Colombia, the radio stations or television channels are identified by HJ and/or HK with two additional letters. Examples:
*HJRN: Channel 1
*HJJX: RCN
*HJCY: Caracol TV
Paraguay
Paraguay uses ZPV-(three digit number)-TV call signs. Example:
* SNT: ZPV 900 TV
Peru
Peru uses callsigns OA-OC callsigns. In each, it is followed by another letter, a dash and the number 4, followed by another letter. Example:
* OAY-4A: Panamericana Televisión
Uruguay
Uruguay uses CXB followed by a number as a callsign.
Venezuela
Venezuela uses ''YV'' call signs. Examples:
*YVKS: Channel 2 RCTV (defunct)
*YVLV: Channel 4 Venevisión
*YVKA: Channel 5 TVN (defunct)
Asia
Indonesia
In
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, radio stations are assigned call signs beginning with ''PM'' for AM and FM stations or ''YB-YH'' for amateur radio stations. Calls beginning with ''PM'' are then followed by a number indicating the
province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
where the station is in, the letters B, C, D and F (B for AM stations, C for some stations in
Kalimantan
Kalimantan (; ) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Ind ...
, D for some stations in
Sumatra
Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
, and F for FM stations), and two unique characters. Television stations in Indonesia never use call signs, and their use is practically unknown.
Japan
In
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, radio & television stations use calls beginning with ''JO''.
Philippines
In the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, stations may use callsigns in the following manner: callsigns beginning with DW and DZ represent all stations in
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
and parts of
Luzon
Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
. Calls beginning with DY represent all stations in
Visayas
The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; Filipino language, Filipino: ''Kabisayaan'' ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, a ...
, parts of
Palawan
Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...
, and
Masbate
Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate (Masbateño language, Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; ), is an island Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provi ...
; and callsigns beginning with DX represents all stations in
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
. Originally from 1920 to 1940, callsigns beginning with KZ were assigned to all stations in the Philippines.
Taiwan
Taiwan uses BET followed by a number as a callsign. Examples:
*TTV: BET61
*CTS: BET31
*PTS: BET52 (Huoyan Mountain Transmitter Station)
Callbooks

A directory of radio station call signs is called a callbook. Callbooks were originally bound books that resembled a
telephone directory
A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization tha ...
and contains the name and addressees of licensed radio stations in a given jurisdiction (country). Modern Electrics published the first callbook in the United States in 1909.
Today, the primary purpose of a callbook is to allow amateur radio operators to send a confirmation post card, called a
QSL card QSL may refer to:
*Q code
The Q-code is a standardised collection of three-letter codes that each start with the letter "Q". It is an Operating signals, operating signal initially developed for commercial radiotelegraphy, radiotelegraph communi ...
, to an operator with whom they have communicated via radio. Callbooks have evolved to include on-line databases that are accessible via the Internet to instantly obtain the address of another amateur radio operator and their QSL Managers. The most well known and used on-line QSL databases include QRZ.COM, IK3QAR, HamCall, F6CYV, DXInfo, OZ7C and QSLInfo.
See also
*
Amateur radio call signs
Amateur radio call signs are allocated to amateur radio operators around the world. The call signs are used to legally identify the station or operator, with some countries requiring the station call sign to always be used and others allowing the ...
*
Callbook
*
ITU prefix
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocates call sign prefixes for radio and television stations of all types. They also form the basis for, but may not exactly match, aircraft registration identifiers. These prefixes are agreed upo ...
*
Pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
*
Station identification
Station identification (ident, network ID, channel ID or bumper (broadcasting), bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and broadcast network, networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand na ...
References
External links
Industry Canada's List of Available Call Signs
{{Call signs
Call signs
Broadcasting