All
amateur radio licenses, by
international convention, have
prefixes, a
numerical identifier, and a
suffix. The prefix identifies
nation, the numerical identifier identifies
location or
license class, and the suffix identifies the individual
operator.
Developed or
highly populated nations tend to follow
sequential license programs, while
less developed and
less populated nations allow for great
leeway in
designing your own call. Coincidentally, the former
King of Jordan had one of the most prestigious calls of all, JY1.
American "hams" use the prefixes WA - WZ, KA - KZ, NA - NZ, and AA - AL. The numerals 0 - 9 indicate
geographical area, with
California and
Hawaii as 6 and
Alaska as 7. Higher classes of licenses used to have more prestigious calls as an incentive for upgrading. AT the current time the number of "
elite" calls signs available have dwindled significantly.
The order of call signs by class:
TECHNICIAN AND GENERAL Class
2x3 calls. For example, KD2xxx
EXTRA Class
2x2 "A" prefix calls. For example, AE2xx.
In the
Vanity callsign
lottery conducted by the
FCC, operators can
lease call signs for
ten year terms. Though most of the 1x2 (
W1AW) or 2x1 old Extra calls are almost completely gone, the old Advanced Class call signs are still available (2x2,
KA9xx) as well as 1x3
(N2xxx). The cost of the lease varies every year, though it usually costs no more than US $30.