Friday, October 18, 2013

Retired the DX

One of the toughest decisions I've had to make was what to do with my callsign when I relocated. I knew that when I ventured back into contesting, my current callsign would just not work down here. So, with my 10 year license issuance of KL8DX soon to expire, I knew my Vanity Callsign fee would come due when I renewed it. I decided that it was probably better to pay the fee once, so I needed to decide what my new callsign would be.

My original Novice callsign (KB8DVT) was issued by the FCC as the next in line. My Ohio Advanced callsign was the same, issued by the FCC as next in line. I liked KE8RO as it kinda reminded me of W6RO, or the Queen Mary. It flowed well on the key and it was easy to recognize on CW. When I upgraded to Extra class, I decided to hang onto my Advanced callsign.

When I moved to Alaska, being an avid DX'er with over 300 countries (entities) confirmed and approved, and being from 8land, it was simple in my callsign selection. KL8DX just seemed to work so I applied and received it. The 8 caught many off guard when I first got on and up until my last day of operating in Alaska, it continued to be a topic of coversation. It was sure nice to have in WPX contests being one of the most active KL8 stations.

A Vanity callsign is personal and normally has some sort of meaning. People like their initials in their callsign or it represents something to them. I've worked many "neat" callsigns over the years, some almost as long as my arm.

Anyhow, after giving it some thought and running it past my ham spouse and my close friends KL1SF and N1TX, I decided to apply for my new callsign. Ii submitted my application on September 18th, 2013. With the government shutdown, things were delayed a bit but as of today, I found my callsign of KL8DX had been cancelled. I searched my new callsign and there it was, brand spanking new! 

So, now the real work begins. Changing my callsign with all the clubs and organizations I belong to. Heck, I just changed my address in the last month, too. But, it's all part of the transition. Now my new life in ham radio begins with a new callsign to memorize and get used to sending on the key. In the end, I'm sure all will understand why I chose the callsign that I did. It's representative of the next level in the winding road of my ham radio career. With that, I will say my last 73 with the callsign of KL8DX and I hope to catch you on the bands with my new callsign.

73!
Phil
AK2MA
 





3 comments:

  1. Phil - try changing your legal name...that's even more of a challenge :) Best of luck to you. 73.

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  2. Good evening Phil, yes having a call for that long and then having to start over again....not good. An Alaska call would sure draw the pileup so I guess you will miss that as well? I have a vanity call myself and my call plates bare my call as well. I don't plan on moving out of Province so wont have to worry about changing the call.
    Looking for AK2MA
    Mike

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  3. Snydoze, I bet that's even more painful! Thanks for the comment and stopping by! Mike, I will sure miss the pile-ups and contesting was truly fun as I never had to look for most as they were looking for me. Going from being chased to the one doing the chasing will be a change for sure. Hope to catch you soon, Mike! All the best of DX to you my friend!

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