RADIO CALL LETTERS
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
WASHINGTON
BUREAU OF NAVIGATION
MAY 9, 1913 .
The following instructions concerning radio call letters are issued
for the information of those concerned, pending the issue of the Lists
of Radio Stations of the World and of the United States, which will
not be published before July .
1 . Section 7 of the act of August 13, 1912, to regulate radio communicationprovides :
SEC . 7 . That a person, company, or corporation within the jurisdiction of theUnited States shall not knowingly utter or transmit, or cause to be uttered or transmitted,any false or fraudulent distress signal or call or false or fraudulent signal, call,or other radiogram of any kind . The penalty for so uttering or transmitting a false orfraudulent distress signal or call shall be a fine of not more than two thousand fivehundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, in the discre-tion of the court, for each and every such offense, and the penalty for so uttering ortransmitting, or causing to be uttered or transmitted, any other false or fraudulentsignal, call, or other radiogram shall be a fine of not more than one thousand dollars orimprisonment for not more than two years, or both, in the discretion of the court, foreach and every such offense .
2.
The Service Regulations of the Berlin and London Radiotelegraphic
Conventions provide that the call letters of stations in the
international system must each be formed of a group of three letters
which shall be distinguishable from one another . The London Inter-
national Radiotelegraphic Conference made a partial allotment of
call letters among nations which signed the convention and the
InternationalBureau at Berne, with the consent of such nations, has
modifiedand added to this assignment of call letters by circular of April
23, 1913
. The distribution of call letters among nations thus authorized
is printed below for the guidance of operators of all stations,
ship and shore, of the United States.
91369-13
B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . All to Great Britain .
CAA to CM!. . . Not yet, assigned.
CNA to CNZ_.Morocco.
COA to CPZ . . .Chile .
CQA to CQZ---- Monaco.
CRA to CTZ . . .Portugal and colonies .
CUA to CUZ . . Not yet assigned .
CVA to CVZ . . .Roumania .
CWA to CWZ.. Uruguay .
CXA to CZZ . . .Not yet assigned
D . . . . . . . . . . . . . All to Germany and protectorates.
EAA to EGZ. -Spain and colonies
EHA to EZZ. Not yet assigned .
F . . . . . . . . . . . . . All to France and colonies .
G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All to Great Britain .
HAA toHFZ..Austria-Hungaryand
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
HGA to HHZ. .Siam .
HIA to HZZ. Not yet assigned .
I . . . .... . . . . . . . . . All to Italy and colonies .
J ... . . . . . . . . All to Japan andpossessions
KAAtoCZ.Gemanyandprotectorates
.
RDA to KZZ . . United States.
LAA to LHZ . .Norway .
LIA to LRZ . . .Argentine Republic .
LSA to LWZ . .Not yet assigned .
LXA to LZZ . .Bulgaria .
M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All to Great Britain .
N . . . . . . . . . . . . . All to the United States .
OAA to OFZ . .Not yet assigned .
OGA to OMZ . .Austria-Hungary and
Bosnia-Herzegovina .
2
A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All to Germany and protectoratesONAtoOTZ.Belgiumandcolonies.
OUAtoOZZ.Denmark
PAA to PIZ . . . Netherlands .
PJA to PJM....Curacao (Dutch) .
PEN to PJZ . . . Surinam (Dutch) .
PKA to PMZ . -Dutch East Indies .
PNA to PZZ . . Not yet assigned .
Q . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reserved for codeabbreviation.
R-------------All to Russia .
SAA to SMZ---Sweden .
SNA to STZ . . . Brazil .
SUA toSUZ..Egypt.
SVA to SZZ---Greece .
TAA to VIZ . -Turkey .
TNA to TZZ . . Not yet. assigned .
UAA to UMZ..France and colonies .
UNA to UZZ . .Austria-Hungary and
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
VAA to VGZ . .Canada (British) .
VHA to VKZ. .Australian Federation
(British) .
VLA to VMZ . .New Zealand (British) .
VNA to VNZ. .South African Union
(British) .
VOA to VOZ . .Newfoundland (British) .
VPA to VSZ . .British colonies not
autonomous.
VTA to VWZ . .British India .
VXA to VZZ . .Not yet assigned .
W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All to the United States.
XAA to XCZ . .Mexico .
XDA to XZZ . .Not yet asssigned .
YAA to YZZ--Not yet assigned .
ZAA to ZZZ . . .Not yet assigned .
PUBLIC-SERVICE STATIONS .
3. The call letters assigned to the United States are all combinations
(676) beginning with the letter N and all (676) beginning with
the letter W and all combinations (598) from KDA to KZZ, inclusive.
The total number of international call letters assigned to the United
States is thus 1,950 and these are reserved for Government stationsand stations open to public and limited commercial service.
(a) All combinations beginning with the letter N are reserved for
Government stations and in addition the combinations from WUA toWVZ and WXA to WZZ are reserved for Stations of the Army of the
United States .(b) The combinations KDA to KZZ, with a few exceptions, are
reserved for ship and coast stations on the Atlantic coast and Gulf
of Mexico .
D.ofD.
JUN 7 1913
3
(c) The combinations beginning with W (except. WUA to WVZ
and WXA to WZZ as already indicated) are reserved, with a few
exceptions, for ship and coast stations on the Pacific coast and on
the Great Lakes .
AMATEUR STATIONS .
4. The call letters for amateur stations in the United States will
be awarded by radio inspectors, each for his own dictrict,
respectively,according to the following system :
(a.) The call will consist of three items; number of radio district ;
followed by two letters of the alphabet. Thus, the call of all
amateurstations in New England (which comprises the first dist ict)
will be the figure "one" in Continental Morse, followed by two
letters ; in California (in the sixth district) the figure "six" followed
by two letters ; in South Carolina the figure "four" followed by two
letters ; in Missouri the figure "nine" followed by two letters, etc .
The letters X, Y, Z, must not be used as the first of the two letters .
The territory of each district is as follows :
1. BOSTON, MASS . . . . . . .Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont., Massachusetts, RhodeIsland, Connecticut .
2. NEW YORK, N.Y.. . . .New York (county of New York, Staten Island, LongIsland . and counties on the Hudson River to and includingAlbany, Rensselaer, and Schenectady), and NewJersey (counties of Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Union, Middlesex,Monmouth, Hudson, and Ocean).
3 . BALTIMORE, MD...... New Jersey (all counties not included in second district),Pennsylvania (counties of Philadelphia, Delaware, allcounties south of the Blue Mountains, and FranklinCounty), Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, District ofColumbia .
4. SAVANNAH, CA. . . . . . . .North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, PortoRico .
5. NEW ORLEANS, LA. . .Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas,Oklahoma, New Mexico .
6. SAN FRANCISCO, CAL . .California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, Arizona .
7. SEATTLE, WASH . . . . . . . Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming .
8. CLEVELAND, OHIO . . . . New York (all counties not included in second district),Pennsylvania (all counties not included in third district),West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan (Lower Peninsula) .
9 . CHICAGO, ILL. . . . . . . . . Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan (Upper Peninsula),Minnesota, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Iowa,Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota .
(b) The three items ; a given figure first, followed by two letters
of the alphabet, thus may be combined in 598 different calls, which
will probably suffice. for the amateur sending stations in most districts
for some time to come .
(c) Radio inspectors will insert amateur station, calls in station
licenses according to this system, and will keep a permanent chart,
of 598 squares, lettered with the alphabet from left to right and from
top to bottom (A to W) . inserting in the appropriate square the
serial license number of the station to which the call letters were
awarded . Within these limitations radio inspectors will use their
discretion in the award of calls, avoiding, of course, duplications .
(d) When a station is abandoned and the license canceled, or if a
license shall be forfeited for violation of law, the call assigned to it
may be allotted to another station .
(e) If the entire 500 calls have been exhausted, radio inspectors
will issue additional calls, consisting of the figure oŁ the district
followed by three letters . From such combinations should be
excludedthe combination SOS, and PRB,all three-lettercombinations
beginning with QR or QS, all combinations involving the repetition
of the same letter three times, three-letter combinations beginning
with K, N, W, X, Y. Z . and other combinations, which . for various
reasons . international, national, local, or individnal, may be
objectionable. With such exclusions, over 10,000 calls will
remain for
each district .
LIMITEDCOMMERCIALSTATIONS.
5 . Calls for limited commercial land stations will be allotted by
the Bureau of Navigation in a special manner to indicate, if practical,
the different radio districts over which such stations usually radiate
messages, as well as to identify the stations .
SPECIAL CLASSES OF STATIONS.
0 . Calls for special classes of stations, such as experiment stations
for the development. of radio communication, technical and training
school stations, and special amateur stations will be alloted by the
Bureau of Navigation .
The call will consist of three. items, the number of the radio
district. followed by two letters of the alphabet . The first letter will
be : X, for experiment stations ; Y, technical and training schools ;
Z, special amateur stations .
Twenty-six different combinations for each class in each district,
of course, are possible . If more should prove necessary for any
class in any district, a third letter will be added to the call .
Approved
EDWIN F. SWEET,
Assistant Secretary.
E. T. CHAMBERLAIN,
Commissioner of Navigation.