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36:
738:) and "-TV" suffixes are currently phased out as those bands are no longer used. Some FM and television stations have call signs beginning with "XE", usually reserved for AM radio stations. Most of these "XE" cases in FM and television stations were solicited by the concessionaires themselves so the stations would have the same call sign as an existing AM station (as it is the case of
835:
The earliest identification, used in the 1910s and into the early 1920s, was arbitrary. The U.S. government began requiring stations to use three-letter call signs around 1912, but they could be chosen at random. This system was replaced by the basic form of the current system in the early 1920s.
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In the United States, broadcast stations have call signs of three to seven characters in length, including suffixes for certain types of service, but the minimum length for new stations is four characters, and seven-character call signs result only from rare combinations of suffixes.
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and nearby islets. Special call signs for contests or celebrations are occasionally issued, often in the 4A and 6D series, although these will follow the usual district numbering system (4A3 for the south, etc.).
1413:
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range, are available, but are not used in broadcasting. Conventional radio and television stations almost exclusively use "C" call signs; with the exception of a few commercial radio stations in
1166:
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1338:
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1101:
856:: first "This is the Herrold Station" or "San Jose calling", then the call signs FN, SJN, 6XF, and 6XE, then, with the advent of modern call signs, KQW in December 1921, and eventually
1378:
1328:
816:
stations in Mexico use "XE1" for the central region, "XE2" for the northern region, and "XE3" for the southern region. "XF" prefixes indicate islands. "XF4" is usually used for the
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chapter I. Specific rules for each particular service are set out in the part of the rules dealing with that service. A general overview of call sign formats is found at
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are not assigned a distinctive call sign; they keep the call sign of the station. The technical guidelines for digital television stations stipulate the use of
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Canadian broadcast stations are assigned a three-, four-, or five-letter base call sign (not including the "-FM", "-TV" or "-DT" suffix) beginning with
726:), followed by one and up to five letters and a suffix according to the band in which they broadcast, these suffixes are: "-AM", "-OC" (shortwave or
999:
53:
173:
Many countries have specific conventions for classifying call signs by transmitter characteristics and location. The call sign format for
100:
1045: — A comprehensive historical review of K and W call letter assignments for AM band (mediumwave) radio stations in the United States
933:
924:
778:
Television stations are required to identify every 30 minutes; there has been no equivalent requirement in radio since 2014. Television
72:
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which existed prior to the admission of
Newfoundland as a province in 1949, the "V" calls are restricted to specialized uses such as
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68:
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119:
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830:
770:). All TV stations originally assigned with the "-TV" suffix, had been given the "-TDT" suffix as they made the
411:
57:
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909:, used by the FCC in the United States to distinguish broadcast stations without regard to call sign changes
150:
worldwide. Each country has a different set of patterns for its own call signs. Call signs are allocated to
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use of this series anyway for stations belonging to, but not exclusively broadcasting programs from, the
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1034: — Top-of-the-hour station identifications with call signs from American AM and FM radio stations
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The rules governing call signs for stations in the United States are set out in the FCC rules, 47
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are assigned the call signs of the station they are licensed to retransmit; for instance,
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follows a number of conventions. All call signs begin with a prefix assigned by the
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prefixes. The current, largely post-independence, allocation list is as follows:
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Mexican broadcast stations are assigned call signs beginning with "XE" (for
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931:. Rules for broadcast stations' call sign are principally defined in
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Pertaining to their status as former or current colonies, all of the
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and other international radio stations that continue to identify by
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All broadcast call signs in the United States begin with either
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453:, with district numbers from 0 to 9 for amateur operations.
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481:. Further divisions that are used by amateur stations are:
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952:
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216:
60:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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344:islands. Visiting reciprocal for all islands is
527:Haiti has been assigned the call sign prefixes
477:All of the French possessions share the prefix
1084:
806:short names matching the parent station (e.g.
1478:
1070:
836:Examples of pre-1920 stations include 8XK in
754:), while others are for disambiguation (like
1404:South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
875:and "W" usually east of it. Initial letters
790:, has a repeater on Cerro Culiacán serving
1485:
1471:
1077:
1063:
189:has been assigned the following prefixes:
461:The Dominican Republic uses the prefixes
120:Learn how and when to remove this message
1051: — United States call sign policies
641:. The "CB" series calls are assigned to
1006:: Bay Area Radio Museum. Archived from
538:
14:
1681:
903:, another element of station licensing
852:'s series of identifiers from 1909 in
578:
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1043:K/W Call Letters in the United States
690:St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
472:
456:
183:International Telecommunication Union
58:adding citations to reliable sources
29:
217:Bermuda, Bahamas, and the Caribbean
211:international call sign allocations
27:North American broadcast call signs
24:
786:, located on Cerro El Zamorano in
656:Several other prefixes, including
25:
1705:
1025:
997:
651:Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
1280:
1247:Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
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354:(Commonwealth of Dominica, uses
34:
1694:Communications in North America
871:, with "K" usually west of the
831:Call signs in the United States
750:, all founded and owned by the
45:needs additional citations for
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991:
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953:"Cayman Amateur Radio Society"
945:
412:St. Vincent and the Grenadines
13:
1:
913:
645:by the ITU, but Canada makes
135:are frequently still used by
69:"Call signs in North America"
296:, in amateur radio normally
7:
894:
209:. For a complete list, see
10:
1710:
1085:Call signs in the Americas
828:
703:
602:
545:Kingdom of the Netherlands
1548:
1500:
1422:
1389:Saint Pierre and Miquelon
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1409:Turks and Caicos Islands
798:, which is also XEZ-TV.
522:
422:Turks and Caicos Islands
306:(for amateur radio uses
185:(ITU). For example, the
18:North American call sign
718:stations) or "XH" (for
437:Cuba uses the prefixes
432:
384:(for amateur operation
320:for amateur operation,
1324:British Virgin Islands
1038:Military Callsign List
1004:Pleasanton, California
848:in November 1920, and
304:British Virgin Islands
1237:Saint Kitts and Nevis
818:Revillagigedo Islands
583:The island nation of
179:television call signs
1049:EarlyRadioHistory.us
854:San Jose, California
706:Call signs in Mexico
605:Call signs in Canada
557:Netherlands Antilles
555:prefixes, while the
539:Netherlands Antilles
54:improve this article
1414:U.S. Virgin Islands
1257:Trinidad and Tobago
1102:Antigua and Barbuda
1000:"About Doc Herrold"
800:Digital subchannels
724:television stations
585:Trinidad and Tobago
579:Trinidad and Tobago
392:St. Kitts and Nevis
260:Antigua and Barbuda
225:islands shared the
223:British West Indies
1167:Dominican Republic
974:"DXinfocentre.com"
860:from 1949 onward.
772:digital switchover
567:has been assigned
473:French West Indies
457:Dominican Republic
252:(in amateur radio
140:broadcast stations
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513:Saint-Barthélemy
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71: –
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65:Find sources:
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49:
48:
43:This article
41:
37:
32:
31:
19:
1609:
1449:
1427:
1426:
1399:Sint Maarten
1384:Saint Martin
1291:Dependencies
1012:. Retrieved
1008:the original
993:
982:. Retrieved
978:the original
968:
956:. Retrieved
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842:Pennsylvania
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52:Please help
47:verification
44:
1654:New Zealand
1586:Middle East
1369:Puerto Rico
1296:territories
1242:Saint Lucia
1177:El Salvador
1032:Tophour.com
934:47 CFR
925:47 CFR
907:Facility ID
342:Cayman Brac
292:(also uses
110:August 2009
1689:Call signs
1683:Categories
1647:television
1561:Antarctica
1540:Spacecraft
1494:Call signs
1364:Montserrat
1359:Martinique
1354:Guadeloupe
1152:Costa Rica
1014:2010-05-24
984:2006-05-26
914:References
838:Pittsburgh
796:Guanajuato
736:Onda Larga
728:Onda Corta
712:mediumwave
680:, and the
595:prefixes.
495:Martinique
486:Guadeloupe
382:Montserrat
148:call signs
133:Call signs
80:newspapers
1666:Argentina
1642:Australia
1520:Broadcast
1439:Caribbean
1349:Greenland
1272:Venezuela
1217:Nicaragua
1187:Guatemala
1107:Argentina
1092:Sovereign
788:Querétaro
716:shortwave
402:St. Lucia
272:(has the
152:ham radio
1615:Barbados
1549:By place
1535:Military
1530:Maritime
1513:Airlines
1508:Aircraft
1304:Anguilla
1252:Suriname
1227:Paraguay
1202:Honduras
1162:Dominica
1147:Colombia
1117:Barbados
958:10 March
895:See also
879:through
768:XHIMT-TV
764:XEIMT-TV
732:longwave
720:FM radio
647:de facto
587:use the
563:prefix.
559:use the
547:use the
352:Dominica
280:Barbados
250:Anguilla
166:and the
156:Barbados
1637:Oceania
1501:By type
1334:Curaçao
1319:Bonaire
1314:Bermuda
1267:Uruguay
1207:Jamaica
1182:Grenada
1172:Ecuador
1127:Bolivia
1112:Bahamas
937:73.3550
784:XEZ-TDT
760:XETV-TV
756:XHTV-TV
653:(CBC).
571:by the
515:– uses
506:– uses
497:– uses
488:– uses
388:prefix)
372:Jamaica
362:Grenada
290:Bermuda
276:prefix)
270:Bahamas
266:prefix)
256:prefix)
94:scholar
1625:Mexico
1620:Canada
1598:Russia
1593:Europe
1556:Africa
1222:Panama
1212:Mexico
1192:Guyana
1137:Canada
1132:Brazil
1122:Belize
1094:states
920:C.F.R.
808:XHTDMX
792:Celaya
748:XEW-FM
744:XEW-TV
740:XEW-AM
700:Mexico
599:Canada
449:, and
414:(uses
404:(uses
394:(uses
374:(uses
364:(uses
282:(uses
262:(uses
237:, and
164:Mexico
160:Canada
96:
89:
82:
75:
67:
1581:Korea
1576:Japan
1571:India
1309:Aruba
1197:Haiti
1142:Chile
928:2.302
643:Chile
637:, or
565:Aruba
523:Haiti
175:radio
101:JSTOR
87:books
1566:Asia
1374:Saba
1294:and
1232:Peru
1157:Cuba
960:2012
858:KCBS
846:KDKA
804:PSIP
766:and
758:and
746:and
722:and
714:and
543:The
531:and
433:Cuba
386:VP2M
340:for
336:and
332:for
324:for
308:VP2V
254:VP2E
177:and
73:news
867:or
762:or
734:or
573:ITU
426:VP5
346:ZF2
338:ZF9
330:ZF8
322:ZF1
298:VP9
195:ALZ
191:AAA
56:by
1685::
1002:.
940:.
881:AL
877:AA
840:,
794:,
742:,
696:.
686:XO
682:XJ
678:VG
676:,
674:VE
670:VA
668:,
666:CZ
662:CY
660:,
658:CG
639:VO
635:VF
633:,
631:CK
629:,
627:CJ
625:,
623:CI
621:,
619:CH
617:,
615:CF
613:,
611:CB
593:9Z
589:9Y
575:.
569:P4
561:PJ
553:PI
549:PA
535:.
533:4V
529:HH
517:FJ
508:FS
499:FM
490:FG
469:.
467:HJ
463:HI
451:T4
447:CO
445:,
443:CM
439:CL
416:J8
406:J6
396:V4
376:6Y
366:J3
356:J7
328:,
318:ZF
294:VS
284:8P
274:C6
264:V2
243:ZO
239:ZN
235:ZJ
231:ZB
229:,
227:VS
213:.
205:,
201:,
197:,
170:.
162:,
158:,
1486:e
1479:t
1472:v
1078:e
1071:t
1064:v
1017:.
987:.
962:.
885:N
869:W
865:K
774:.
684:-
672:-
664:-
591:–
551:–
479:F
465:–
441:–
428:)
418:)
408:)
398:)
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316:(
310:)
300:)
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241:–
233:–
207:W
203:N
199:K
193:–
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117:(
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108:(
98:·
91:·
84:·
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50:.
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