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In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a callsign or call letters, or abbreviated as a call) is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In some countries they are used as names for broadcasting stations, but in many other countries they are not. A call sign can be formally assigned by a government agency, informally adopted by individuals or organizations, or even cryptographically encoded to disguise a station's identity. This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ...
The German Lorenz cipher machine Cryptography or cryptology is a field of mathematics and computer science concerned with information security and related issues, particularly encryption and authentication. ...
International series
- Main article: ITU prefix
International call signs are formal, semi-permanent, and issued by a nation's telecommunications agency. They are used for amateur, broadcast, commercial, maritime and sometimes military radio use (including television in some countries). The ITU allocates callsign prefixes for radio and television stations. ...
Telecommunication involves the transmission of signals over a distance for the purpose of communication. ...
An agency is a department of a local or national government responsible for the oversight and administration of a specific function, such as a customs agency or a space agency. ...
Amateur radio, often called ham radio, is a hobby enjoyed by about 3 million people[1] throughout the world. ...
This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ...
Each country has a set of alphabetic or numeric International Telecommunication Union-designated prefixes with which their call signs must begin. For example: Monument in Bern, Switzerland. ...
The ITU allocates callsign prefixes for radio and television stations. ...
- Australia uses AX, VH–VN, and VZ.
- Brazil uses PP–PY and ZV–ZZ.
- Chad uses TT.
- Honduras uses HQ–HR.
- India uses AT–AW, VT–VW, and 8T–8Y.
- Japan uses JA–JS, 7J–7N, and 8J–8N.
- Russia uses R and UA–UI.
- The United Kingdom uses G, M, VS, ZB–ZJ, ZN–ZO, ZQ, and 2.
- The United States uses W, K, N, and AA–AL.
Because these assignments were originally made in the early part of the twentieth century, they often reflect a former political structure that has long since ceased to exist. For example, the V series was originally reserved for the British Empire; individual subseries were carved out and assigned to individual dominions and territories. The modern successor nations retain these series, in some cases supplemented by additional assignments. Similarly, the Soviet Union had the entire U series; when the USSR broke up, several former Soviet republics received blocks of U call signs. The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...
Aviation Call signs in aviation are derived from several different policies, depending on the type of flight operation being conducted, and depending on whether the caller is in an aircraft or at a ground facility. In most countries, unscheduled general aviation flights identify themselves using the call sign correseponding to the aircraft's registration number (also called N-number in the U.S., or tail number). In this case, the call sign is spoken using the ICAO phonetic alphabet. Aircraft registration numbers internationally follow the pattern of a country prefix (N in the U.S.), followed by a unique identifier made up of letters and numbers. For example, an aircraft registred as N9876Q conducting a general aviation flight would use the call sign november niner eight seven six quebec. Aviation or Air transport refers to the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ...
General aviation (abbr. ...
FAA radiotelephony phonetic alphabet and Morse code chart. ...
This Cessna 150 displays the registration G-AVIT. The G- prefix denotes that it is registered in the UK. An aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civilian aircraft. ...
In most countries the aircraft call sign or "tail number" or registration marks are linked to the the international radio call sign allocation table, and follow a convention that aircraft radio stations (and by extension the aircraft itself) receive call signs consisting of 5 letters. For example all British civil aircraft have five-letter call signs beginning with G. Canadian aircraft have signs beginning with C-F or C-G, such as C-FABC. Ground effect vehicles (hovercraft) in that country are eligible to receive C-Hxxx signs, and ultralight aircraft receive C-Ixxx signs. In days gone by even American aircraft used five letter call signs such as KH-ABC but they were replaced prior to World War II by the current American type of aircraft call sign (see below for details)
Once an aircraft has made contact with a particular air traffic control facility the call sign may be abbreviated. For example a Canadian aircraft initially identified as C-GRTY might then identify as RTY, and the American aircraft mentioned above might then use "876Q" or perhaps "76Q". Sometimes the aircraft make or model is used in front of the full or abbreviated call sign. The use of abbreviated call signs has its dangers, in the case when aircraft with similar call signs are in the same vicinity. Therefore abbreviated signs are used only so long as it is unambiguous.
The United States does not follow the five letter call sign convention and in that country a registration number begins with the letter N, followed by up to five digits and/or letters in one of these schemes: one to five numbers (N12345), one to four numbers and one suffix letter (N1234Z), or one to three numbers and two suffix letters (N123AZ). The numeric part of the registration never starts with zero. To avoid confusion with the digits 1 (one) and 0 (zero), the alphabetic letters I (india) and O (oscar) are not used in registration numbers.
Commercial operators, including airlines, air cargo and air taxi operators, will usually use an ICAO or FAA-registered call sign for their company, which is used together with the flight number. For example, British Airways flight 75 would use the call sign Speedbird seven-five, since Speedbird is the registered call sign for British Airways. Air taxi operators in the United States sometimes do not have a registered call sign, in which case the prefix T is used followed by the aircraft registration number (e.g. tango november niner eight seven six quebec). The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an agency of the United Nations, develops the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. ...
FAA may refer to: Federal Aviation Administration in the United States Fleet Air Arm in the UK Royal Navy Fuerza Aérea Argentina in Argentina This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...
For the 1930s airline of similar name see British Airways Ltd British Airways (LSE: BAY, NYSE: BAB) is the largest airline of the United Kingdom. ...
Some variations of call signs exist to express safety concerns to all operators and controllers monitoring the transmissions. Aircraft call signs will use the suffix "heavy" to indicate a large aircraft, e.g'. United Two-Five Heavy. For air ambulance flights, the callsign prefix Lifeguard is used before the normal callsign, e.g. Lifeguard three three alfa.
Glider pilots often use a supplementary number (the competition number) in their call signs. : For other uses, see Glider (disambiguation). ...
Military flights use a variety of registered call signs with flight numbers, just like commercial operators. e.g. Navy Golf Alfa Kilo 21, REACH 31792.
Ground facilities identify themselves by the name and function of the facility: e.g. Seattle Tower for the tower controller's position, or Boston Center for an Area Control Center. Air Traffic Control Towers (ATCTs) at Schiphol Airport Air Traffic Control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. ...
This temporary flight restriction map from the Federal Aviation Administration shows the boundaries of the regions controlled by the Area Control Centers within and adjoining the continental United States, as well as the IATA airport code of each such Center operated by the United States. ...
Ships and Boats Merchant vessels are assigned a call sign by their national licensing authority. In the case of states such as Liberia or Panama, which are flags of convenience for ship registration, call signs for larger vessels consist of the national prefix plus three letters (for example, 3LXYZ). United States civilian vessels are given call signs beginning with the letter W. Originally both ships and broadcast stations were given call signs in this series consiting of three or four letters, but gradually American-flagged vessels were given callsigns with mixed letters and numbers. A flag of convenience is a flag of one country, flown by a ship owned by a citizen of another country. ...
Leisure craft with VHF radios may not be assigned callsigns, in which case the name of the vessel is used instead.
Amateur radio Amateur radio call signs are in the international series and normally consist of a one- or two-character prefix, a number (which sometimes corresponds to a geographic area within the country), and a 1, 2, or 3 character suffix. The number following the prefix is normally a single number (0 to 9). Some prefixes, such as Djibouti's (J2), consist of a letter followed by a number. Hence, in the hypothetical Djibouti call sign, J29DBA, the prefix is J2, the number is 9, and the suffix is DBA. Others may start with a number followed by a letter, for example, Jamaican call signs begin with 6Y. Amateur radio, often called ham radio, is a hobby enjoyed by about 3 million people[1] throughout the world. ...
The numbers are sometimes assigned geographically. In the Italian call sign, IK1TZO, IK is the prefix, the number component is 1 and corresponds to the Piedmont, Aosta Valley and Liguria regions, and TZO is the suffix. Another example is WB3EBO. WB is the prefix, the number 3 most often indicates that the station is located in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, or the District of Columbia, and the suffix is EBO. For district numbers within the United States, see ARRL map. Piedmont is a region of northwestern Italy. ...
The Aosta Valley (in Arpitan: Val dOuta, French: Vallée dAoste, Italian: Valle dAosta) is a mountainous and very silly and smelly region in north-western Italy. ...
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. ...
Official language(s) None Capital Dover Largest city Wilmington Area Ranked 49th - Total 2,491 sq. ...
Official language(s) None (English, de-facto) Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Area Ranked 42nd - Total 12,417 sq. ...
Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area Ranked 33rd - Total 46,055 sq. ...
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Broadcast call signs
North America - Main article: North American call sign
Broadcast stations in North America generally use call letters in the international series. There are some common conventions followed in each country. In Canada, call signs begin with the letter C, except for four stations in St. John's which begin with VO. Mexican call signs begin with an XE for medium-wave (AM) radio stations and XH in other cases. In the United States, the first letter generally is K for stations west of the Mississippi River and W for those east of the Mississippi. There are a number of exceptions, such as KYW in Philadelphia and WFAA in Dallas, but most of these exceptions are located in the states immediately to either side of the river. Many countries have specific conventions for classifying call signs by transmitter characteristics and location. ...
World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...
Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = Avancez (go forward) Nickname: The City of Legends Location City Information Established: August 5, 1583 by Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I Area: (city) 446. ...
Government-operated international broadcasters, such as Radio Canada International and Voice of America, are not assigned call signs; however, privately-operated shortwave stations, like WWCR and CFRX, are. Radio Canada International (RCI) is the international broadcasting service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). ...
The Voice of America (VOA) is the official international broadcasting service of the Government of the United States. ...
WWCR is a shortwave radio station located in Nashville, Tennessee in the United States. ...
CFRB, or CFRB 1010 as it is often referred to, is an AM radio station in Toronto, Canada, broadcasting on 1010 kHz, with a shortwave radio simulcast by CFRX on 6070 kHz. ...
Australia In Australia, broadcast call signs begin with a single-digit number indicating the state or territory, followed by two letters for AM stations and three for FM. Some AM stations retain their old call signs when moving to FM, or just add an extra letter to the end. Australian broadcast stations originally used the prefix VL-, but since Australia has no nearby neighbors, this practice was soon discarded, although the VL prefix can still be implied in an international context. (Certain ABC radio stations, particularly outside of metropolitan areas, may use five-letter call signs for FM stations: xABCFM for ABC Classic FM, xABCRN for Radio National, and xABCRR for ABC Local Radio - the x being the state number.) The Australian States and Territories make up the Commonwealth of Australia under a federal system of government. ...
AM radio is radio broadcasting using Amplitude Modulation. ...
Roberts FM radio FM radio is a broadcast technology invented by Edwin Howard Armstrong that uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. ...
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australias national non-commercial public broadcaster. ...
ABC Classic FM is Australian classical radio station available in major centres around the country. ...
ABC Radio National is an Australia-wide radio network with many various programs, involving news and current affairs, arts, music, society, science, drama and comedy. ...
ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly-owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ...
Television station call signs begin with two letters usually denoting the station itself, followed by a third letter denoting the state. For example, NBN's call sign stands for Newcastle Broadcasting, New South Wales. There are some exceptions: NBN Television is an Australian commercial television broadcasting company, broadcasting from its main studios in Newcastle, transmitting to the northern half of New South Wales (including the Central Coast, Newcastle and The Gold Coast). ...
- ABC television stations outside of state capitals add a fourth letter (and in rare cases a fifth) between AB and the state. This is used to denote the area, e.g. the Newcastle station is known as ABHN, standing for Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Hunter Valley, New South Wales. State capital stations follow the same rule as commercial stations, also using AB as the first two letters; for example, ABN is Sydney's ABC television station.
- SBS television stations all use SBS in their call signs, regardless of the state. Also, SBS FM radio stations use a five-letter call sign, xSBSFM. (Sydney and Melbourne's AM stations use xEA, short for Ethnic Australia.)
- Commercial station Imparja Television uses IMP, even though they are based in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
- Community television station Television Sydney uses TVS as its call sign, although being a New South Wales-based station it should have a call sign ending in "N".
Letters and numbers used by Australian stations: The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is one of two government funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television networks, the other being the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). ...
Imparja Television (callsign IMP) is one of 4 public access television stations that service Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and other parts of Southern Northern Territory, which are outside of the broadcasting range of Darwins television stations. ...
Alice Springs on a large scale map Alice Springs is a large town in the Northern Territory of Australia located at 23°42′ S 133°52′ E. Its population of 28,178 (2001 Census) makes it the second-largest settlement in the Territory (the only other towns of significant size...
Emblems: {{{Emblems}}} Motto: None Slogan or Nickname: The Territory, The NT Other Australian states and territories Capital Darwin Government Administrator Chief Minister Const. ...
TVS (Television Sydney) is a community television station broadcasting in Sydney, Australia on the Channel 31 frequency. ...
- Radio
- Television
- N - New South Wales
- Q - Queensland
- V - Victoria
- S - South Australia
- C - Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory
- W - Western Australia
- D - Darwin and the Northern Territory
- T - Tasmania
Emblems: ? (please edit) Motto: For the Queen, the Law and the People Slogan or Nickname: (none) Other Australian states and territories Capital Canberra Government Administrator Chief Minister Const. ...
Emblems: Floral - Waratah (Telopea Speciosissima); Bird - Kookaburra (Dacelo Gigas); Animal - Platypus (Ornithorhynchus Anatinus); Fish - Blue Groper (Achoerodus Viridis) Motto: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Slogan or Nickname: First State, Premier State Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Governor Premier Const. ...
Emblems: ? (please edit) Motto: For the Queen, the Law and the People Slogan or Nickname: (none) Other Australian states and territories Capital Canberra Government Administrator Chief Minister Const. ...
Emblems: Pink heath (floral) helmeted honeyeater (bird) Leadbeaters possum (faunal) Motto: Peace and Prosperity Slogan or Nickname: Garden State, The Place To Be, On The Move Other Australian states and territories Capital Melbourne Government Governor Premier Const. ...
Emblems: Faunal - Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus); Floral - Cooktown orchid (Dendrobium bigibbum); Bird - Brolga (Grus rubicunda); Aquatic - Barrier Reef Anemonefish (Amphiprion akindynos); Gem - Sapphire; Colour - Maroon Motto: Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Slogan or Nickname: Sunshine State, Smart State Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Government Governor Premier Const. ...
Emblems: Hairy Nosed Wombat (faunal); Sturts Desert Pea (floral); Opal (gemstone); Leafy Seadragon (marine) Motto: United for the Common Wealth Slogan or Nickname: Festival State Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Government Governor Premier Const. ...
Emblems: Floral - Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos manglesii); Mammal - Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus); Bird - Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) Motto: Cygnis Insignis (Distinguished by its swans) Slogan or Nickname: Wildflower State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Const. ...
Emblems: Flora Tasmanian Blue Gum Fauna none Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Slogan or Nickname: The Apple Isle Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Governor Premier Const. ...
Emblems: {{{Emblems}}} Motto: None Slogan or Nickname: The Territory, The NT Other Australian states and territories Capital Darwin Government Administrator Chief Minister Const. ...
For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ...
Darwin is the territorial capital and most populous city of the Northern Territory. ...
New Zealand The use of broadcast callsigns in New Zealand historically consisted of a digit, and two letters for AM or three for FM. The usage was: - Number
- 1 - Northern half of the North Island
- 2 - Southern half of the North Island and the Nelson region
- 3 - South Island, north of the Waitaki River, excluding Nelson
- 4 - South Island, south of the Waitaki River
- First letter
- X - private commercial station
- Y - Radio NZ, non-commercial (National Programme, Concert Programme) and Access Radio Wellington (2YB)
- Z - Radio NZ, commercial (now mostly The Radio Network)
For example - 1ZB was a Radio NZ commercial station in Auckland; 4XF was Foveaux Radio in Invercargill (now More FM); 4YC was the Concert Programme in Dunedin.
FM stations appeared to have no standard format for the letters, just picking three that 'fit' the station. To make matters more confusing, some stations such as 4ZA-FM (now Classic Hits Southland 98.8FM) and 4XO Gold (now More FM Dunedin) retained their AM callsigns.
Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin as major centres for the four regions had specific Radio NZ callsigns used:
- xYA - National Programme
- xYC - Concert Programme
- xZB - Community Network commercial
- xZM - Music commercial (except Dunedin)
During the early 1990's the use of callsigns became less common, to the point that most broadcasters do not use them at all. Some are retained in some form for branding - for example, 4XO Dunedin (until it was rebranded More FM Dunedin in 2004), Newstalk ZB (using the old 1ZB, 2ZB, 3ZB, 4ZB and various other Radio NZ commercial frequencies) and ZM (originally ZMFM, replacing the old 1ZM, 2ZM and 3ZM, now nationwide). Stations licensed since 1990 have not had callsigns allocated.
Europe/Asia In Europe and much of Asia, call signs are normally not used for broadcast stations. Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Taiwan are exceptions to this general rule. Other countries have yet other formats for assigning call signs to domestic services.
Military call signs In wartime, monitoring an adversary's communications can be a valuable form of intelligence. Consistent call signs can aid in this monitoring, so in wartime, military units often employ tactical call signs and sometimes change them at regular intervals. In peacetime, some military stations will use fixed call signs in the international series. Police units in the United States tend to use a tactical designator (or tactical callsign) consisting of a letter of the police phonetic alphabet followed by one or two numbers. ...
U.S. Army The United States Army uses fixed call signs which begin with W, such as WAR, used by U.S. Army Headquarters. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
Headquarters (HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are concentrated. ...
U.S. Air Force Fixed call signs for the United States Air Force stations begin with A, such as AIR, used by USAF Headquarters. The USAF also uses semi-fixed identifiers consisting of a name followed by a two or three digit number. The name is assigned to a unit on a semi-permanent basis; they change only when the U.S. Department of Defense goes to DEFCON 3. For example, JAMBO 51 would be assigned to a particular B-52 aircrew of the 5th Bomb Wing, while NODAK 1 would be an F-16 fighter with the North Dakota Air National Guard. The most recognizable call sign of this type is Air Force One, used when any Air Force aircraft is transporting the U.S. President. Individual military pilots or other flight officers usually adopt a personal aviator call sign. The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerospace branch of the United States armed forces. ...
Defense Condition is a measure of the activation and readiness level of the United States armed forces. ...
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range eight-engined strategic bomber flown by the United States Air Force (USAF) since 1954, replacing the Convair B-36 and the Boeing B-47. ...
This article is a part of Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft. ...
Air Force One is the air traffic control call sign of any U.S. Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. ...
The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ...
An aviator call sign or callsign is a nickname given to a military pilot or other flight officer. ...
U.S. Navy/Coast Guard The United States Navy and United States Coast Guard use a mixture of tactical call signs and international call signs beginning with the letter N. For example, the carrier USS John F. Kennedy has the call sign NJFK. The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. ...
Coast Guard shield The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a military branch of the United States involved in maritime law, mariner assistance and search and rescue, among other duties of any coast guard. ...
British Army Tactical voice communications ("combat net radio") use a system of callsigns of the form letter-digit-digit. Within a standard infantry battalion these characters represent companies, platoons and sections respectively, so that 3 Section, 1 Platoon of B Company might be F13. In addition, F13A might be the 2ic of that section, in charge of its Delta fire team. A fire team is the smallest recognized military unit. ...
Note that the letter part of the callsign is not the company's own letter (B vs F in the above example) - indeed, the letter designations are randomly assigned using BATCO sheets and change along with the BATCO codes every 24 hours. This, together with frequency changes and voice procedure aimed at making every unit sound the same, introduces a degree of obfuscation against simple traffic analysis and eavesdropping.
Not all radio users fit into the standard battalion model, but in order to continue the obfuscation they will be assigned a callsign that appears to be part of such a system. Presumably, the well-known B20 falls into this category. Bravo Two Zero (B20) was the name popularly given to an eight-man British Special Air Service patrol that was tasked with finding Iraqi Scud missile launchers during the Gulf War. ...
Finally, the controller of each net has the callsign 0 ("zero"). There may also be a second controller - either a backup station or a commander who has delegated communication tasks to a signaller but may occasionally wish to speak in person - with the callsign 0A ("zero alpha").
Transmitters requiring no call signs No call signs are issued to transmitters of long-range navigation systems (LORAN-C, Decca, Alpha, Omega) or transmitters on frequencies below 10 kHz, because frequencies below 10 kHz are not subject to international regulations. In addition, in some countries low-power personal and broadcast radio (Citizen's Band, Part 15, and the like) is allowed; a call sign is not always required for such stations, though especially on personal radio services it is considered a matter of etiquette to create one's own. A typical mobile citizens band radio Citizens band radio (CB) is, in the United States, a system of short distance radio communication between individuals on a selection of 40 channels within the single 27 MHz (11 meter) band. ...
In the U.S., Part 15 is an often-quoted section of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and regulations, regarding unlicensed transmissions. ...
See also Most airlines employ a distinctive and internationally recognised call sign that is normally spoken during airband radio transmissions as a prefix to the flight number. ...
An aviator call sign or callsign is a nickname given to a military pilot or other flight officer. ...
Most American space flights, with the exception of those of Project Gemini and early Apollo flights, have had their spacecraft officially named. ...
The International Telecommunications Union sets many international standards for radio usage around the world. ...
A Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) is a series of nine digits which are transmitted over the radio path in order to uniquely identify ship stations, ship earth stations, coast stations, coast earth stations, and group calls. ...
A pseudonym (Greek: false name) is a fictitious name used by an individual as an alternative to his or her legal name. ...
Station identification is the practice of any type of radio station identifying itself, typically with a callsign. ...
References - United States Federal Aviation Administration, Aeronautical Information Manual, Official Guide to Basic Flight Information and ATC Procedures, 2004. Chapter 4, Section 2
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