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Author Topic: Vanity Call Sign Application....  (Read 347 times)

KO4BRD

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Vanity Call Sign Application....
« on: July 17, 2020, 07:21:55 PM »

I need a bit of help understanding the FCC logic.  After completing my Amateur Extra license I started looking for a shorter vanity callsign.  I diligently watched AE7Q's website for a callsign I'd like.  Only July 1, 2020 one came available.  I posted the application to the FCC website that day.  The callsign was noted as available for assignment, and a search of both the FCC and QRZ showed no records.  After filing, a search of my record showed my application pending.  I'd been checking every few days to see how it was going, and each day it said "Pending."   Today I see that the callsign I was applying for was granted to another ham.  However, in reviewing his record and application, I find this his file number is 134 applications AFTER mine, and the date he applied was July 6, 2020.  I applied July 1, 2020.  I was under the impression that the callsigns were granted on a first-come, first-served basis based on the date you applied.  There doesn't appear to be any family ties or any other reason this grant would go to him and not me.  What gives?  Did the FCC screw me out of a callsign?   Sorry to sound like sour grapes, but this doesn't seem right.
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AF5CC

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Re: Vanity Call Sign Application....
« Reply #1 on: July 17, 2020, 07:53:38 PM »

What was the callsign you applied for?  I will also do some research on it and see if I can find anything out.

73 John AF5CC
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KO4BRD

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Re: Vanity Call Sign Application....
« Reply #2 on: July 17, 2020, 07:58:30 PM »

I purposefully didn't post the vanity callsign because I didn't think it was proper.  I also dug a bit deeper and found out that the application was actually submitted prior to mine.  It was actually submitted almost 5 days BEFORE the vanity callsign was due to be available.  I thought you had to wait until the callsign was actually available before the FCC would accept an application, but apparently not.  Live and learn. 

I don't know how to remove this topic but I managed to answer my own question so it's superfluous now.  Sorry for the distraction....next time I'll apply early(ier).
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AF5CC

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Re: Vanity Call Sign Application....
« Reply #3 on: July 17, 2020, 10:36:29 PM »

According to the FCC website, the callsign you applied for on your July 1 application was cancelled on June 14, 2018, which made it available on June 15, 2020.
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W3PX

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Re: Vanity Call Sign Application....
« Reply #4 on: July 18, 2020, 06:02:59 AM »

AF5CC is correct, your application was a little too late this time.

You can learn a lot about the FCC's vanity call processing and issue methodology by reading and studying the notes on the AE7Q web site. It can help you locate the calls you may be interested in, when they will be available, and when to apply for them.

http://www.ae7q.com/query/

There is still a bit of luck involved, though, as the "winner" is picked randomly from all the qualified applicants for a call sign on the first date of the call's issue eligibility. If no one applies on the first day, the same logic is applied on the second day, then the third, and so on, until there are qualified applicant(s) who request the call.

Making the process even more complex is the fact that most applicants request multiple call signs on their preference list. It's entirely possible, say, that 10 qualified people could apply on the first day of eligibility of a call sign, yet none of them will receive it. How could this happen? They had other call signs higher on their preference list that were issued instead. The AE7Q site has a pretty good prediction algorithm that makes an educated "guess" as to who will receive the call sign, and I have found it to be pretty accurate.

73 Frank W3PX


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"So, we just went ahead and fixed the glitch" - Bob Slydell

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KC0W

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Re: Vanity Call Sign Application....
« Reply #5 on: July 18, 2020, 08:35:06 AM »

 Anyone else remember when there were hundreds & hundreds (thousands?) of 2x1 and 1x2 vanity callsigns available? I remember perusing the list of them via AOL dial up Internet probably 20+ years ago. I wanna say each call district had at least 150 Extra class vanity callsigns available.

                                                   Tom KH0/KC0W     
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W3PX

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Re: Vanity Call Sign Application....
« Reply #6 on: July 18, 2020, 08:42:07 AM »

Anyone else remember when there were hundreds & hundreds (thousands?) of 2x1 and 1x2 vanity callsigns available? I remember perusing the list of them via AOL dial up Internet probably 20+ years ago. I wanna say each call district had at least 150 Extra class vanity callsigns available.

                                                   Tom KH0/KC0W     

Oh yes, the good old days. Starting in 1996 when the Vanity "gates" first opened up they went fast and now only come up when there is an SK, or cancellation because the call holder requested another call.

Some call districts had a lot more available call signs than others, but that all changed when the FCC deleted the requirement that you could only have a call sign from your own district.

Now you can't tell for sure who is where without looking them up.

73 Frank W3PX



« Last Edit: July 18, 2020, 08:44:49 AM by W3PX »
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"So, we just went ahead and fixed the glitch" - Bob Slydell

"I’d say in any given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work" - Peter Gibbons

WW5F

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Re: Vanity Call Sign Application....
« Reply #7 on: July 19, 2020, 08:34:05 AM »

I remember when they were still issuing sequential 2X1's and I chose to keep my WB5UAA for some stupid reason...

Almost a year ago, I was able to drop the "B" from it.

My father chose to take a sequentially issued 2X1 at about the same time.  I'll just take his one of these days.
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