RADIO  CALL  LETTERS
__________

DEPARTMENT  OF  COMMERCE

OFFICE  OF  THE  SECRETARY

WASHINGTON

BUREAU  OF  NAVIGATION
 This is an HTML version of the original government document, Radio Call Letters [C11.2:R115], which reported United States radio station call letter policies, as of May 9, 1913.
This HTML version is based on a photocopy of the original 4-page publication. It incorporates all of the original contents, keeping as much as possible the layout of the original document.

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of those concerned, pending the issue of the Lists of Radio Stations of the World and of the United States, which will not be published before July.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 communication provides:

    SEC. 7. That a person, company, or corporation within the jurisdiction of the United 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 or fraudulent distress signal or call shall be a fine of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, in the discretion of the court, for each and every such offense, and the penalty for so uttering or transmitting, or causing to be uttered or transmitted, any other false or fraudulent signal, call, or other radiogram shall be a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or imprisonment for not more than two years, or both, in the discretion of the court, for each 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 International Radiotelegraphic Conference made a partial allotment of call letters among nations which signed the convention and the International Bureau at Berne, with the consent of such nations, has modified and 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.

A..............All to Germany and protectorates.
B..............All to Great Britain.
CAA to CMZ..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 to HFZ..Austria-Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
HGA to HHZ..Siam.
HIA to HZZ..Not yet assigned.
I..............All to Italy and colonies.
J..............All to Japan and possessions.
KAA to KCZ..Germany and protectorates.
KDA 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. 		ONA to OTZ..Belgium and colonies.
OUA to OZZ..Denmark.
PAA to PIZ...Netherlands.
PJA to PJM...Curacao (Dutch)
PJN to PJZ...Surinam (Dutch)
PKA to PMZ..Dutch East Indies.
PNA to PZZ..Not yet assigned.
Q..............Reserved for code abbreviations.
R..............All to Russia.
SAA to SMZ...Sweden.
SNA to STZ...Brazil.
SUA to SUZ...Egypt.
SVA to SZZ...Greece.
TAA to TMZ..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 assigned.
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 calls is thus 1,950, and these are reserved for Government stations and 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 to WVZ and WXA to WZZ are reserved for the 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.
    (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 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 district, 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 amateur stations in New England (which comprises the first district) 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, Rhode Island, Connecticut.
  2. NEW YORK, N. Y...New York (county of New York, Staten Island, Long Island, and counties on the Hudson River to and including Albany, Rensselaer, and Schenectady) and New Jersey (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, all counties south of the Blue Mountains, and Franklin County), Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia.
  4. SAVANNAH, GA...North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Porto Rico.
  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 598 calls have been exhausted, radio inspectors will issue additional calls, consisting of the figure of the district followed by three letters. From such combinations should be excluded the combination SOS, and PRB, all three-letter combinations 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 individual, may be objectionable. With such exclusions, over 10,000 calls will remain for each district.

LIMITED  COMMERCIAL  STATIONS.

    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.

    6. 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 allotted 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.

 E. T. CHAMBERLAIN,           
Commissioner of Navigation.    
    Approved:
         EDWIN F. SWEET,
                     Assistant Secretary.