Re: Call Signs (was: Tell your conlang story!)

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Patrick Littell <puchitao@...>
Date: Mar 1, 2006 12:27 AM
Subject: Re: [OT] Call Signs (was: Tell your conlang story!)
To: d_n@nutter.net


Hmm, Pittsburgh has KDKA.  But that was before they had any Ws -- it
was the first commercial radio station, and got its call letters from
the ship and shore station roster (those being the only regular radio
services that were formally licensed by the federal government).  I
don't know if the K meant anything then; all I know is that KDKA
happened to be the next ship/shore station callsign.  It was broadcast
from a little shack on top of the Westinghouse "K" building, but I
think that's just coincidence.

Probably when the W/K split happened they were allowed to keep their
callsign.  Maybe for commercial reasons, maybe just for historical
reasons -- it was the first radio station callsign assigned.

-- Pat

On 2/28/06, Dana Nutter <sasxsek@...> wrote:
> > That east/west of the Mississippi is only generally
> > true, not an absolute.  Here in Dallas we are very
> > much west of the Mississippi.  Almost all of our
> > stations are of the K*** variety, but one, the
> > classical station I normally listen to is of the other
> > variety -- WRR 101.1 The Classical One.  (It is indeed
> > the one and only classical station within tuning
> > distance of Dallas/Ft. Worth.)
>
> First I've heard of anything different.  Maybe it's just a name and not
> and actual call sign.  Interestingly when I lived in New Orleans, they
> had stations with both W- and K- call signs depending upon which side of
> the river they were on.  This applied to commercial radio and television
> though.  Ham radio call signs use a different system and may also begin
> with N- or A-.   The U.S. also separates the FM band in to commercial
> (>92 MHz) and non-commercial (< 92 MHz).  Makes it easy to avoid all
> those noisy and obnoxious commercial stations.
>
> http://www.eham.net/newham/callsigns
>

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