It's a similar situation like in the US. Many older, heritage stations, still use their calls, but most newer ones go by a nickname. I don't know if they have any legal requirement for hourly legal ID's like here.
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K, W, X, C starting call letters
- Thread starter kfbkfb
- Start date
In Japan, broadcast stations use "JO" call signs. Within the call letters, the last character B, C, D, G, K and P are NHK broadcast centers (for example, NHK Tokyo is JOAB and JOAK). FM stations normally use the last character of U or V (some of the "multilingual" authorizations, such as InterFM and COCOLO-FM, use X ... some independent TV stations also use X).
Call signs beginning JOYZ and JOZZ are used for disaster and special event stations (JOYZ) as well as community stations (commercial LPFM 20 watts TPO) (JOZZ). Both call sign prefixes are followed by a digit and two alpha characters. (JOZZ2AF). For the community stations (JOZZ), the digit indicates the region of the country where the station is located (I am not sure this corresponds with any kind of call sign district for amateur calls), but normally the correspond with the regional office of the MIC (Japan's FCC).
Call signs beginning JOYZ and JOZZ are used for disaster and special event stations (JOYZ) as well as community stations (commercial LPFM 20 watts TPO) (JOZZ). Both call sign prefixes are followed by a digit and two alpha characters. (JOZZ2AF). For the community stations (JOZZ), the digit indicates the region of the country where the station is located (I am not sure this corresponds with any kind of call sign district for amateur calls), but normally the correspond with the regional office of the MIC (Japan's FCC).
@Michi i chuckled when i first logged 954khz Tokyo..... when i looked up the call letters, i saw JOKR......... the properly spelled word came to mind lol
ive heard JOCK too, just forget what frequency
Their main station is on 729. I am pretty sure there's some folks out there itchin' to log that one.
The UK might have taken the V and G prefix letters for Queen Victoria and King George. No idea why they also chose M. The V prefix, which was used in a lot of UK colonies and commonwealth countries, carried over into Newfoundland (VO), which was a dominion independent of Canada until 1949.
Z was used in a lot of commonwealth countries. South Africa still uses ZS for their amateur call letters. Zimbabwe (the former UK colony Southern Rhodesia) uses Z2.
I used to hear VLW9 out of Perth, Western Australia back in the day. They relayed 6WF/6WN, the ABC outlets on MW in Perth.
Z was used in a lot of commonwealth countries. South Africa still uses ZS for their amateur call letters. Zimbabwe (the former UK colony Southern Rhodesia) uses Z2.
I used to hear VLW9 out of Perth, Western Australia back in the day. They relayed 6WF/6WN, the ABC outlets on MW in Perth.
G for Great Britain makes more sense than G for George. But truthfully, so many of these prefix assignments were random that it's easier to surmise that all of them were random than that some nations got theirs as what hams know as "vanity call signs."
A bit more digging found this document, which for the purposes of the FCC, directly answers Kirk's query.
The world operated in Morse Code 110 years ago.
Also the D Series are used in the Philippines too.Ture, but I was just thinking that Spanish speaking countries might have wanted to avoid using K and W as they were not "part of the proper Spanish alphabet."
Also true, but I guess N was already taken.
Note that Germany has the "D" series (Deutschland).
Note DW and DZ are some of the call letters used in the Philippines.
DZMV-TV - Wikipedia
DWET-TV - Wikipedia
DZTV-TV - Wikipedia
DZKB-TV - Wikipedia
DZBB-TV - Wikipedia
In St. John's, Newfoundland, there are four stations still using V for their call letters: 590 VOCM (Talk and Oldies), 97.5 VOCM-FM (calls itself K-Rock), 800 VOWR (Methodist Church) and 96.7 VOAR-FM (Seven Day Adventist Church). VOCM, VOWR and VOAR date back before Newfoundland became part of Canada, so they don't have typical Canadian call letters. VOAR was originally on AM but migrated with its call sign to FM.
And just like in the U.S., in Canada, an AM with unusual call letters can share those with a sister FM or TV station, which is why Pittsburgh has KDKA AM, FM and TV. The FM and TV stations don't date back to the 1920s, but got those call signs from KDKA AM. VOCM-FM dates back only to the 1980s. But thanks to its AM sister station, it doesn't start with a K, W, X or C.
When I was on vacation in Halifax, at night I could hear VOCM 590. It is powered at 20,000 watts full time. And while I was in Miami on vacation, I could hear 1540 ZNS-1 Nassau and while in the Keys, I could also hear 800 ZNS-3 Freeport. It was the only time on U.S. soil I could hear radio stations without call signs beginning with a K, W, X or C. I have heard Cuban AM stations too, but they no longer use their pre-Castro call letters.
And just like in the U.S., in Canada, an AM with unusual call letters can share those with a sister FM or TV station, which is why Pittsburgh has KDKA AM, FM and TV. The FM and TV stations don't date back to the 1920s, but got those call signs from KDKA AM. VOCM-FM dates back only to the 1980s. But thanks to its AM sister station, it doesn't start with a K, W, X or C.
When I was on vacation in Halifax, at night I could hear VOCM 590. It is powered at 20,000 watts full time. And while I was in Miami on vacation, I could hear 1540 ZNS-1 Nassau and while in the Keys, I could also hear 800 ZNS-3 Freeport. It was the only time on U.S. soil I could hear radio stations without call signs beginning with a K, W, X or C. I have heard Cuban AM stations too, but they no longer use their pre-Castro call letters.
It's on 810, but your point is still valid.
Cuban stations still have call letters, but they don't use them on the air... true for stations throughout Latin America. As I said before, when I owned HCSP in Quito, Ecuador, I thought it would be different to use "H-C-S-P" as the station name. The government would not allow it, require a name... "call letters are for licensing, not for use on the air."
ZNS-n was the colonial callsign for broadcast stations in the Bahamas. It's now used merely for branding/familiarity and/or it exists by an agreement with the UK (similar to Canada using Chile's CB prefix) The Bahamas have been assigned the C6 prefix since independence from the UK in 1973.
Germany was assigned the entire D-block until they lost WW2. The Philippines were assigned DU-DZ and 4D-4I after independence from the US in 1946. Germany lost, then regained some of the D-block later on. They currently are assigned DA-DR.
Many don't realize that before WW II there were stations with "American" call letters in the Philippines.
The Philippines were US territory from 1898 to 1946. IIRC, they used KZxx for broadcasters and the KA prefix for hams.
"Only the sun covers the bahamas better, Zed Enn Ess 1"
Of course, they became a Japanese colony after March, 1942, when MacAArthur left Bataan. And had be a semi-independent entity since around 1937 if I remember right.
Well what constitutes a "name"? Because you pronounce each letter individually?
A name like "Radio Musical" (HCRM), "Canal Tropical" (HCFV), "Radio Fiesta" (HCSP), "Teleonda" (HCTM), "Sonora" (HCTT). (All were my stations just in Quito. One, Ecos de la Montaña, I can't remember the call letters for at all).
Not just saying the letters.
Names from Mexico City from the year I first worked there as an intern:
Radio Chapultepec, Radio 6-20, Radio Mundo, Radio Exitos, La X, Radio Universidad, La D-F, Radio Mil, Radio Centro, R-P-M, Radio Variedades, La B Grande, Canal Tropícal, Radio L-Z among many others.
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