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What Happens to Inactive/Defunct Call Signs?

OK, so I think I like KYY, and I'm quite certain no other stations are using it for any reason, so I think I'll use it.

That said, I wouldn't mind having some sung jingles (take the very similar KYA, where some jingles I heard go something like, "Radio KYA 1260!". What I'd like would be basically the same jingle, but like this: "Radio KYY 1710!")

I wish there were some way to digitally modify an existing jingle that doesn't have obvious artifacts and doesn't infringe on any copyrights (I suppose some of those new AI algorithms that scammers are using to recreate people's voices could work).

Any thoughts on this?

c
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KSAN-TV

Here is an interesting one KSAN-TV their call letters were originally used for a Metromedia station in San Francisco in the 1960's before they became KQEC San Francisco. Those call letters were originally held for TV, AM and FM in San Francisco. However the FM one under Metromedia was on 94.9 FM. But that went to 107.7 FM in the 1990's due to the company now known as Iheart wanting a powerful signal at 94.9fm for KYLD.

Today KSAN-TV is owned by Mission Broadcasting the license holding company for some Nexstar stations.

KSAN-FM is managed by Cumulus.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KYLD

en.m.wikipedia.org

KSAN (FM) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org
 
cc333 said:
OK, so I think I like KYY, and I'm quite certain no other stations are using it for any reason, so I think I'll use it.

That said, I wouldn't mind having some sung jingles (take the very similar KYA, where some jingles I heard go something like, "Radio KYA 1260!". What I'd like would be basically the same jingle, but like this: "Radio KYY 1710!")

I wish there were some way to digitally modify an existing jingle that doesn't have obvious artifacts and doesn't infringe on any copyrights (I suppose some of those new AI algorithms that scammers are using to recreate people's voices could work).

Any thoughts on this?

c
Click to expand...
Two radio stations in Charlotte called themselves WMIX. Or maybe one did. They had essentially the same logo after someone from one of the stations went to work at the other. The second station, which I know did this, was "Mix 106" and at the top of the hour would say "WNMX Waxhaw".
 
cc333 said:
OK, so I think I like KYY, and I'm quite certain no other stations are using it for any reason, so I think I'll use it.
Any thoughts on this?
Click to expand...
I can hear the liners now: "Radio KY, we're the slick station!"
"Have a SMMOOOTH slide into work listening to Radio KY!"
"Bend over, here comes another one from Radio KY!"
 
vchimpanzee said:
Two radio stations in Charlotte called themselves WMIX. Or maybe one did. They had essentially the same logo after someone from one of the stations went to work at the other. The second station, which I know did this, was "Mix 106" and at the top of the hour would say "WNMX Waxhaw".
Click to expand...
The actual WMIX call letters have been in Mt.Vernon, IL for decades.
 
Kelly A said:
I can hear the liners now: "Radio KY, we're the slick station!"
"Have a SMMOOOTH slide into work listening to Radio KY!"
"Bend over, here comes another one from Radio KY!"
Click to expand...
Did someone say Kentucky Jelly? I'm reminded Gary Burbank's Gilbert Gnarley character pranking a PR rep for KY Jelly (it's on You Tube but not available for posting here)
 
Y2kTheNewOldies said:
KSAN-TV - Wikipedia

Here is an interesting one KSAN-TV their call letters were originally used for a Metromedia station in San Francisco in the 1960's before they became KQEC San Francisco. Those call letters were originally held for TV, AM and FM in San Francisco. However the FM one under Metromedia was on 94.9 FM.

en.m.wikipedia.org

KSAN (FM) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org
Click to expand...


The KSAN call letters go much further back than that---to 1939, when a guy named Sherwood Patterson owned 1420 AM, which later moved to 1450.

Patterson is the one who put Channel 32 on the air as KSAN-TV in 1954.

Patterson sold the AM in 1964 and the TV in 1968. The AM became KSOL and the TV, which was bought by Metromedia, kept the KSAN calls, which then enabled Metromedia to change KSFR 94.9 FM (which it bought in '66) to KSAN. It then changed the calls of the TV station to KNEW-TV, matching AM 910, which it also owned, and mirroring its New York TV flagship, WNEW-TV.

Metromedia gave the TV station to KQED in 1970, which changed it to KQEC. It was dark for most of that decade, and the FCC revoked the license and gave it to the Minority Television Project, which put it back on the air as KMTP. They participated in the 2016-2017 auction, got $87 million for the frequency and went off the air.
 
@Kelly A Eh, that wasn't what I had in mind!

Perhaps I should pick something else. Got any suggestions?

I guess i could make one up, as there aren't a lot of three-letter calls still in use.

c
 
Kelly A said:
I can hear the liners now: "Radio KY, we're the slick station!"
"Have a SMMOOOTH slide into work listening to Radio KY!"
"Bend over, here comes another one from Radio KY!"
Click to expand...
There was a KY-FM in Scotland for a while, so-called because it broadcast from the town of Kirkcaldy. After a few months on the air and endless "that sounds like a slick operation" jokes from children like me, they quickly decided to get rid of the slightly iffy name and went for "K-107".
 
DavidEduardo said:
Remember, a lot of old 3 letter calls were used by the military and things like ships, beacons and other utility stations and not by AM radio stations.

You can find an almost infinite number of old station listings at RADIO LOG BOOKS - Radio station logbooks and listings from 1923 to 2010.
Click to expand...
I see. So, will a given logbook list stations whose licenses were deleted on a given date?

If the military used a call, say, during WWII for some relatively obscure, low priority communications, and then dropped it afterwards when the war was over, it should be fair game, no?

I mainly want to avoid calls that were used by commercial broadcast stations because of copyrights and such (I don't have even a tiny fraction of the funds necessary to acquire any rights to anything).

Miss Tuned said:
There was a KY-FM in Scotland for a while, so-called because it broadcast from the town of Kirkcaldy. After a few months on the air, they quickly decided to get rid of the slightly iffy name and went for "K-107".
Click to expand...
Exactly. I don't want any iffies!!

c
 
DavidEduardo said:
Remember, a lot of old 3 letter calls were used by the military and things like ships, beacons and other utility stations and not by AM radio stations.

You can find an almost infinite number of old station listings at RADIO LOG BOOKS - Radio station logbooks and listings from 1923 to 2010.
Click to expand...
FYI....reaching way back into the 1960's USN radio archives:

Ships were given a four-letter call (ex: USS Orleck (DD-886) my ship was NBIG)). This was used by radio, sonar and flags (semaphore). UHF signals used the tactical call ('Stale Vessel' - the CO had fits about that and turned it into 'Stage Door'. Naval aircraft calls were yet in another form.

Navy radio shore stations. other than radio lighthouses were usually 3 letter calls (example NPG = San Francisco).

Harbor comm used the ship's name (no call). Freq was 2716 in all US controlled harbors worldwide AFAIK.

No idea how calls work today. The USN doesn't even have Radiomen rate any longer. They were turned into IT rates in the mid-90's.
 
If a callsign is deleted, can another station snatch up that callsign? Like if KDWN stays silent for a year and becomes DKDWN, could someone else get KDWN?
 
NickD said:
If a callsign is deleted, can another station snatch up that callsign? Like if KDWN stays silent for a year and becomes DKDWN, could someone else get KDWN?
Click to expand...
Yes. FCC granted calls "belong" to the US Government, not to stations, and so they can reauthorize them. Once you have them, you are required to identify with them periodically according to the rules for the class of service of your FCC license.

However, there is nothing that says you can't call a station "Wow Radio" in Orlando, Florida even if those are not your calls... as long as you use the authorized ones when required. In fact, in that same station Clear Channel at one time had a handful of stations all using "WFLA" as their name, even though only one actually was assigned those calls.
 
NickD said:
If a callsign is deleted, can another station snatch up that callsign? Like if KDWN stays silent for a year and becomes DKDWN, could someone else get KDWN?
Click to expand...
Yes. They become available, essentially immediately.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Yes. FCC granted calls "belong" to the US Government, not to stations, and so they can reauthorize them. Once you have them, you are required to identify with them periodically according to the rules for the class of service of your FCC license.

However, there is nothing that says you can't call a station "Wow Radio" in Orlando, Florida even if those are not your calls... as long as you use the authorized ones when required. In fact, in that same station Clear Channel at one time had a handful of stations all using "WFLA" as their name, even though only one actually was assigned those calls.
Click to expand...
In the 80s, KYST, outside of Houston went all-Beatles as KBTL, except the legal calls stayed KYST. No problem with being KBTL except for the legal ID.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Yes. FCC granted calls "belong" to the US Government, not to stations, and so they can reauthorize them. Once you have them, you are required to identify with them periodically according to the rules for the class of service of your FCC license.

However, there is nothing that says you can't call a station "Wow Radio" in Orlando, Florida even if those are not your calls... as long as you use the authorized ones when required. In fact, in that same station Clear Channel at one time had a handful of stations all using "WFLA" as their name, even though only one actually was assigned those calls.
Click to expand...

Recent example of this in Monterey, California. The current owner wanted to (sort of) resurrect KMBY, the successful Top 40 of the 1960s and 1970s on 1240 AM. The call letters were long gone, and were KNRY, when he bought it. The call letters KMBY were in use elsewhere. So he grabbed something phonetically similar, KNBI, called the radio station "KMBY" except for once an hour when the legal ID was required and "KNBI, Monterey" was rushed past. And it sounded like "KMBY".

Soon after, the actual KMBY calls became available and he now has those.
 
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