Evening star., 1923-01-28
by COMMANDER STANFORD C.
HOOPER, U. y. N.
Copyright, 1929

Copyright. 1927
The "call letters' of the more ia
NOUS long distance broadcast stations
have now become household words
all over the North American con-
tinent.
We have come to know these sta
tions by their call letters and what
they represent and the quality OF
the stations product have become
subjects Of nationwide popular dis
cussion along with such other popu-
the automobile. .
1t is not unlikely that within a
few short years they will be house
hold words the world over and popu-
lar subjects of international discus
sion as well.
They, have long been a matter OF
international concern to the various
governments of the civilized world,
because transmitting station call let
ters are an extremely important
feature in radio, and radio, by it's
very nature. is essentially an inter
national agency, as well as a national
agency.
One Essential Feature.
The call letters constitute the one
essential and universal distinguish
ing feature Of every individual radio
transmitting station the world over
regardless OF its power or range
whether radio telegraph or radio teie-
phone: whether the station has been
established on shipboard, on shore or
on aircraft; whether 1t Is utilized for
the exchange of messages through
space, for experimental or other special
a "a MIR fnF
broadcasting.
Every individual radio transmitting
station which Is authorized to radIate
ether or radio waves in space any
where in the world is distinguished
by call letters which have been as
signed to 1t by the government hav-
ing jurisdiction over 1t, and no two
stations in the world have the same
combination of characters, except
perhaps the juvenile amateur sta
tions.
There are in existence today more
than 10000 individual licensed ship
and shore radio transmitting stations
under the jurisdiction of the United
States alone, including broadcast and
amateur stations, and each one OF
these stations has assigned to it a
different combination of letters Cor
figures and letters in the case OF
amateur stations) by which it can
be recognized in space.
Not Assigned Indiscriminately.
The call letters which distinguish
our radiophone broadcast stations
one from another. and which they
habitually use. were not assigned 10
them in any haphazard manner as a
result of the sudden advent of the
broadcasting service, but were based
on the provisions of an international
radio convention, or international
radio laws, consummated at London
England, on July Is, 1912, and ratified
for the United States by the United
States Senate on July %. 1913. and
put into effect July /. 1913.
1t will be noted that the call let
ters Of all American radio transmit
ting stations, including the broadcast
stations, always begin with the let
ters K, y or " (excepting amateur
and special experimental transmitting
stations whose calls are preceded by
figure denoting the radio district
| in which located and followed by an
indiscrminate combination of two
three or even four letters).
1t will be noted. also. that either
three or four letters are used; as. fol
example, NAA. for the naval station
at Arlington: NOF, for the naval sta
tion at Apacostia: WGY, for the Gen
eral Electric Company's broadcastint
station at Schnectady; KDKA. for the
Westinghouse Company's station a
Pittsburgh. etc.
This is because the London radio
convention of 1912 prescribed thai
each international radio station:
call letters would consist of com