Bill & Others, Thanks very much for yourresponses. Too bad AD1C’s CTY.DAT
fixwill not work since I go back and forth to Hawaii. Shucks – nothing is
simple these days. Please keep in mind I am not the only personwith this
problem. Just wait until theDXpedition and DX-vacation season picks up after
the holidays. The /W4 option as suggested is not good for manyreasons – the
ones in my previous email/forum posting ... and these below whichsum up the
overall issue. I am one of those guys who just cannot give up his Hawaiian call
sign which I have had for over 35 of my 40years as a ham. Many people believe
I amoperating from Hawaii when I call CQ because "Hawaii" shows up in theDXCC
column of the Band Activity screen, despite my FM18 set-up entry[pre-version 2
situation mostly]. Version 2 corrects some of this problembut the new version
2 presents new problems as defined in my initial message afew days ago –
W4/AH6FX compound call not showing grid ... or AH6FX indicatingHawaii to some
despite FM18 grid. This problem not in versions 1.8.* and 1.9.*.
If it was not for the ARRL DXCCentity list, everything would be ok; but Hawaii
and USA are separate DXCCentities ... unlike FCC's view of all call signs being
USA. [Having said that,an inordinate number of foreign hams think I am in
Hawaii regardless ... althosometimes I am.] I prefer to follow the “DXCC-ARRL
‘inferred” CFR Part 97guidance and sign my call W4/AH6FX [like a foreign
station ... or in this case,a non-USA DXCC entity station {{AH6FX}} operating
as a USA DXCC entity {{/W4}}]to illustrate operating from W4-land and not
Hawaii. With the new version 2, MANY people believe Iam in Hawaii because they
do not see my FM18 grid ... not that everybody looksfor that stuff. Also many
folks seem notto have the “Show DXCC entity and worked before ...” box checked
and do not seemy operating entity. On SSB and RTTY I always sign asAH6FX/W4 to
control expectations. When using versions 1.8.* and 1.9.* I signW4/AH6FX on
FT8 to, again, control expectations – people seem to recognize theW4/ first and
recognize my locations. Butexpectations are sometimes hard to control as you
can imagine. I do notwant anyone thinking they are working Hawaii when I am in
northern Virginia. Although the FCC does not requireUS stations to sign
/[slash] portable, etc … the FCC does not prohibit us from doing so. I use an
“adapted”call sign protocol specified in CFR Part 97. Say I was a
Canadianstation operating in Virginia … FCC says that station should sign as,
forexample, VE1ABC/W4 Nokesville. I have never heard a foreignstation include
the nearest town, as required by the FCC, but I certainlyhave heard them
properly sign VE1ABC/W4 or whatever. That is the problemI often have, and
stubborn me - I am adapting the FCC guidance to my situation. Although I am not
a foreign station operating in the USA, tomany hams I am DXCC-Hawaii when in
fact I am DXCC-USA … Virginia to be exact. My adaption of the /W4 or W4/ is my
attempt to inform folks in am inW4-land. It would be unwise for me to say
theW4/AH6FX - thing is perhaps a “receiving ham’s” problem of not
payingattention to detail. I believe I have a major roll in properly
IDingstation and location. So I occasionally send littlereminders like “Aloha
fm VA” from the TX5 “free play” line. Then I still get emails from stations
wanting me to QSL Hawaii, etc., etc. I will say I can change my callsign … but
I return to Hawaii several times each year. Thank goodness JT Alert helps sort
out theCONUS station locations, but not everyone uses JT Alert. Sooo … back to
my originalquestion - how can I show my compound call sign W4/AH6FX or AH6FX/W4
in FM18? Thanks and Season’s Greetings to Youand Yours, Danny
W4/AH6FX– Nokesville, Virginia, USA
On Friday, December 21, 2018 12:30 PM, Bill Somerville
<[email protected]> wrote:
On 21/12/2018 16:57, Bill Somerville wrote:
> I am not fully up to date on FCC regulations but I believe you don't
> need to sign /W4 with your call.
Hi Danny,
having read your bio on QRZ.COM I do see that my suggestion may not be
such a good idea with Jim, AD1C's, CTY.DAT database as you do operate
from Hawaii occasionally, nevertheless sending a grid without the /W4
suffix may still be the best option if it is legal to do so.
73
Bill
G4WJS.
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