As an examiner, I am often around when new hams choose a call sign. Of course back in the old days new hams got little or no choice. These days candidates often don’t realize the extent to which their call becomes like their name. I’ve written about this before, but the basics are:
1-Avoid letters that sound like other ones,
2-Avoid ones with phonetics that have three syllables,
3-Avoid ones with long Morse equivalents, even if you don’t plan on using CW. You just never know…so…
1-LETTERS THAT DON’T SOUND LIKE OTHERS
A sounds like J,K
B sounds like C,D,E,G,P,T,V
C sounds like B,D,E,G,P,T,V
D sounds like B,C,E,G,P,T,V
E sounds like B,C,D,G,P,T,V
F sounds like S
G sounds like B,C,D,E,P,T,V
H
I sounds like Y
J sounds like A,K
K sounds like A,J
L
M sounds like N
N sounds like M
O
P sounds like B,C,D,E,G,T,V
Q sounds like U
R
S sounds like F
T sounds like B,C,D,E,G,P,V
U sounds like Q
V sounds like B,C,D,E,G,P,T
W
X
Y Sounds like I
Z
That leaves H,L,O,R,W,X,Y,Z
2- LETTERS WITH SHORT PHONETIC EQUIVALENTS
H 2 syllables HOTEL
L 2 syllables LIMA
O 2 syllables OSCAR
R 3 syllables ROMEO
W 2 syllables WHISKEY
X 2 syllables X-RAY
Z 2 syllables ZULU
This drops R from the list because it has three syllables leaving H,L,O,W,X and Z with just two.
3-LENGTHS IN CW ELEMENTS (dit, dah or space)
H …. Length 7
L .-.. Length 9
O — Length 11
W .– Length 9
X -..- Length 11
Z –.. Length 11
If you drop out the longest, slowest letters to send you are left with just H, L and W.
There are 27 ways to arrange these into a 3 letter suffix. Since VA and VE prefixes are an option, that makes 54 “ideal” callsigns.
By my count, today 13 of these are unassigned in Ontario, so not everyone is selecting their call using these criteria. If you know someone working toward their certificate, you might want to pass this on.
73 mk
VE3FFK
(It was assigned to me, and had become embedded long before I got a chance to change it)
Last Updated on 2025-12-02 by Joannadanna