HAMER@ruby.vcu.edu (ROBERT M. HAMER) (09/06/89)
Roy Smith <roy%phri@uunet.uu.net> writes: >> Other types of radio services use both W and K, depending. > >Don't airplanes use N prefixes for their call signs? Aircraft radios are licensed by the FCC, and pilots have to get a "Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit" (at least that's what mine says) in order to operate it. As a call sign, one uses the FAA-registered aircraft identification number. All US-registered civilian aircraft have aircraft identification numbers that start with "N." (Oh, I just lied a bit; Airlines get to identify themselves to ATC via radio using their flight numbers, regardless of their aircraft ID number, e.g., "Richmond Approach, this is US Air 1462, 32 miles southwest, ...." The rest of us would say, "Richmond Approach, this is November 1 5 4 9-er Quebec, 32 miles southwest..."
edg@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Edward Greenberg) (09/08/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0353m05@vector.dallas.tx.us> HAMER@ruby.vcu.edu (ROBERT M. HAMER) writes: >>Don't airplanes use N prefixes for their call signs? >Aircraft radios are licensed by the FCC, and pilots have to get a >"Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit" (at least that's what >mine says) in order to operate it. As a call sign, one uses the >FAA-registered aircraft identification number. A bit of clarification. Pilots no longer need Restricted Radiotelephone Permits when operating in the US. They DO need them to operate outside the US. Aircraft ID's are assigned by the FAA, and the FCC (conveniently) issues a radio STATION license for the aircraft with the same callsign. (Two govt agencies working together, how about that? :-) When operating in the US, most general aviation acft id as <aircraft type> followed by the ID, shy the N. So a Piper Warrior N1234A identifies himself as Cherokee-1234Alpha. The controller has the option of calling the aircraft Cherokee-34-Alpha, after which the pilot may shorten the call to the same abbreviation. Most helicopters are called Helicopter 1234A, no matter the brand. Special function aircraft are sometimes referred to by that function. I.e. Traffic-watch-1234-Alpha. This makes sense, since it allows all and sundry to know what's going on. (Traffic watch aircraft fly low and slow and do lots of turns over the freeway on final approach to the airport yesterday at 5 O'clock in hazy condition, where the heck is he??? But I digress. :-) Helicopters do the damnedest things. If you have a bunch of aircraft, you can apply (to the FAA, I think) to use a special callsign, like Academy 21. When you go outside the local area though, you revert to normal aircraft ID's like Cessna 5678Alpha. Note that outside the USA, you are careful to call up in the form of Calgary Tower, Cessna, NOVEMBER 1234-Alpha. This is way beyond the scope of Telecom. One might ask for further info on rec.aviation. -edg -- Ed Greenberg uunet!apple!netcom!edg [Moderator's Note: You are probably correct that the discussion would best be continued in rec.aviation or the radio group. PT]
ehr@uncecs.edu (Ernest H. Robl) (09/08/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0353m05@vector.dallas.tx.us>, HAMER@ruby.vcu.edu (ROBERT M. HAMER) writes: [ ... part of previous discussion on call signs deleted ...] > (Oh, I just lied a bit; Airlines get to identify themselves to > ATC via radio using their flight numbers, regardless of their > aircraft ID number, e.g., "Richmond Approach, this is US Air 1462, > 32 miles southwest, ...." The rest of us would say, "Richmond > Approach, this is November 1 5 4 9-er Quebec, 32 miles southwest..." Somewhat the same applies for railroads, too. They are allowed to select their own means of identifying transmitting units. This can include train numbers, engine numbers, base station location, etc. The identification can be something like this: "CSX operator Apex, N.C., calling engineer on train 420 for location. Over." Most railroads in North America use frequencies around 160-161 -- VHF high band, and can be picked up on scanner receivers, if you know the right frequencies. Out west some railroads also use UHF frequencies. The business class radio regs specifically mention that railroads are allowed to use their own method of identifying transmitting units. -- Ernest -- My opinions are my own and probably not IBM-compatible.--ehr Ernest H. Robl (ehr@ecsvax) (919) 684-6269 w; (919) 286-3845 h Systems Specialist (Tandem System Manager), Library Systems, 027 Perkins Library, Duke University, Durham, NC 27706 U.S.A.
Maynard) (09/08/89)
Just to pick a couple of nits: In article <telecom-v09i0353m05@vector.dallas.tx.us> HAMER@ruby.vcu.edu (ROBERT M. HAMER) writes: >>Don't airplanes use N prefixes for their call signs? >Aircraft radios are licensed by the FCC, and pilots have to get a >"Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit" (at least that's what >mine says) in order to operate it. As a call sign, one uses the >FAA-registered aircraft identification number. Actually, you don't have to have the permit any more, if you're only going to operate VHF aircraft radios inside the US. The call sign used (if no special call sign is assigned) is the model name of the aircraft, or the name of its manufacturer, followed by the registration number, with the leading N deleted, hence: Skyhawk 6309Delta, Warrior 80765, Cessna 711KiloSierra, Beechcraft 6703Sierra. >All US-registered civilian aircraft have aircraft identification >numbers that start with "N." These are assigned in blocks by the International Civil Aviation Organization, in much the same way that the ITU assigns blocks of radio call signs. By no coincidence, these are often the same; the radio block NAA-NZZ is assigned to the US, as are the aircraft registrations starting with N. Mexican aircraft are registered with "numbers" starting with XA-XC, which corresponds with their radio block of XAA-XIZ...and so on. This is not universally true, though: the most notable exception is Soviet aircraft, which are identified as CCCP-xxxxx; the corresponding radio block is assigned to Chile (CAA-CEZ). (Side note: the first two letters are not always sufficient to identify the country a radio station belongs to: the block SSA-SSM is assigned to Egypt, while SSN-STZ is assigned to Sudan. Egypt also has SUA-SUZ.) >(Oh, I just lied a bit; Airlines get to identify themselves to >ATC via radio using their flight numbers, regardless of their >aircraft ID number, e.g., "Richmond Approach, this is US Air 1462, >32 miles southwest, ...." The rest of us would say, "Richmond >Approach, this is November 1 5 4 9-er Quebec, 32 miles southwest..." As indicated above, the November in the above example is normally replaced by the aircraft type. Others can be assigned special radio callsigns, with the permission of the FAA. (The FCC merely says that the transmissions shall be identified by the FAA-assigned callsign.) -- Jay Maynard, EMT-P, K5ZC, PP-ASEL | Never ascribe to malice that which can jay@splut.conmicro.com (eieio)| adequately be explained by stupidity. {attctc,bellcore}!texbell!splut!jay +---------------------------------------- "The unkindest thing you can do for a hungry man is to give him food." - RAH