Some people win call signs in a lottery. I won mine by reading the instructions, which I’m told is less romantic.
Shopping for a call
In early September, I was thinking about sitting for the Technician exam. Like a lot of people at that stage, I spent more time browsing call signs than studying. I was looking in the 2 call district for something short, starting with W or K, that meant something to me. W2ZB checked every box, and it came with a date: it would become available on October 17, 2026.
There was one catch. W2ZB is a 1×2 call, and 1×2 calls are reserved for Amateur Extra licensees. I didn’t have a license at all.
A chain reaction
So “maybe I’ll take the Technician exam” became a plan: Technician, then General, then Extra, all before October 17. I found an amazing VE team online that allowed me to test at night – Bayou State Remote Exams. A deadline with a call sign attached does wonders for study habits. I passed my Technician exam on September 8, my General on September 10, and my Extra on October 11. I made the deadline with the Extra in hand.
The rules everyone skims
When a licensee dies and the license is cancelled, the call sits out a two-year waiting period. W2ZB’s previous holder became a silent key in 2024, so October 17, 2026 was the first day anyone could ask for it. Every application received that first day is considered at the same time. If more than one asks for the same call, the FCC picks among them. Ask a day early and that choice doesn’t count. Ask a day late and you’re behind everyone who filed on day one.
The part people skim is the fee. Filing the application and paying for it are separate steps in separate systems: the form goes through ULS and the payment through CORES. My plan was simple: file on the first possible day, and pay immediately, so the whole application was complete that same day, with nothing left open.
2 a.m.
ULS was down for scheduled maintenance until 2:00 a.m. on the 17th. I filed at about 2:10 and paid right away. Then there was nothing to do but wait.
Another applicant
I wasn’t the only one who wanted it. Another applicant had W2ZB on a list of six calls, which is perfectly reasonable: if you want a good call, cast a wide net.
Payment status on an application can be followed in ULS and CORES, so I followed it, more often than I’d like to admit. He had paid for every one of his other applications. Not this one. I spent the whole pending period holding my breath, expecting that to change any day.
It didn’t. I have nothing but sympathy, because paying is an easy step to miss when you’re juggling six applications. It also gave me the idea for a later post: how often vanity applicants pay late or not at all, and what that does to their chances.
Grant day
My grant came through via FCC email at 5:09 a.m. on November 6, 2026, two months to the day after I first dove in.
W2ZB is back in New Jersey, where it started almost a hundred years ago. The whole chain of custody is on The Call.