W2ZB

The History of W2ZB

This call sign has been on the air, on and off, for nearly a century. Here is who held it, where it went, and how it came back to New Jersey.

1920to 1927

John George Arsics · Newark, then North Arlington, N.J.

Before the W

He first appears in the 1920 government list as operator of 2BXD, a Boy Scout troop station in Newark, and holds 2BXD in his own name by 1923. The June 1924 list adds 2ZB, a special land station, and by 1925 he and 2ZB are in North Arlington.

Source: 1921, 1923, 1924 and 1926 government lists

1928to 1941

John George Arsics · North Arlington, Hillside, then Union, N.J.

2ZB becomes W2ZB

The June 30, 1928 government list already prints the new prefix: W2ZB, North Arlington, 100 watts. The call drops out of the lists from 1929 to 1933, returns from Hillside in 1934, and moves with him to Union by 1940.

Source: 1928 list, Spring 1936 and Spring 1941 Call Books

1941to 1945

Silent for the war

U.S. amateur operation was shut down for World War II. Every ham in the country went quiet.

1945to c. 1985

John George Arsics · Union, later North Plainfield, N.J.

Back on the air

Listed as W2ZB from Union through the 1960s, by then with an Extra-class license, and from North Plainfield from 1971. The Winter 1986 Callbook carries the last entry: “W2ZB John G Arsics SILENT KEY.”

Source: Fall 1946, Winter 1985 and Winter 1986 Callbooks

c. 1985to 1996

Dormant

The call sat unissued for about a decade.

1996vanity grant

George F. Arsics Jr. · Georgia

Reclaimed by family

When vanity call signs opened in 1996, George F. Arsics Jr., then AB4ZV, claimed the call as a close relative of its former holder and kept the W2 prefix in Georgia.

Source: FCC ULS license data; 1997 Callbook

1996to 2024

George F. Arsics Jr.

Twenty-eight years in Georgia

A second-district call heard from the fourth district, renewed in 2006 and 2016.

Source: FCC ULS

2024Oct 16

Silent key

The license was cancelled, which started the two-year waiting period before the call could be reissued.

Source: FCC ULS

2026Oct 17

Available again

The waiting period ended and the call opened to vanity applications.

2026Nov 6

Home to New Jersey

Granted to me by vanity application. The story of how is its own post.

Radio Amateur Call Book listing, Spring 1941: W2ZB, John G. Arsics, Union, N.J., between W2ZA and W2ZC.
Exhibit: W2ZB in the Spring 1941 Radio Amateur Call Book Magazine, page 49. Scan via archive.org.

The first chapter of this call belonged to a Jersey operator who was already in the government lists in 1920 and stayed on the air for more than sixty years. The second belonged to a close relative who carried it south and kept it alive for twenty-eight years. The third starts here, back in the state where it began.

If you knew either holder, or have a QSL card or photo from their time on the air, I’d love to hear from you: [email protected].

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Commerce, Amateur Radio Stations of the United States, June editions 1921, 1923, 1924, 1926 and 1928, via archive.org.
  2. Radio Amateur Call Book, Spring 1936, Spring 1941, Fall 1946, Winter 1985, Winter 1986 and 1997 editions, via archive.org.
  3. FCC Universal Licensing System, license data for W2ZB (amateur license bulk file).