Operation "CQ" Entry Form
U.S. Amateur Radio
Call Sign History
Restoration Project
Michael Carroll - N4MC
Project Engineer
INTRODUCTION
Your assistance is needed, please! You can be part of this history making effort to reconstruct and document Amateur Radio call sign information, such as what you would find online today, before it's too late. Digging through old call books will soon become a thing of the past. Operation CQ is a nation-wide effort to document and provide online, all your previous call sign information, from as far back in time as you can provide. In order to increase the accuracy of the data you are about to enter, and to reduce the amount of man hours needed to tabulate it, please read the instructions and rules thoroughly.

Call signs already entered: 5675

Would you like to edit information you previously entered into the Operation CQ database?   YES

PROCEDURE
Before you start filling out this form, take the time to look it over, or print it, and read through the questions. Next, collect your former (and present) call sign information from old licenses, log books, certificates, etc. Write your answers to the form questions on a piece of paper, detailing every call sign you held in the past, along with all the information you will eventually enter in the form. In other words, prepare your information in chronological order and double-check it before you fill out each form. Organize your information in a table, starting with your oldest information. For example:
Target
Call		 Current
Call		 Started
Using		 Became
Invalid		 License
Class		 Licensee Name Street City State Zip Previous
Call
WN5VCF N4MC August 1976 October 1976 NOVICE Carroll, Michael E. 2012 W. 2nd St. Apt. 3D Longbeach MS 39560 none
WB5VCF N4MC October 1976 August 1977 NOVICE Carroll, Michael E. 205-21 Utica Pl. Huntsville AL 35806 WN5VCF
WD4GRJ N4MC August 1977 June 1978 EXTRA Carroll, Michael E. 205-21 Utica Pl. Huntsville AL 35806 WB5VCF
AA4BP N4MC June 1978 October 1999 EXTRA Carroll, Michael E. 1082 Joshua Dr. Huntsville AL 35803 WD4GRJ
Notice that I did not include a line for my current call sign

The form is designed for one call sign only. Use as many forms as you need in order to provide Operation CQ with all your call sign change information.

RULES
1. Do not enter your current call sign. It is already in the FCC's database. EXCEPTION: to provide the month and year you first started using your call sign. The FCC's issue date might not reflect the date you first started using your call sign, especially for hams who have had their current call sign for many years.
2. Never enter the same target call sign twice. The purpose of Operation CQ is to chronologically document your call sign changes, and not for changes in fixed station location or license class. The only exception to this rule is: If you held a call sign and let it expire, and then, years later, you re-took a ham exam and received the same call sign you had the last time you were a ham, enter your target call sign a second time.
3. Always provide your previous call sign, if applicable.
4. If you had concurrent Novice and Technician class call signs, your Novice call would be the previous call sign to your Technician call sign. Overlapping license periods are of no consequence in this database.
5. If you realize that you submitted incorrect information, DO NOT re-submit a new form in order to correct it. Use the edit form to correct errors.
6. Do not enter 1x1 special event call signs.
7. If you have the required information for a Silent Key, please enter it too.

If you know someone who used to be a ham and is not one now, or a ham who is not likely to stumble across Operation CQ, please contact them and urge them to help us document our call sign history by going to Vanity HQ.

Thank You!
Michael Carroll - N4MC AA4BP WD4GRJ WB5VCF WN5VCF (1976)

LET'S GET STARTED
You will be asked a handful of questions concerning a call sign you had at one time in the past or for a call sign you currently hold. To simplify the thought process, think of that call sign as the "target" call sign of this form. I will use the word "target" to describe that call sign and and its associated information.

TARGET CALL SIGN - Step 1 of 11
DO NOT complete this form if the following is true:
  1. The FCC's ULS database already shows your complete license history. This would apply to hams who received their first ham radio license within the past few years. Even if you changed your call sign through the Vanity Call Sign Program, the FCC would still have your previous call sign information. Please check your call sign information in the FCC's database before proceeding. Use this form to submit all your call sign data that is NOT in the FCC's database.

Enter the target call sign here. Do not use a "slashed" zero. Do not use "/4" or "/7", as in WB4ABC/6, to indicate that you were portable and operating at a location other than what was specified on your license. Do not enter "N4MC SK" or anything else, just enter the call sign.

Target Call Sign: 
                         Please double check your entry

CURRENT CALL SIGN - Step 2 of 11
If your currently hold a valid, U.S. Amateur Radio call sign, enter it here.

Do not use a "slashed" zero. If you used to be a ham but your license is now expired, enter "none".

Your Current Call Sign: 
                                  Please double check your entry

STARTED USING DATE of TARGET CALL SIGN - Step 3 of 11
Select the month and the year when you first started using the target call sign. Remember, this date is when you received the target call sign, and NOT when you earned your license class.

Month Began Using Target Call Sign: 

Year Began Using Target Call Sign: 

Check this box if the month or year you entered is estimated (an educated guess).
Educated Guess

STOPPED USING TARGET CALL SIGN - Step 4 of 11
Select the month and the year when the target call sign became invalid. This date will be one of the following:
  1. The date you received a new call sign
  2. The date your license expired because you stopped being a ham
  3. If you are entering target call sign data for your current call sign, which was issued prior to the FCC's online records, select "Active" in each list

Month Target Call Sign Became Invalid: 

Year Target Call Sign Became Invalid: 

Check this box if the month or year you entered is estimated (an educated guess).
Educated Guess

HISTORICAL LICENSE CLASS - Step 5 of 11
The license class specified in this section will be the highest license class you had during the time the target call sign was valid. For example, if you were a General class licensee when you received the target call sign but upgraded to Advanced, you would select "Advanced".

Target License Class: 
                                Conditional licensees use General

HISTORICAL LICENSEE NAME - Step 6 of 11
The name you enter here should be the name you had during the time period when you held the target call sign. If you have a copy of your old FCC license, enter the name specified on the license, in one of the following forms, LAST name first:
  Last, First
Last, First Initial
Last Jr, First Initial
Last Sr, First Initial
Last II, First Initial
Last III, First Initial

If your name has an apostrophe in it, as in O'Brien or O'Mally, omit the apostrophe and leave a space. For example, if your name is O'Brien, you would enter O Brien.

Name: 
           Please double check your entry

HISTORICAL STREET NAME and NUMBER - Step 7 of 11
The street name and number you enter here should match what was specified on your old license. If you moved your residence during that license period, and did not update your information with the FCC, enter the street name and number that were on record with the FCC. No P.O. box numbers, please.
For example, 123 Main St or RT 66 Box 200. Do not enter city, state or zip code here. If you cannot remember the street address, enter "none".

Use the following standard abbreviations in your street address, where possible:
  N.=North, S.=South, E.=East, W.=West
  1st=First, 2nd=Second, 3rd=Third, etc.
  Ave.=Avenue, St.=Street, Rd.=Road, Pl.=Place, etc.

Street Address: 
                        Please double check your entry

HISTORICAL CITY - Step 8 of 11
The city you enter here should be the same city that was specified on your old license. If you moved your residence during that license period, and did not update your information with the FCC, enter the city name that was on record with the FCC. Please, do not enter street address or PO Box, as in, 123 Main St, enter only the name of the city.

For pre-zip code era entries, you may include the postal zone after the city name, as in, Chicago 8, or Atlanta 3. If you cannot remember the city name, enter "none".

City: 
         Please double check your entry

HISTORICAL STATE - Step 9 of 11
The state you enter here should be the same state that was specified on your old license. If you moved your residence during that license period, and did not update your information with the FCC, select the state name that was on record with the FCC.

State: 

HISTORICAL ZIP CODE - Step 10 of 11
The zip code you enter here should be the same zip code that was specified on your old license. If you moved your residence during that license period, and did not update your information with the FCC, enter the zip code that was on record with the FCC.

If you are entering license information for a time period before zip codes were in use, enter "none". If you cannot remember the zip code, enter "none".

Zip Code: 
               Please double check your entry

PREVIOUS CALL SIGN - Step 11 of 11
If you had a call sign before you received the target call sign, enter it here.

Do not use a "slashed" zero. If you did not have a call sign before the target call sign, enter "none".

Previous Call Sign: 
                            Please double check your entry

READY? SET? GO?
If you have completed all 11 steps, click this button to review your data:

The Operation CQ logo is Copyrighted(©) 2000, Michael E. Carroll - N4MC - Raleigh, NC.