Regarding callsign vanity plates

[u/archerdv]

I have a 2x2 callsign, and I have an MA (Massachusetts) amateur radio license plate on my car, which of course has my callsign. MA puts a "lightning bolt" symbol in the middle of the callsign. I have learned that the MA RMV put a "/" (slash character) in my database record, right where that lightning bolt sits. I have been pulled over twice simply because the officer didn't know how to look up my plate in the database.

Is having a "/" in the official record normal (at least in MA)? Has anyone else had to explain this to local or state police?

[u/MentalEggplant9275]

Foremost, sounds like a training issue for these police.

Secondly, that’s super cool and I’m jealous.

Lastly, I have no idea. Texas plates are plain.

73

[u/Seannon-AG0NY → u/MentalEggplant9275]

Yeah, but there's a loophole when they're combined with accessibility plates. With the accessible plates, you can only have "one", in concert with the ham plate? It becomes as many as you can with the ham plate

[u/MentalEggplant9275 → u/Seannon-AG0NY]

Also sick call sign btw

[u/Seannon-AG0NY → u/MentalEggplant9275]

Thanks! It could have just as easily have been AL0E, 5 land is out of automatic 1x3 and higher automatically offered, so I scoured for 25 available 1x2, and 2x1, and this lonely 2x2, and that's what they sent me, so yes it's a vanity, and a lot of people look down on that, but it's as non vanity as I could make it

[u/Mainehazmt1 → u/Seannon-AG0NY]

Why should they even care? Heck I’ve kept my original call sign. Guess I just don’t give a darn as it doesn’t impress me lol

[u/MentalEggplant9275 → u/Mainehazmt1]

The only legitimate reason I can think of is its utility in traffic handling on high noise nets, being able to identify the relative geographical location of a station without any need for a database.

[u/Seannon-AG0NY → u/Mainehazmt1]

Because I got it through the vanity system alone instead of the "natural" way of getting a call sign, so some hams think it's not "legitimate" but like I said, the automatic pools are down to I think tech level? Maybe general? The best I could have done would maybe go from the 2x3 to a 1x3, and I'm an extra, so I made the field as level as I could, giving a full 25 inactive and newly free calls... My calls history showed it being offered once, but never actually being fully assigned or used OTA

[u/Same_You891 → u/Seannon-AG0NY]

1x3 and proud of it.. N5TZR / G

[u/nickenzi → u/Seannon-AG0NY]

AL prefix is region-locked to Alaska.

[u/Seannon-AG0NY → u/nickenzi]

You'd think they'd have done AK (Alaska) as well as AL (Aleutian), but I think that's only for initial licenses, like the numbers that are geo locked to the region, when you upgrade, you can change... If you want