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[[Image:UKTY Call-sign of Russian nuclear icebreaker Arktika.jpg|thumb|Russian [[nuclear icebreaker]] ''[[Arktika-class icebreaker|Arktika]]'' with call sign UKTY]]
Merchant and naval vessels are assigned call signs by their national licensing authorities. In the case of states such as [[Liberia]] or [[Panama]], which are [[flags of convenience]] for ship registration, call signs for larger vessels consist of the national prefix plus three letters (for example, 3LXY, and sometimes followed by a number,
Leisure craft with VHF radios may not be assigned call signs, in which case the name of the vessel is used instead. Ships in the US still wishing to have a radio license are under [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] class SA: "Ship recreational or voluntarily equipped." Those calls follow the land mobile format of the initial letter K or W followed by 1 or 2 letters followed by 3 or 4 numbers (such as KX0983 or WXX0029). [[U.S. Coast Guard]] small boats have a number that is shown on both bows (i.e. port and starboard) in which the first two digits indicate the nominal length of the boat in feet. For example, Coast Guard 47021 refers to the 21st in the series of 47-foot motor lifeboats. The call sign might be abbreviated to the final two or three numbers during operations, for example: ''Coast Guard zero two one''.
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Currently, all signs in [[aviation]] are derived from several different policies, depending upon the type of flight operation and whether or not the caller is in an aircraft or at a ground facility. In most countries, unscheduled [[general aviation]] flights identify themselves using the call sign corresponding to the [[aircraft registration|aircraft's registration]] number (also called ''N-number'' in the U.S., or ''tail number''). In this case, the call sign is spoken using the [[International Civil Aviation Organization]] (ICAO) [[NATO phonetic alphabet|phonetic alphabet]]. Aircraft registration numbers internationally follow the pattern of a country prefix, followed by a unique identifier made up of letters and numbers. For example, an aircraft registered as ''N978CP'' conducting a [[general aviation]] flight would use the call sign ''November-niner-seven-eight-Charlie-Papa''. However, in the United States a pilot of an aircraft would normally omit saying ''November'', and instead use the name of the aircraft manufacturer or the specific model. At times, general aviation pilots might omit additional preceding numbers and use only the last three numbers and letters. This is especially true at uncontrolled fields (those without control towers) when reporting traffic pattern positions or at towered airports after establishing two-way communication with the tower controller. For example, ''Skyhawk eight-Charlie-Papa, left base''. In commercial aviation, the callsign is usually the ICAO [[Flight number]]. For example, ''Delta Airlines Flight 744'' would have the flight number ''DL744'' and the callsign would be ''Delta 744''.
In most countries, the aircraft call sign or "tail number"/"tail letters" (also known as registration marks) are linked to the international radio call sign allocation table and follow a convention that aircraft radio stations (and, by extension, the aircraft itself) receive call signs consisting of five letters. For example, all British [[civil aviation|civil aircraft]] have a five-letter registration beginning with the letter G, which can also serve for a call sign. Canadian aircraft have a call sign beginning with C–F or C–G, such as C–FABC. [[ground-effect vehicle|wing-in-ground-effect vehicle]]s and [[hovercraft]] in Canada are eligible to receive C–Hxxx call signs, and [[ultralight aviation|ultralight aircraft]] receive C-Ixxx call signs. In days gone by, even American aircraft used five
===Spaceflight===
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Broadcasters are allocated call signs in many countries. While broadcast radio stations will often [[brand management|brand]] themselves with plain-text names, identities such as "[[cool jazz|Cool]] [[FM radio|FM]]", "[[rock and roll|Rock]] 105" or "the ABC network" are not globally unique. Another station in another city or country may (and often will) have a similar brand, and the name of a broadcast station for legal purposes is normally its internationally recognised ITU call sign. Some common conventions are followed in each country.
Broadcast stations in North America generally use call signs in the international series. In the United States of America, they are used for all FCC-licensed transmitters.<ref>{{cite web|title=CALL SIGNS/LETTERS - The Museum of Broadcast Communications|url=http://www.museum.tv/eotv/callsigns.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314132238/http://www.museum.tv/eotv/callsigns.htm|archive-date=March 14, 2016|access-date=March 5, 2016|publisher=Museum.tv}}</ref> The first letter generally is ''K'' for stations located west of the [[Mississippi River]] and ''W'' for eastern stations. Historic exceptions in the east include [[KYW (AM)|KYW]] in Philadelphia and [[KDKA (AM)|KDKA]] in Pittsburgh, while western exceptions include [[WJAG]] in [[Norfolk, Nebraska]], and [[WOAI (AM)|WOAI]] in San Antonio. All new call signs have been four-character for some decades, though there are historical [[List of three-letter broadcast call signs in the United States|three-character call letters]] still in use today, such as [[KSL (
In Canada, the publicly owned [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] uses the prefix ''CB''; privately owned commercial broadcast stations use primarily ''CF'' and ''CH'' through ''CK'' prefixes; and four stations licensed to [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]] by the [[Dominion of Newfoundland]] government retain their original ''VO'' calls. In Mexico, [[AM radio]] stations use ''XE'' call signs (such as [[XEW-AM]]), while the majority of [[FM radio]] and television stations use ''XH''. Broadcast call signs are normally four or five alpha characters in length, plus the ''-FM'', ''-TV'', or ''-TDT'' suffix where applicable.
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==Amateur radio==
{{main|Amateur radio call signs}}
[[Image:Reg plate california.jpg|thumb|right|All U.S. states issue call sign [[license plate]]s upon request for motor vehicles owned by amateur radio operators
[[Amateur radio]] call signs are in the international series and normally consist of a one or two character prefix, a digit (which may be used to denote a geographical area, class of license, or identify a licensee as a visitor or temporary resident), and a 1-, 2-, or 3-letter suffix. In Australia, call signs are structured with a two letter prefix, a digit (which identifies geographical area), and a 2, 3 or 4 letter suffix. This suffix may be followed by a further suffix, or personal identifier, such as /P (portable), /M (mobile), /AM (aeronautical mobile) or /MM (maritime mobile). The number following the prefix is normally a single number (0 to 9). Some prefixes, such as Djibouti's (J2), consist of a letter followed by a number. Hence, in the hypothetical Djibouti call sign, J29DBA, the prefix is ''J2'', the number is ''9'', and the suffix is ''DBA''. Others may start with a number followed by a letter, for example, Jamaican call signs begin with 6Y.
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