ASK!: Ham operators flash signs on plates
By Mike Rudeen, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Originally published 06:46 p.m., July 2, 2008
Updated 01:05 p.m., July 3, 2008
Kristi asked why she sometimes sees a zero with a diagonal line across it on license plates.
She figured it isn't a normal zero or an "O," because both appear on plates without the line.
Bill, Roy, George and Bob helped us on this one.
All of them apparently are ham radio operators, and that symbol is part of a ham - or amateur - radio call sign; hams may use their call signs on specialized license plates in Colorado and other states.
Years ago the FCC divided the country into 10 zones, and Colorado is in the 0 zone, so to speak, so that number is in every call sign issued here. The slash helps to distinguish the number 0 from the letter "O."
Ham operators must pay a small fee and have an amateur radio license issued by the Federal Communications Commission to get the plates.
George, a ham operator and license-plate collector, sent along an example from the first year that Colorado issued plates with call signs.
Here's your next assignment:
Why is Peg a nickname for Margaret? - Peg, Broomfield
Know the answer? Post it on the Ask! blog, blogs.RockyMountainNews.com/denver/ask, or e-mail rudeenm@RockyMountainNews.com.
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