Just for information from my last activation 04-07-2020 my call sign is only 9a6cw not 9a6cw/p.
/p makes no sense… and I will need to get used to it
Thanks chasers !
Ivica 9a6cw
1 Like
It does to me and many others activating around the World.
There are spotting systems adding the /P by default.
Good luck with your portable operations without /P.
73,
Guru
5 Likes
I have never understood why people activating drop /p. If I have stations calling me in CW then /p stands out and I’ll make an effort to work the /p station as I hope they will be an S2S contact. No /p and they’re just another chaser to work at some point. Having /p on the call adds effective KW of power.
12 Likes
Hello,
I think in France it is a MUST
la recommandation CEPT T/R 61-01 prévoit que l’indicatif d’appel soit suivi de /M ou /P selon le cas.
Anyway, i like “the /P adds effective KW of power”!
73 from Gerald F6HBI
6 Likes
If you operate in CT you must use it.
73 Gomes CT1HIX
1 Like
Hello Ivica,
Last Sunday I thought that you are chasing from home 
/p or not is your choice, we must follow it !
It will be always pleasure to log you !
73, Jarek
2 Likes
Hi Jarek ,
My hamradio activity is 99,9% outdoor. /p perhaps increasing attention but that is irrelevant and in 9A is not obligation.
Thanks for many S2S QSO-s CU
Ivica 9a6cw
3 Likes
But why don’t you want to use it? It hardly uses any more battery power - does it? It hardly takes any more effort - does it?
And if you were on another summit, how would I know? I don’t often have access to the Spots & Alerts when I’m activating - so as some of the others said I might miss an S2S
1 Like
In some entities, adding / P is mandatory. In others it is not necessary and in others it can be disastrous. In Japan just adding / 0-9 indicates that I am somewhere else or if I use the same number after the / indicates that I am portable in the same area where I live. Well, where would the use of / p be disastrous? In Argentina the division is determined by provinces. In other words, the first letter of the suffix indicates the province. For example Province of Bs As have the first letter D or E, the Province of Córdoba the letter H … and the Province of San Juan the letter P. If a person from Cordoba for example LU#HIJ operates in San Juan he must operate as LU#HIJ/P. And in fact it is “portable” but not because the P stands for “Portable” but because it is located in the Province of San Juan. If LU#HIJ moves to the Province of Buenos Aires, he must operate as LU#HIJ/D
Hi Andy
As you know we love to be different in the US and /P is virtually never used.
Paul
2 Likes
WhileI see its value, before I became M0SNA it was quite a mouthful to activate in Scotland and call as MM/W6PNG/P. Lots of “/” just possibly make it harder for chasers to decode a fading, weak SSB call sign. I do happily call now as M0SNA/P when in the UK as that is the preferred approach and who am I too buck a rule.
1 Like
I guess we just have to conform to what the local rules are and if they are not strict rules then we just do whatever we want but adding /p should probably be helpful.
I had to get used to the Japanese system, i.e. I use JG1XMV/0 if I activate in Niigata for example. When in France I activate as F/JG1XMV/P which is quite a mouthful especially if you add “qrp” but it is part of the fun and always makes my friends smile when they listen to me calling.
I have no problems if hams want to inform about their output power by adding /QRP after their callsign, but I hope they won’t expect me to log them with their callsign/QRP because I won’t do it, as that’s nothing to do with a ham radio callsign.
What if I use EA2IF/REMOTE/100W/DIPOLE?
QRP is just part of the working conditions info and should not be attached to the callsign IMHO.
73,
Guru
8 Likes
I agree with much of what Guru says.
I believe the /P has its roots, many years ago, when a “transportable station” required 3 X 3 ton military wagons to move it. This concept was combined in the legal requirement of the UK amateur callsign. Much more recently the UK legal requirements were relaxed. Big Brother is now only interested in which entity we are in. So the /P is now optional.
As has been said in this thread there are other entities who have there own take on this. These requirements must be followed.
From the Sota point of view, /P adds value, particularly in identifying S2S opportunities At the same time adding /QRP could be illegal.
David
G0EVV
2 Likes
I’ve always assumed that a callsign suffix should be a single letter (or digit in some countries) but I have never found anything in the UK licence conditions which states that. From memory, it says somewhere that the suffix should not imply anything which is against any of the licence conditions (i.e. rude or defamatory).
Colin
/MM ?
3 Likes
/AM !
In the UK, Ofcom have been reported to take the view that there’s nothing in the licence forbidding the use of any old suffix, and recent relatively wide-spread use of /NHS was officially sanctioned. So, I think, was the use of /YOTA for some stations a short while back. Other jurisdictions will, of course, take different views.
That said, I see no point in using a suffix that is optional unless it adds something useful, and most suffixes are more hinderance than help. However, for SOTA (at least when using CW) I find /P very useful. For me, it stands out almost as clearly as CQ, and more so than SOTA and TEST (which are probably 3 and 4 in my list of “Morse that Stands Out™”).
2 Likes
I think you are right. I was operating as G8SRS/100 last month. This was an OFCOM sanctioned suffix. Like you I have always found the /P suffix most useful. When tuning around I am far more likely to call a portable station than any other.
Probably because it’s not a licence condition.
1 Like