This page has a little information about the call signs that I’ve used, as well as the people who formally held these call signs.
Technician: KF0TMX
I passed the Technician exam in March of 2025 at a testing session run by the Johnson County Radio Amateurs Club (W0ERH) in Overland Park, KS. I was issued the initial callsign KF0TMX for my Technician license.
General: KF0TUF
A month later I went back to take the exam for my General license. I was not terribly attached to KF0TMX, and decided to check the box to get a new randomly-assigned call sign, naively assuming that I’d get a 5-character call sign since it was a General license. Instead, they just gave me another random 2×3: KF0TUF. Whoops.
Vanity: N0VIG
I had been really excited to get something shorter than a 2×3, so I started researching the requirements and process to get a vanity call sign. After being unable to find a 4-character call sign that was both available and something I liked, I decided to get a 1×3 with a suffix that was meaningful to me.
I settled on N0VIG:
- I am a pilot, and airplane tail numbers in the United States begin with N, so I wanted an
Ncall sign. - I live in Kansas, so
0is the correct call area number for my region. VIGis my last name, so it’s something meaningful to myself (and hopefully not something I’m going to forget or blank on in the middle of conversation).
In retrospect, I am pretty happy with the 1×3 (rather than a 1×2 or 2×1). I actually find the 5-character call signs to be more “memorable” and distinctive than the 4-character ones.
N0VIG History
The original owner of N0VIG was Mr. Dean Starr (SK), of Sidney, NE. When I applied for the call sign, I realized that it would erase his name (and his connection to the call sign) from most of the online lookup services, so I wanted to be sure that he is still remembered.
I have reproduced Mr. Starr’s obituary (from the Sidney Sun-Telegraph) below, so you can learn a little bit more about him.
Dean Starr – Obituary
Nov 30, 2016
Dean Starr, age 86 of Sidney, NE passed away at his home, Sunday, November 20, 2016.
Celebration of Life Services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, December 1st in the First United Methodist Church in Sidney with Pastor Corey Jenkins officiating. Graveside inurnment with Military Honors will follow at 2:00 p.m. in the Fairview Cemetery in Scottsbluff. Memorial contributions may be made in Dean’s name to the Sidney American Legion Post #17 or the Sidney Volunteer Fire Department. Cremation has been held. Friends may stop at the Gehrig-Stitt Chapel on Wednesday to sign Dean’s register book and drop off condolences for the family. You may view Dean’s Book of Memories, leave condolences, photos and stories at http://www.gehrigstittchapel.com.
Gehrig-Stitt Chapel & Cremation Service, LLC is in charge of Dean’s care and funeral arrangements.
Dean Elvin Starr, the son of Faye Everett and Leva Viola (Chadwick) Starr was born on October 1, 1930 at Marsland, NE. Dean collected scrap iron, worked with the Boy Scouts as a messenger during air raid drills, worked on a war housing project, helped local farmers with beans and picking potatoes alongside prisoners of war. Dean along with his father were instrumental in the building of Terry Town. On November 15, 1950 Dean enlisted in the United States Navy. He served on the U.S.S. Sicily and received his Honorable Discharge on November 5, 1954. On September 7, 1984, Dean was united in marriage to Susan Kraft in Sidney. Dean served on the Sidney Volunteer Fire Department from December 5, 1968 to present. He was a member of the Sidney American Legion, VFW and DAV. Dean was actively involved in the free Christmas Dinner for twenty-five years and the Thanksgiving Dinner for ten years. He retired from the United States Postal Service following twenty years of employment as a rural mail carrier.
He loved his family and being in the outdoors. Dean enjoyed sitting in his outdoor swing, doing search and find and reading. He was a lifelong carpenter, served as City of Sidney Building Inspector, worked for Bayard Wilbert Vault Company and helped at the Gehrig & Son Mortuary.
Survivors include his wife: Susan of Sidney; brother: Bruce Allen Starr (Sandy) of San Diego, CA; daughter: Cyndi Christensen (Randy) of Lorenzo, NE; son: Dean Brauer (Tilly) of Phoenix, AZ; daughter: Denise Howard of Navasota, TX; step-daughter: Tamera Loomis (Doug) of Thorton, CO; step-son: Gary Dale Van Natter of Lincoln, NE; step-son: Darin Van Natter (Sue) of Sidney; brother-law: Robert McGrew of Sioux Falls, SD; sisters-in-law: Katie Barber (Johnny) of Fort Morgan, CO, Betty Jones (Jim) of Bryant, WI, Bertha Campbell of Hannibal, MO and Ilene Vian of Scottsbluff, NE, numerous extended family members and friends and his special best friends, dogs: Rupert, Lady and Buster.
Dean was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents, sister: Betty McGrew, daughter: Wendy Lou Starr, brother: Loren Starr, step-son: Jerry Van Natter and numerous extended family members.