For those not familiar with the Amateur Radio Service.
In every nation there is a civilian service dedicated to worldwide emergency communications. Known in the U.K., Canada, and the U.S. as Amateur Radio, and in most nations as Radio Sport. All of us have learned certain radio principles, the international Morse Code, and the rules and regulations. Upon completion of an examination the licensing authority issues a license with a "call sign" that is our license number if you will. By international agreement certain prefixes belong to certain countries.
I am licensed in the U.S. and issued the call: N1ATT. While living in Germany my call was: DA1AE. My cousin in Nova Scotia, Canada is issued a call that begins with VE1. Much as we have screen names here on X-marks as our identity, on the air around the world, amateurs are known by their screen names of letters and numbers. Other abbreviations bantered on this thread have been CW, which stands for continues wave telegraphy, or the means by which we send and receive Morse Code. To overcome the differences in the many languages of the World, we often use shortcut words that have evolved into a universal language, much as we have adopted USAK, IMHO, BTW, UK, FK, and Tank on this board. Over a period of time we havre been nicknamed Ham Radio Operators, and the service as Ham Radio. In my case both my home and motor car are equipped with several transceivers each. I am able to establish communications from any where to anywhere without the need of commercial power or telephone wires or cellular mobile sites. if a disaster strikes, we are ready to set up and operate emergency communications anywhere and at anytime.

Slainte (73)