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TV Station Callsigns

The FCC identifies a TV station's RF channel with a callsign. Callsigns are 4 letters, or 5 alphanumeric characters, and in raw cases only 3 letters. They will always start with "K" or "W". Callsigns that start with a "W" are east of the Mississippi River, callsigns that start with a "K" are west of the river.

Callsign
K _ _ _ _
W _ _ _ _
West of Mississippi River
East of Mississippi River


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Some full power stations have a callsign that include a suffix of "-DT" or "-TV". All low power stations callsigns include a 1 or 2 letter suffix (-D, -LD, -LP). Service Class is basically allowed maximum Effective Radiated Power (ERP), and varies with region. Station Class is either Full Power or Low Power.

Callsign - Class
W or K _ _ _ _ - _ _
e.g. K25NG - D


Service Class
Suffix Description Class Max ERP
- DT Digital TV Full
Power
185 kW -- VHF
1000 kW -- UHF
- TV Television
none
- CD Class A Digital Low
Power
Primary
3 kW -- VHF
15 kW -- UHF
- D Digital Low
Power
Secondary
- LD Low Power Digital
- LP Low Power TV
In some regions Class power limits are lower.
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TV Station Callsigns