The FCC identifies every TV station with a unique callsign. Callsigns are 4 letters (in raw cases 3 letters), or 5 alphanumeric characters. 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 |
Some callsigns include a suffix that's based on station Service Class (Full or Low Power). Some Full Power station's don't have a suffix, some do (-DT or -TV). All low power stations have a 1 or 2 letter suffix (-D, -LD, -LP).
| Callsign | - | Class |
| K or W _ _ _ _ | - | _ _ |
Service Class maximum allowed power (ERP) varies with frequency band (VHF or UHF), and region. In some regions power is less than listed below.
| Suffix | Description | Class | Max Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| none | Full Power |
185 kW
/ VHF 1000 kW / UHF |
|
| - DT | Digital TV | ||
| - TV | Television | ||
| - 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 |
|
TV Station Callsigns |