Ninety Years of History

The Amateur Radio Association at the University of Maryland (W3EAX) was founded in 1933. You can expect information about the 90 years W3EAX has been on the air on this page. It may be a few months, but when the website is fully restored, there will be quite a wealth of information here. For now, you can look at what is already posted.

What is W3EAX?

By now, you are probably wondering what “W3EAX” means. They’re our call letters (or, more accurately, “callsign,” as there’s a number in there).

Amateur Radio Station W3EAX

Like WMUC, our callsign was assigned by the US Government. However, our callsign was assigned in early 1934 by the Department of Commerce since W3EAX predates the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The callsign is in a worldwide-standard format for callsigns as defined by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland. Our “license-plate number” uniquely identifies us to the world (and beyond, see below).

W3EAX is a station in the amateur radio service. This special worldwide communications service is defined by an international treaty devoted to technical experimentation, public service, and promoting international goodwill.

What does “W3EAX” mean?