When I first got licensed on February 27, 2025, I was issued the callsign KE2FFT. A few weeks later, I decided to change my ham radio callsign, and that’s when I found W2DIY. I had already set up a bunch of things under that name — my logbook, EchoLink, ARRL account, QRZ page, and a few other services I hadn’t fully used yet.
While searching for a vanity callsign, I came across W2DIY through AE7Q’s Query Tools. At first, I kept scrolling. I really wanted something based on my initials (DIG), but most of those options were taken. A few days later, I kept coming back to W2DIY. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I’ve always believed in figuring things out myself — and that’s exactly how I’ve been approaching this hobby.
I submitted my vanity application, paid the $35 FCC fee, and on March 18, 2025, W2DIY became official. What I didn’t expect was how many things I’d need to update afterward. If you plan to change your ham radio callsign, expect to update a lot more than just your FCC record.
How I Changed My Ham Radio Callsign and What Came Next
American Radio Relay League
ARRL quietly updated my callsign behind the scenes once the FCC processed it. I originally thought I’d have to contact them to make this change, but after I called them and asked they told me to wait a few days, and soon after, everything reflected W2DIY. If you’re a VE with ARRL-VEC, you may need to email them to update your info — but for general membership, they took care of it on their own.
QRZ Profile
QRZ also updated my callsign automatically and linked it to my old one. I didn’t need to do anything — except rewrite my bio, which mysteriously got wiped during the update. If you’ve customized your QRZ page, back it up just in case. One more thing to add with my own experience: for just under 24 hours I did not have full access to QRZ while the change was taking place. QRZ had processed that my old callsign KE2FFT was no longer valid, but had taken a couple of hours to process that the callsign W2DIY was now active and replaced KE2FFT. Maybe this is what led to my bio being deleted, but at least I kept my subscription!
EchoLink
EchoLink requires you to re-verify your license after a callsign change. First, you’ll need to create a new EchoLink account using your new callsign. Once that’s set up, you’ll go through the validation process to prove you’re licensed. After your new call is validated, the last step is to officially update your account by submitting both your old and new callsigns (along with their passwords) on EchoLink’s callsign change page.
Logbook (QRZ + Other Software)
When your new callsign gets processed with QRZ, they will automatically prompt you to create a new logbook. Now don’t panic, because your original logbook will still be there to view your previous QSOs, but going forward you will have to log your QSOs using your new callsign.
If you use a software logbook, the process will be a little different depending on what you’re using. In my case, I use RUMlogNG on Mac, so I just updated the station and operator callsign in the settings. I also went ahead and created a new log file to start logging my QSOs with my new callsign. It was a quick change, but it’s important to do before logging anything under your new call. Some software might ask you to start a new log or create a new profile — just make sure everything lines up so you don’t end up with mixed logs.
Final Thoughts
Changing my callsign was 100% worth it — but it definitely came with more work than I expected. If you’re considering a change in your ham radio callsign, plan ahead to avoid the extra work later.
But now when I sign as W2DIY, it feels like it actually represents who I am and how I’ve approached the hobby. And that was worth the extra steps.
73,
Daniel // W2DIY