I have been an amateur radio operator off and on since 1958. In that year I received my Novice class license and the callsign KN9PLS. When I earned my General class license in 1960 the N was dropped and my callsign became K9PLS. There is no more Novice class now, so N's in callsigns don't mean Novice. Some time in the 1980's I let my license expire (because I was stupid, that's why!). Early in 2002 I really got the bug again, and in April both my son Tim and I took our license exams. Tim passed his Technician Plus class and received the callsign KC9BLJ; I passed my General class and received the callsign KC9BLK. When I looked to see whether I could get my old callsign back, I found that someone else had been assigned that call during the years I was inactive. Bummer! The closest callsign to my old one which was still available was K9PLX; I requested that call and it was assigned to me on April 28, 2002. I don't plan on changing again. On August 28, 2003, I passed the written exam to upgrade to Extra class, something which had been a long-time goal for me.