so i passed my general exam about three weeks ago and my sequential call came through pretty fast, got assigned something like KD9 whatever. which is fine i guess but ive been reading about vanity calls and now im kind of down a rabbit hole and cant figure out if i should just apply or if there's like a waiting period or something i'm missing.

from what i can tell you go on the ULS system and file a Form 605 and pick up to 25 calls in order of preference, then there's a window period where all the applications kind of sit and get processed together? but i've seen people say the window is like 30 days and others say it closes faster than that. and do you have to pay? i thought vanity was free now but one of the posts i found was from like 2018 so who knows if thats still accurate.

also is there any strategy to picking calls or do you just throw in whatever looks good and hope for the best. my elmer told me to look for 1x2 or 2x1 format calls if i can get them but as a general i think im limited anyway. just want to make sure im not doing something dumb before i submit anything

yeah the process is a bit confusing the first time through but you've basically got it right. the window system means when you apply for a specific call, there's a 30-day window and anyone else who applies for that same call during that window gets thrown into a pool with you. after the window closes the FCC picks randomly from that pool, so if you're the only applicant you get it automatically. if there's competition it's just luck of the draw.

as for the fee thing - yes it's free now, they dropped the application fee for vanity calls a while back. the $35 fee is only for new licenses and renewals now, not vanity changes. so no cost to try.

for call format, as a General you can get any available 2x2 call in any district, or a 1x3 in certain formats. the coveted 1x2 and 2x1 calls are Extra class only unfortunately so your elmer is right that you'd have to upgrade first if you want one of those. honestly not a huge deal, plenty of nice 2x2 calls out there. i'd just go on ae7q.com and browse what's available in whatever district you like, it shows you all the open calls and when they become available.

went through this exact same thing last year lol. the ae7q site the other guy mentioned is honestly the best resource, way better than trying to figure it out from the FCC's own pages which are kind of a mess. one thing i'll add is that some calls that show as available have only recently been released - like if a ham is SK or let their license expire - and those sometimes get a lot of competition especially if its a short or clean-sounding call. i applied for three different ones before i finally got one to stick, so just be patient and dont get too attached to any one call on your list.