Best Call Sign: Santiago’s EA1AY and the Centennial Spirit of IARU

For most, a call sign is a string of letters, an administrative identifier. For radio amateurs, it’s a fingerprint—a mark of belonging and reach. And in Santiago de Compostela, where history hums through stone and pilgrimage paths, EA1AY carries more than RF energy. Under the leadership of José Manuel Pérez Rey, the city’s URE section is quietly preparing to amplify its voice during a rare moment in amateur radio history.

From May 1 to 15, 2025, Spain’s radio operators will speak with new names. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), Spain’s Secretariat of State for Telecommunications has authorized the temporary use of special call sign prefixes—AO, AN, AM—paired with the number 100, a centennial badge worn proudly across bands and continents. EA call signs will become AOx100, EB turns to ANx100, and EC to AMx100. Suffixes remain, ensuring each operator’s unique signature echoes through the shift.

Santiago’s radio section, nestled not in a cathedral cloister but in P.O. Box 286, serves as a humble but vital node in this celebration. Its website (seccion.santiago.ure.es) offers news, updates, and a glimpse of how tradition and technology still intertwine. While millions trek to Santiago seeking spiritual resonance, a smaller, quieter fellowship reaches across the ether, one CQ call at a time.

The temporary call signs are more than cosmetic. They are an emblem of unity—past, present, and future. One hundred years ago, radio amateurs organized to ensure their shared space on the spectrum. One hundred years later, the signal is still strong, and Santiago still answers.