Call sign names & tags?

[Kosmickid]

Morning all. I'm a little confused (easily done) and possibly going to be answering a really thick question so forgive me

I've searched several forums and google but I can't ne'er stand the difference between two types of call sign and how your use them.

For example, a call sign could be Shadow, Nightstalker, Doctor, Frodo etc etc but then people also have th short call signs on the shoulders and helmets like A01,GK9, TF6 etc when playing in a team. What the difference between the two?

Again forgive me if I'm being incredibly thick but can't see to find why there are two types!

[loki7491]

Re: Call sign names & tags?

It is purely legacy from the military.

The old radios were not secure. Call signs denoted and individual or unit without giving away personal information such as names or formation size.

The Brits always went with alpha numeric callsigns as they could be added or ommited as the formation size dictated. The Americans went more down the line of animals and the like

Brits: Alpha two four Charlie
Yanks: Scorpion 6

As with the rest of airsoft, it is just to emulate the military. There is nothing wrong using real names in airsoft, but where is the fun in that?

[ForceGhost]

Re: Call sign names & tags?

Our team uses call signs "GK1" - "GK10" because they don't need to be custom made and can find them just about anywhere. Instead of having to shell out £10+ per custom call signs which you have to buy in bulk (usually). I'd rather pay £2 per sign and have a generic "GK2".

Plus, less letters means they can be in a larger font which means it's easier to identify people at a distance!

[Simon77]

Re: Call sign names & tags?

Some have 2 callsigns, 1 is the game name they like to be known by the short patch is like a zap number a quick ID tag so less confusion over the radio etc, a name could be misinterpreted as something else but phonetic and number tags shouldn't be. Also callsigns usually are individuals and the tags can be teams or sub teams identifiers.

[Kosmickid]

Re: Call sign names & tags?

Awesome, thanks for clearing that up guys. I've got a Ranger Load out so guess ill be using the animal calls signs... Hippopotamus 69 or something!