W2ETI is the FCC-assigned callsign for the ham radio club station of The SETI League, Inc., a grass-roots international alliance of amateur and professional radio astronomers seeking scientific evidence of other technological civilizations in space. Special events transmissions and SETI League on-the-air activities, including our 1296 MHz EME beacon which bounces microwave calibration signals off the surface of the moon, are all identified by the callsign W2ETI.

"This is a valued callsign," states SETI League executive director Dr. H. Paul Shuch, "because it uniquely identifies The SETI League and its global mission. The first letter, W, is an international designation for radio transmissions originating in the United States. The number 2 designates a region which includes the state of New Jersey, where The SETI League's international headquarters is located. And the suffix ETI refers, of course, to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, which defines the signals which our members seek."

Shuch is himself a lifelong amateur radio operator, with the personal callsign N6TX. Of The SETI League's 1400 members in over 65 countries, about half are radio amateurs. So-called ham radio operators are licensed by their respective governments for public service use of the radio spectrum, including the pursuit of scientific research. "However," Shuch hastens to point out, "a ham radio license is not a prerequisite to SETI League membership, and is not required when listening for signals from the stars."

W2ETI -- rev 4 Feb 2004 by N6TX