New ZealandZL3: Northern South Island
Callsigns beginning with ZL3 were issued in Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast, Canterbury, in New Zealand. No other series uses this area.
Call area
Every ZL3 station counts for CQ zone 32 and ITU zone 60.
How call areas work in New Zealand
New Zealand's digit follows the old radio districts: ZL1 the northern North Island around Auckland, ZL2 the southern North Island with Wellington, ZL3 the northern South Island with Canterbury, ZL4 Otago and Southland. ZM appears for special events.
Chatham Islands (ZL7), Kermadec Islands (ZL8) and the subantarctic Auckland and Campbell Islands (ZL9) are separate DXCC entities. The main islands are in CQ zone 32 and ITU zone 60.
Portable and moved stations
Operators away from home often add a suffix such as /P or the number of the area they are in, and many keep a ZL3 call after moving. For awards the place of operation counts, so the prefix is a strong hint, not proof.