Listen to the bands for five minutes and you will hear a whole language of three-letter codes and numbers. Most of them come from the days of Morse code, when every character took time to send. They have stuck around on voice and digital modes because they are short, clear and understood by operators all over the world, whatever their native language.
The most common Q-codes
A Q-code can be a statement or, with a question mark, a question. QTH? means “where are you?”; QTH Salisbury means “I am in Salisbury”.
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| QRZ | Who is calling me? |
| QTH | My location is… |
| QSO | A contact between two stations |
| QSL | I confirm / acknowledge; also a confirmation card |
| QSY | Change frequency (QSY 7.150 = move to 7.150 MHz) |
| QRL | Is this frequency in use? (always ask before calling CQ) |
| QRM | Interference from other stations |
| QRN | Natural noise – static, thunderstorms |
| QSB | Fading – the signal goes up and down |
| QRP | Low power (usually 5 W or less on CW/data, 10 W on SSB) |
| QRO | High power |
| QRT | I am closing down |
| QRV | I am ready / available |
| QRX | Please wait |
Everyday abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| CQ | Calling any station |
| DE | From (M6OER DE G4ABC) |
| DX | A long-distance or rare station |
| 73 | Best regards |
| 88 | Love and kisses (usually reserved for family!) |
| OM / YL / XYL | Old man (any male operator) / young lady / wife |
| FB | Fine business – great, excellent |
| TNX / TU | Thanks / thank you |
| GM / GA / GE | Good morning / afternoon / evening |
| RIG | Your radio |
| WX | Weather |
| HI HI | Laughter (on CW) |
| SK | End of contact (CW) |
Signal reports: RST
The famous 59 is an RST report. R is readability (1–5), S is strength (1–9) and on CW a third digit, T, is tone (1–9) – hence 599. On FT8 and other digital modes the report is a signal-to-noise ratio in dB instead, such as -12: the bigger the number (closer to zero or positive), the stronger the signal.
A typical short QSO
CQ CQ CQ DE M6OER M6OER K
M6OER DE G4ABC K
G4ABC DE M6OER GE OM TNX FER CALL UR RST 579 QTH SALISBURY
M6OER DE G4ABC FB TNX UR RST 589 QTH BATH 73
G4ABC DE M6OER TNX QSO 73 SKPrint this page and keep it next to the rig – after a few weeks you will not need it any more. 73!