Those Mysterious "Q-codes"

[Jonas Parker]

    Back in the early days of amateur radio, pretty much all contacts were in Morse code (or "CW"). A set of common abbreviations, beginning with the letter "Q" developed as a type of short hand between ham operators. Today, most contacts are in "phone" (voice mode) or "data" (computer-generated transmissions like PSK31) but occasionally the old "Q-codes" pop up in a conversation. Most emergency nets strongly discourage the use of "Q-codes" both because a person calling in with an emergency may not be an amateur radio operator, and plain language will eliminate any confusion. With that caveat, there are still ham operators out there using "Q-codes", so here's the list for reference:

    The Q-codes

    QRA? What is the name (call-sign) of your station?
    QRA The name (call-sign) of my station is .........
    QRG? Will you tell me my exact frequency (or, that of ..............)?
    QRG Your exact frequency (or, that of ...........) is .........kHz (or ........MHz).
    QRH? Does my frequency vary?
    QRH Your frequency varies.
    QRI? How is the tone of my transmission?
    QRI The tone of your transmission is: (1) Good. (2) Variable. (3) Bad.
    QRK? What is the readability of my signals (or, those of..............)?
    QRK Readability is: (1) Unreadable. (2) Readable now and then. (3) Readable with difficulty. (4) Readable. (5) Perfectly readable.
    QRL? Are you busy?
    QRL I am busy (or, busy with .........). Please do not interfere.
    QRM? Are you being interfered with?
    QRM I am being interfered with.
    QRN? Are you troubled by static noise?
    QRN I am troubled by static noise.
    QRQ? Shall I send faster?
    QRQ Send faster (....... wpm)
    QRS? Shall I send more slowly?
    QRS Send more slowly.
    QRT? Shall I stop sending?
    QRT Stop sending
    QRU? Have you anything for me?
    QRU I have nothing for you.
    QRV? Are you ready?
    QRV I am ready.
    QRW? Shall I inform ....... that you are calling him on ??kHz?
    QRW Please inform .......That I am calling him on ?.. kHz.
    QRX? When will you call me again?
    QRX I will call you again at .............hours.
    QRZ? Who is calling me?
    QRZ You are being called by.
    QSA? What is the strength of my signals (or those of ...............?
    QSA Your signals are (1) Scarcely perceptible. (2) Weak. (3) Fairly good. (4) Good. (5) Very good.
    QSB? Are my signals fading?
    QSB Your signals are fading.
    QSL? Can you acknowledge receipt?
    QSL I am acknowledging receipt.
    QSO? Can you communicate with............ direct or by relay?
    QSO I can communicate with.............Direct or by relay through ??.
    QSU? Shall I send or reply on this frequency (or, on .............kHz)(with emissions of class...........)?
    QSU Send or reply on this frequency (or, on ............KHz) (with emissions of class............).
    QSV? Shall I send a series of 'V's on this frequency (or,......... KHz).
    QSV Send a series of 'V's on this frequency (or, .........kHz).
    QSW? Will you send on this frequency (or, .........kHz)(with emissions of class........)?
    QSW I am going to send on this frequency (or, ........kHz) (with emissions of class ........).
    QSX? Will you listen to .........(call-sign) on .........kHz?
    QSX I am listening to .......... (call-sign) on ..........kHz.
    QSY? Shall I change my transmission to another frequency?
    QSY Change your transmission to another frequency.
    QSZ? Shall I send each word or group more than once?
    QSZ Send each word or group twice (or, .......... times).
    QTC? How many telegrams have you to send?
    QTC I have........... telegrams for you (or, for ..............).
    QTH? What is your position in latitude and longitude (or, according to any other indication)
    QTH My position is ........latitude ...............longitude (or, according to any other indication).
    QTR? What is the correct time?
    QTR The correct time is ...............hours.
    QUM? Is the distress traffic ended?
    QUM The distress traffic is ended.

Note: There is no "QTF" code!  8)

[Scott]

And please don't use these on FM repeaters.  You'll just sound like a lid.

(Ok, maybe you can get away with QSL.  Other than that, don't do it.)

[gil]

Really, Morse Code only... And don't spell out "hi hi!"  ::)

Gil.

[Scott]

Really, Morse Code only... And don't spell out "hi hi!"  ::)

Gil.

::Sidebar Rant::

Three things erk me more than anything else, and it's almost always heard on FM repeaters.

1.  "Hi hi."  SERIOUSLY.  You need to SAY "hi hi" to indicate that you're laughing or trying to be cute / clever / funny.  Let me explain this to you:  if you EVER say "hi hi" to try to make that point, then you have completely failed to make that point.  YOU SOUND LIKE AN IDIOT. 

2.  "KD8GFY for ID."  No kidding, asshole -- your callsign is for ID?!  I'm totally surprised by that!!  THANK YOU for clarifying!!  Here I had no idea what all those confusing letters and numbers were about!!  Folks, we all know that you gave your callsign for identification purposes.  That's actually what callsigns are for.  You don't need to tell me, "for ID," because I also have a callsign, and I also use it "for ID."  Telling me it's for ID would be like if every time I gave a stripper a single I said, "for tip."

3.  Bullshit phonetics.  "This is kilowatt mary 4 ocean sugar Mexico."  Let me tell you something, pal: if you ever tried that horsecock shenanigans on a MARS net, you'd have people in your yard with M4s demanding a pound of flesh in 2 hours.  You sound like A TOTAL TOOL if you deviate from ITU phonetics.  On HF, I'll very often refuse to acknowledge people who can't use ITU phonetics until they get the picture and do it right, or I'll straight up tell them, "I'm sorry, I do not roger your phonetics."  None of this cool-kids-at-the-lunch-table too good for phonetics people actually KNOW.  And the next "Zanzabar" I hear is getting an Anthrax post card.
3.1  If you have a "cute" call that you use as a mnemonic, then fine, but don't wear it out.  A buddy of mine used to have a call that ended in QAE, which he liked to give as "quick and easy."  It's memorable, and he would never actually ID like that, only during introductions with a new station to help recall the callsign.  This guy would punch his own bean bag if he ever actually gave his call like that "for ID," especially on HF.  Then we'd all line up to take turns kicking him in the coax and connectors, if you catch my meaning.

People who do this nonsense need to be forced to watch while an OO burns their license to ashes.  It makes my ears bleed.

::End Sidebar Rant::

[gil]

[Scott]

Hole.


Eeee.


Shit.


I'm about to send that guy all of my bacon.

Edit -- OH MAN did he touch a point I left out.  CONTESTERS.  Those are the people that are strangling this hobby into irrelevance.  Great call on that one; not sure how I overlooked them. 

All of my bacon, yep.  Headed his way.

[Sunflower]

QSL Cards - do QSL cards refer to the list above?

[Sunflower]

I got the humor better after listening to the vid. Hi-Hi.

If Ham ever gets obsolete, that fellow on the video could do standup comedy. He was quite funny. Is a sense of dry humor common among Hams?

[gil]

Hello Sunflower.

A QSL card is like a postcard you mail to someone you had a conversation with, which included a signal report and maybe something about your station. People collect them from all around the world..

Gil.

[KC9TNH]

Is a sense of dry humor common among Hams?

That's a GREAT question. It does seem to be the case at least a bit better than 50:50. Then again, as has been seen from time to time, some have no sense of humor, at any moisture level, shaken or stirred.

One other thing about those QSL cards by the way. If you have no interest in them at all, list it that way on your QRZ.COM page. I worked up a few drafts on card stock (couple dozen) quite awhile ago just to send to close friends but I don't do that thing or wallpaper my radio room with them. Even in plain-text most 1st graders could understand that says I don't want 'em, don't send 'em, I still get them. Sorry dude (ladies seem to understand the written language better perhaps), thanks, but you just wasted your postage.  So if you get them anyway, don't let that guilt you into playing a "game" you don't want to play. Save it or pitch it, your call.

Not to be condescending, honest, but one more tip. Amateur radio is still largely male dominated in terms of licensees. Don't tolerate someone treating you as less than a licensed operator any more than you'd tolerate it in the workplace. Conduct oneself as a professional (well you get my drift) and don't tolerate someone calling you "hey XYL" or "honey" or any of that krappola. The really good lady net controls I know have that dry sense of humor too and can stand almost anything except being patronized. That will result in "thank you, clearing with your station now and this is W0PRO, who's next?"

Ok, equality in the workplace rant over but you'll get the respect you deserve.
8)

Funny, I do have one gent occasionally in an afternoon net I sometimes run who, when asked if he understood something, will say:
"Yeah, roger, roger, QSL, fer sure, you bet."
He's a great guy though; I just exhale. Letting others live in your head just takes the energy right out of you.

(He'd never be doing this in a core group that was important if run by me; that's a different story unless his affability is part of his cover.)

[White Tiger]

    Back in the early days of amateur radio, pretty much all contacts were in Morse code (or "CW"). A set of common abbreviations, beginning with the letter "Q" developed as a type of short hand between ham operators. Today, most contacts are in "phone" (voice mode) or "data" (computer-generated transmissions like PSK31) but occasionally the old "Q-codes" pop up in a conversation. Most emergency nets strongly discourage the use of "Q-codes" both because a person calling in with an emergency may not be an amateur radio operator, and plain language will eliminate any confusion. With that caveat, there are still ham operators out there using "Q-codes", so here's the list for reference:

    The Q-codes

    QRA? What is the name (call-sign) of your station?
    QRA The name (call-sign) of my station is .........
    QRG? Will you tell me my exact frequency (or, that of ..............)?
    QRG Your exact frequency (or, that of ...........) is .........kHz (or ........MHz).
    QRH? Does my frequency vary?
    QRH Your frequency varies.
    QRI? How is the tone of my transmission?
    QRI The tone of your transmission is: (1) Good. (2) Variable. (3) Bad.
    QRK? What is the readability of my signals (or, those of..............)?
    QRK Readability is: (1) Unreadable. (2) Readable now and then. (3) Readable with difficulty. (4) Readable. (5) Perfectly readable.
    QRL? Are you busy?
    QRL I am busy (or, busy with .........). Please do not interfere.
    QRM? Are you being interfered with?
    QRM I am being interfered with.
    QRN? Are you troubled by static noise?
    QRN I am troubled by static noise.
    QRQ? Shall I send faster?
    QRQ Send faster (....... wpm)
    QRS? Shall I send more slowly?
    QRS Send more slowly.
    QRT? Shall I stop sending?
    QRT Stop sending
    QRU? Have you anything for me?
    QRU I have nothing for you.
    QRV? Are you ready?
    QRV I am ready.
    QRW? Shall I inform ....... that you are calling him on ??kHz?
    QRW Please inform .......That I am calling him on ?.. kHz.
    QRX? When will you call me again?
    QRX I will call you again at .............hours.
    QRZ? Who is calling me?
    QRZ You are being called by.
    QSA? What is the strength of my signals (or those of ...............?
    QSA Your signals are (1) Scarcely perceptible. (2) Weak. (3) Fairly good. (4) Good. (5) Very good.
    QSB? Are my signals fading?
    QSB Your signals are fading.
    QSL? Can you acknowledge receipt?
    QSL I am acknowledging receipt.
    QSO? Can you communicate with............ direct or by relay?
    QSO I can communicate with.............Direct or by relay through ??.
    QSU? Shall I send or reply on this frequency (or, on .............kHz)(with emissions of class...........)?
    QSU Send or reply on this frequency (or, on ............KHz) (with emissions of class............).
    QSV? Shall I send a series of 'V's on this frequency (or,......... KHz).
    QSV Send a series of 'V's on this frequency (or, .........kHz).
    QSW? Will you send on this frequency (or, .........kHz)(with emissions of class........)?
    QSW I am going to send on this frequency (or, ........kHz) (with emissions of class ........).
    QSX? Will you listen to .........(call-sign) on .........kHz?
    QSX I am listening to .......... (call-sign) on ..........kHz.
    QSY? Shall I change my transmission to another frequency?
    QSY Change your transmission to another frequency.
    QSZ? Shall I send each word or group more than once?
    QSZ Send each word or group twice (or, .......... times).
    QTC? How many telegrams have you to send?
    QTC I have........... telegrams for you (or, for ..............).
    QTH? What is your position in latitude and longitude (or, according to any other indication)
    QTH My position is ........latitude ...............longitude (or, according to any other indication).
    QTR? What is the correct time?
    QTR The correct time is ...............hours.
    QUM? Is the distress traffic ended?
    QUM The distress traffic is ended.

Note: There is no "QTF" code!  8)

Just posted this for Gil in another thread, but it fits and may help some of those (like me) NEW to amateur radio...

Q-codes, along with the Phoentic Alphabet, as well as a few other things you longtime hams might call necessary operating etiquette - can be downloaded in one simple iPhone app called "Ham I Am".

[Sunflower]

Is a sense of dry humor common among Hams?

Not to be condescending, honest, but one more tip. Amateur radio is still largely male dominated in terms of licensees. Don't tolerate someone treating you as less than a licensed operator any more than you'd tolerate it in the workplace. Conduct oneself as a professional (well you get my drift) and don't tolerate someone calling you "hey XYL" or "honey" or any of that krappola. The really good lady net controls I know have that dry sense of humor too and can stand almost anything except being patronized. That will result in "thank you, clearing with your station now and this is W0PRO, who's next?"

Ok, equality in the workplace rant over but you'll get the respect you deserve.

Thanks for the write. No problem with being referred to as sweetie, or honey. I view those as terms of endearment. Call me old fashion. I just appreciate all the help and encouragment.