Answering someone who’s calling CQ — Ham Radio

You're tuning around HF and you hear someone calling "CQ." This is the single easiest way to make your first long-distance contact — they already want to talk to somebody.

Before you key up

  • Wait until they finish and say something like "standing by" or "go ahead." Never transmit over the top of them.
  • Say your callsign once, clearly, in phonetics. Resist the urge to say more.

What to say

They say: “CQ CQ CQ, this is their callsign in phonetics, calling CQ and standing by.”

You say: “your callsign in phonetics.”

Just your callsign. Nothing else. One time, maybe twice if the band is noisy. This is the most common beginner mistake — saying a whole paragraph when the other operator only needs your call.

They say: “your callsign, good afternoon, you're five nine, five nine. Name here is Bill, Bill, in Ohio. Back to you.”

You say: “Bill, thanks for the report. You're five nine here as well. My name is your name, your name, and I'm in your town. Back to you.”

Repeat your name twice. Names get mangled on HF and repeating is normal courtesy, not stammering. You can end with "back to you," "over," or just "QSL" — they all hand the conversation back.

Handing it back — all of these are correct

“"Back to you." · "Over." · "QSL." · "Go ahead." · Or just stop talking — on HF, silence hands it back too.”

What they will say back

Most operators will give a signal report, their name, and their location, then hand it back to you. Some want a long chat; some want thirty seconds and out. Follow their lead.

If it goes sideways

If they come back to a different callsign, they picked someone else out of the pile — that's routine, not a snub. Wait for them to finish and try the next CQ. If they say "station with the [something], again please?" they heard part of your call and want you to repeat it. Just say it again, slower.

Why it works this way

Answering a CQ is easier than calling one because the other operator is already committed to making a contact and is actively listening. Calling CQ yourself means talking into silence for a while, which is much harder the first time. Almost everyone's first HF contact is an answered CQ.

Open this in Pocket Elmer, with your callsign filled in

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