Every Q code, abbreviation and piece of slang you will hear on the air, in plain English.
Q codes
- QSL — Acknowledged. Understood.
- QSO — A conversation.
- QTH — Location.
- QRZ — Who is calling me?
- QRM — Interference from other stations.
- QRN — Natural noise and static.
- QRP — Low power operating.
- QRO — High power. The opposite of QRP.
- QRT — Shutting down. Going off the air.
- QRX — Stand by. Wait.
- QRL — Is this frequency busy?
- QSY — Change frequency.
- QSB — Fading.
- QSK — Full break-in.
- QSP — Relay a message.
- QST — A general call to all amateurs.
- QSX — Listening on a different frequency.
- QRV — Ready.
- QRU — Do you have anything for me?
- QRS — Send slower.
- QRQ — Send faster.
- QRG — Your exact frequency.
- QSA — Signal strength.
- QTR — The correct time.
Heard on the air
- 73 — Best wishes, have a good one.
- 88 — Love and kisses.
- Roger — Got it, understood.
- Copy — Understand.
- Clear — Goodbye, off the air.
- Monitor — Listen.
- Stand by — Wait. Pause.
- Double — Two people talking at once.
- Step on — Talk over somebody.
- Kerchunk — Keying up a repeater without saying anything.
- Picket fencing — A fluttering, choppy signal.
- Full quieting — No background noise at all.
- Ragchew — Shooting the breeze.
- Final — Concluding transmission.
- Relay — Pass a message along.
- Key up — Transmit.
- Unkey — Stop transmitting.
- Say again — Repeat that.
- Break — I need to join this conversation.
- Elmer — A ham radio mentor.
- Silent key / SK — A ham who has passed away.
- Ticket — Your ham radio license.
- Shack — Your radio room.
- Rig — Your radio.
- OM / YL / XYL — Old man, young lady, wife.
- Back to you — Your turn to talk.
- Over — I am done, your turn.
Operating
- CQ — Calling anyone who is listening.
- DX — Distance. A far-away station.
- Pileup — Everybody calling one station at once.
- Net — A scheduled on-air gathering.
- Net control — The operator running a net.
- In and out — Checking into a net without staying.
- Mobile — Operating from a vehicle.
- Portable — Operating away from home.
- Simplex — Radio to radio, no repeater.
- Repeater — A relay station, usually up high.
- POTA — Parks on the Air.
- SOTA — Summits on the Air.
- Field Day — The biggest weekend in amateur radio.
- Contest — A competitive operating event.
- RST — The signal report system.
- Grid square — Your location as a short code.
- ARRL — The national association for amateur radio in the US.
- VE — Volunteer Examiner.
- Park reference — The code that identifies a POTA park.
- Hunter — Someone chasing park activators.
- Activator — Someone operating from a park or summit.
- Spot — A public post saying who is on the air and where.
Gear
- HT — Handy Talkie. A handheld radio.
- PTT — Push To Talk.
- Rubber duck — The stock antenna on a handheld.
- Transceiver — A transmitter and receiver in one box.
- Antenna — The thing that actually radiates your signal.
- Dipole — Two legs of wire.
- Yagi — A directional beam antenna.
- Vertical — An antenna that stands straight up.
- Tuner — Matches your antenna to your radio.
- Feedline — The cable from radio to antenna.
- VOX — Voice Operated eXchange.
- SDR — Software Defined Radio.
Technical
- Frequency — How fast a radio wave oscillates.
- Band — A range of frequencies set aside for a purpose.
- SWR — Standing Wave Ratio.
- CW — Continuous Wave. Morse code.
- SSB — Single Sideband. HF voice.
- FM — Frequency Modulation. VHF and UHF voice.
- FT8 — A weak-signal digital mode.
- RTTY — Radio Teletype.
- SSTV — Slow-Scan Television.
- APRS — Automatic Packet Reporting System.
- Propagation — How your signal travels.
- Ionosphere — The layer that bounces HF signals back to earth.
- Gray line — The band of twilight moving around the earth.
- Sporadic E — Sudden short-lived openings.
- Solar flux — A number that tracks solar activity.
- K index — How disturbed the earth's magnetic field is.
- Simplex vs duplex — One frequency versus two.
- CTCSS / PL tone — A sub-audible tone that opens a repeater.
- Offset — The gap between transmit and receive frequency.
- Watts — Transmit power.
- Wavelength — The physical length of one radio wave.