Radio amateurs have their on language. It starts with them referring to themselves as hams.

When a amateur radio operator dies he is silent key. His CW-Key does not produce any signals anymore.

Following I’ll provide my ham dictionary.

Alphabet:

Radio amateur operators use the NATO alphabet, which reads as follows:

Letter Code word
A Alfa
B Bravo
C Charlie
D Delta
E Echo
F Foxtrot
G Golf
H Hotel
I India
J Juliett
K Kilo
L Lima
M Mike
N November
O Oscar
P Papa
Q Quebec
R Romeo
S Sierra
T Tango
U Uniform
V Victor
W Whiskey
X X-ray
Y Yankee
Z Zulu
0 Zero; nadazero
1 One; unaone
2 Two; bissotwo
3 Three; terrathree
4 Four; kartefour
5 Five; pantafive
6 Six; soxisix
7 Seven; setteseven
8 Eight; oktoeight
9 Nine; novenine

Abbreviations

  • SWL: Shortwave listening, listening to SW/HF, but not transmitting. You don’t need a ham licence to do SWL.
  • EMV (engl. EMC) Elektromagnetische Verträglichkeit/Electromagnetic compatibility
  • OM: Old man/men
  • XYL: Wife/Girlfriend (xtra young lady)

Q code

Q codes started in the day of telegraphy. Instead of typing long sentences it was faster to agree on codes, that represent a question or an answer.

Following are the most common Q codes (by my experience). These are also the q codes, that are asked at the licence exam. For a larger list see Wikipedia.

Code Question Answer or statement Notes
QRB What is the (approximate) distance between our stations? The (approximate) distance between our stations is ____ km.
QRG What is my (exact) frequency? Your (exact) frequency is ____.
QRK What is the readability of my signals (or those of ____)? The readability of your signals (or those of ____) is ____ (1 to 5).
QRL Are you busy? Is the frequency in use? I am busy (in contact with ____ ). Please do not interfere. see 1.
QRM Do you have (human-made) interference? I have (human-made) interference.
QRN Are you troubled by (natural) static? I am troubled by (natural) static.
QRO Shall I increase power? Increase power.
QRP Shall I decrease power? Decrease power. see 2.
QRQ Shall I send faster? Send faster (____ WPM). CW
QRS Shall I send more slowly? Send more slowly (____ WPM). CW
QRT Shall I cease or suspend operation? / shutoff the radio? I am suspending operation / shutting off the radio.
QRU Have you anything for me? I have ____ messages for you.
QRV Are you ready? I am ready.
QRW Shall I inform ____ that you are calling (him) on ____ kHz (or MHz)? Please inform ____ that I am calling (him) on ____ kHz (or MHz).
QRX Shall I standby? / When will you call me again? Please standby / I will call you again at ____ (hours) on ____ kHz (or MHz)
QRZ Who is calling me? You are being called by ____ (on ____ kHz).
QSA What is the strength of my signals (or those of ____ )? The strength of your signals (or those of ____) is ____ (1 to 5).
QSD Is my keying defective? Your keying is defective. CW
QSK Can you hear me between your signals? I can hear you between my signal CW; see 3.
QSL Can you acknowledge receipt? I will acknowledge receipt. see 4.
QSN Did you hear me (or ____ (call sign)) on ____ kHz (or MHz)? I did hear you (or ____ (call sign)) on ____ kHz (or MHz).
QSO Can you reach ____? I can reach ____.
QSP Will you relay a message to ____ ? I will relay a message to ____ .
QST Should I repeat the prior message to all amateurs I contact? Here follows a broadcast message to all amateurs.
QSV Shall I send a series of Vs on this frequency (or on ____ kHz (or MHz))? Send a series of Vs on this frequency (or on ____ kHz (or MHz)). CW
QSW Will you send on this frequency (or on ____ kHz (or MHz))? I am going to send on this frequency (or on ____ kHz (or MHz)). Split
QSX Will you listen to ____ (call sign(s) on ____ kHz (or MHz))? I am listening to ____ (call sign(s) on ____ kHz (or MHz)) Split
QSY Shall I change to transmission on another frequency? Change to transmission on another frequency (or on ____ kHz (or MHz)).
QSZ Shall I send each word or group more than once? Send each word or group twice (or ____ times). CW
QTC How many telegrams (messages) have you to send? I have ____ telegrams (messages) for you (or for ____ ).
QTH What is your position in latitude and longitude? (or according to any other indication) My position is ____ latitude ____ longitude. see 5.
QTR What is the correct time? The correct time is ____ hours UTC.

Notes:

  1. QRL can also stand for the job.
  2. QRP can also stand for transmitting at reduced power.
  3. QSK referes also to an operating mode (full break-in, where stations can detect signals from other stations between the signs (dot, dash).
  4. QSL-cards are written confirmations, that are collected by many amateur radio operators.
  5. The position can be given in GPS coordinates, Maidenhead Locator System or as Location name (e.g. your city and country).

Modes

Modulations “Categorization for signal modulation based on data and carrier types” by Michel Bakni is licenced under CC BY-SA 4.0

Analog:

Digital:

Countries

Following I’ll list countries that are important to me. For a full list please refer to ARRL - Country List Prefixes.

Code Country
OE Austria
OK Czech Republic
OM Slovak Republic
HA Hungary
S5 Slovenia
I Italy
HB Switzerland
HB0 Liechtenstein
D Germany

How to use this page:
If you come up with a “code” you don’t know use the search function built into your browser. If you’re lucky you’ll find it, hooray. If not, don’t hesitate to drop me a line at mail [at] mycallsign [dot] at.