Like many subcultures, amateur radio has a lingo all its own. Tune into a conversation on 40m phone, and you might hear something like this:
W8ABC, this is K0XYZ. You’re 5 by 9 here, but there’s a lot of QR-Mary.
K0XYZ, this is W8ABC. QSL, Fred. Thanks for the report. I’ll say 73 on this one.
Fine business, Joe. Catch you later. K0XYZ clear.
The first thing you’ll notice are the Q-signals. Q-signals are three-letter codes that are used mostly when communicating with Morse Code, but their use has become common in voice operation as well. They were originally developed for use by maritime radio operators, but they were also adopted by airborne radio operators, and, of course, by amateur radio operators.
When operating Morse Code, a Q-code takes the place of an entire phrase. So, for example, if I send “QTH ANN ARBOR MI,” what I mean is, “My location is Ann Arbor, Michigan.” Appending a question mark, makes the Q-code a question. “QTH?” would mean, “What’s your location.”
A complete list of Q-signals used in amateur radio can be found at http://www.qsl.net/w5www/qcode.html. Many of these are not frequently used, though, even when operating Morse Code. In addition to QTH mentioned above, some of the most commonly used Q-signals are:
- QRL – I am busy or the frequency is busy. One sends QRL? before calling CQ to determine if a particular frequency is in use.
- QRM – You are being interfered with.
- QRN – I am receiving a lot of atmospherice noise.
- QRP – Lower power. QRP is often used as an adjective. A low-power transceiver, for example, might be called a “QRP rig.”
- QRS – Send slower.
- QRT – Stop sending. QRT is often used as a verb. “I am going to QRT” means that you plan to go off the air.
- QRZ? – This Q-signal is almost always used with a question mark. It means who is calling me?
- QSB – Your signal is fading in and out. QSB, QRN, and QRM are often used as nouns to mean fading, noise, and interference, respectively.
- QSO – I can communicate directly with [a particular station]. This Q-signal is also often used as a noun. “I had a QSO with Joe on 40m last night” means that I contacted Joe on the 40m band last night.
Hams also use phonetic alphabets when operating voice communications. In the example above, K0XYZ notes that there is a lot of “QR-Mary,” Mary being the phonetic way to say the letter “M.” We use phonetics because many letters sound alike, especially over a noisy radio channel.
The ARRL recommends that amateurs use the NATO phonetic alphabet (http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet) as most amateurs around the world will recognize them. It was developed in the 1950s, and was designed to be intelligible and pronounceable by all the NATO allies.
Finally, a lot of the lingo we use in amateur radio is a holdover from the days when all amateur radio communication was in Morse Code. An interesting example of this is the use of the term “fine business,” or FB in Morse Code.
Fine business can mean “OK” as in, “FB, Joe. I copied all of that last transmission.” It can also mean “good” or “excellent.” In Morse Code, one might send “THE KX-1 IS A FB RIG JOE.”
Finally, when amateur radio operators end a contact, they often say “seventy three” or “seven three.” In this context, “seventy three” means “best regards.” The origin of this term is as old as amateur radio.
Before the Internet made long-distance communications so cheap, amateur radio was often used to send messages across the U.S. and around the world. Many common messages were codified to make sending them quicker. For example, if you wanted to wish your Aunt Harriet in Poughkeepsie a happy birthday, you’d get hold of an amateur radio operator. Instead of sending the text, “Greetings on your birthday and best wishes for many more to come,” he would simply send “FORTY SIX.”
SEVENTY THREE is short for “best regards.” So, when we sign off with that number, we’re wishing the ham on the other end of the QSO a fond farewell. If you’re particularly fond of the ham on the other end, you might say “EIGHTY EIGHT.” Be careful, though, “EIGHTY EIGHT” is short for “love and kisses.”
Bob, KG6AF says
A corollary to this is: Unlearn that other lingo. If you show up on the local repeater and start off with, “My personal is…,” you’re going to have a harder-than-usual time making friends. I’m not saying this is fair or right, but it is the way things are.
Todd (W5TOD) says
Hi Dan!
Thanks for all the great info! There is something that I’m a little confused about though. The phonetic alphabet says that the letter “M” stands for “Mike”. You used it in the above example as standing for “Mary”. Is this just a local pronunciation among different Ham Clubs and operators? Or, is that the standard way to pronounce QRM? I was just curious. I’m always trying to learn everything I can about Ham Radio.
Thanks again for a great blog!
73!
Todd
W5TOD
Dan KB6NU says
Well, there’s a saying that the nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them. MIKE is the NATO and U.S. military standard, and really is the preferred way to say it. You often hear MARY on the ham bands as well, though, especially when saying “Q-R-MARY.”
Gary Chapman says
But there is a single standard international phonetic alphabet that has been chosen for how well it is understood against many languages – seeking to avoid confusion worldwide.
Earlier this year I heard a US ham (often the worst offenders for phunky phonetics) repeatedly identify himself on HF as …
Letter Letter Number Letter Okinawa Japan
I eventually came back “Letter Letter Number Letter! [My Own Call] returning … You are 5 and 9 into Manchester, North-West, Coastal, United Kingdom. Name here is Gary, Golf Alpha Romeo Yankee … How is the weather in Okinawa? QSL?”
A few moments later he called CQ DX again, having shifted to a neighbouring frequency…. This time as “.Letter Letter Number Letter Oscar Juliet”
Got to admit, I laughed so darned hard : ))))))
Lesson: Don’t use place names in callsigns when DXing HF! …. pick a standard international alphabet and stick with it. Nobody out there cares how cool and creative you are ; )
Communication… it’s kinda what the hobby is all about ; )
Alan says
If you want to be understood, use the International Phonetic Alphabet. Forget that cutesy wootsy stuff. It’s unprofessional, and makes you sound like a moron to those who know better.
73 de Alan AI3A
Carl WB0CFF says
My favorite case of over-lingo was a local fellow on the 2M repater.
“The 10-20 of my location at this QTH is Jordan, Mn.”
The one bit of QRP lingo that I have been puzzled by is the QRP “72 & oo”.
I get the 72 thing but what’s the “oo””?
Dan KB6NU says
OO is short for “oink oink,” and is how members of the Flying Pigs QRP Club greet one another.
William Devonn Lee says
I am getting ready to start back with 2m. I have been out of the game for about 5 years. Need to brush up on lingo. Need a book to teach how to start and end a conversation.
Andrew Schmidt says
I was explaining what “FB” meant to a non – ham here in Poughkeepsie and see that you used it in your explanation of the NTS. Why? Any local connection. Just curious! 73 de W2BOS, Poughkeepsie
Alan Flacks says
As a side comment on the use of the phonetic alphabet, I’d like to mention two variations I have found to be useful. When speaking to young children (on the telephone, say) who are old enough to take a message for their parents, the use of an animal is helpful and better recognized many times: “E as in elephant,” “L as in lion.” For adults, sometimes a contemporary name is understandable and fun: “O as in Oprah Winfrey.” And words in speaking to professionals. For an attorney: “L as in lawyer,” “C as in cause of action.” An M.D.: “L as in laryngitis,” “S as in sepsis.” And for an imbiber? Maybe “V as in vodka”! Cheers!
Joe says
What is the origin of two dits exchanged at the end of a CW QSO?