Like many amateurs, I thought that Q-signals had, like CW, pretty much been left to amateur radio operators. I was surprised then, when a link on Twitter led me to Allied Communications Publication 131(F), published in 2009. ACP 131(F) is a publication of the Combined Communications-Electronics Board (CCEB), which is comprised of five member nations: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States.
In addition to a comprehensive list of Q-signals, the publication also includes a list of Z-signals (anyone know why Z-signals were developed and who used/uses them?) and operating signals for search and rescue operations and message handling. There’s also a list of standard abbreviations.
Of course, the specified usage for some Q-signals differ from the way amateurs use them. For example, QTH is defined as “What is your position in latitude and longitude (or… according to any other indication)?” or “My position is…latitude longitude (or according to any other indication).” When hams use this Q-signal we just give our city and state.
One Q-signal that I didn’t find is QLF. That Q-signal means “Are you sending with your left foot?” Maybe the ARRL needs to set up its own committee to specify the usage of Q-signals for amateur use.