Ham Radio 101 Q Codes

Here is a list of the most commonly used Q codes. This can be a little confusing for someone just learning so if you have questions please visit our radio forum board and feel free to ask. There are a good group of people willing to help you learn if you just ask. Please click on the link on the left side of the page for the forum board.


QRG- Will you tell me my exact frequency (or that of _____)?
Your exact frequency (or that of _____) is ______ kHz.

QRH- Does my frequency vary?
Your frequency varies.

QRI- How is the tone of my transmission?
The tone of your transmission is ____ (1. Good; 2. Variable; 4. Bad).

QRJ- Are you receiving me badly?
I cannot receive you. Your signals are too weak.

QRK- What is the intelligibility of my signals (or those of____)?
The intelligibility of your signals (or those of _____) is (1. Bad 2. Poor
3. Fair; 4. Good; 5. Excellent).

QRL- Are you busy?
I am busy (or I am busy with _______). Please do not interfere.

QRM- Is my transmission being interfered with?
Your transmission is being interfered with ______ (1. Nil; 2. Slightly;
3. Moderately; 4. Severely; 5. Extremely.)

QRN- Are you troubled by static?
I am troubled by static _____ (1-5 as under QRM).

QRO- Shall I increase power?
Increase power.

QRP- Shall I decrease power?
Decrease power.

QRQ- Shall I send faster?
Send faster (____WPM).

QRS- Shall I send more slowly?
Send more slowly (____WPM).

QRT- Shall I stop sending?
Stop sending.

QRU- Have you anything for me?
I have nothing for you.

QRV- Are you ready?
I am ready.

QRW- Shall I inform ____ that u are calling on ____ kHz?
Please inform ____ that I am calling on ____ kHz.

QRX- When will you call me again?
I will call you again at ___ hours (on ___ kHz).

QRY- What is my turn?
Your turn is numbered ___

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. Scarcely
perceptible; 2. Weak; 3. Fairly good; 4. Good; 5. Very good).

QSB- Are my signals fading?
Your signals are fading.

QSD- Is my keying defective?
Your keying is defective.

QSG- Shall I send ____ messages at a time?
Send _____messages at a time

QSK- Can you hear me between your signals and if so can I break in on
your transmission?
I can hear you between my transmissions; break in
on my transmission.

QSL- Can you acknowledge receipt?
I am acknowledging receipt.

QSM- Shall I repeat the last message I sent or some previous message?
Repeat the last message or message number____ you sent

QSN- Did you hear me or ____ on ____KHZ?
I heard you or _____ on ____KHZ.

QSO- Can you communicate with ____direct or by relay?
I can communicate with ____ direct or by relay through _____

QSP- Will you relay to____?
I will relay to ______

QST- General call to all amateurs or to ARRL members

QSU- Shall I send a reply on this frequency or on ___KHZ?
Send a reply on this frequency or on____KHZ.

QSW- Will you send on this frequency or on___KHZ?
I will send on this frequency or on ___KHZ.

QSX- Will you listen to ___on___KHZ?
I am listening to ___on___KHZ.

QSY- Should I move to another frequency or to ___KHZ?
I will move to another frequency or to ___KHZ.

QSZ- Shall I send each word or group twice or ___ times?
Send each word or group twice or ___ times.

QTA- Shall I cancel message number___?
Cancel message number___?

QTB- Do you agree with my count of words?
I do not agree I will repeat the first letter or digit of each word or group.

QTC- How many messages do you have to send?
I have ____ messages to send.

QTH- What is your location?
My location is ___ .

QTR- What is the correct time?
The correct time is ____.

This list is of the Q codes used mostly for CW or Morse code but you will hear several of these used in voice communication as well On The Air. I hope this will help some of you wanting to learn more or that are just getting started in Ham radio. As I said in a earlier post for Ham Radio 101 we Hams speak a different language sometimes and trust me if you are waiting until you need ham radio to use it you will have a big learning curve ahead. Now is the time to get good with the skill of communication not when you have no choice. Practice makes perfect but do not wait to start practicing in the midst of a emergency situation.
73 all
W4DMH
Dave
Copyright © 2009 www.w4dmh.com

Everybody needs a Boat Anchor!!!!! The APRN 160 Meter net......

No, the APRN 160m net is not a boat anchor, but the discussion on tonites net did bring up a couple of good points on why we should think about owning one. We talked about the new technology that is available today in the radio world and certainly there are some wonderful systems out there that can make Ham Radio very interesting, and user friendly. But, as was discussed, just how will the new technologies be able to support us when we need them most? How will we be able to repair them in case of damage, exposure to the elements or any other situation? A ton of food for thought. The old hybrid tube/solid state rigs or any other "Boat Anchor" just may be the answer. They take a bit more to operate and set up, but, they are also very repairable. So as W4DMH, put it, it is nice to have the new technology to play with, but for a backup to your backup, you just might want to look into a Boat Anchor!!!!
Thanks to all that checked in tonite. Have a GREAT week and we will look for you again next week, same time, same frequency!!!!
73,K7DLB
Tonites Check ins:

W4DMH Dave,WV

WA1HHN Walt,MA
KD8JPQ Jeff,OH
NW8I Del,OH
N8NMJ Mike,MD

PS Stay tuned for more info on the upcoming 40 meter net on Tuesday Dec 1st!!!!

The APRN 160m Net........Sunday 9PM Eastern!!!!

Sunday night at 9pm the APRN 160m net gets underway once again with K7DLB at the controls. The topic will be "Where will Ham Radio be in 10 years". This is last weeks topic but it was postponed due to an awesome discussion about swine flu shots. Now, it could very well be sidelined again as you never quite know what is up the sleeves of some of our regulars!!!! They can be SNEAKY!!!!
So, please check in and join us for an one hours worth of great Ham Radio discussion.
Once again, 1.860LSB 9pm Eastern, be there or be square!!!!

Flu News

For those interested in learning more about the H1N1 or swine flu topic from the Sunday Night net please see the link below

http://www.preparingforthefuture.org/flu-news-f11.html

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

Please allow Santa and I to wish each and every one of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. We really thank all of our regular readers and new friends for their support and encouragement. We hope that you all will enjoy the holiday. PLEASE,remember our soldiers in uniform that may not be home for this holiday. We here at the APRN are thankful for our military that sacrifices so much to defend our freedoms that we sometimes take for granted.
PS: The Thursday night APRN 80m net will take a standby for the holiday so that everybody can enjoy family and friends. If you are traveling, Be safe and we'll catch you soon on the airwaves!!! God Bless!!!! W4DMH and K7DLB

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE NET.........

This actually dovetails nicely with Santa's "Life Lessons Series" Part 4.
Last night while preparing for the 160m meter net, a bunch of operators were on the 1.860 frequency having a very nice ragchew session. They are regulars since the 160m band opened up and they are always very gracious when I ask if I can have the frequency at 9pm for the net. It was no different last night except for one operator that expressed his opinion on our project and the whole Prepper movement in general. It was not directed at me, nor was it nasty or out of line, it was his opinion and he is certainly entitled to it. To kind of condense his thoughts, I'll just say he was calling us a bunch of "Chicken Littles". I thought about this and here are my thoughts....
This operator is, I'm afraid, the norm, rather than the exception. He has lived his life his own way probably not paying a whole lot of attention to things outside his immediate world. When he does pay attention to the news of the day, it has been trimmed and slanted as the Media is so inclined to do. I feel bad for folks like this. It is the goal of this movement and others like it to wake people up. Santa's post lays it out nicely. So read it a couple of times to let it sink in and get to work!!!! There is much to do, we have to be ready WHEN, not IF things get troublesome!!!!!!!!!
73
Dave K7DLB

Life's Lessons Part 4 APRN Goals

Life's Lessons Part 4

I have enjoyed sharing with you this series of post on how and why the APRN was born and I hope you have enjoyed getting to know just a little about me and how this all happened. Next, I want to share the main goals we have here at the APRN and coming soon I will try to share some of the plans we have in the works to help accomplish the goals listed here.

The goals of the APRN

1. To have established nets run at least 3 nights per week

2. To help educate people that are either new to Ham radio or that are just learning what Ham radio has to offer them.

3. To demonstrate just how functional Ham radio is for communications needs with no grid support at all and also just how versatile the hobby can be with very limited grid support.

4. To be prepared to assist with any need for communications during an emergency or disaster, and to be on the air to help provide communications in the event of a failure of the grid supported forms of communication.

5. To help with educating people of the importance of being prepared to provide for themselves in the event of any type of emergency, rather it be a natural disaster or a man made event that would disrupt the way we live or normal lives.

This is just an outline of the major goals of the APRN and while there may well be more in the future, this will give you some idea about why we are here. If anyone here reading has any ideas or suggestions please use the email contact on the right side of this page.
73 for now
W4DMH
Dave aka Santa
Copyright © 2009 www.w4dmh.com

What a GREAT Discussion on 160 meter!!!!!!

The APRN 160m net was jumping tonite!!!! The topic was changed at the last minute and we moved into a BIG discussion on the Swine Flu shot program. We found that thoughts and opinions were varied. Everybody had their reasons for getting or not getting the shots and those reasons were well founded. It seems that most folks really dug into the research and made some educated decisions!!!!!Thanks to all that checked in tonite and be sure to check in next week, same time, same frequency!!!!!
Tonites Check ins:
WA1HHN Walt, MA
KD8KWD John, WV
NW8I Del, OH
KD8JPQ Jeff, OH
W4DMH Dave, WV
W3ATM Bill, PA New Check in, THANKS!!!!
N8HHG Paul, OH New Check in, THANKS!!!!
K2IPX Bill, NY New Check in, THANKS!!!!
AC0BG Dean, IA
PS: Have a happy Thanksgiving and if you are traveling, PLEASE be careful and have a safe trip!!!!!
73
K7DLB

The APRN 160 meter net tonite is............

.......Wide open for discussion!!!! Ha!!! Tonite K7DLB will throw the doors to the APRN 160m net wide open for anybody to come in and participate. The discussion tonite will be "What direction do you see Ham Radio going in the next 10 years??". There have been a lot of changes lately, some good, some not so good. We started to touch on this last week with the Morse Code topic. So, tune in and join K7DLB at 0200UTC(9pm Eastern) on 1.860LSB and lets talk it up!!!!!

We need a Net Control operator for 80m Thursday nite net!!!

Del, NW8I is the victim of a fierce line noise problem that takes him out of the 80m game. Until he finds the problem, we need a new net control operator for that position. If you are interested in picking up that net please click the E-mail button and let us know!!! It is not that hard!!! You do not necessarily have to run a topic every week if you would like to just run a general discussion net. I do have 1 operator interested but I'm not sure if he can do it each week due to other net commitments.