CW ABBREVIATIONS Prosigns in < >
| AA - All after AB - All before ABT - About ADEE - Addressee ADR - Address ADS - Address AGN - Again AM - Amplitude Modulation ANI - Any ANS - Answer ANT - Antenna <AR> End of message | BCI - Broadcast Interference
| C - Yes, Correct |
| DA - Day DE - From, This Is DIFF - Difference DLD - Delivered DLVD - Delivered DN - Down DR - Dear DSW - Russian CW abbreviation for goodbye. DWN - Down DX - Distance | EL - Element | FB - Fine Business, excellent FER - For FM - Frequency Modulation: From FONE - Phone FQ - Frequency Freq -- Frequency FWD -- Forward |
| GA - Go ahead; Good Afternoon GB - Good bye, God Bless GD - Good, Good Day GE - Good Evening GESS - Guess GG - Going GLD -- Glad GM - Good morning GN - Good night GND - Ground GP -- Ground Plane GS - Green Stamp GUD - Good GV - Give GVG - Giving | HI - The telegraph laugh; High HPE - Hope HQ - Headquarters HR - Here; Hear, Hour HRD - Heard HRS - Hours HRD -- Heard HV - Have HVG - Having HVY - Heavy HW - How, How Copy? | II -- I Repeat INFO - Info JA - Japanese Station K - Invitation To Transmit KA Beginning of message KLIX - KeyClicks KN Go only, invite a specific station to transmit |
| LID - A poor operator LNG - Long LP - Long Path LSN - Listen LTR - Later; letter LV - Leave LVG - Leaving LW - Long Wire., Long Wave | MA - Millamperes MGR - Manager MI - My MILL - Typewiter MILS - Millamperes MNI - Many MOM - Moment MSG - Message; Prefix to radiogram MULT - Multiplier | N - No, Negative, Incorrect, No More N - Nine (as in Signal Report) NCS - Net Control Station ND - Nothing Doing NIL - Nothing; I have nothing for you; Not In Log NM - No more NW - Now; I resume transmission |
| OB - Old boy OC - Old chap OK - Correct OM - Old man OP - Operator OPR - Operator OT - Old timer; Old top OW - Old Woman | PBL - Preamble PKG - Package PSE - Please PT - Point PWR - Power PX - Press, Prefix | R - Received as transmitted; Are; R - Decimal Point (with numbers) RC - Ragchew RCD - Received RCVR - Receiver RE - Concerning; Regarding REF - Refer to; Referring to; Reference RFI - Radio frequency interference RIG - Station equipment ROTFL - Rolling on the floor laughing RPT - Repeat, Report RTTY - Radio teletype RST - Readability, strength, tone RX - Receive, Receiver |
| SA - Say SASE - Self-addressed, stamped envelope SED - Said SAE - Self-Addressed Envelope SEZ - Says SGD - Signed SHUD - Should SIG - Signature; Signal SINE - Operator's personal initials or nickname SK - Silent Key SKED - Schedule SN - Soon SP - Short Path SRI - Sorry SS - Sweepstakes SSB - Single Side Band STN - Station SUM - Some SVC - Service; Prefix to service message SWL - Short Wave Listener /ST short timer on check in | T - Zero (with numbers) TEMP - Temperature TEST - Testing or Contest TFC - Traffic TIA - Thanks In Advance TMW - Tomorrow TKS - Thanks TNX - Thanks TR - Transmit T/R - Transmit/Receive TRBL - Trouble TRIX - Tricks TRX - Transceiver TT - That TTS - That is TU - Thank you TVI - Television interference TX - Transmitter; Transmit TXT - Text | U - You UFB - Ultra Fine Business UNLIS - Unlicensed UR - Your; You're URL - Universal Resource Locator Address For a WebPage URS - Yours |
| VE Understood (VE) VERT - Vertical VFB - Very fine business VFO - Variable Frequency Oscillator VY - Very | W - Watts WA - Word after WATSA - What Say WB - Word before WD - Word WDS - Words WID - With WKD - Worked WKG - Working WL - Well; Will WPM - Words Per Minute WRD - Word WRK - Work WUD - Would WW - Would WX- Weather | XCVR - Transceiver XMAS - Christmas XMTR - Transmitter XTAL - Crystal XYL - Wife |
| YF -Wife YL - Young lady YR - Year Z - Zulu Time | 30 - I have no more to send 33 - Fondest Regards 55 - Best Success 73 - Best Regards (NOT 73'S) * 88 - Love and kisses (NOT 88'S) 161 - 73+88=161" first came about in FOC circles (First-Class CW Operators' Club, founded by Louis Varney G5RV a number of years ago). The essential meaning is "Best regards to you and your XYL". | ? question (like QRL?) |
* 73 IS BEST REGARDS. 73'S (PLURAL) MAKES NO SENSE AND IS IMPROPER USE.
The RST (Readability-Strength-Tone) System
The RST System of Signal Reporting has been used for years (circa 1934) as a shorthand method of reporting Readability, Signal Strength and for CW, Tone (i.e., quality of the CW tone). For voice contacts only the R and S are used. The S component is usually not the same as your S-Meter reading as most S-Meters aren't calibrated to track the RST System. The RST is also reported on QSL Cards and must be filled in correctly -- e.g., a 569 report for a Voice Contact is invalid. Note that many DX operations and contest stations merely report 59(9) as a convenience to avoid having to log each of the real reports. A questionable practice but a fact of DXing/Contesting
1 -- Unreadable
2 -- Barely readable, occasional words distinguishable
3 -- Readable with considerable difficulty
4 -- Readable with practically no difficulty
5 -- Perfectly readable
SIGNAL STRENGTH
1 -- Faint signals, barely perceptible
2 -- Very weak signals
3 -- Weak signals
4 -- Fair signals
5 -- Fairly good signals
6 -- Good signals
7 -- Moderately strong signals
8 -- Strong signals
9 -- Extremely strong signals
TONE 1 -- Sixty cycle a.c. or less, very rough and broad
2 -- Very rough a.c. , very harsh and broad
3 -- Rough a.c. tone, rectified but not filtered
4 -- Rough note, some trace of filtering
5 -- Filtered rectified a.c.but strongly ripple-modulated
6 -- Filtered tone, definite trace of ripple modulation
7 -- Near pure tone, trace of ripple modulation
8 -- Near perfect tone, slight trace of modulation
9 -- Perfect tone, no trace of ripple or modulation of any kind
Infrequently used is the addition of a letter to the end of the 3 numbers.
These are: X = the signal is rock steady like a crystal controlled signal;
C = the signal is chirpy as the frequency varies slightly with keying;
and K = the signal has key clicks.
X is from the early days of radio when such steady signals were rare.
Today most all signals could be given an X but it is hardly ever used. It is helpful to report a chirpy or clicky signal by using the C or K, e.g. 579C or 579K.
It is very common to send RST reports in abbreviated form, for example 599, is sent as 5NN. "N" in place of the number "9". Also another time saver is for the zero using a long "T". "T" is sent in place of the number zero as in "POWER HR IS 3TT WATTS". There is a number code for all numbers, however, the N and T codes are the most common ones.
Also CW stations sometimes report their zones as "A4" or "A5" instead of sending "14" or "15".
1 = A, 2 = U, 3 = V, 4 = 4, 5 = E, 6 = 6, 7 = B, 8 = D, 9 = N, 0 = T
READABILITY R5 Perfectly readable R4 Practically no difficulty, occasional missed characters R3 Considerable difficulty, many missed characters R2 Occasional words distinguishable R1 Undecipherable STRENGTH S9 Very Strong trace S7 Strong trace S5 Moderate trace S3 Weak trace S1 Barely perceptible trace QUALITY Q9 Clean signal - no visible unwanted sidebar pairs Q7 One barely visible pair Q5 One easily visible pair Q3 Multiple visible pairs Q1 Splatter over much of the spectrum
Q-Signals For Amateur Radio Operators
Q-Sig Message QRA What is the name of your station? The name of my station is ___. QRB How far are you from my station? I am ____ km from you station QRD Where are you bound and where are you coming from? I am bound ___ from ___. QRG Will you tell me my exact frequency? Your exact frequency 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, 3-Bad.) QRJ Are you receiving me badly? I cannot receive you, your signal is too weak. QRK What is the intelligibility of my signals? The intelligibility of your signals is ___ (1-Bad, 2-Poor, 3-Fair, 4-Good, 5-Excellent.) QRL Are you busy? I am busy, please do not interfere QRM Is my transmission being interfered with? Your transmission is being interfered with ___ (1-Nil, 2-Slightly, 3-Moderately, 4-Severly, 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.) QRR Are you ready for automatic operation? I am ready for automatic operation. Send at ___ 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 you are calling? Please inform ___ that I am calling. QRX When will you call me again? I will call you again at ___ hours. QRY What is my turn? Your turn is numbered ___. QRZ Who is calling me? You are being called by ___. QSA What is the strength of my signals? The strength of your signals 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. QSJ What is the charge to be collected per word to ___ including your international telegraph charge? The charge to be collected per word is ___ including my international telegraph charge. QSK Can you hear me between you signals and if so can I break in on your transmission? I can hear you between my signals, break in on my transmission. QSL Can you acknowledge receipt? I am acknowledging receipt. QSM Shall I repeat the last message which I sent you? Repeat the last message. QSN Did you hear me on ___ kHz? I did hear you 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 ___. QSQ Have you a doctor on board? (or is ___ on board?) I have a doctor on board (or ___ is on board.) QSU Shall I send or reply on this frequency? Send a series of Vs on this frequency. QSV Shall I send a series of Vs on this frequency? Send a series of Vs on this frequency. QSW Will you send on this frequency? I am going to send on this frequency. QSY Shall I change to another frequency? Change to another frequency. QSZ Shall I send each word or group more than once? Send each word or group twice (or ___ times.) QTA Shall I cancel message number ___? Cancel message number ___. QTB Do you agree with my counting of words? I do not agree with your counting of words. I will repeat the first letter or digit of each word or group. QTC How many messages have you to send? I have ___ messages for you. QTE What is my true bearing from you? Your true bearing from me is ___ degrees. QTG Will you send two dashes of 10 seconds each followed by your call sign? I am going to send two dashes of 10 seconds each followed by my call sign. QTH What is your location? My location is ___. QTI What is your true track? My true track is ___ degrees. QTJ What is your speed? My speed is ___ km/h. QTL What is your true heading? My true heading is ___ degrees. QTN At what time did you depart from ___? I departed from ___ at ___ hours. QTO Have you left dock (or port)? I have left dock (or port). QTP Are you going to enter dock (or port)? I am going to enter dock (or port.) QTQ Can you communicate with my station by means of the International Code of Signals? I am going to communicate with your station by means of the International Code of Signals. QTR What is the correct time? The time is ___. QTS Will you send your call sign for ___ minutes so that your frequency can be measured? I will send my call sign for ___ minutes so that my frequency may be measured. QTU What are the hours during which your station is open? My station is open from ___ hours to ___ hours. QTV Shall I stand guard for you on the frequency of ___ kHz? Stand guard for me on the frequency of ___ kHz. QTX Will you keep your station open for further communication with me? I will keep my station open for further communication with you. QUA Have you news of ___? I have news of ___. QUB Can you give me information concerning visibility, height of clouds, direction and velocity of ground wind at ___? Here is the information you requested... QUC What is the number of the last message you received from me? The number of the last message I received from you is ___. QUD Have you received the urgency signal sent by ___? I have received the urgency signal sent by ___. QUF Have you received the distress signal sent by ___? I have received the distress signal sent by ___. QUG Will you be forced to land? I am forced to land immediately. QUH Will you give me the present barometric pressure? The present barometric pressure is ___ (units).
Note that Q signals can take the form of a question when followed by a question mark.
Wow! Nice job..definately worth book marking!
ReplyDeleteN9SS