Loading…
Ham abbreviations and numbers
73, 88, CQ, DX, QSO and other jargon, decoded.
73, 88, CQ, DX, QSO and other jargon, decoded.
Ham jargon grew out of Morse code, where every character costs time. "Fine business" became FB, "good evening" became GE, and a handful of the shortcuts leaked into everyday speech on the air. You do not need to memorize them: read a few QSOs and they come quickly.
CQ is the general call: "anyone who hears this, please answer". DE is French for "from" and works as "this is". K means "go ahead". Put together: CQ CQ CQ DE N0CALL N0CALL K. A contest call is "CQ TEST", and "CQ DX" asks for distant stations only.
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 73 | Best regards (the usual sign-off) |
| 88 | Love and kisses (among friends) |
| ANT, RIG, PWR | Antenna, radio (rig), power |
| TX, RX | Transmit, receive |
| WX | Weather |
| HR, UR | Here; your or you're |
| ES | And |
| FB | Fine business: excellent |
| GM, GA, GE, GN | Good morning, afternoon, evening, night |
| HI | Laughter (the sound of a chuckle in Morse) |
| OM, YL, XYL | Old man (any male ham), young lady (any female ham), wife |
| OP | Operator |
| AGN, PSE | Again, please |
| TNX, TU | Thanks, thank you |
| VY | Very |
| CFM | Confirm |
| HPE, CUL | Hope, see you later |
| SIG | Signal |
| DX | A distant station (usually another country) |
| SWL | Shortwave listener: someone who listens but does not transmit |
| HT | Handheld transceiver |
Terms you will hear on the air: Elmer (a mentor), shack (the room where the station is), ragchew (a long, relaxed conversation), pileup (many stations calling one at once), hamfest (a swap meet and gathering), QRP (low power).
On CW, prosigns such as AR, SK, BT, AS and KN are sent as one run-together character (K is an ordinary letter):
| Prosign | Meaning | Morse |
|---|---|---|
| K | Go ahead, anyone | − · − |
| KN | Go ahead, only the station I am working | − · − − · |
| AR | End of message | · − · − · |
| SK | End of contact | · · · − · − |
| BT | Pause or break in the text | − · · · − |
| AS | Wait | · − · · · |