Q Codes and Phonetic Alphabet for Ham Radio: Quick Reference

First time I heard someone say "my QTH is Portland, QSL?" on a repeater, I had to Google it mid-conversation. Felt like showing up to a party where everyone speaks a different language.

Good news: there are maybe 10-12 Q codes you'll actually hear regularly, and the phonetic alphabet takes about a day to memorize. The rest you pick up naturally.

NATO Phonetic Alphabet

You know some of these from movies. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie. In ham radio, you use them every single time you give your callsign — because "B" and "D" and "E" and "P" all sound identical on a scratchy signal.

Letter Word Letter Word A Alpha N November B Bravo O Oscar C Charlie P Papa D Delta Q Quebec E Echo R Romeo F Foxtrot S Sierra G Golf T Tango H Hotel U Uniform I India V Victor J Juliet W Whiskey K Kilo X X-ray L Lima Y Yankee M Mike Z Zulu

Numbers: say them plainly. Except "9" becomes "niner" (so it doesn't sound like "nein" or "no") and "0" is always "zero" never "oh."

So W6ABC becomes: "Whiskey Six Alpha Bravo Charlie."

You'll feel awkward the first few times. By your tenth QSO it's automatic.

When to use phonetics

Always on first contact. Always when conditions are poor. Always during DX or contests. On a local repeater with strong signals and someone you talk to daily? People relax and just say their call normally. Context matters.

Q Codes You'll Actually Hear

These originated in maritime CW (Morse code) over a century ago. Most are irrelevant today. Here are the ones that survived into everyday ham usage:

The Big Five

QRZ — "Who's calling?" or "Who are you?"

You'll hear this constantly. After calling CQ, after someone breaks into a conversation, anytime someone didn't catch a callsign.

"QRZ? This is W6ABC."

Means: "I heard someone call me but didn't catch who. Say again?"

QTH — "Where are you?"

"My QTH is Denver, Colorado."

Just means location. Used in conversation so often it's basically slang at this point.

QSL — "I confirm" or "acknowledged."

Triple duty: used as a verb ("QSL that" = "got it"), as a noun ("send me a QSL card"), and as a question ("QSL?" = "did you copy?").

QSY — "Change frequency."

"Let's QSY to 146.52."

Used when someone suggests moving the conversation to another frequency.

QRT — "I'm shutting down" / "I'm done for the day."

"Going QRT, 73."

Means you're turning off the radio and ending the session.

Signal-Related

QRM — Interference from other stations (man-made). "Getting a lot of QRM on this frequency" means other signals are stepping on you.

QRN — Natural noise. Static, atmospheric crashes, thunderstorm noise.

QSB — Signal is fading. Propagation doing its thing — you come in strong, then weak, then strong again.

QRP — Low power. Technically means "reduce power" as a request, but in practice it refers to operating at 5 watts or less. "Running QRP today" is a statement of pride for many operators.

QRO — High power. The opposite. Running 1500 watts to cut through a pileup.

Operating

QRL — "Is this frequency in use?"

This one matters. Before calling CQ on a new frequency, ask "QRL?" and wait. If someone's there, they'll respond. If you skip this step and start calling CQ on top of an existing conversation, you'll get yelled at. Deservedly.

QRX — "Stand by, I'll be back."

QSK — Break-in keying (CW specific). Being able to hear between your dits and dahs.

Abbreviations That Aren't Q Codes

These get used just as often:

73 — Best regards. The universal ham goodbye. Say it at the end of every QSO.

Pedantic note that someone will bring up: it's "73" not "73s." The number already means "best regards" plural. Adding an "s" is redundant. In practice half the ham world says "73s" anyway and nobody actually cares. I say "73" because I read a QRZ forum thread about it once and now I can't un-know it.

CQ — Calling any station. "CQ CQ CQ, this is W6ABC."

DX — Distant station. Usually another country, though technically any long-distance contact.

OM — Old Man. Any male ham regardless of age. Not an insult.

YL — Young Lady. Any female ham regardless of age.

XYL — Wife. ("Ex-Young Lady." Yes, it's an old joke. No, it hasn't aged well.)

HI — Laughter in CW. Equivalent of "haha" or "lol."

FB — Fine Business. Means "great" or "excellent." "Your signal is FB here."

Things NOT to Say

CB radio lingo does not belong on ham radio. Ever.

• "10-4" → say "QSL" or just "copy"
• "What's your handle?" → "What's your name?" (we use real names)
• "Breaker breaker" → just say your callsign
• "Good buddy" → absolutely not

Using CB terms on a repeater is the quickest way to identify yourself as brand new. Not the end of the world, but someone will gently (or not so gently) correct you.

How to Sound Like You Belong

Honestly? Listen for a week before transmitting. You'll absorb the rhythm, the phrasing, the cadence. Ham radio has a culture of speaking clearly and concisely — partly because of tradition, partly because RF channels are shared and brevity is considerate.

A typical repeater check-in sounds like:

"W6ABC listening."

A typical QSO close:

"Alright Bob, good talk. W6ABC, 73."

That's it. No drama. Clean, clear, identified. You'll sound like you've been doing this for years within a month of practice.