QSL

The final courtesy of a radio contact is acknowledgement of the QSO (radio contact).

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QSL is an old brevity code meaning, “I acknowledge receipt”. Back in the early 1900s when passing messages was a main function of amateur radio (whence the Amateur Radio Relay League or ARRL), the term QSL made a lot of sense. Today you may hear a ham speak or write QSL to let you know they received something.

The term QSL now more commonly means to confirm a radio contact. Early on this was done mainly with postcards.

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Some hams still do send out QSL cards, or send them in reply or if requested. Collecting cards is a fun aspect of ham radio. Many cards are interesting or unique.

Besides tradition, a sense of satisfaction, and general fun, QSO confirmation in the form of valid QSL is a basic requirement for most operating awards. This may not matter to you but many other hams are eager for your QSL, particularly if they are requesting one.

All hams should provide some form of QSL for all contacts except for routine local ones. Information in the QSL should include the station call signs, date and time (UTC), band/frequency, mode, signal report, and sender’s location details. Good logging is essential for this and a QSL function is often supported by computer logging utilities.

You can determine how to exchange QSLs with a particular station from their QRZ profile if they have one set up (most active hams do).

Details about QSL cards are given further below. Mailing cards can get expensive. While the cost of printing the cards is not so bad, postage adds up, particularly when sending internationally. Bureau (BURO) services to send/receive cards internationally reduces cost somewhat but is still pricey and response time is generally slow (months to years). Alternate methods of providing a QSL have arisen out of the need for keeping costs down.

Non-card QSLs are all electronic in nature, exchanged via internet connection in some manner. We will briefly mention three here. You can search for others Continue reading →

Back in the ham-speak topic we noted that ham radio vocabulary includes plenty of jargon and lingo. As mentioned there, it is best to not use too much ham-speak on the air, since plain language is preferred for voice modes (phone) but in reality you still hear many code words and abbreviations being used.

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You will run across many terms on the air as well as in books and magazines and perhaps in email that are cryptic to the new or prospective ham. To help you with this we will present the topic of Q-codes here.

The Q code (or Q-code) is a standardized collection of three-letter codes, all of which start with the letter Q, where each code has a particular meaning. These brevity codes were originally developed for commercial radiotelegraph use but were quickly adopted by amateur radio operators. Although Q codes were created when radio used Morse code exclusively, they continued to be employed after the introduction of voice transmissions. Some history on Q-codes can be found here and here and here.

Listed below are ten Q-codes the average ham is most likely to hear (in the author’s opinion), along with their meaning and common usage:

QRM- Man-made interference, interference from other stations.
QRN- Natural interference, typically static or crashing from thunderstorms.
QRP- Low power transmit, generally 5W or less.
QRT- Quitting; stopping transmission or shutting down station.
QRZ- Who is calling me?
QSB- Fading signal.
QSL- I acknowledge receipt; also confirmation of contact.
QSO- Conversation, radio contact and exchange.
QSY- Change frequency.
QTH- Location.

You should be familiar with at least these and perhaps some others as well. Comprehensive lists of Q-codes can be found here and here and here and here. t21b10