How do I call QSO?

To conduct a voice or phone QSO you have two choices: You can call “CQ” or you can answer someone who is calling CQ. A CQ is simply a general call to no one in particular. It is the traditional way of seeking random contacts.

How do you call and answer CQ?

How to answer a CQ: First, use the callsign of the station you're calling. Follow that by your own callsign, and your approximate whereabouts. If the station you're calling is very strong, just once will do. If he's very weak, you might double up the call.

What frequency do you call CQ?

The conventional wisdom in amateur radio is that we should not call CQ when using FM on the VHF and UHF bands, especially on repeaters.

Is it OK to call CQ on a repeater?

If the repeater is not in use, simply stating your callsign followed by "listening" or "monitoring" implies that you are listening to the repeater and are interested in having a QSO with anyone else. Calling CQ on a repeater is generally not common, a simple "N3XYZ listening" will suffice.

How do you call a specific person on ham radio?

On CW, you make a call to anyone on the ham band by sending the letters "CQ" as one word. To try to talk to someone, you must send "CQ" and hopefully another ham will hear your CQ and answer it. Don't be surprised if you don't get an answer. Try for about 3-4 minutes before changing frequencies.

Making Your First Ham Radio QSO Contact

What does CQ mean in amateur radio?

From the ARRL Glossary, CQ is defined as “Calling any station.” It is the general call when requesting a conversation with anyone. Like many other telegraph terms which originated on the landlines, CQ was brought over into radio and used as a general call to all ships by the Marconi Company.

What does CQ mean shortwave?

—used at the beginning of messages of general information or safety notices or by shortwave amateurs as an invitation to talk to other shortwave amateurs. CQ. abbreviation. Definition of CQ (Entry 2 of 2) 1 charge of quarters.

How do you break into a ham radio conversation?

If you'd like to join in or "break" in to an ongoing conversation or QSO as its called, the first thing you want to do is LISTEN. Make a note of the callsign of one or all in the QSO. Then, WAIT for the transmitting station to hand it back to the next station. Between the break in their QSO, you would say your call.

How do you call someone on a repeater?

What is the difference between QSO and QSL?

QSL = the DXCC entity of the station confirmed in the QSO. If there is no information in the QSL box then the QSO is not confirmed. In the matrix above the QSO with WA0EIR is not confirmed. The QSO with KK4FYV is confirmed because United States of America is displayed in the QSL box.

Why do hams say 73?

73 is an old telegraph code that means "best regards". 73, as well as 88 (which means "hugs and kisses") are part of the language of ham radio.

What does QRZ mean in ham radio?

The ham radio brevity code QRZ means, “who is calling me?” if you're not sure or didn't catch their complete callsign.

How do you say thank you in ham radio?

TNX: Thanks - this ham radio abbreviation is widely used for Morse / CW transmissions.

Can you talk privately on ham radio?

You cannot limit others from using a channel. But as long as you have a license then you can operate anywhere in the band in question, and there are a lot of underutilized frequencies. Just be sure to ID at the start of your transmission and every 10 minutes if it goes on longer than that. Privacy is relative, though.

Can an unlicensed person use a ham radio?

In reality, what these rules mean is that if you are not a licensed radio operator and you find a situation where human life is in danger and the only means of communication is ham radio, you can use that equipment to call for aid. There must be no other means of communication available.

What is the 70cm calling frequency UK?

The Seventy Centimetre (70cm) band within the UK is 10MHz wide commencing at 430MHz and extending through to 440MHz. The band is allocated to the Amateur Service with Secondary status and includes additional restrictions in parts of the band.

What are kdr444 frequencies?

444.600 MHz to 444.975 MHz band - see channels below. Norwegian "kortdistanseradio", Swedish "kortdistansradio", "short distance radio") or KDR, is a licence-free personal radio service in the UHF range used in Sweden and Norway. It is usually referred to as SRBR 444 or SRBR444 (Short Range Business Radio) in Sweden.

What is the offset for 70 cm?

70 cm Band Plan

The standard repeater offset used on this band is 5 MHz. Some areas of the country use + 5 MHz offset while others use – 5 MHz. Within any region, the offset will be usually be the same on all repeaters.

How do you tell if you hit a repeater?

The simple answer is to transmit on the repeater's input frequency, saying something like " < your callsign > testing" and listen for the repeater's courtesy beep (assuming there is one) on its output. If you've heard the beep, then you've hit the repeater.

How do you join a conversation on a repeater?

If the repeater is in use and you want to join the conversation, wait for a pause in the conversation and transmit your call sign, and wait for one of the other stations to acknowledge your call. Avoid saying the word “break” as it has several conflicting meanings.