What is a Ragchew?

Amateurs use the slang expression ragchew or ragchewing to refer to an extended, informal conversation, a variation of the common idioms "chewing the fat" and "chewing the rag". Sometimes, a contact in person, between two ham radio operators, is humorously referred to as an "eyeball QSO".

What counts as a QSO?

Summary. The three steps in the IARU definition of a valid QSO can be summarized as: 1) exchange callsigns 2) exchange signal report or other information and 3) confirm that #1 and #2 happened. This still leaves some gray area when it comes to deciding whether a QSO was valid or not.

What does QSO mean in ham?

Ham Radio operators still make liberal use of them today. A QSO is another word for “contact,” as in “I made 783 QSOs during Field Day last year!” or “Making QSOs with European stations was difficult during the contest.” Many Hams enjoy keeping a record of stations they've made QSOs with by writing them in a log book.

What is a radio contact?

(ˈreɪdɪəʊ ˈkɒntækt ) noun. communication or contact by means of radio waves.

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 is a Amateur Ham Radio Ragchew?

What does QRM mean in ham radio?

Today, QRM stands for human-made noise, as opposed to QRN, which indicates noise from natural sources. If you hear an operator say, “I'm getting some QRM,” it means there's man-made interference affecting your transmission.

Why do they say Roger over the radio?

"Roger" was "phonetic" for "R" (received and understood". In radio communication, a "spelling alphabet" (often mistakenly called a "phonetic alphabet) is used to avoid confusion between similarly sounding letters. In the previously used US spelling alphabet, R was Roger, which in radio voice procedure means "Received".

How do you answer a 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 is a ham radio contact called?

An amateur radio contact, more commonly referred to as simply a "contact", is an exchange of information between two amateur radio stations. The exchange usually consists of an initial call, a response by another amateur radio operator at an amateur radio station, and a signal report.

What does CQ mean in amateur radio?

Morse Code (CW)+ The best way to start with CW is to tune around until you hear someone calling CQ. CQ means, “I wish to contact any amateur station.” When answering a CQer you should zero beat the other ham's frequency. That means setting your transmit frequency as close to theirs as possible.

What does QRZ mean in ham radio?

QRZ, the name of the web site, is the "Q" amateur radio code for "Who is calling me?" and corresponds to the site's purpose of assisting amateur radio operators with the lookup of ham radio call signs from every country in the world.

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.

How do you log in QSO?

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.

How do you end a ham radio conversation?

Amateur operators in the U.S. are required to sign off (end communications) by stating both your callsign and the station's that you are in contact with.

What does the term Bravo Foxtrot mean?

Answer: A Blue Falcon is also sometimes called a Bravo Foxtrot and is someone who messes things up for other members of their squad, either by causing drama or by betraying other members.

Why do they call it 10 4?

Ten-codes, especially "10-4" (meaning "understood") first reached public recognition in the mid- to late-1950s through the popular television series Highway Patrol, with Broderick Crawford. Crawford would reach into his patrol car to use the microphone to answer a call and precede his response with "10-4".

Why do soldiers say copy that?

Copy. “Copy” has its origins in Morse Code communications. Morse Code operators would listen to transmissions and write down each letter or number immediately, a technique called “copying.” Once voice communications became possible, 'copy' was used to confirm whether a transmission was received.

What does Q mean in Morse code?

In amateur radio, the Q codes were originally used in Morse code transmissions to shorten lengthy phrases and were followed by a Morse code question mark (··--··) if the phrase was a question. Q codes are commonly used in voice communications as shorthand nouns, verbs, and adjectives making up phrases.

Where did the term 73 originate from?

In 1857, 73 meant literally, “My love to you.” Even though it stood for a flowery sentiment, telegraph operators adopted this code as a way to greet each other on the wire and to wish each other well.

Where did the term DX come from?

The name of the hobby comes from DX, telegraphic shorthand for "distance" or "distant". The practice of DXing arose during the early days of radio broadcasting.

Do ham radio operators still send QSL cards?

Today ham radio operators send QSL cards for a variety of reasons. It is interesting to collect them. Having made contact with a particular ham radio station it is often nice to have a card from them to remember the contact.

Do hams still use QSL cards?

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