Information AboutQ Code |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT Q CODE | |
| amateur radio | |
| encodings | |
|
EARLY DEVELOPMENTS The original Q codes were created, ''circa'' 1909, by the British Government as a "list of abbreviations... prepared for the use of British ships and coast stations licensed by the Postmaster-General". The Q codes facilitated communication between maritime radio operators speaking different Language s, so they were soon adopted internationally. A total of forty-five Q codes appeared in the "List of Abbreviations to be used in Radio Communications", which was included in the Service Regulations affixed to the Third International Radiotelegraph Convention. (This Convention, which met in London, was signed on July 5 , 1912 , and became effective July 1 , 1913 .) The following table reviews a sample of the all-services Q codes adopted by the 1912 Convention: LATER USAGE Over the years, modifications were made to the original Q codes to reflect changes in radio practice. In the original international list, QSW/QSX stood for "Shall I increase/decrease my spark frequency?", however, Spark-gap Transmitter s were banned in the United States in the 1920s, rendering the original meaning of those Q codes obsolete. Other Q codes have been introduced, especially those for amateur radio usage. Some Q codes are also used in Aviation , in particular QNH and QFE , referring to certain altimeter settings. These codes are used in radio conversations with Air Traffic Control as unambiguous shorthand, where safety and efficiency are of vital importance. A subset of Q codes is used by the Miami-Dade County, Florida local government for law enforcement and fire rescue communications, one of the few instances where Q codes are used in ground voice communication. Many military and other organizations that use Morse code have adopted additional codes, including the Z Code used by most European and NATO countries. The Z code adds commands and questions adapted for military radio transmissions. For example, "ZBW 2" — change to backup frequency number 2 — or "ZNB abc" — my checksum is abc, what is yours? In most military Morse code transmissions, freeform text is strictly forbidden, and all communication must be accomplished using three-letter abbreviations, the Q and Z code. Used in their formal "question/answer" sense, the meaning of a Q code varies depending on whether or not the individual Q code is sent as a question or an answer. For example, the message "QRP?" means "Shall I decrease transmitter power?", and a reply of "QRP" means "Yes, decrease your transmitter power". This structured use of Q codes is fairly rare and now mainly limited to amateur radio and military morse code (CW) traffic networks. AMATEUR RADIO Selected Q codes were soon adopted by Amateur Radio Operator s. In December, 1915 the American Radio Relay League began publication of a magazine titled ''QST'', named after the Q code for "General call to all stations". 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. In voice communications, the Q code is commonly used as shorthand nouns, verbs and adjectives making up phrases. For example, an amateur radio operator will complain about QRM (man-made interference), or tell another operator that there is "QSB on the signal"; "to QSY" is to change your operating frequency. The following table gives the most common Q codes used in amateur radio: Some of these common usages vary somewhat from their formal, official sense. There are also a few unofficial and humorous codes in use, such as QLF ("try sending with your LEFT foot") and QSC ("send cigarettes", not the official meaning of "this is a cargo vessel"). In the question form, QNB?, is supposed to mean "How many buttons does your radio have?" A reply of the form QNB 45/15 means "45, and I know what 15 of them do." QRK is sometimes used to refer to the cost of something - "I would like an FT9000 but it is too much QRK". QSK - "I can hear you during my transmission" - refers to a particular mode of morse code operating in which the receiver is enabled during the spaces between dots while transmitting. Some Transceivers incorporate this function, sometimes referred to as ''full break-in'' as against ''semi-break-in'' in which there is a short delay before the transceiver goes to receive. Some ham operators within the USA, particularly those travelling long distances, will monitor the National 2-meter FM calling frequency of 146.520 MHz while in their vehicles. If you see a vehicle on the road with a bumper-sticker, license plate or other sign that says QRZ 52? and a few extra antennas, that is what's happening. The reason QRZ is used instead of the more correct QSX is that QSX is not normally used in voice communications while QRZ is used extensively. AVIATION Although the majority of the Q codes have slipped out of common use, several remain part of the standard ICAO radiotelephony phraseology in aviation. Altimeter Setting ; QNH : sea level air pressure ; QFE : air pressure at airfield elevation ; QSL : used to verify time when communicating with TSC e.g. "Runway in use 22 lefthand, QFE 990 millibars." "Request QNH" Direction Finding ; QDM : Magnetic heading TO a station ; QDR : Magnetic heading FROM a station ; QUJ : True bearing TO a station ; QTE : True bearing FROM a station ; QFU : The Runway in use e.g. "QDM QDM QDM (callsign) request QDM" "Runway 22 in use, QFU 22" Radio Procedures ; QSY : To freecall another frequency. (This is not an official part of the standard phraseology any more but is still regularly heard) SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|