Q key

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The Q key (also Q groups or Q code ) is used by radio services for the efficient and unambiguous transmission of standard messages. A Q group consists of a Q followed by 2 more letters. So z. B. QRA: " What is the name of your radio station?"

It meant a considerable saving of time, since in Morse telegraphy each letter has to be transmitted individually for a sentence. The use of the Q groups was able to reduce the time required so that it took less time to convey the message than to say the meaning.

use

In Morse code sending whole sentences is very time consuming. To shorten this, the most common phrases have been randomly assigned combinations of a Q and two following letters. Instead of a whole sentence, only three characters have to be sent. The announcement "QNH 1 0 1 5" means the same as: "So that your altimeter at our airport shows the altitude above sea level, set it to a reference pressure of 1015 hPa ."

The Q keys commonly used today were introduced by the International Radiotelegraph Convention in 1912 and over the years expanded to over 250 keys. The Q keys are neither abbreviations nor acronyms , so the letters have no conceptual meaning. The combinations after the Q were assigned completely arbitrarily.

Although the Q groups in the International Radio Regulations (IRR) are only intended for telegraph services, they are often used as jargon in amateur radio . In the course of time, a separate interpretation of the Q-codes, adapted to the everyday life of radio amateurs , has been established. For example, according to the IRR definition, QRT means: Stop sending! but in amateur radio it means: I'll break up.

Outside of amateur radio, the Q keys are rarely used. In the aviation nor the following Q groups are used:

  • QNH , the air pressure reduced to sea level at a measuring station based on the standard atmosphere
  • QFE , the actual air pressure at a measuring station
  • QDM , QDR , QTE , QUJ for bearing information
  • QFU , the current operating direction of an airfield (still used in France)

According to the requirements of the radio services, the code groups are assigned to the following radio services:

QAA to QNZ for use in aeronautical service defined by the ICAO
QOA to QQZ for use in maritime service defined by the ITU
QRA to QUZ for use in all radio services defined by the ITU
QVA to QZZ for other applications, partly also used by the military

history

Before the introduction of today's international Morse Code and abbreviations such as the Q key, 19th century telegraph companies used groups of special abbreviations that were incompatible with those of other companies. Until the 1980s, the Z key was also used analogously .

Examples

Most Q-keys have a question and an answer or message form, the former being indicated by a trailing question mark. For many answer forms there are predefined answers that are given by adding digits. Here: 1 means little or bad, 3 moderate or sufficient and 5 strong or very good, with 2 and 4 as the appropriate intermediate levels.

question answer
QAM? What's the weather forecast? QAM Weather report.
QRA? What is the name of your radio station? QRA The name of my radio station is ...
QRB? How far away are you from me? QRB The distance between us is ...
QRG? What is your frequency QRG My frequency is ...
QRH? Does my frequency fluctuate? QRH Their frequency fluctuates.
QRI? What is the tone of my broadcast? QRI 1 The tone of your broadcast is bad.
QRI 3 The tone of your broadcast is variable.
QRI 5 The tone of your broadcast is very good.
QRL? Are you busy? QRL I'm busy. Please do not disturb!
QRM? Are you bothered by other signals? QRM 1 I am not bothered.
QRM 3 I am moderately disturbed.
QRM 5 I am very much disturbed.
QRN? Are you affected by atmospheric disturbance? QRN 1 I am not affected.
QRN 3 I am moderately affected.
QRN 5 I am very much affected.
QRO ? Should I increase the transmission power? QRO Increase the transmission power.
QRP ? Should I reduce the transmission power? QRP Reduce the transmission power.
QRT? Should I stop sending? QRT Stop sending!
QRV? Are you ready (to accept me)? QRV I am ready (to take you in)!
QRZ? Who is calling me (QRZ must always be sent in connection with your own callsign, e.g. "QRZ? De DL0XXX" or "QRZ DL0XXX")
QSB? Does the strength of my signs fluctuate? QSB The strength of your characters varies.
QSD? Are my signs mutilated? QSD Your signs are mutilated.
QSL? Can you confirm receipt? QSL I confirm receipt.
QSO? ... Can you associate with ...? QSO ... I can associate with ...
QSY? ... Should I switch to a different frequency to transmit? (For example on ...) QSY ... Move to another frequency to transmit. (For example on ...)
QTH ? What is your position QTH My position is ... ( latitude and longitude or locator )
QTR? What is the exact time? QTR 1500 It is exactly 3:00 p.m. ( UTC ).

See also

literature

Web links

Wikisource: Q-Codes  - Sources and full texts (English)