Q codes in Morse code: QTH, QSL, QRS and more
Q codes are three-letter signals, all beginning with Q, that each stand for a whole sentence. QTH means “my location is”, QSL means “I acknowledge receipt” and QRS means “send more slowly”. Send one with a question mark after it and it becomes the question: QRS? asks “shall I send more slowly?” The thirteen in the table below are the ones you will meet first on the air.
Why Q codes exist
Morse is slow next to speech, and Q codes buy back the time. Sent at 20 WPM, the sentence PLEASE SEND MORE SLOWLY is 201 units long and takes about 12 seconds. QRS, --.- .-. ..., is 31 units and takes under 2. Over a whole contact, the savings add up.
They also cross languages. Q codes come from an international list of radio signals, so QTH means the same thing to an operator in Japan as to one in Brazil, and two people with no language in common can still swap locations, signal reports and thanks.
And they are hard to misread. Each one has a set meaning that operators know, so there is less to guess in a weak, fading signal.
The Q codes you will hear most
The meanings below are in everyday words, the sense operators use on the air. The formal wording in the international list is longer and differs in places, so read this as a plain guide, not the official text.
| Code | Morse | Meaning | With ?, roughly |
|---|---|---|---|
| QTH | --.- - .... |
My location is (place) | What is your location? |
| QRZ | --.- .-. --.. |
Mostly used as the question | Who is calling me? |
| QSL | --.- ... .-.. |
I acknowledge receipt | Can you acknowledge receipt? |
| QRS | --.- .-. ... |
Send more slowly | Shall I send more slowly? |
| QRQ | --.- .-. --.- |
Send faster | Shall I send faster? |
| QRM | --.- .-. -- |
Interference from other stations | Are you getting interference? |
| QRN | --.- .-. -. |
Static (natural noise) | Are you troubled by static? |
| QSB | --.- ... -... |
Your signal is fading | Is my signal fading? |
| QRT | --.- .-. - |
Stop sending | Shall I stop sending? |
| QRL | --.- .-. .-.. |
This frequency is in use | Is this frequency in use? |
| QSY | --.- ... -.-- |
Change frequency | Shall I change frequency? |
| QRP | --.- .-. .--. |
Low power (reduce power) | Shall I reduce power? |
| QRO | --.- .-. --- |
High power (increase power) | Shall I increase power? |
A few notes on how these are used in practice:
- QTH is followed by a place: QTH DENVER. Operators also use it in plain talk for home, as in “my QTH”.
- QRZ? is what you send when you hear someone calling you but cannot make out who.
- QSL gave its name to the QSL card, a card stations exchange to confirm that a contact took place.
- QRT means “stop sending”, and amateurs often use it to say they are closing the station.
- QRP has become the name for the whole practice of operating with low power, and QRO for running high power.
Statement or question: the question mark
The rule is simple. A Q code alone is a statement, an instruction or an answer. The same code followed by a question mark is a question. The question mark is ..--.., di-di-dah-dah-di-dit, sent after a normal letter gap:
| Sent | Morse | Means |
|---|---|---|
| QTH? | --.- - .... ..--.. |
What is your location? |
| QTH DENVER | --.- - .... / -.. . -. ...- . .-. |
My location is Denver |
| QRS? | --.- .-. ... ..--.. |
Shall I send more slowly? |
| QRS PSE | --.- .-. ... / .--. ... . |
Please send more slowly |
Three of these turn up so often that, once you are licensed and on the air, they are worth knowing as habits:
- QRL? before you call. A frequency can sound empty because you hear only one side of a contact. Send QRL? first, and if anyone answers, the frequency is busy: move along and try again.
- QRS PSE when you are lost. PSE is the usual abbreviation for please. Nobody minds being asked to slow down, and it is far better than guessing.
- QSL to close the loop. When the other station has given you something, a report or a name, QSL says you received it. A plain R,
.-., does the same job in fewer elements.
How Q codes sound
A Q code is three ordinary letters, sent with normal three-unit gaps between them. It is not a prosign, so the letters are never run together. Said in rhythm:
- QTH: dah-dah-di-dah, dah, di-di-di-dit
- QSL: dah-dah-di-dah, di-di-dit, di-dah-di-dit
- QRS: dah-dah-di-dah, di-dah-dit, di-di-dit
- QRZ: dah-dah-di-dah, di-dah-dit, dah-dah-di-dit
Every one starts with the same character, Q, --.-, dah-dah-di-dah. After a few contacts that opening works like a signpost: you hear the Q and your ear gets ready for one of a short list of codes. Be careful with its mirror image. Y is -.--, dah-di-dah-dah, the same elements in the opposite order, and a tired ear can swap them. Morse letters that sound alike has drills for pairs like this.
The best way to learn Q codes is the way you learn short words: as whole sounds. Don’t spell QRS out letter by letter in your head. Hear it as one shape, the way you hear THE or AND, and tie it straight to its meaning.
Q codes away from the key
Q codes long ago escaped Morse. Radio amateurs use them in speech and in writing, on voice and in emails: “my QTH”, “a QSL card”, “lots of QRM tonight”, “going QRT”, “a QRP rig”. You will also meet QSO, --.- ... ---, which amateurs use to mean a contact between two stations.
That everyday use is a good reason to learn them early, but keep the formal meanings in mind on the key. In CW they still work as statements and questions, and getting the question mark right is what tells the other operator whether you are asking or telling.
Practicing them
You can drill Q codes with nothing but a pencil and your voice. Write the meanings down one side of a page, say each code aloud in rhythm, and write the code next to its meaning. Then turn it around and do it from the code. Once that is easy, practice sending them on any key you have, keeping the gaps between the three letters a full three units.
On a Mac, type QRS PSE or QTH? into Dot & Dash on its Write page and press Send: the machine sends it at your speed, the tone plays and the paper tape prints it. Its Text to Morse page gives you the Morse to copy or play, and the question mark comes out right, because it is part of the code.
For how these fit into a complete exchange, see CW abbreviations: CQ, DE, 73, TU and more and How a basic CW contact works.
Questions
Are Q codes prosigns?
No. A Q code is three separate letters with normal letter gaps between them. A prosign, such as AR or SK, is sent as a single character with no gaps.
What does QSL mean?
As a statement it means “I acknowledge receipt”, and QSL? asks whether the other station received you. It also gave its name to QSL cards, which stations exchange to confirm a contact.
How do I ask someone to send slower in Morse code?
Send QRS, --.- .-. ..., usually as QRS PSE. Asking is normal, and operators expect it from newcomers.
What is the difference between QRM and QRN?
QRM is interference from other stations. QRN is static, natural noise such as lightning crashes.