Glossary and other Useful Information
If you are a non-Ham visitor to this site you probably wonder “What is he talking about?”
Ham Radio Operators do use jargon and their own technical-speak when talking with each other. Here are some explanations of our lingo that you may have seen on other pages of this site.
The links shown below will quickly take you to the designated letter of the alphabet.
A
ARRL
Acronym for the American Radio Relay League, headquartered in Newington, Connecticut. The National Association of Amateur Radio.
www.arrl.org
Arduino
A popular micro-controller used by Makers and other hobbyists.
www.arduino.cc
B
The word:
Description:
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C
CW
Literally, Continuous Wave, which describes the technical characteristics of the radio signal. In day-to-day usage, CW is used to describe a Morse Code transmission.
Link Goes Here
D
DX
DX is a ham radio term for long distance. Radio Contacts made with hams located in far away countries are called DX.
Link Goes Here
DX Engineering
A good place from which to purchase Ham Radio equipment, tools, and accessories. Tim Duffy, K3LR, runs a good business. I am one of their Customers.
www.DXengineering.com
DXCC
DX Century Club. A prestigious accomplishment and award to be earned by Ham Radio Operators. For introduction, see DX. Century Club represents the achievement of having made two-way radio contacts and receiving confirmation from 100 or more entities around the world. With several exceptions, an entity for DXCC purposes represents a country.
Link Goes Here
E
eQSL
A system of providing electronic confirmation of radio contacts. An electronic QSL.
www.eqsl.cc
F
FB
Fine Business. A ham radio shorthand notation that means “very nice” or a similar intent.
Link Goes Here
FT8
A type of digital communication that makes extensive use of PC Sound Card technology to send and receive digitally encoded messages by way of amateur radio.
Link Goes Here
G
Grid Square
A global geographic identification and location system. Hams often share their Grid Square information as a universally recognized method of describing where they are located.
Link Goes Here
H
The word:
Description:
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I
INDEXA
Acronym for the International DX Association. An organization that promotes international goodwill and humanitarian programs through the use of Ham Radio. I am a member of INDEXA.
www.INDEXA.org
J
JT9, JT65
Two similar types of digital communications that make extensive use of PC Sound Card technology to send and receive digitally encoded messages by way of amateur radio.
Link Goes Here
K
The word:
Description:
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L
LOTW
Acronym for Logbook of the World. A system providing secure electronic confirmation of radio contacts. An electronic QSL. Hosted by the ARRL.
www.arrl.org/lotw
M
Main Trading Company
A good place to purchase Ham Radio equipment and accessories. Richard (KI5DX) and Christine Lenoir run a good business. I am one of their Customers.
www.mtcradio.com
N
NCDXF
Acronym for the Northern California DX Foundation. An organization that promotes international goodwill through the use of Ham Radio. I am a member of NCDXF.
www.NCDXF.org
O
The word:
Description:
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P
The word:
Description:
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Q
QSL
Confirmation of a radio contact. Traditionally in the form of a post-card and now includes various electronic methods of confirmation. See LOTW and eQSL for related information.
Link Goes Here
QSO
Two-way radio contact between amateur radio operators.
Link Goes Here
QST
A monthly magazine covering a wide array of Ham Radio topics. Published by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and included as a Membership Benefit.
Link Goes Here
QTH
Location of a radio station. My QTH is Dillsburg, Pennsylvania.
Link Goes Here
R
Radiosport
A competitive aspect of the ham radio hobby. Ham Radio Operators collect Points and Point Multipliers for making two-way radio contacts within the terms of a rules-based competition. Scores are tallied and recognition is given to the high-scoring stations and their operators.
Link Goes Here
RF Connection (The)
A good place shop for coaxial cables and other feedline materials, antenna wire, ground wire, DC Power wire, connectors and adapters, tools, antenna insulators, ropes, pulleys, and wire ties. Joel Knoblock and his Team run a good business. I am one of their Customers.
www.RFConnection.com
RST
The acronym for Readability, Strength, and Tone. RST is a numbering system used by ham radio operators to describe the strength and quality of the radio signal being sent by one ham and received by the other ham. Readability 1-5. Strength 1-9, Tone 1-9 (not used for voice transmissions). RST 599 is considered to be ideal.
www.RFConnection.com
RTTY
Acronym for Radio Tele-Type, which at one time and probably still is, a registered trademark. Commonly used to describe a type of digital transmission send and received via ham radio. RTTY originally was conducted using mechanical methods of generating and decoding the signals. Now, RTTY most often is conducted using PC Sound Card technology.
Link Goes Here
S
SSB
Single Side Band. A type of modulation applied to radio signals to permit the transmission of voices and other sound-based media. Some people describe an improperly tuned SSB radio signal as sounding like Donald Duck.
Link Goes Here
SWL
Short Wave Listener. A hobbyist who enjoys listening to shortwave radio, including Ham Radio conversations, Short Wave Listeners typically document one or both sides of the ham radio QSO and send the essential information to one or both of the hams, requesting verification. Confirmed SWL reports are collected and used for award purposes.
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T
The word:
Description:
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U
The word:
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V
The word:
Description:
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W
WAS
Worked All States. A prestigious award to be earned by ham radio operators for making a two-way radio contact with each of the 50 states in the USA, and presenting confirmation of the contacts.
Link Goes Here
WPX
A prestigious award offered by CQ-Amateur-Radio magazine in recognition of making two-way radio contact with a considerable number of different radio callsign prefixes, and presenting confirmation of the contacts. My callsign is AF3I. The prefix is the portion up to, and including the number — AF3.
Link Goes Here
X
The word:
Description:
Link Goes Here
Y
You-Do-It Electronics
A supplier of electronics components and other items of interest to the electronics, audio, video and computer hobbyist. I am one of their customers.
www.youdoitelectronics.com
Z
Zulu
The time zone letter code for the area that includes Greenwich, England. Hence, Greenwich Mean Time sometimes is referred to as Zulu or simply the letter Z.
Link Goes Here
0
Zero
T
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1
One
T
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2
Two
T
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3
Three
T
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4
Four
T
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5
Five
T
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6
Six
T
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7
73
A shorthand notation meaning Best Regards. Often used as a closing comment at the end of the two-way radio contact.
Link Goes Here
8
Eight
T
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9
Nine
T
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