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Phonetic alphabet, Q code and RST
On the radio, "B" and "D" sound alike amid the static. That is why words are used to spell things out that do not get confused by accents or noise. In Brazil, numbers are usually spoken in Portuguese: PU2TQF is "Papa Uniform Dois Tango Quebec Foxtrot".
Spell
Type your callsign, name or QTH.
Phonetic alphabet
| Letter | Word | It is said |
|---|---|---|
| A | Alpha | AL-fa |
| B | Bravo | BRA-vo |
| C | Charlie | CHAR-lie |
| D | Delta | DEL-ta |
| And | Echo | Echo |
| F | Foxtrot | FOXTROT |
| G | Golf | GOLF |
| H | Hotel | roh-TEL |
| I | India | India |
| J | Juliett | JULIET |
| K | Kilo | KEE-lo |
| L | Lima | LÍ-ma |
| M | Mike | MIKE |
| N | November | no-VÉM-ber |
| The | Oscar | OS-car |
| P | Papa | pa-PAH |
| Q | Quebec | que-BEC |
| R | Romeo | ROH-mee-oh |
| S | Sierra | see-E-rah |
| T | Tango | TAN-go |
| U | Uniform | IU-ni-form |
| V | Victor | VIC-tor |
| W | Whiskey | Whiskey |
| X | X-ray | Escra |
| Y | Yankee | Yankee |
| Z | Zulu | ZU-lu |
| 0 | Zero | ZE-ro |
| 1 | One | ONE |
| 2 | Two | TWO |
| 3 | Three | THREE |
| 4 | Four | QUA-tro |
| 5 | Five | FI-ve |
| 6 | Six | SEIX |
| 7 | Seven | SEH-te |
| 8 | Eight | EIGHT |
| 9 | Nine | NÓ-ve |
The capitalized syllable is the stressed one. When contacting foreigners, numbers are spoken in English; ICAO uses its own forms like Niner for 9.
Most used Q Code
With a question mark at the end, it becomes a question.
| Code | Question | Response or use |
|---|---|---|
| QAP | Are you listening? | Standing by (Brazilian usage, outside the ITU list). |
| QRA | What is your station name? | My station name is... In Brazil it became the operator name. |
| QRB | How far away are you? | The distance between us is... |
| QRG | What is my exact frequency? | Your exact frequency is... |
| QRK | What is the intelligibility of my signal? | Intelligibility is from 1 to 5. |
| QRL | Are you busy? | I am busy; do not interfere. In CW, "QRL?" before calling asks if the frequency is free. |
| QRM | Is there interference from other stations? | There is interference (from other stations). |
| QRN | Is there atmospheric noise? | There is static noise, lightning, natural hiss. |
| QRO | Should I increase power? | Increase power. It also means "high power". |
| QRP | Should I decrease power? | Decrease power. It is also operation with up to 5 W. |
| QRQ | Should I transmit faster? | Transmit faster. |
| QRS | Should I transmit slower? | Transmit slower. |
| QRT | Should I stop transmitting? | Stop transmitting; I am ending. |
| QRU | Is there anything for me? | I have nothing for you. |
| QRV | Are you ready? | I am ready. |
| QRX | When will you call again? | Wait, I will call again in... |
| QRZ | Who is calling me? | You are being called by... |
| QSA | What is the strength of my signal? | Strength is from 1 to 5. |
| QSB | Is my signal fading? | Your signal is fading. |
| QSL | Do you confirm receipt? | I confirm receipt. The QSL card is the written confirmation of contact. |
| QSO | Can you speak with...? | Contact between two stations. |
| QSP | Can you relay to...? | Retransmitting for... |
| QSY | Should I change frequency? | Change to frequency... |
| QTC | Is there a message for me? | I have messages for you. |
| QTH | What is your location? | My location is... |
| QTR | What is the exact time? | The correct time is... (in UTC). |
Nothing found. Try a letter, a code like QSL, or a word like "location".
Signal report: RST and SINPO
RST is how radio amateurs describe how another station signal arrived: readability (R, from 1 to 5), strength (S, from 1 to 9) and, in CW only, tone (T, from 1 to 9). "Five nine" is the famous 59 in voice; 599 in telegraphy. SINPO is the equivalent for shortwave listeners who send reports to broadcasters: five ratings from 1 to 5, where 5 is always the best.
File an RST report
599
SINPO
| Letter | Evaluates | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | Signal (strength) | barely audible | weak | fair | good | excellent |
| I | Interference from other stations | extreme | strong | moderate | light | none |
| N | Noise (static, hiss) | extreme | strong | moderate | light | none |
| P | Propagation (fading) | extreme | strong | moderate | light | none |
| The | General evaluation | useless | poor | fair | good | excellent |
Example: SINPO 43333 is a good signal, with moderate interference, noise and fading, reasonable listening.
Sources
The calculations run in your browser, nothing leaves here. Each formula was checked against the references below.
- ICAO, Annex 10, vol. II: radiotelephony spelling alphabet
- ITU, Radio Regulations, appendix 14 (phonetic alphabet) and ITU-R Recommendation M.1172 (abbreviations and Q code)
- ARRL, RST scale (created by Arthur Braaten, W2BSR, in 1934)
- CCIR, Recommendation 251 (SINPO code for broadcasting reception reports). today maintained by ITU-R