Learning Morse
Your First 77 Words
Morse code is a tricky thing to get into. In order to use it, you need to be able to hear and send groups of letters. On top of this, it’s important to use special abbreviations and words that are common to the people that would often use Morse code. So several skills need to be worked on before you can even start having a conversation. It’s common in the amateur radio community to at least know the sound of CQ, and for 599, but to a complete beginner these letters and sounds mean nothing.
Recently I’ve been wanting to continue my journey to using Morse code. I already have a rudimentary grasp of listening and sending, so I need to take the next step, which is actually having a short conversation with someone over radio. This is where knowing common abbreviations and words by ear is useful, because it means you can quickly and effortlessly carry your side of the conversation.
This is where I ran into a curated list of these common words. This list is maintained by VK4JE and is an absolutely bare bones list. We’re not going to have any fancy conversations using these words, but they’ll provide great support as a starter. At the very least these words will give a foundation for a simple conversation (a QSO) using Morse code. If you look through the list below, you’ll get an idea about the common things that radio operators talk about over the air. For the slow Morse coders, they’ll be keeping their QSOs brief, whereas the faster operators will probably have something resembling a normal SMS conversation.
Table of the 77 Words
Below is a list of the 77 words along with their meaning. I have transcribed the list into a txt file that can be uploaded to a Morserino 32 . I edited the list a little because some of the prosigns had to be adjusted to work well with the Morserino 32, and there were some repeat words (e.g. BEAM, and AR). If you’re looking for comprehensive lists of prosigns and Q-codes then Wikipedia is relatively accurate and up to date. A more succinct list can be found at morsecode.world . Q-codes can be suffixed with a question mark, ?, to turn them into a question.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| CQ | Calling anyone listening |
| HW? | “How do you copy?” |
| RST | Signal Report |
| VVV | Used for signal testing, or incoming signal |
| VY | Very |
| <KA> | Starting signal |
| QRP | “Reducing power” |
| WATT | A unit of measurement for power of signal |
| VERT | Vertical Antenna |
| WIRE | Wire Antenna |
| <KN> | “Over to you, and only you, no one else.” Used when you don’t want anyone else to possibly interrupt |
| TNX | “Thanks” |
| <AR> | End of message |
| OM | Old Man - This is a reference to anyone that is a male radio operator, no matter the age. |
| YAGI | Yagi antenna - This is a type of directional antenna |
| NAME | The name of someone, usually the operator |
| YRS | Years - usually to do with the number of years as an operator, or how old someone is. |
| <AS> | Please wait |
| HR | This can mean “here” or “hour” depending on the context |
| RP | I’m not sure of this one, maybe ‘report’, as in signal report |
| PKT | Again, I’m not sure, possibly “packet” |
| YL | Young Lady - This is a reference to anyone that is a female radio operator, no matter the age. |
| TEMP | Temperature - after this word a number or two will be sent along with a ‘C’ or ‘F’. If someone is feeling particularly nerdy I guess they could send a ‘K’. |
| XYL | Wife |
| RPT | Report |
| QSO | A contact over the radio. If you had a conversation with someone using a radio at a particular time, that is a QSO. |
| QRX | Please standby |
| CPY | Copy |
| R | Received or Roger - this doesn’t mean you are confirming, or affirming what has been sent, only that you have received it. |
| OP | Operator, as in a radio operator |
| 73 | Best Regards - this is a nicety sent at the end of a QSO. Radio operators may say it on voice modes as well. |
| QRL | “I am busy.” - usually this Q code can be used in question form when you go to a frequency that appears to be unused. |
| QRZ | “I am the one who is calling you.” - This Q code can be used in question form to ask the other OP what their call sign is. |
| QTH | “My location is …” |
| PSE | “Please” |
| TEST | Contest - this word is used when the OP is calling for contesting radio stations. Contests are radio operator competitions. |
| ES | “And” |
| CL | Closing down - Used when the OP is going to shutdown their radio. |
| AGE | Age |
| EL | I’m not sure of this one either. |
| <BT> | Used to separate lines of thinking. |
| WX | Weather |
| ANT | Antenna |
| ? | Question marks are context sensitive, it depends when it is used (e.g. at the end of a Q-code) |
| QRO | “Increasing power of my signal” |
| QRM | “There is man made interference.” |
| QRT | “Stop sending” |
| FB | “Fine business” - Usually sent when a QSO has been going well. |
| LOOP | Loop antenna |
| DE | “from” - this is used before a radio operator’s call sign (e.g. 1AR DE ZL1SHP means “Calling 1AR from ZL1SHP) |
| K | Over to you |
| QRN | There is interference from a natural source (e.g. lightening) |
| LID | A “lid” is an annoying person who is interfering with the signal |
| ABT | “About” |
| / | This is used as a separator in call signs (e.g. ZL1SHP/P - where ZL1SHP is Portable, as opposed to ZL1SHP being at a home station) |
| BK | Break |
| QRS | “Please slow down” - “Send more slowly” |
| BEAM | Beam antenna |
| QSL | “I acknowledge receipt of your message” |
| QSY | “I am changing frequency” - This is usually followed by a frequency number, or by how many Hz up or down the sender is moving. |
| AGN | “Again” |
| 88 | “Love and Kisses” - Sent between two operators who are in a close relationship, or someone is making a joke. |
| PWR | “Power” |
| CW | Continuous Wave - This is the mode that Morse code is sent over. Morse code is sometimes called CW by radio operators. |
| TKS | “Thanks” |
| TU | “Thank you” |
| RRR | Roger roger roger - This is sometimes sent is the signal is poor. |
| RUNS | Another one that stumps me. I couldn’t find it through an Internet search either. |
| DX | International contact - I’m in New Zealand so if I was calling DX then I would be calling for a country that is not New Zealand. |
| RIG | Radio station - specifically the transceiver that the operator is using. |
| HI | This is similar to “LOL” in SMS. ‘HIHI’ means to laugh using Morse code. |
| <SK> | This prosign means that you are stopping sending. It doesn’t necessarily mean you are turning off your radio though. |
| CALL | This is a reference to the call sign of an operator. |
| QSB | Your signal is fading. - A fading signal is one that is getting weaker, or is changing in it’s strength, over time. |
| <VE> | “Understood” - In the past this meant that the message has been verified. |
| DIPOLE | A dipole antenna |
| 599 | Three numbers together is often a Morse code signal report. You can read more at this Wikipedia page. |
| DR | I’m not sure about this one, maybe it means “Doctor” |
| FER | “For” - sending “fer” is faster than sending “for”. |
| PLS | “Please” |
| CUAGN | “See you again” |
73